Climbing, like life, has moments where all the effort in the world won’t grant the send you hoped for, constantly strove for, and believed with all your heart one day would come. There’s sometimes a journey involved in climbing a piece of rock that carries with it a spectrum of feelings, ranging from pure optimism, excitement, and childlike giddiness to bouts of anger, confusion, doubt, and unbearable pain. Though, when all is said and done, there can and will be only one outcome: you’ll either win or you’ll lose.

Succeeding is the easy part. Taking a bite of that final crimper and extending yourself to the top is rewarding — a notch on the old belt worthy of bragging rights and a beer. But, as they say, one can’t truly harness the power of victory without having experienced the brutality of defeat. To go hard with every last ounce of wanting left in the soul, yet at the same time embrace the very real possibility that it might not be enough in the end, is something only someone who’s been there before can do. It comes from a place within that instantly reconnects them with lessons learned — and propels them to fight like hell.

What if we never lost? What if all we’ve ever felt were easy topouts and the effortless clipping of anchors, our bodies still without pump and completely unscathed? What if we never had a crag taken out from under us, closed down, or leveled and turned into the foundation for an office complex? What if every single day brought nothing but perfect outcomes, smiles, and euphoric feelings of floating on air? The answer is simple; our souls would atrophy, unchallenged and weak. We’d never evolve, never learn, and never really know how incredibly satisfying it is to win.

It is in this spirit that organizations such as the Access Fund, American Alpine Club, Southeastern Climbers Coalition, Carolina Climbers Coalition, and The Climbers of Hueco Tanks Coalition were founded. They’ve risen from a history fraught with hard times and lopsided battles — their once-separate voices at times going unheard, dismissed by landowners and federal and state officials. The people within these organizations know the feeling of losing. That’s why they’ve chosen to form the frontline we can all stand behind. No longer are climbers’ cries for help whispers. No longer are we insignificant, separate bodies in the back corners of board meetings. We are united and strong and winning. Thanks to their efforts . . . and many of yours.

Know that everything happens for a reason, both in life and your climbing pursuits. Take every loss as an opportunity to succeed. Lick the blood from your fingers and walk away assured a lesson’s been learned. As hard as it may be, crack a grin and look back at the holds you never had the chance to touch. Let the moment eat at you. Grow from it. Draw strength from it. Someday you’ll be better for it. When the next challenge comes (and it will come) you’ll think clearer and fight harder. Never stop trying. Never stop believing. Only after you’ve lost will you know what it’s truly like to win.

See you out there,
Joe Iurato

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