I think that everyone that climbs, because they love to climb.  Some folks enjoy getting in more pitches than others.  Where 500 feet is a big day for group X (we’ll call them, greenbees) and where 5000 feet is a big day for group Y (we’ll call them, efficient climbers).  Why would you want to take away that experience away from someone who loves the sport just as much as you?  

Our climbing community is small and eventually around some warm sparkling campfire, we all meet friends of friends.  Just as “greenbees” work hard to ascend routes at their limit, “efficient” climbers have worked just as hard to be able to simul-climb the same route in an hour that the “greenbees” will take all day on.  They worked hard in order to sleep in till late in the day so they can climb routes like Moonlight Buttress in an afternoon.  “Efficient” climbers through whatever method can rock climb a route in a few hours, where the “greenbees” will take much longer.  

Years ago while at Yosemite National Park, I saw “efficient” climbers wanting to warm up on the Freeblast (the first 10 pitches of the Salathe) before beginning the day, but due to “greenbee” traffic and their “not let them pass” ethic, their day were partially ruined.  What was truly funny and hard to believe was that they then decided to do a route on Middle Cathedral rock and come back to begin the Freeblast at a later time.  As it turned out, the “greenbees” who did not allow the “efficient” climbers to pass failed on the Freeblast and destroyed the other climber’s big day without finding any success of their own.  The “efficient” climbers quickly dispatched nearly 1000 feet of a route they never saw before and came back to find that the queue at the base had not changed at all.  

After observing this, I feel that all of us as climbers need to put ourselves in the other climber’s shoes in order to make this system work.  Stepping aside may put you back a minute or two, but that is ok when it is for the better of everyone involved.  Just as you saved your precious vacation days to arrive at the dream destination, so did they.

Sure, some would say that there are many climbs to enjoy and that as our sport grows and becomes more popular, that you must adapt to the conditions of overcrowding.  It will be said that what I am writing about is elitist, but my seasoned response is get the heck out of the way and let those that can do it more efficiently and faster through and “step aside sucka”.  If this concept sounds offensive to you, then you are probably not ready for the challenge and will continue to unfortunately ruin the experience for your fellow enthusiasts of the sport.