Philosophy of Bouldering - The Project

One of the experiences that Aspiro provides year-round for its participants is the sport of bouldering.

Bouldering is a form of rock climbing where the athlete climbs only as high as it is safe to fall, but does not use a rope. Instead, guides and peers use gymnastic ‘spotting’ techniques and specially-designed ‘crash pads’ to keep the athletes safe. Boulderers typically climb on boulders instead of cliffs, eliminating the risk of rock fall from above, and adding the reward of being able to stand on top of the ‘conquered’ climb and rest.

Routes that boulderers climb are called ‘problems’ and usually consist of only a few (usually 6-12) moves that are much more challenging than typical rock climbing, and often much more gymnastic. Bouldering can be at once frustrating and engaging, overwhelming and peaceful, painful and comforting, social and individual.

The glory of bouldering is that the greatest experiences are intimately related to the worst experiences.

The highs depend on the lows. In bouldering, a successful climb is simply not rewarding unless it is a successful climb that was fought for. The more difficult a problem is for a boulderer, the more she must fight for the climb, and the more she fights for the climb, the greater the thrill when she stands on top of the boulder, basking in the overwhelming sensations of victory. Of course to achieve this reward, she must outlast a wilderness of despair, as she second-guesses and doubts her strength at every fall, fall after fall.

The blessing and the curse of such a sport, is that no problem is impossible, but nearly every problem is improbable. At Aspiro, we seek to engage every staff and student in the ‘Project Experience’. Boulderers of all levels, when they arrive at a new area, use guidebooks, ratings, and word of mouth to find the problems that seem most appropriate for their skill level. Much of their time is spent familiarizing themselves with the style of climbing in the area, and the relative scale of difficulty ratings. In every case, however, what the climber is really seeking is “The Project”.

The Project is the one climb that he cannot climb the first day, the first week, or even the first month. When he feels the first holds, he believes it is impossible. Yet there is a beauty to this problem- it calls out to him and invites him in. At first he tries it and it confirms to him that he will need to return another time, 3 years maybe, 5 years maybe, to climb it. It confirms to him that he is simply not strong enough, determined enough, or resilient enough to attempt it yet. Maybe later.

As he climbs other problems around it, he successfully completes the easier problems in 1, 2 or even 5 tries.

It feels good, and he is proud of himself, but still the Project calls to him. Eventually he cannot ignore it and he gives it his first real attempt. Rejection!! Further confirmation that this climb is not possible for him, he is not good enough, not ready. He is conflicted inside, he does not want to experience rejection again, but he wants to climb the project. He throws himself at the project again, despite his conflicting feelings. A cycle of enthusiastic attempts and disheartening rejections follows until finally, the climber tries the first move, and it feels different… he understands it differently.

“If I only squeeze this muscle this way, balance on my toe this way, and throw my body skyward exactly this way… perhaps it is possible,” he thinks to himself.

And then success comes. He can do the first move. Thrilled over such an accomplishment, the climber invites her friends to come watch, throws herself at the project and the project dismisses her once again.

She is finally beginning to understand the curse of a sport that seemed so fun and so relaxing just an hour ago.

No matter how much effort she puts into the first move of a problem, and even when she finally figures it out and understands it, she must still climb that first move and put all the same energy into it every time she gets on the problem, if she ever wants a chance to climb the second move. It does not become suddenly easy because you succeeded once. Likewise, it does not become suddenly harder because you have failed once.

The rock is constant, we are the ones who change. To overcome the problem, we must not change the problem without- that is never enough. We must change the problem within. The cycles of overwhelming success and victory, and crushing defeat are very normal in the sport of bouldering. As professional boulderers exist in all sizes and shapes, one can guess that external strength, height, weight, age, or natural abilities do not determine a successful climber, or how much one falls in love with the sport. It seems obvious with even a little experience, that success is determined by strength of heart, not strength of arm. It is what is inside that counts. It is the climber’s ability to accept any failure as temporary, to accept failure as little more than a stepping stone to her goals that determines whether or not she will succeed. As guides at Aspiro, we strive to make this process happen at least once for every student, staff, and visitor in the field. It is more than a hope, it is an expectation. One can watch professional climbers work projects for years before success.

This resolve is a quality that we admire at Aspiro. We hope to build a community and an environment that supports opens doors- a place where we can test our resolve and even grow it.

As staff and students at Aspiro, we share a unique season of therapy. It is a season of challenge, frustration, overwhelming accomplishment, and deep respect for each other’s struggles. It is a therapy we share.

Staff refuse to be ‘teachers’ who have all the answers that the students must absorb. Staff instead become teachers who inspire passion, craft experiences, and share burdens. We grow to love and hate bouldering as it begins to represent both our victories, and our unfinished projects.

We return with excitement and trepidation. We learn to guide each other through the experience, provide the community of support, and be the invisible force that helps each other to succeed. And of course, we all have the opportunity to see ourselves overcome, to engage in a contest that is both against ourselves and greater than ourselves, and to experience the ultimate rush, the goal of all boulderers, The Project.

Dan LeMaire

The Fourth Shave of Christmas

If you think going to the Christmas party produced a lot of strange looks, you can only imagine what it was like going to church yesterday. With only four shaves left it will only get better. News of Justin’s holiday tradition is spreading. Please feel free to post both supportive comments for me or mocking comments for Justin.

Spotlight: Clinical Director, Justin Robinson

Justin has been with Aspiro since its inception in April of 2006. Justin brought with him a wealth of experience.

His undergraduate degree is in Recreation Therapy and his Masters Degree is in Social Work. Justin has been working with adolescents for about twelve years in a variety of settings and capacities.

Justin started in the field as a live-in counselor at a Therapeutic Boarding School.

Shortly after getting married Justin and his wife spent a year working as home parents in a group home. He then worked as a Recreation Therapist in an RTC.

From there, Justin spent a short time leading psycho-educational groups in the Utah state prison. While working at the prison he was asked to develop a Recreation Therapy program to work in conjunction with the existing psycho-educational classes.

Justin has also facilitated adolescent outpatient therapy, but the majority of his experience as a therapist has been working with adolescents and their families in a Therapeutic Boarding School.

With his background in recreation, Justin has always been drawn to experiential learning.

“While working in residential treatment, I found I could accomplish more with a student in a week in the outdoors than I could in months of therapy in the office. When I saw what Aspiro was doing, I jumped at the opportunity to be involved,” said Robinson

Justin grew up in Utah, however, he has also lived in Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. Justin is married and has four kids. In addition to raising four children, Justin and his wife have also (until recently) been temporary foster parents to adolescents transitioning from treatment. In total they have had over a dozen teens living with their family.

Director of Clinical Services - Justin Robinson, LCSW

Spotlight: Aspiro Admissions Director - Josh Watson, LCSW

The unique vision of Aspiro convinced Josh that he needed to make a move from the Southeast all the way to the beautiful state of Utah. After spending several months learning about Aspiro’s innovative approach through high-impact adventure therapy, Josh and his family decided to join the Aspiro team back in October of 2006.

“After doing my research it wasn’t hard for Brian Church, a former colleague of mine, and now the Director of Business Development for Aspiro, to convince me that Aspiro would be the pioneer for a new and more effective outdoor therapy model,” said Watson.

Josh has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and over seven years of experience working with adolescents and families in crisis.

Over the past several years he has been a therapist and an admissions officer for a therapeutic boarding school.

As the Director of Admissions, Josh will be working diligently with consultants and families on assessment, communication, and quality control. His clinical experience is rich with diversity and he has a genuine desire to help others.

“Aspiro has managed to exceed all of my expectations. It is a breath of fresh air for me to see students smiling as they achieve success on a very high level. I am privileged to work with such a dynamic team that is truly committed, authentic, and unified in their approach.”

Please feel free to contact Josh directly to learn more about his personal journey, and to find out more details about Aspiro.

jwatson@aspiroadventure.com.

Admissions: 888-266-5136 www.wherehealingstarts.com