Commitment

“Buy the fucking plane tickets!” I believe I heard this from Jack Tackle once. He says it to his climbing partners. In a simple sense, buying the plane tickets firmly cements one’s commitment to an objective. If you are serious about it, you will get the tickets right away as it is going to be much harder to back out after you have purchased expensive plane tickets.

I am sure that many reading this have experienced: “Dude, I going to have to bail on our plans for Alaska (or wherever)” before. It is classic and seems to happen more often than people actually following through with their barstool inspired dreams (delusions?) of grandeur.

It is not uncommon for people to lose their enthusiasm for your big plans as the time draws nearer. Thoughts of sport climbing, skiing locally and likely fear will often extinguish the flames of anticipation and lead to a change of heart. Once you have shelled out a bunch of cash, however, things are much different. It is often the hardest thing to do. So, my advice is if you really want to make a dream trip happen: find a willing partner, agree on dates, then BUY THE FUCKING TICKETS! You’ll be satisfied as it takes all the second guessing and worrying away. You are safe in your knowledge that, in a sense, your fate is sealed. You are going. All the other details, like equipment, route specifics and other logistics will work themselves out. The ticket (pretty much) ensures that both you and your partner are going and you ain’t going to bail. It is a good show of commitment.

Of course there are some other small things to consider, as well. If you are going to Asia, for example, you may need a VISA. So, get on this right away as it can take a while to process these applications. Also, if you are going to need a permit for your objective get someone working on this as soon as you have made your decision to go. These are important, but I find that once the ticket is purchased, the gig is on!