the problem with plan B

The mountaineer and outdoor clothing millionaire Yvon Chouinard said: "if you bring bivy gear, you'll end up bivying". "Bivy" is short for "bivouac", which means to sleep out somewhat unexpectantly on the mountain. What he meant was, if you carry a lot of heavy camping gear on a climb you'll probably end up climbing so slowly that you'll have to spend the night on the way up.

Contingency planning seems on paper to be a good idea. It seems smart to ask the question, "what do we do if we don't succeed?" "What happens if we don't reach the target, achieve the goal or hit the mark?"

The problem with having a plan "b" in case "plan "a" doesn't work out, is that we often end up executing plan "b". We inadvertently, subtly and unconsciously let ourselves off the hook from fully striving, aspiring and stretching.

The book "Don't Think of an Elephant" points this out. If I ask you not to think of an ELEPHANT, you can't help but think of an ELEPHANT. We tend to go where we are looking and end up where we are thinking. Superbike racers know this fact well: on a tight turn, the bike goes where your eyes go; if you look at the ditch that's where you'll end up. The same goes for climbing. I've never found it helpful to look at the ground, as a reminder of the consequences of a lapse of focus or judgement.

Is it great to manage risk? Yes. Is it good to operate as if the contingency plan was the main plan? Probably not.