Levels of Fun – Skurka’s?

[Mike Gerty]

I heard or read somewhere about the "three levels of fun." It might have been Skurka in one of his presentations. I'm probably not remembering this exactly right, but it goes something like this:

Level 1 Fun – fun at the time and fun to talk about later
Level 2 Fun – not fun at the time but fun to talk about later
Level 3 Fun – not fun at the time, not fun to talk about later

Does this ring a bell with anyone? Am I making this completely up??

[CW]

I'm used to it being referred to as types of fun (Type 1, Type 2, etc.) but you have the details correct.

[Jesse Glover]

I'm fond of level 4: fun at the time and not fun to talk about later.

[Travis Leanna]

The only time I can see Level 3 coming to fruition is if there were some lasting negative effects of the trip. Such as a long term injury, ruined friendships because of the trip, general dislike of the outdoors, etc… Other than that, even "crappy" trips are usually fun to talk about once everyone is warm and fed.

[Ben Smith]

RJ classifies type 3 as extremely close encounters with danger / death. For example, having a cold front blow in that takes temps into the negative range when you are prepared for 30, and you are 4 days from the nearest exit. Also, if you are in a remote location and have a close range encounter with a hungry grizzly who is acting predatory, and you discover that your bear spray doesn't work.

[CW]

I hate when someone "accidentally" gives me the tester can of bear spray.

[Ben Smith]

Sorry about that Chris, it wasn't on purpose, honest…

[Ken Thompson]

.

[alan york]

Andrew brought this up near the end of an off trail 20 mile day last week on our 2 week packrafting/hiking traverse of the Hayes Range.He diddn't come up with the list,but often brought it up as motivation as we chased his arss
through the hills.

[James holden]

Level 1 … Nice easy climb with cute girl in lululemon pants … Spend night at said girls place after

Level 2 … Hard climb at yr limit where u fall a few times and swear alot … A week later u say to yrself i need to do that again … After yr ego has recovered

Level 3 … Sketchy effing runnout climb at yr limit at the top of 12+ pitches with night closing in and youre outta water … And live … Rescue may or may not be involved …. U still shake every time u think about it

Its all fun n games till someone pulls the plb ;)

[HkNewman]

It's all fun until the ambulance gets called, the police show up, etc…

[Ron Bell / MLD]

It's an old rating scale-

I first heard it back in the 80's in Camp 4- guessing it was started by climbers- probably alpine climbers.

I recall posting it here on the forums a few yrs ago-

The understated implications are:

Level 1: No one hurt but it could have happened- just some inconvenience and a little hardship.
Level 2: No one's hurt bad or it's minor- but one notch farther and someone loses a limb or life- a some what close call- a standard Epic if the story last longer than a whole day.
Level 3: Someone dies or is badly mangled- it's really bad for lots of people who were not even there.

All the levels generally only apply to doing really cool stuff.

Context: Probably goes back the Yosemite 60's days when the Bridwwell Aid ratings on big walls were -for a short while anyway –
NBD – No Big Deal = A-1-2
PDH- Pretty Damn Hard = A 3-4-
RHU- Real Heads Up = A 4-5

You get the idea- but Level 1 is not just a reg fun day out in the woods- that is somewhere below Level 1…

[Jace Mullen]

My Scale:

Type I: Fun while you're doing it, fun to talk about/ remember
Type II: Sucks while you are doing it, fun when you look back on it (most alpine climbing)
Type III: Sucks while you are doing it, don't want to do it when you are done
Type IV: Anything with permanent lasting (negative) consequences
Type V: Sucks while you are doing it, hilarious for the people around you.

[Ryan C]

"Its all fun n games till someone pulls the plb ;)"

HA! I love that Eric. My big trip for the year was category 2 for "not fun MOST OF the time but fun to tell about" and Ron Bell's "no one's hurt bad or it's minor- but one notch farther and someone loses a limb or life- a some what close call- a standard Epic if the story last longer than a whole day".

I carried the PLB for the group and thought we were gonna have to push it once or twice. I guess that made our trip EPIC, especially since we all lived to tell about it.

[Steofan M]

My hiking group had a simple definition of fun at our usual after-hike beer night:
Nobody gets hurt, and somebody gets a new nickname.

[Hamish Reid]

Great for injecting a bit of perspective!

The version I heard from a NOLS instructor working here in NZ had one more, and a slightly different order.

The key addition was 'not fun at the time, not fun in hindsight', which has also been noted by Jesse. It nicely describes a party followed by a hangover, is that right Jesse…?

[Chad Miller]

Eric if you're doing something that you need a PLB then you're not skilled enough to be doing it. ;)

Besides if you know what you're doing you won't get into a Level 3, maybe a 2+ but that's why it's important to drink beer afterwards so the bad memories get a bit fuzzy. :)

[Ryan C]

In defense to Eric and myself: The times I thought about using the PLB was for other guys on the trip, not me. Besides, I learned that one of the "macho" guys I was worried about the most had been rescued on a much "milder" trip in the past! Funny thing is, he fit category 1 on this trip most of the time. I fit category 2. Just shows how people perceive things differently!

[tommy d]

"I'm fond of level 4: fun at the time and not fun to talk about later."

I agree; Level 4 fun is the best kind of fun. I love those events in life that are just amazing, but later when you're about to tell somebody about what happened, you realize it's better to kept it to yourself.

[Ryan C]

Actually I prefer level 4 but usually end up telling someone, either to scare the crap out of them or make them think I am nuts. Either way, sharing some of those level 4's can also ensure the listener will be discouraged from doing the same thing thus leaving that backcountry all to myself for next time!

[James holden]

i dont even own a PLB yet ;)

would mr jordan or skurka done their arctic trips without a PLB/spot?

thats a good question … as jordan's team did pull it if i recall correctly

http://www.andrewskurka.com/advice/reviews/spot.php

When I do take SPOT, it's because I've deemed the risks and consequences to be unacceptably high, and/or because I'm not confident that I can stabilize myself long enough for a conventional rescue. So, for example, if I were traveling off-trail through the rattlesnake-infested Colorado Desert in California, I would carry SPOT because if I got bit I would need immediate help, yet help normally would be far away: hikers are far and few between, roads and towns are non-existent, and my mother might not be expecting my call for another 3 or 4 days. Another example is if I were snowshoeing across the lakes of the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota in January. If I were to fall through thin ice, I would again need immediate help because the brutal temperatures would turn me into an icicle very quickly, but normally help would be days away.

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