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Caf
May 21, 2004

I'm King James! The Lion King!

CoasterMaster posted:

I'm going to be in Boston with a few hours to kill Thursday morning/afternoon, so I was thinking about checking out one of the local rock climbing gyms. It looks like there are three:

- Boston Rock Gym
- Boston Rock Spot
- MetroRock

I'm not traveling with anyone else, so I'm really focused on climbing with auto-belays and I prefer taller walls to shorter (duh). I've checked out some Yelp reviews, but it's hard to tell how big each one is and how many auto-belay devices each gym has.

I can consistently climb 5.8s on 'first glance' and some 5.9s on a good day (and possibly even a 5.10) :). Can someone write some words about those gyms and tell me which one I should check out? :)

I go to Rock Spot and their current Boston location is mostly a bouldering gym. They do have a good number of top rope stations and I think 6-8 of them are auto-belay but they are only ~20 feet tall.

I haven't been to BRG in almost a year but I remember their walls being a little bit higher and they had less bouldering. They only had a handful of auto-belays if I remember correctly though. CRG in Watertown is fantastic but lacks auto-belay. And I can't speak to Metro or BKB because I haven't been to either one.

Shoot me a PM if you end up at Rock Spot. I'll be there tomorrow night to try out some new shoes.

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Business of Ferrets
Mar 2, 2008

Good to see that everything is back to normal.

Sigmund Fraud posted:

I'll be in Japan for three weeks, namely Tokyo and Hiroshima and plan to bring my shoes. Any good indoor gyms I should check out? I assume there are no sport crags nearby which would justify me bringing a rope and quickies...

These places are decent, though not convenient to downtown Tokyo unless you want to boulder: http://english.pump-climbing.com

This list looks promising for finding climbs: https://www.thecrag.com/climbing/japan

Kefit
May 16, 2006
layl
God drat, today I climbed a new V4 (my third ever) and FIVE new V3s. I think I'm finally getting over that V2/V3 plateau, and it feels awesome. For reference, I've been climbing two to three times a week since last August.

A couple of weeks ago I picked up some Scarpa Vapor Vs to replace my smelly disintegrating newbie shows. At first I didn't like them at all - my old shoes were relatively shapeless, and the pointed toe of the Vapors confused my feet. But I just needed a couple of sessions to get used to them, and now I love them. They make me pay more attention to my feet and reward this by letting me stick to things that my newbie shoes would slide off of hopelessly. Also, the Vapors don't smell horrendous (yet?), which is a real nice change of pace.

Kefit fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Apr 11, 2014

Speleothing
May 6, 2008

Spare batteries are pretty key.
I've had my Vapor Vs for over 18n months. They still smell great. It's all about the leather.

Letting them air out instead of keeping them stuffed inside a gym bag helps too. I was at the gym for two hours tonight and I just stuffed my nose in them to double check while I'm typing.

Recycle Bin
Feb 7, 2001

I'd rather be a pig than a fascist
I air mine out as soon as I get home and put some medicated foot powder in there just to make sure nothing sets up shop.

Unrelated, I attempted my very first V2 today and flashed it. I don't know if that says something about me or the route setter...

inferis
Dec 30, 2003

If I've never done any kind of rock climbing before do I need to take a class or can I just give it a shot and figure it out. One of my local bouldering gyms has really cheap rates for first timers and it seems fun.

deck
Jul 13, 2006

inferis posted:

If I've never done any kind of rock climbing before do I need to take a class or can I just give it a shot and figure it out. One of my local bouldering gyms has really cheap rates for first timers and it seems fun.

Usually, only gyms that involve roped climbing will require you to pass a belay test, or take an introductory class.

If it's a bouldering-only gym, walk in and tell them it's your first visit and they'll have you sign a release form, give you a tour, and hopefully explain the very basics like "don't walk under other climbers". If they don't cover it, it will be worthwhile to ask how their difficulty grading works, and how you're officially expected to start and finish a route. If anything is unclear, just ask another climber or folks at the desk.

Expect to rent climbing shoes for your first visit. Some places don't allow street shoes, and "you're gonna have a bad time" in street shoes anyway.

Mausi
Apr 11, 2006

Recycle Bin posted:

Unrelated, I attempted my very first V2 today and flashed it. I don't know if that says something about me or the route setter...

Can be both or either - I usually boulder at one wall where I climb an average of V2, depending on the techniques required. I've spent the last month climbing at another wall where I think the route setting is not only harder but tends to be much more varied and technical, and I regularly fall off V2s.
The bonus was going back to the original gym on Tues and walking up a few of their V3's.

gamera009
Apr 7, 2005

Boston Climbing Goons!

I will be making a handful of trips to Billerica for training, and I figured I might as well see about getting my rear end to a gym to climb. It looks like BRG is the closest outlet, unless someone can point me in the right direction.

BRG a yes or no?

Caf
May 21, 2004

I'm King James! The Lion King!

gamera009 posted:

Boston Climbing Goons!

I will be making a handful of trips to Billerica for training, and I figured I might as well see about getting my rear end to a gym to climb. It looks like BRG is the closest outlet, unless someone can point me in the right direction.

BRG a yes or no?

BRG is the best option if you're already in that area. I think it's one or two towns over from Billerica.

I haven't been there since I first started climbing (last year) but it's a good gym. Typical friendly climbing crowd and you shouldn't have trouble finding a belay partner if you need one. If you lead, most of the ceiling in their main climbing area is set as a roof which is pretty cool.

tynam
May 14, 2007

Mausi posted:

Can be both or either - I usually boulder at one wall where I climb an average of V2, depending on the techniques required. I've spent the last month climbing at another wall where I think the route setting is not only harder but tends to be much more varied and technical, and I regularly fall off V2s.
The bonus was going back to the original gym on Tues and walking up a few of their V3's.

It still surprises me sometimes how much stronger I get without really noticing it. A problem/route a couple weeks ago that I couldn't do is suddenly much easier now, without really working out any more than my normal climbing routine.

On an unrelated note - got my lead cert! :toot: Sent my first 5.10c on lead on the glorious ice cream cone, which felt drat good. Now I just have to hope they add more 10s to that wall, or break into 11s somehow.

dewer
Sep 2, 2011

gamera009 posted:

Boston Climbing Goons!

I will be making a handful of trips to Billerica for training, and I figured I might as well see about getting my rear end to a gym to climb. It looks like BRG is the closest outlet, unless someone can point me in the right direction.

BRG a yes or no?

Central Rock Gym in watertown isn't that much further than BRG and it's a much nicer gym.

French Canadian
Feb 23, 2004

Fluffy cat sensory experience

tynam posted:

On an unrelated note - got my lead cert! :toot: Sent my first 5.10c on lead on the glorious ice cream cone, which felt drat good. Now I just have to hope they add more 10s to that wall, or break into 11s somehow.

Nice. Sender One is a pretty awesome gym. Went to the opening a while back. But the bouldering pads are so dang hard it hurts my knees to drop off the top!

gamera009
Apr 7, 2005

dewer posted:

Central Rock Gym in watertown isn't that much further than BRG and it's a much nicer gym.

How is the bouldering?

Mahlertov Cocktail
Mar 1, 2010

I ate your Mahler avatar! Hahahaha!
Any climber goons living in Berlin? I'm living there until end of July and would love any suggestions for climbing, indoors or out! I've been bouldering at Der Kegel, which is nice even if it's in sketchy-as-gently caress Revaler Straße. They tend to set routes with a lot of feature use, which I'm less used to in the gym.

CoasterMaster
Aug 13, 2003

The Emperor of the Rides


Nap Ghost
RE: Boston

I ended up going to MetroRock because it was the easiest to get to (they even had a shuttle to take me to/from the T station). It was pretty fun, but not too much bouldering to speak of. I was limited to how much I could try out since I was by myself and stuck to autobelays (I was there at about 10am on a Thursday so I had almost the entire gym to myself), but the routes I did try were really fun.

The area of Boston it's in seems pretty sketchy though :)

skudmunky
Apr 28, 2010

CoasterMaster posted:

RE: Boston

I ended up going to MetroRock because it was the easiest to get to (they even had a shuttle to take me to/from the T station). It was pretty fun, but not too much bouldering to speak of. I was limited to how much I could try out since I was by myself and stuck to autobelays (I was there at about 10am on a Thursday so I had almost the entire gym to myself), but the routes I did try were really fun.

The area of Boston it's in seems pretty sketchy though :)

If you think that area is sketchy, it's a good thing you didn't go to Rock Spot in Dedham.

My parents have a Central rock gym membership, whenever I visit Boston we all climb there. Pretty cool bouldering, top roping, and enough amazing lead climbing to make me wish I could do it.

Is Earth Treks the gym to go to in Maryland? I'm moving there in June and am going to need a place to climb near the BWI area.

guppy
Sep 21, 2004

sting like a byob

skudmunky posted:

If you think that area is sketchy, it's a good thing you didn't go to Rock Spot in Dedham.

My parents have a Central rock gym membership, whenever I visit Boston we all climb there. Pretty cool bouldering, top roping, and enough amazing lead climbing to make me wish I could do it.

Is Earth Treks the gym to go to in Maryland? I'm moving there in June and am going to need a place to climb near the BWI area.

Yes. I climb at EarthTreks. There are three locations, but the one closest to BWI is probably going to be Columbia: http://www.earthtreksclimbing.com/md/columbia/

About a 15 minute drive from the airport. I'm usually at Timonium because it's closer to me, but I go to Columbia once in a while. Drop me a note if you want someone to climb with. I often have spare guest passes, so there's a good chance I can get you in for free to try it out and see if you like the place.

dewer
Sep 2, 2011

gamera009 posted:

How is the bouldering?

I think it's pretty good. A wide range of problems and plenty of wallspace with a lot of variety in the wall type. There's even a bouldering ramp, about 20 or 25 feet of continuous 45 degree overhang.

gamera009
Apr 7, 2005

dewer posted:

I think it's pretty good. A wide range of problems and plenty of wallspace with a lot of variety in the wall type. There's even a bouldering ramp, about 20 or 25 feet of continuous 45 degree overhang.

Sounds good. I'd prefer to just bring bouldering gear. It's not much more space for a harness, but I only plan on bringing a carry-on for the business trip. So space is a bit of a premium.

Harold Fjord
Jan 3, 2004
I went climbing with my friends for the first time ever the other day at a free outdoor rockwall and it was awesome.

If I want to be able to go solo and autobelay I just need a harness and chalk/bag right? Because this shits hella fun.

George H.W. Cunt
Oct 6, 2010





Nevvy Z posted:

I went climbing with my friends for the first time ever the other day at a free outdoor rockwall and it was awesome.

If I want to be able to go solo and autobelay I just need a harness and chalk/bag right? Because this shits hella fun.

Harness, shoes, chalk and you're good to go

Harold Fjord
Jan 3, 2004
Oh right shoes. I can't buy those online. But my friends climb this rockwall barefoot without a problem so for now I was gonna not.

guppy
Sep 21, 2004

sting like a byob
Climbing barefoot is not very fun and climbing shoes are much better for it than sneakers. Buy shoes. If you don't have a convenient rock gym nearby, you might have an REI, they carry climbing gear.

George H.W. Cunt
Oct 6, 2010





Nevvy Z posted:

Oh right shoes. I can't buy those online. But my friends climb this rockwall barefoot without a problem so for now I was gonna not.

Honestly if you think you're going to dive head first into climbing and getting a membership and all that you might as well. Overall you'll throw down about $200 for cheap newbie shoes, decent harness, a chalk bag, and then whatever membership your gym is. It's a much smaller barrier of entry than say mountain biking.

Alternatively you can just boulder for a while and skip out on the harness entirely and just rent one whenever you want to autobelay/climb with friends.

Speleothing
May 6, 2008

Spare batteries are pretty key.
Climbing barefoot is about the worst way to climb. Get shoes before you worry about a chalk bag or a harness.

tynam
May 14, 2007

Nevvy Z posted:

Oh right shoes. I can't buy those online. But my friends climb this rockwall barefoot without a problem so for now I was gonna not.

Do you have pictures of the rockwall by any chance? I'm genuinely curious to see what people are able to climb barefoot.

modig
Aug 20, 2002

tynam posted:

Do you have pictures of the rockwall by any chance? I'm genuinely curious to see what people are able to climb barefoot.

It was like 6 years ago, but I'm pretty sure I lead Passing Lane with no shoes on because I forgot my shoes. Whatever it was, it was super juggy and I was always able to use a lot of opposition to keep pressure on my feet.

Harold Fjord
Jan 3, 2004

tynam posted:

Do you have pictures of the rockwall by any chance? I'm genuinely curious to see what people are able to climb barefoot.

I don't. It's an artificial wall though and nothing too sharp/abrasive, it's just outdoors in a park.

Fake edit - http://indoorwalls.com/listings/Scioto-Audubon-Metro-Park-Climbing-Wall

ziasquinn
Jan 1, 2006

Fallen Rib
It'd be so much more fun to climb with climbing shoes.

I saw some dorks at the gym the other day climbing with tennis shoes. Like, it was a dad and his two kids.

Get some loving shoes you weirdos! It's a 3 dollar rental!

angry climber
Dec 6, 2010
Just climbed two days ago after a 3 year layoff.

Now I cannot go to work because my forearms are completely wrecked. I'm getting shooting pain if I try to manipulate/grab anything and even wiggling my fingers hurts.

Fortunately my piss is clear and very minimal swelling.

Irving
Jun 21, 2003

Nevvy Z posted:

I went climbing with my friends for the first time ever the other day at a free outdoor rockwall and it was awesome.

If I want to be able to go solo and autobelay I just need a harness and chalk/bag right? Because this shits hella fun.

Coerce a friend into going if you can. Autobelay gets real boring real fast since you usually only have a few routes to choose from. You can boulder solo as well, and bouldering is like 90% social hour 10% climbing, so if you don't have climbing buddies already, you're sure to get some! Also, I have in the past just grabbed people on the auto belay and asked if they wanted to climb.

Harold Fjord
Jan 3, 2004

Irving posted:

Coerce a friend into going if you can. Autobelay gets real boring real fast since you usually only have a few routes to choose from. You can boulder solo as well, and bouldering is like 90% social hour 10% climbing, so if you don't have climbing buddies already, you're sure to get some! Also, I have in the past just grabbed people on the auto belay and asked if they wanted to climb.

Yeah, my friends already have all the gear so I don't need rope or the lead climbing stuff. I just want to be able to wander down there on my own sometimes when I feel like it and climb a wall. Once I can go up any of the walls I'll also have more money to throw at this. I always kind of wanted to try it it and I had a total blast.

Edit- Tried some shoes at a local place. Clintonville Outfitters if any Ohio people hang out here. The guy was super helpful and now my big toes hurt just a tiny bit but that'll stretch. I climbed a bit on their little wall and could really feel the increased friction. Was instantly sold.

Harold Fjord fucked around with this message at 02:54 on Apr 23, 2014

Business of Ferrets
Mar 2, 2008

Good to see that everything is back to normal.

Nevvy Z posted:

Tried some shoes at a local place. Clintonville Outfitters if any Ohio people hang out here. The guy was super helpful and now my big toes hurt just a tiny bit but that'll stretch. I climbed a bit on their little wall and could really feel the increased friction. Was instantly sold.

In my admittedly limited experience, the toe-heel space stretches less than the rest of the shoe.

pidan
Nov 6, 2012


Mahlertov Cocktail posted:

Any climber goons living in Berlin? I'm living there until end of July and would love any suggestions for climbing, indoors or out! I've been bouldering at Der Kegel, which is nice even if it's in sketchy-as-gently caress Revaler Straße. They tend to set routes with a lot of feature use, which I'm less used to in the gym.

I'm nowhere near Berlin, but I just read a book review about the climbing scene there. Apparently there aren't too many rocks around, but the climbers of Berlin-Brandenburg dealt with that problem by setting up routes on some old buildings and such. So you could check that out.

Mahlertov Cocktail
Mar 1, 2010

I ate your Mahler avatar! Hahahaha!

pidan posted:

I'm nowhere near Berlin, but I just read a book review about the climbing scene there. Apparently there aren't too many rocks around, but the climbers of Berlin-Brandenburg dealt with that problem by setting up routes on some old buildings and such. So you could check that out.

Cool, thanks! Yeah I know of a couple of places like that. And I've heard there's some great climbing in Poland near the border so I might be going with a polish friend of mine sometime this summer .

guppy
Sep 21, 2004

sting like a byob
My gym just held a La Sportiva demo day. I was already in the market for an upgrade (coming from cheapo Evolv Defys) and tried on ~5 pairs of shoes: a pair whose name I don't know (mostly orange, low-midrange, looking at their website I think it was the Jeckyl), Miura VS, Solution, and both the velcro and lace versions of the Katana.

The probably-Jeckyl was very comfortable but didn't seem like enough of a performance improvement to be worth upgrading to. Couldn't get the Miura VS comfortable -- the downturn was fine, but I tried on a few sizes and couldn't find a pair that didn't pinch my toes too much. Solution was okay.

Ended up ordering the velcro Katana. Didn't like the toe as much on the lace-up one.

The demo day was really nice. It's single-vendor, of course, but my gym mostly carries La Sportiva anyway. Really good to be able to try on a lot of shoes, different sizes, climb a bunch of routes in them. I tried on every shoe but the Solution at least twice, some three times.

gamera009
Apr 7, 2005

Hey Boston climbing goons!

I'm going to be in town (in Billerica) for business and would love to do some bouldering Wednesday night. If anyone of you are game to meet up at a gym, or grab a beer let me know. Just shoot a PM over. I should be able to respond by the early afternoon.

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

gamera009 posted:

Hey Boston climbing goons!

I'm going to be in town (in Billerica) for business and would love to do some bouldering Wednesday night. If anyone of you are game to meet up at a gym, or grab a beer let me know. Just shoot a PM over. I should be able to respond by the early afternoon.

Alternatively when do you get back in town? Saturday is supposed to be sunny and 81 so climbing outside would be nice... :)

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gamera009
Apr 7, 2005

spwrozek posted:

Alternatively when do you get back in town? Saturday is supposed to be sunny and 81 so climbing outside would be nice... :)

Haha as soon as I get in town I am off to shelf road. :v:

Which is Friday afternoon.

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