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Tarnien
Jul 4, 2003
Champion of the World!!!

RabidWeasel posted:

Almost all of the routes at my gym have overhangs (only small ones on the grades I climb) and that's usually where I have issues with clipping for obvious reasons as you said. Other than that I don't really have noticable problems other than the fact that once I get pumped from a bad clip I spend the rest of the climb being sloppy.

You need endurance. Find a route that is a grade or two below your max, and do it many times in a row without resting in between. Even if it's on TR. Just keep going and don't stop until your body won't go any further. Then rest 2 minutes and do it again.

Building endurance sucks, because it's basically "Go be miserable for 2 hours." But it comes on pretty quickly, thankfully.

It's really difficult to build endurance on boulders or when you're falling multiple times on a climb. You need to be on the wall for 5-10+ minutes at a time.

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gamera009
Apr 7, 2005

Tarnien posted:

You need endurance. Find a route that is a grade or two below your max, and do it many times in a row without resting in between. Even if it's on TR. Just keep going and don't stop until your body won't go any further. Then rest 2 minutes and do it again.

Building endurance sucks, because it's basically "Go be miserable for 2 hours." But it comes on pretty quickly, thankfully.

It's really difficult to build endurance on boulders or when you're falling multiple times on a climb. You need to be on the wall for 5-10+ minutes at a time.

Treadmill is good for this. Or repeated traverses up and down as well as side to side.

ARC training is boring, but necessary.

Sharks Eat Bear
Dec 25, 2004

Still B.A.E posted:

E: in before that guy tells you to buy the Anderson brothers book
Hey! I resemble that statement! To be fair, just about everything you recommend is part of the bros' training plan -- it's just the programming/linear periodization that's "unique" to their training regimen. I mostly agree with what you said, for what it's worth.

OP if you're at all interested in structured/systematic training, check out the Rock Climber's Training Manual book, it's an amazing resource :)


From your description, it sounds like you're probably lacking most in power-endurance, which is basically the ability to hold on even when you're pumped out of your mind. Power-endurance is obviously a physical ability you can train, but I also think there's a HUGE mental component. It's not natural or easy to "ignore" your brain's desire to just let go when you're pumped, to really commit to trying that next move, and when you surprise yourself by sticking, trying the next move, etc.

As Still BAE suggested, 4x4s are a great way to start training PE. You will get more pumped than you could imagine, but you'll also be doing boulder problems that you KNOW you can do fairly easily when fresh, which IMO makes it easier to "commit" to doing that one extra move even when you're red-lining. Getting comfortable with that feeling will really help with the lead climbing issues, let alone with the physical gains you'll make in PE.

Some pure endurance training will also help, again both with the physical and mental components. As others have mentioned, you want to try to climb continuously for a LONG time (20+ mins), whether that's traversing, on a treadwall, or just up-and-down climbing routes. The idea is to never get INSANELY pumped, but to climb with a light-but-noticeable pump for as consistently as possible. In reality, you'll fluctuate between climbing on terrain that is just hard enough to get you too pumped and just too easy to let you recover a bit (but NEVER with a no-hands rest!), which is fine -- you just don't want to go too far in either direction. This will feel really hard at first, like probably impossible, but then you'll get more familiar with the moves/traverse/routes and you'll surprise yourself at how much easier it gets, quickly.

This is also a great time to practice resting or just hanging out on decent holds, especially with tricky stances. Try climbing til you feel maybe a little too pumped, find a hold that's good but not a jug, and then try to find a heel hook or some sort of stance that reduces the load on your arms and try just hanging out there for a bit, shaking arms, chalking up, back and forth, until you know you'll be too pumped to move on.

Especially since you're interested in leading, I think running back-to-backs or up-down-ups on lead is great practice. Pick a route you know well and can climb smoothly, but not one that is stupid easy. Lead up it, and reverse lead it, unclipping as you climb down. Then depending on how you're feeling, keep running laps like this. Obviously requires a patient partner :)

Overall, you're in a good place to be. Once you break through that plateau and realize just how much more you can push yourself when you're PAF (pumped as gently caress), doors really start opening! I totally disagree with the previous poster that said that training this stuff is no fun -- IMO most of the physical fun of climbing lies in fighting the POMP!!!

SeaborneClink
Aug 27, 2010

MAWP... MAWP!
Seattle goons, I'll be up from Washington's Boot for Sat/Sun, I'm looking for someone that would be down to climb at Vertical World, Stone Gardens or anywhere else really on Sunday.

SeaborneClink fucked around with this message at 04:43 on Oct 24, 2015

RabidWeasel
Aug 4, 2007

Cultures thrive on their myths and legends...and snuggles!
Thanks for all the advice, guys. I had a much better session on Thursday, the gym re set a couple of sections of wall which hadn't been touched for a while and I made myself on sight lead all the new routes - a couple of 5s to get in the mood and a feel for the route settings followed by 3 6as and a 6b, all routes clean first time with no beta which I was pretty happy about. They were mostly corner / chimney climbs with natural rest points so perhaps they weren't really working my 'weak points' but I think it did me a lot of good to realise that yes I can actually lead climb decently if I don't let myself get flustered.

I'm gonna do traverses until I want to kill myself tomorrow but I'm trying to look forward to it :)

Chris!
Dec 2, 2004

E

RabidWeasel posted:

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I had a much better session on Thursday, the gym re set a couple of sections of wall which hadn't been touched for a while and I made myself on sight lead all the new routes - a couple of 5s to get in the mood and a feel for the route settings followed by 3 6as and a 6b, all routes clean first time with no beta which I was pretty happy about. They were mostly corner / chimney climbs with natural rest points so perhaps they weren't really working my 'weak points' but I think it did me a lot of good to realise that yes I can actually lead climb decently if I don't let myself get flustered.

I'm gonna do traverses until I want to kill myself tomorrow but I'm trying to look forward to it :)

Great! Onsight leading 6b after 10 months or whatever is pretty good, nice job :)

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

It sounds like you went with good purpose. Lead, don't fall, and most important have fun! That is what it is all about.

Swan Oat
Oct 9, 2012

I was selected for my skill.
Does anyone have any suggestions for, like, shoulder strengthening exercises? I took a weird fall yesterday and twisted something in my shoulder; this is the third time I've done that this year. The injury is nothing major and I'll only be out of commission for like a week, but it's annoying. And since it keeps happening I assume there's some underlying issue. I have access to a full set of weights and stuff at my gym so go nuts on any recommendations.

Mahlertov Cocktail
Mar 1, 2010

I ate your Mahler avatar! Hahahaha!

spwrozek posted:

It sounds like you went with good purpose. Lead, don't fall, and most important have fun! That is what it is all about.

Yeah, to be honest I don't know why we all typed out so many words when we could've said "just go up" like a merry pack of assholes.

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Mahlertov Cocktail posted:

Yeah, to be honest I don't know why we all typed out so many words when we could've said "just go up" like a merry pack of assholes.

Especially considering I took a silly fall on a 5.9 today outside...

Mahlertov Cocktail
Mar 1, 2010

I ate your Mahler avatar! Hahahaha!

spwrozek posted:

Especially considering I took a silly fall on a 5.9 today outside...

My dude which direction were you going?

crazycello
Jul 22, 2009
Does anyone know what the coldest temperatures are that you can get out at without your fingers freezing if an area is a sun trap? I was out yesterday in ~5C weather at a sunny crag and it was fine other than the first climb of the day. I'm wondering how far I can push it.

Tarnien
Jul 4, 2003
Champion of the World!!!
The coldest I've done is about 25-30 (-3 or -4 celsius) in Bishop over the new years. It's not terrible as long as you're prepared. The initial warming up is the worst part. Make sure you have enough warm layers (long underwear, thick sweater, sweatshirt, and a good puffy). Invest in some really good gloves and socks. And when you're not climbing, walk around rather than sitting down and resting, and carry your shoes around with you inside your jacket. This will make it much more pleasant putting them back on. Those portable handwarmers are also pretty nice.

tortilla_chip
Jun 13, 2007

k-partite


Finally got the invite to Poptire. Utah > Colorado.

henne
May 9, 2009

by exmarx

Swan Oat posted:

Does anyone have any suggestions for, like, shoulder strengthening exercises? I took a weird fall yesterday and twisted something in my shoulder; this is the third time I've done that this year. The injury is nothing major and I'll only be out of commission for like a week, but it's annoying. And since it keeps happening I assume there's some underlying issue. I have access to a full set of weights and stuff at my gym so go nuts on any recommendations.

I like to do rotator cuff band exercises, esp the rhythmic rotation stuff. If it's easy you might want to chat with a good shoulder physical therapist/athletic trainer and see what they say. I got a lot out of an hour with a sports injury prevention doc, he looked at the imbalances and compensatory mechanisms in my shoulders and gave me a series of targeted exercises that reduced the number of low grade shoulder injuries I was getting from climbing + kayaking.

Nifty
Aug 31, 2004

Red Rock , NV is awesome.


Shut up and Climb


Potato Chips

Bud Manstrong
Dec 11, 2003

The Curse of the Flying Criosphinx
I'm going to be down a hand for the foreseeable future. Probably at least another three weeks. I'm doing one arm dead hangs and core work. Any other ideas?

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Bud Manstrong posted:

I'm going to be down a hand for the foreseeable future. Probably at least another three weeks. I'm doing one arm dead hangs and core work. Any other ideas?

Stop biking so much and climb more :)

Sharks Eat Bear
Dec 25, 2004

Nifty posted:

Red Rock , NV is awesome.


:agreed:

That's Sonic Youth wall, yeah? Trying to remember from the picture, is the climber on Sonic Youth? Agent Orange just to the left? Those are such amazing climbs, great place to escape crowds in my experience too, which is weird given how short the approach is.

Nifty
Aug 31, 2004

Sharks Eat Bear posted:

:agreed:

That's Sonic Youth wall, yeah? Trying to remember from the picture, is the climber on Sonic Youth? Agent Orange just to the left? Those are such amazing climbs, great place to escape crowds in my experience too, which is weird given how short the approach is.

Yes indeed, climber is on Sonic Youth. Super fun route, lots of interest moving and great rock

Cybor Tap
Jul 13, 2001

Hey all. I haven't checked in here in a while. I'll be moving to Colorado for work in the next month and I couldn't be more excited! Here's a shot from climbing up at Mt. Nemo in Burlington Ontario last weekend. The colors were in full force. What a great weekend!

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Cybor Tap posted:

Hey all. I haven't checked in here in a while. I'll be moving to Colorado for work in the next month and I couldn't be more excited! Here's a shot from climbing up at Mt. Nemo in Burlington Ontario last weekend. The colors were in full force. What a great weekend!



Where at in CO? All the other goons are lame and hardly climb but I do all the time.

If you are around for thanksgiving we are planning on going to shelf unless it is snowing like mad, with goons I think.

I am supposed to be at shelf tonight but things might prevent that. We will see.

Also if you are bringing a girl who climbs ropes my girl is looking for rope girls to rope with.

Cybor Tap
Jul 13, 2001

I'll be living in either Boulder or Denver. TBD. My new job starts in January but until then a friend's family has been gracious enough to open up their house to me while I get situated. They're in Colorado Springs... a bit out of the way, I know. But I plan on climbing my face off when I get to CO.

The lady and I split a while ago unfortunately. But I do have a nice group of climby friends out in CO who are related to my new job.

Lets make this happen.

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Good thing about the springs is you will be right be shelf in prime season! Only an hour drive. Killer. If we go for thanksgiving you will have to at least join us for a day.

After that ski season will probably mean only gym climbing for me though.

gamera009
Apr 7, 2005

Cybor Tap posted:

I'll be living in either Boulder or Denver. TBD. My new job starts in January but until then a friend's family has been gracious enough to open up their house to me while I get situated. They're in Colorado Springs... a bit out of the way, I know. But I plan on climbing my face off when I get to CO.

The lady and I split a while ago unfortunately. But I do have a nice group of climby friends out in CO who are related to my new job.

Lets make this happen.

Feel free to come set in the garage gym. Still working on it, but it's def climbable now.

Also, what's the new gig? Placing you in proximity of the spot?

Also, don't believe Spwrozek. We climb plenty. He just refuses to climb US.

Happiness Commando
Feb 1, 2002
$$ joy at gunpoint $$

spwrozek posted:

If you are around for thanksgiving we are planning on going to shelf unless it is snowing like mad, with goons I think.

Psshh. Everyone is going to be climbing around thanksgiving. The smart move is to go to Shelf the weekend of the 14th. If its still doable, we might do Devil's Head instead though.

Suicide Watch
Sep 8, 2009
Anyone climb at BKB is Somerville MA? I have a 10 pass that I need to use up and I don't mind climbing with new folks, my usual partners have been busy lately.

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Happiness Commando posted:

Psshh. Everyone is going to be climbing around thanksgiving. The smart move is to go to Shelf the weekend of the 14th. If its still doable, we might do Devil's Head instead though.

Despite it being the craggin classic we committed climbed all alone all day today. Not Too worried really.

Swan Oat
Oct 9, 2012

I was selected for my skill.
So I haven't really done anything new, hard or crimpy recently, but for the last few weeks the joint between the first and second knuckle of my middle finger has been a little bit sore. Nothing severe or really even noticeable unless I'm making a fist or something. But as I said, it hasn't gone away for a few weeks (but it hasn't gotten worse at least!) -- should I stop climbing for while? I really don't want to but I also don't want to make things worse, but I've only been climbing since February. Thanks!

jackchaos
Aug 6, 2008
Something from bishop for the weekend.


spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Awesome shots. I really should try to get photos sometime.

Happiness Commando
Feb 1, 2002
$$ joy at gunpoint $$

Got really annoyed at my belayer on Sunday, didnt talk to him about it :(

I took a take on the second to last bolt and he locked me off and sat down and looked off into the distance instead of paying attention to me. Granted, the roof obscured a fair bit of vision, but he just completely checked out. He didnt hear me yell to him so after two attempts at climbing with 6 inches of slack, I gave up and yelled to the ladies next to us to have him lower me.

Dissapointed in both of us.

Happiness Commando fucked around with this message at 07:00 on Nov 3, 2015

Chris!
Dec 2, 2004

E
Planning to go to Canada for 3 weeks next year, in early August, to the British Columbia area. It looks amazing online; especially Squamish. My girlfriend will be with me, we'll be doing a lot of hiking and a lot of climbing.

Anything I need to know before I book? I've mostly sport climbed before, but I'm aware that Squamish is mostly trad; I've done only a little trad, I guess a trip would be improved if I spend time early next year improving those skills.

Is it a good area to visit?

crazycello
Jul 22, 2009

Chris! posted:

Planning to go to Canada for 3 weeks next year, in early August, to the British Columbia area. It looks amazing online; especially Squamish. My girlfriend will be with me, we'll be doing a lot of hiking and a lot of climbing.

Anything I need to know before I book? I've mostly sport climbed before, but I'm aware that Squamish is mostly trad; I've done only a little trad, I guess a trip would be improved if I spend time early next year improving those skills.

Is it a good area to visit?

Though I don't have any experience with the area, the trad climbing at Squamish is world-class by all accounts. I've heard of good sport climbing in Cheakamus canyon, but I'd be interested to hear what someone who knows the area better has to say.

To plug my own area, early August is also primetime for climbing in the Bow Valley, with thousands of sport routes (and hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, etc.) incredibly accessible from the Canmore area.

tortilla_chip
Jun 13, 2007

k-partite

Had a good weekend, cleaned up an old project at the crag where I grew up. Clipping the chains on Girlymon.

tortilla_chip fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Nov 10, 2015

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Way to get all beast mode!

ploots
Mar 19, 2010
This morning I sent a boulder problem on one of the coolest features in the park. It took me a long time to unlock the first move, I've been putting in sessions on this once or twice a month since the middle of summer. Had my breakthrough with that issue on Friday and finished it today. I learned a lot from this problem, even though it's only three moves.

FiestaDePantalones
May 13, 2005

Kicked in the pants by TFLC
So I'm about to spend a week at the Red River Gorge, and my goal for the trip is to break through to leading 11. I've on sited plenty of 10+ at the New, just haven't gotten through 11 yet. Recommendations for routes/areas?

Nifty
Aug 31, 2004

Fun trip to Red Rock NV this weekend


Pork Chop, v2/3. Fun movement and standing up on the left foot to reach for the left side of the arete is committing. Boulder looks like a pork chop obviously


Jack of all Trades, a v5. My new project. Left hand two finger pocket is sick. The rail feature I'm pinching is surreal. Starts matched on the crimp on the bottom right, with little slab-ish feet. I did all the moves individually, and by the time I figured out the beta it was starting to rain. Psyched to get it next trip

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tortilla_chip
Jun 13, 2007

k-partite
Kalymnos is terrible. Do never go.

tortilla_chip fucked around with this message at 08:32 on Nov 18, 2015

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