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Rime
Nov 2, 2011

by Games Forum

El Marrow posted:

Wow. That's insane that he belayed you up instead of just walking off and saying "Nah not worth it, dude."

Meh, would still have had to recover all the cams somehow.

Sharks Eat Bear posted:

that sounds pretty hosed up

Yeah, everyone tells me to stop trying to bring back the Gaston. They're wrong, though.

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El Marrow
Jan 21, 2009

Everybody here is just as dead as you.

Rime posted:

Meh, would still have had to recover all the cams somehow.

Awww come on. You don't want to leave ~$500 in the wall for for someone else to stumble upon?

Mahlertov Cocktail
Mar 1, 2010

I ate your Mahler avatar! Hahahaha!
So my girlfriend and I are doing a roadtrip in the western US starting next Saturday and we'll be in several parks where we wanna climb. Any recommendations for single-pitch sport routes (we can't do multi or trad yet) in Arches, Canyonlands, or Yosemite? Also, how many quickdraws are probably necessary?

Meaty Ore
Dec 17, 2011

My God, it's full of cat pictures!

I managed to snag my first 5.10a onsight at the Red this past weekend. Pretty good slab; lots of thin, balance-y holds, and very sustained with no real crux move to speak of. I finally feel like I'm actually making progress in my outdoor skills after about a year of climbing.

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Meaty Ore posted:

I managed to snag my first 5.10a onsight at the Red this past weekend. Pretty good slab; lots of thin, balance-y holds, and very sustained with no real crux move to speak of. I finally feel like I'm actually making progress in my outdoor skills after about a year of climbing.

Nice job man. I am going to be down at the Red next weekend. I would like to hop on the nice looking corner to the left of that route.

Meaty Ore
Dec 17, 2011

My God, it's full of cat pictures!

spwrozek posted:

Nice job man. I am going to be down at the Red next weekend. I would like to hop on the nice looking corner to the left of that route.


Assuming you mean Memorial Day weekend, I'll be down there too. Not sure if we'll return to the same wall, but yeah, that is a nice-looking line. Though if you're looking to do lots of trad, I recommend trying some of the crags in the northern part of the gorge, which are very trad-heavy; some are even exclusively trad.

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Meaty Ore posted:

Assuming you mean Memorial Day weekend, I'll be down there too. Not sure if we'll return to the same wall, but yeah, that is a nice-looking line. Though if you're looking to do lots of trad, I recommend trying some of the crags in the northern part of the gorge, which are very trad-heavy; some are even exclusively trad.

Yeah, unfortunately I am the only trad climber in my group so we always end up in the south. I will bring a light rack and hop on a few routes if there is something around (that is what I did last year at least).

And yeah I will be down there over memorial day.

Ravenfood
Nov 4, 2011
So I'm still there, but I'm at the New for the first time ever and goddaaaamn is it great.

e: I had to bail on my first outdoor 5.10a (The Good Book) about halfway up since I was really pumped by the time I'd gotten on it, which I regret. The three routes I really wanted to hit there (Geisha Girl, Mrs Fields' Follies, and Crescendo) were packed full of people and we couldn't wait around, so I'll definitely be coming back. And since so many routes in the area are just barely outside of my reach right now, I'm incredibly motivated to keep practicing and head back later. Great experience.

Ravenfood fucked around with this message at 19:18 on May 21, 2017

Meaty Ore
Dec 17, 2011

My God, it's full of cat pictures!

So, shoechat:

I'm looking to replace my Nagos, which were my first pair of shoes. I was dumb and bought them in my street shoe size, and naturally my footwork in them is quite sloppy. I also have a pair of Scarpa Vapors, which I intended to use just for more aggressive climbing. On the one hand, I'm thinking of either Moccasyms or Scarpa Force V's; I've tried on both and they seem to fit pretty well; on the other, the Vapors have made pretty good all-around shoes, and I'm thinking about continuing to use them as such and getting some Instincts as my "aggressive" pair, since REI has a sale on Scarpa shoes going on at the moment. Thoughts?

El Marrow
Jan 21, 2009

Everybody here is just as dead as you.

Meaty Ore posted:

So, shoechat:

I'm looking to replace my Nagos, which were my first pair of shoes. I was dumb and bought them in my street shoe size, and naturally my footwork in them is quite sloppy. I also have a pair of Scarpa Vapors, which I intended to use just for more aggressive climbing. On the one hand, I'm thinking of either Moccasyms or Scarpa Force V's; I've tried on both and they seem to fit pretty well; on the other, the Vapors have made pretty good all-around shoes, and I'm thinking about continuing to use them as such and getting some Instincts as my "aggressive" pair, since REI has a sale on Scarpa shoes going on at the moment. Thoughts?

Dude you should absolutely get the Moccasyms. I've had like 5 pairs of those shoes, and I'm not even close to tired of them. They're super comfortable and the rubber is on point.

Blog Free or Die
Apr 30, 2005

FOR THE MOTHERLAND
I like Moccasyms as well, but be aware when fitting that they'll stretch a whole bunch.

Business of Ferrets
Mar 2, 2008

Good to see that everything is back to normal.

whodatwhere posted:

I have a sort of technical question, my labmate and I were going over various toprope setups. The way that I have typically done it in the past(trees are common for TR anchors here) is with static line- backed up fig-8 on one leg and webbing around second tree with a backed up clove hitch on a locker joining the webbing and static line. But, assuming you have enough static rope, is there any reason you can't do another fig-8 and just clove hitch a locker on that loop? So the same line. The clove hitch is just for easy adjusting for the master point. Hopefully my lovely mspaint diagram can clear up what I'm asking. The issue I see is that the carabiner is essentially going to be pulling and weighting the knot, maybe in theory rolling the figure-8? Maybe a bowline/EDK are better for that approach, or that approach is just no good because of the carabiner pulling on the knot to begin with?
Thanks

vs


Sorry I'm late to this, but if the blue is static line (11mm would be ideal) and you have enough, why not just do double bowline on first tree and double bowline-on-a-bight on the second? Then a BHK master point. Cleaner, uses less gear, and much stronger than webbing.

It's also the first half of a 3-in-1 anchor, which is especially useful when doing a top-managed site, as it provides a safety tether and both high and low master points. (The 3-in-1 is covered in the Single Pitch Instructor manual but I couldn't find a good online example, sorry.)

Maha
Dec 29, 2006
sapere aude
So, my local gym's rental shoes are very beat up:



Are these even functional still? They feel pretty floppy. I'm a beginner, but are they bad enough to where it'd be worth it to buy my own pair and not have to unlearn bad habits later?

ploots
Mar 19, 2010
Your gym rents solutions? :stare:

Meaty Ore
Dec 17, 2011

My God, it's full of cat pictures!

Electoral Surgery posted:

Your gym rents solutions? :stare:

One of the gyms in Indianapolis uses Shamans as their rentals, so I can see it, I guess. :shrug:

Maha posted:

So, my local gym's rental shoes are very beat up:



Are these even functional still? They feel pretty floppy. I'm a beginner, but are they bad enough to where it'd be worth it to buy my own pair and not have to unlearn bad habits later?

I've never used that particular model of shoe myself, but climbing shoes can take quite a beating before they need to be replaced. From the picture you posted, it looks like all the seams on the shoes are intact, and the toes still look like they have their proper shape. If they feel "floppy" as you say, they may be too large for your feet. I've heard that for some models of shoe, you may need to go down one and a half to two sizes from your street size for a proper fit, especially for gym rentals that see a lot of use and may have stretched quite a bit. Bear in mind, those shoes you're so unsure about, La Sportiva Solutions, are high-end, aggressive shoes designed to make certain moves on steep and overhung routes easier to do. If you are a beginner and intend to buy your own shoes, I would probably recommend a relatively flat-soled shoe to learn with.

Rime
Nov 2, 2011

by Games Forum
Those look fine, heck the soles even look like they've been redone recently based on the hard edges. Just go down a couple sizes and learn to love the pain.

Maha
Dec 29, 2006
sapere aude
All right, good to hear. I'll trust the gym's judgment, then!

Meaty Ore
Dec 17, 2011

My God, it's full of cat pictures!

On a more personal note:

Onsighted A Brief History of Climb (5.10b) over the weekend. Other than that, it was mostly 8's, 9's, a few other 10a's, and gumbying around on some 12's, though a couple of people in our group managed to finish Snozzberries between them.

My Moccasyms arrived in the mail the other day; I tried them out at the local YMCA wall, and they're pretty great. Managed to snag a few more of the 5.10d's I've been working on there; the rubber is very grippy and I felt a lot more confident smearing in them than I did in either my Vapors or Nagos.

crazycello
Jul 22, 2009

Maha posted:

All right, good to hear. I'll trust the gym's judgment, then!

They might be old, but those are also super high end shoes that cost double what most gyms spend on rentals.

On another note, Yangshuo is a pretty spectacular place to climb with cheap accommodations, food, and most crags accessible by less than thirty minute bike. I climbed at ten different crags over two weeks and wish I had spent a month there. Like most tropical limestone, the popular crags are polished up, but there's tons of new development and crags off the beaten path as well. Would highly recommend.

crazycello fucked around with this message at 04:38 on Jun 2, 2017

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Meaty Ore posted:

On a more personal note:

Onsighted A Brief History of Climb (5.10b) over the weekend.

I was at the gallery on Sunday. Couldn't get on that climb due to the conga line of people but ooh well, it looked good. I did climb Murano a couple routes down and man was that spicy, wet bottom to good dry rock to soaking wet slab finish. I am not sure how I kept the onsight together. The King Lives On was another fine 10 right there. I wanted to get on Johnny Be Good but there was people just TRing the poo poo out of it and getting like 15' off the deck. Oh well.

I think my best effort was on Same Way where I unfortunately misread the crux sequence and pitched off just before the jug at the end of it.

I think the hardest thing I got on was Night Moves. I fell at the crux 6 times trying to figure it out on lead. I ended up just sticking the next bolt and then figured it out next go on TR. Super good one though.

I need to figure out my training for my trip back in the fall though, the pump clock was constantly burning for me, even on relatively easy 10c's near the end of a day of climbing.

Meaty Ore
Dec 17, 2011

My God, it's full of cat pictures!

spwrozek posted:

I was at the gallery on Sunday. Couldn't get on that climb due to the conga line of people but ooh well, it looked good. I did climb Murano a couple routes down and man was that spicy, wet bottom to good dry rock to soaking wet slab finish. I am not sure how I kept the onsight together. The King Lives On was another fine 10 right there. I wanted to get on Johnny Be Good but there was people just TRing the poo poo out of it and getting like 15' off the deck. Oh well.

I think my best effort was on Same Way where I unfortunately misread the crux sequence and pitched off just before the jug at the end of it.

I think the hardest thing I got on was Night Moves. I fell at the crux 6 times trying to figure it out on lead. I ended up just sticking the next bolt and then figured it out next go on TR. Super good one though.

I need to figure out my training for my trip back in the fall though, the pump clock was constantly burning for me, even on relatively easy 10c's near the end of a day of climbing.

That was the same day we were there. If you saw a skinny guy with brown hair, a bright pink tank top and patterned blue shorts toting around his gear in a duffel bag, that was me. We also did Murano; I don't remember if the leader got it clean, but yeah, that was pretty hairy.

Niyqor
Dec 1, 2003

Paid for by the meat council of America
If you ever go back to the gallery, I'd highly recommend The Preacher's Daughter. I'm pretty sure this was the highlight of the day I spent at The Gallery early in February.

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Meaty Ore posted:

That was the same day we were there. If you saw a skinny guy with brown hair, a bright pink tank top and patterned blue shorts toting around his gear in a duffel bag, that was me. We also did Murano; I don't remember if the leader got it clean, but yeah, that was pretty hairy.

Ha, right on. Probably saw you, we were there in the morning and then I moved over to Volunteer Wall and climbed with only 1 other person while the rest of my group did who knows what. The people who TR Murano busted to the left (which is honestly the natural line).

Obviously it was you all Hogging the ROUTE! haha. :)

We also had a rope on that 8 and some guy was like "how much longer are you going to be?" I didn't say anything but I wanted to tell him to gently caress off and get there earlier. The rope was never sitting there we just had 7 or 8 people who wanted to give it a go (looked good but I skipped it). It was annoying though since we were constantly climbing. Got to love busy weekends.

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Anybody been to Cirque of the Towers in the winds? We are planning a trip.

Rime
Nov 2, 2011

by Games Forum

spwrozek posted:

Ha, right on. Probably saw you, we were there in the morning and then I moved over to Volunteer Wall and climbed with only 1 other person while the rest of my group did who knows what. The people who TR Murano busted to the left (which is honestly the natural line).

Obviously it was you all Hogging the ROUTE! haha. :)

We also had a rope on that 8 and some guy was like "how much longer are you going to be?" I didn't say anything but I wanted to tell him to gently caress off and get there earlier. The rope was never sitting there we just had 7 or 8 people who wanted to give it a go (looked good but I skipped it). It was annoying though since we were constantly climbing. Got to love busy weekends.

Hogging up one route with 8 people is pretty rude, asking how long a group is going to be lapping it is not rude. This is crag etiquette 101.

Telling someone, or even considering telling them, to "gently caress off and get there earlier" while you're clogging up a line is the kind of toxic buffoonery which I hate about climbing these days.

:getout:

Rime fucked around with this message at 00:37 on Jun 3, 2017

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

So 8 people leading the route in a row in one group is different from 4 groups of 2 doing the same thing how? They had a group of 6 people as well. It is not like the same person was just hanging and TRing the route working it for 4 hours.

E:If you go to a place and can only get on 1 route there and people are in line go somewhere else.

E2: I mean you never have tried to go climb somehwere and the crag was crowded and you went somewhere else or got on a different multipitch climb.

spwrozek fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Jun 3, 2017

crazycello
Jul 22, 2009
It's unavoidable if everyone feels the need to do the route but eight people lining up to climb 5.8 at a sport crag baffles me.

gamera009
Apr 7, 2005

Goon climbing is best climbing. Also, after-climb beer flights.


Bud Manstrong
Dec 11, 2003

The Curse of the Flying Criosphinx
Y'all see any snakes? Those boulders are snakey as all hell.

Still B.A.E
Mar 24, 2012

Honnold soloed Freerider on El Cap. Possibly the raddest (I use that word to distinguish it from something more physically groundbreaking) climbing achievement of all time.

Jack's Flow
Jun 6, 2003

Life, friends, is boring

Still B.A.E posted:

Honnold soloed Freerider on El Cap. Possibly the raddest (I use that word to distinguish it from something more physically groundbreaking) climbing achievement of all time.

Yeah, my mind is completely blown. Also, I am glad he's alive. Losing Steck and Honnold back-to-back would have been devastating.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/athletes/alex-honnold/most-dangerous-free-solo-climb-yosemite-national-park-el-capitan/

surivdaoreht
Jan 22, 2009

My fiance and our daughter recently took up climbing at a local gym. We did their trial (2 weeks), and it ended yesterday. We're looking to sign up for their family rate but we need to buy shoes. I figured online is my best bet for price, but will the shoe sizes we were wearing at the gym correlate with what I'm looking at online? I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to drive 45 minutes to an actual store for trying them on in person.

Baronash
Feb 29, 2012

So what do you want to be called?

surivdaoreht posted:

I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to drive 45 minutes to an actual store for trying them on in person.
Yes. Climbing shoe sizes aren't consistent across manufacturers and there is more that goes into a good fit than just the size. I bought my shoes online, my SO bought her pair in a store, and all around I'd say she had a much better experience and a better fitting shoe.

Rime
Nov 2, 2011

by Games Forum
Yeah, and don't be afraid to try womens/mens shoes as well. I wear womens Mythos because they fit me like a glove, whereas the mens were both painful and way too baggy in places.

Ravenfood
Nov 4, 2011
Even within manufacturers there can be huge variation. Absolutely try on shoes or be prepared to buy and return a ton of them.

gamera009
Apr 7, 2005

Bud Manstrong posted:

Y'all see any snakes? Those boulders are snakey as all hell.

No. No snakes.

Eldo rock eels were all over the place though.

stoicheian
Aug 10, 2007
A lot of gyms will give you member discounts that are good deals. I'd ask at your new gym.

Syncopated
Oct 21, 2010
I mean, if you go with the same model and size you use at the gym it might be worth saving a few bucks on your first pair of shoes. They'll be tight at first probably but other than that I don't see any problem.

Borachon
Jun 15, 2011

Whiskey Powered

stoicheian posted:

A lot of gyms will give you member discounts that are good deals. I'd ask at your new gym.

If there's an REI in your area, they also carry climbing shoes, some places have small walls to try them on, and the member discount is pretty solid. I tried to purchase my first pair on Amazon, but ended up returning them, trying shoes at both my local gym and REI, and buying some Mocasyms from REI.

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canis minor
May 4, 2011

Also - you can generally find quite a good deals online, so, if you can, find the shoes that fit you and look around on the net. I've bought mine with £80 discount, and that was on top of my gym's 10% off. I don't know for US, but Bergfreunde.de was where I've purchased mine (UK, but they deliver through Europe)

Also - don't believe the measurements the companies put on the websites, saying to take 2 or 4 off your street size - try the shoe on (i've had to send my shoes back twice - good thing the shipping was free)

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