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Sigmund Fraud posted:I'm going to Costa Blanca at the end of the week for about 10 days. Anyone been there and have experience of the area? We're gonna be staying not too far from the crag Sella so the plan is to climb there a bunch. Other than that we're psyched to climb on Peñón de Ifach. I'm unsure whether I should bother bringing the trad rack. And how much of it. The orange house? Sella is nice and has different aspects depending on whether it's hot or cold. Further up into the hills at Guadalest is really cool climbing but might be a bit cold this time of year. The same applies for Guadalarat which has been developed more recently and is meant to be nice. The original route on the Peñón has been polished to a mirror shine (so I've heard- never made it that far North) but some of the other stuff is meant to be nice. Definitely have a look at Perle and Magical Mystery Tour. The latter needs a few cams and has some weird bolt-alternatives that you only find in this area. It's a metal sleeve in a bolt hole with a spring inside and a crimped end. You push in a small wire against the spring and then rotate it so it locks in place against the crimped bit. Or it did about 5 years ago. Might have been re-bolted since. The rockfax guide is maybe a bit out of date now but it'll tells you where you'll need trad gear to cover sparse bolting. Most of it is really friendly around Sella though.
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Nov 16, 2021 19:39
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Niyqor posted:I'm thinking about squeezing in a short trip around New Years somewhere, kind of assuming in the US but I suppose that doesn't have to be since it would need to be a flight anyways. I climbed Red Rock Canyon for the first time about a month ago and really enjoyed it, loads of climbing all over the place. The proximity to Vegas means services are readily available and access is easy, although entry to the park is on a quota system for the foreseeable future. Also the sandstone is fantastic to climb. January is also prime season for Joshua Tree, but it’s a little more out of the way for travelers. I’m becoming less of a fan of the granite in the park as I spend more and more time climbing other places. That said - it’s an iconic destination with tons of classics. Anza Borrego fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Nov 19, 2021 |
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Nov 19, 2021 04:06
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Started bouldering outside this year instead of sport climbing and got my first V5 on a pretty fun boulder. https://www.instagram.com/tv/CWlavqKBHPl/ Still in a holding pattern posting stuff on Mountain Project. You're not allowed to go off trail at all at the place we're climbing, and all the climbing is of course off the trails. The developer says he talked to the rangers and they're cool with people climbing, but also the place is basically completely empty whenever we go and I've never personally seen a ranger to ask one way or the other. We did see a bunch of people with horses/trailers there one weekend, but we were the only cars in the parking lot this Sunday. My friend also got a nice picture of me crimping on a rock, with bonus dog. 
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Nov 22, 2021 17:42
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As of today my county has reinstituted a mask mandate for public indoor venues  gently caress antivax morons, I do not want to go back to climbing with a mask ugh
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Nov 23, 2021 14:26
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It's really not a big deal? I've worn a mask since I started going back in February, sometimes I'm the only one with a mask on, sometimes everyone else also has masks on, but it's never affected my ability to do anything in the gym. They're annoying to run in, but bouldering isn't exactly running.
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Nov 23, 2021 15:01
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I definitely found it impacts my lower peripheral vision and makes it harder to see my feet. And if you're top roping and the rope hits you in the face and moves it around.
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Nov 23, 2021 15:03
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M. Night Skymall posted:Started bouldering outside this year instead of sport climbing and got my first V5 on a pretty fun boulder. Good job man, that looks like a really fun climb. Are the holds pretty good because the body positions don't look easy. So sad that outdoor climbing season is over here. Indoor only for the next 6 months or so  M. Night Skymall posted:It's really not a big deal? I've worn a mask since I started going back in February, sometimes I'm the only one with a mask on, sometimes everyone else also has masks on, but it's never affected my ability to do anything in the gym. They're annoying to run in, but bouldering isn't exactly running. Add my vote to that. Masks have been mandatory for pretty much any indoor activity around here for over a year and I don't really care. Sure I'd prefer to climb without a mask, but it's really not that big of a deal. The only time I found them really annoying is during the summer in the old school gym with no air conditionning or ventilation whatsoever. At 35+ celsius indoor with 100% humidity it was getting a bit hard to breathe with a mask on, but other than that it's only a minor inconvenience. The short period where they only allowed liquid chalk was pure hell though.
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Nov 23, 2021 17:46
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M. Night Skymall posted:It's really not a big deal? I've worn a mask since I started going back in February, sometimes I'm the only one with a mask on, sometimes everyone else also has masks on, but it's never affected my ability to do anything in the gym. They're annoying to run in, but bouldering isn't exactly running. Bouldering it isn't too bad, lead climbing I really dislike it (so I have only been bouldering). I did laugh the first time I tried to put the rope in my mouth on a high clip though...old habits die hard. I will do the traverse wall and it can be a bit difficult to beath sometimes. I just walk outside and take it off for a bit if needed though. That said, I am vaxxed and have my booster, looking at the hospitalization risk my bike ride to the gym is 3X more dangerous. If I got to wear a mask though... I will just do it since it really takes no effort at all.
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Nov 23, 2021 19:59
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KingColliwog posted:Good job man, that looks like a really fun climb. Are the holds pretty good because the body positions don't look easy. Our season is Oct-April or so, aside from freak snowstorms or something. Kinda starts to rain in April and by the time it stops it's hot as poo poo. I climb sometimes in the summer, but it is rough. spwrozek posted:Bouldering it isn't too bad, lead climbing I really dislike it (so I have only been bouldering). I did laugh the first time I tried to put the rope in my mouth on a high clip though...old habits die hard. I will do the traverse wall and it can be a bit difficult to beath sometimes. I just walk outside and take it off for a bit if needed though.
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Nov 23, 2021 22:52
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M. Night Skymall posted:The holds are pretty bad in isolation, but you can compress on them so it's fine, the crux is definitely getting the first 2 holds and then walking into the heel, after that it's all good holds just a little awkward. The FA's beta is actually to bump your left hand to where my heel is and not do any of that weird body position/heel/toe stuff at all and just squeeze both sides until you're at the top. I could not do that. I think it's a height thing, but I'm also not great at compression relatively. Really cool beta, looks like my kind of problem. Toe hooks and heel hooks are the best. Here the season is horrible. We have like 2 ok months in spring and 2 great months in autumn (if there's not too much rain). Summer is super humid but we climb anyway because winter is almost 6 months of extreme cold and snow.
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Nov 23, 2021 23:11
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KingColliwog posted:The short period where they only allowed liquid chalk was pure hell though. my gym is liquid chalk and masks on and its great and i hope the first one never goes away
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Nov 24, 2021 02:46
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Verviticus posted:my gym is liquid chalk and masks on and its great and i hope the first one never goes away Yeah having liquid chalk dispensers everywhere has been great.
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Nov 24, 2021 02:55
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What if you need to chalk up mid route?
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Nov 24, 2021 05:36
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Don't the holds become gross in a weird way? When we were liquid chalk only the holds would become ridiculously slippery and brushing wasn't enough to get it better. Problems with sloppers were easily 2 grades harder 2 weeks after they were set. I'm not sure what about liquid chalk caused this, but it was really terrible
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Nov 24, 2021 13:20
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KingColliwog posted:Don't the holds become gross in a weird way? When we were liquid chalk only the holds would become ridiculously slippery and brushing wasn't enough to get it better. Problems with sloppers were easily 2 grades harder 2 weeks after they were set. I'm not sure what about liquid chalk caused this, but it was really terrible One of the ingredients in some brands is causing the problem
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Nov 24, 2021 13:55
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Liquid chalk is not nearly as brutal on my skin as powdered stuff, so I like it good enough
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Nov 24, 2021 20:00
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Apart from doing antagonist exercises like bench press to keep healthy, are there specific exercises which help for climbing? Obvi core I assume, but like for forearms etc?
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Nov 25, 2021 04:15
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One that I was shown a long time ago is hold a broomstick in front of you and roll it forward hand by hand, like actually rotate it forward many turns. Then roll it backward a million times too. Don't know for sure how effective it is but it certainly tires the hell out of my forearms. Anyone know this one? I'm curious to know if it's known / effective or if it's some weird thing my friend made up.
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Nov 25, 2021 05:27
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alnilam posted:One that I was shown a long time ago is hold a broomstick in front of you and roll it forward hand by hand, like actually rotate it forward many turns. Then roll it backward a million times too. Don't know for sure how effective it is but it certainly tires the hell out of my forearms. Anyone know this one? I'm curious to know if it's known / effective or if it's some weird thing my friend made up. It's certainly a thing. People use it for prehab/rehab stuff I think, I've never tried it. tildes posted:Apart from doing antagonist exercises like bench press to keep healthy, are there specific exercises which help for climbing? Obvi core I assume, but like for forearms etc? Generally if your goal is to get better at climbing, there's nothing that will help you more than climbing unless you're pretty advanced as far as climbing specific strength goes. Most things like hangboarding will just hurt your recovery and prevent you from having quality climbing sessions. I do a lot of mobility work/stretching off the wall, and some leg stuff. Core can be useful, but steep climbing can also work your core and I've never found my core to be so weak it's a problem.
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Nov 25, 2021 05:46
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In my own experience a little bit of core and yoga or stretching exercises is what gives me most in return. I don't think I've ever done more than that, except climb. For reference, I climb regularly around 7a/5.11-12. Whenever I've had good progress is whenever I've climbed a lot, like 4-5 times a week. Also, if you wanna progress, climb harder. Try stuff that's one or two grades above what you can flash or onsight.
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Nov 25, 2021 08:43
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Ah good call re: yoga/stretching, my flexibility definitely could be better. Especially being tall there are some routes where it’s just hard to get to footholds etc. I suppose it is hard to imagine a workout which helps climbing but doesn’t slow recovery even more — with my current climbing schedule I’m already pushed the time between sessions about as low as it’ll go. Maybe will keep forearm things in the back pocket then if I hit a stretch where I can’t climb for some reason.
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Nov 25, 2021 08:49
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bvj191jgl7bBsqF5m posted:Liquid chalk is not nearly as brutal on my skin as powdered stuff, so I like it good enough are you back to climbing M. Night Skymall posted:Generally if your goal is to get better at climbing, there's nothing that will help you more than climbing unless you're pretty advanced as far as climbing specific strength goes. Most things like hangboarding will just hurt your recovery and prevent you from having quality climbing sessions. is there anything that actually suggests this other than anecdotes edit: like specificity is important in any athletic discipline (ie: climbing makes you better at climbing) but i feel like tendon hypertrophy is going to happen faster if they are actively/intentionally trained and i feel like finger work capacity is going to scale with that more than any other attribute considering their nature. id also be surprised if it were thoroughly studied considering youd need to compare new climbers over a period of like 6 months Verviticus fucked around with this message at 09:16 on Nov 25, 2021 |
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Nov 25, 2021 08:50
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Verviticus posted:is there anything that actually suggests this other than anecdotes Yeah I think the "just climb" mentality is a bit excessive sometimes. Of course the vast majority of your time should be spent climbing, but there's a reason every single competitive sport use weightlifting and such in conjunction with doing the actual sport. Even sports which are at least as complex technically like martial arts. That said it's easy to do too much training and end up cutting time on the wall or hampering recovery. Personally, training made a massive difference. My first round of hangboard changed everything for me. But I had an extreme weakness (had to remove half my bodyweight to hang on a 20mm edge). I currently do very little hangboard though, only 5 to 8 reps of 7/53 hangs during my strength/power sessions (1 or 2 times a week). Weighted pull-ups and explosive pull-ups also feel like they make a difference. Also working.toward a front lever and doing scapular pull-ups really feel like they help with my shoulders. That training made me able to train much much harder on the wall. Also, without a certain base layer of strength there's plenty of technical things you simply cannot do. I'm also 36, which means gains don't come as easily as they once did. A 20 years old can probably get away with less supplementary training. KingColliwog fucked around with this message at 16:20 on Nov 25, 2021 |
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Nov 25, 2021 12:48
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I mean, it all depends on the level you're at and your own ambitions but I'm fairly convinced that if you're an "everyday" climber you don't need much else than just climbing. It could also be that I often encounter this question from people that are looking for some miracle-method or some kind of short cut. In my opinion it will help you become fitter but not necessarily help with the climbing. That's the way I percieve it anyway. I just think if you want to get better at something then do that instead of finding some roundabout and convoluted "trick". beat9 fucked around with this message at 13:13 on Nov 25, 2021 |
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Nov 25, 2021 12:59
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Verviticus posted:is there anything that actually suggests this other than anecdotes I think training is important, I certainly train outside of just climbing. I just don't think it's the answer for someone who's new enough to climbing they're looking to improve their "forearms." I think it's mostly about focusing on where you're weak, and when you start out 100% where you're weak is in your skill at climbing, and the more you work climbing specific muscles off the wall, the less energy you'll be able to spend on skill development. Once you've been climbing enough to identify weaknesses then targeting those on or off the wall can be more important than "just climb." I also think how realistic just climbing is has changed a lot in the last 5 years with the advent of system boards. Hard system board days can largely replace hangboarding (and definitely campus boarding) in ways that "try to climb problems at your gym that have holds you're bad at it" could not. I wish I'd had some kind of board so I wouldn't have had to deal with the terrible/infrequent setting 10 years ago. KingColliwog posted:That training made me able to train much much harder on the wall. Also, without a certain base layer of strength there's plenty of technical things you simply cannot do. I'm also 36, which means gains don't come as easily as they once did. A 20 years old can probably get away with less supplementary training. Working powerful/dynamic system board problems has helped me way more than training weighted pull-ups did, but it just depends, having stuff you can definitively measure improvement on can be nice if you feel stuck in a plateau or whatever. I turned 40 this year, and at least for me the main difference is I have to really work at mobility instead of just being like "Oh, I've always been flexible." It's also way easier to dig giant recovery holes, but I'm more disciplined about not doing that so it evens out.
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Nov 25, 2021 15:43
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Targeted training can be very helpful, but frankly lots of people are really bad at diagnosing their own weaknesses and understanding what's holding them back. Climbing is primarily a skill sport for the vast majority of its progression, so spending as much time on the wall as possible will usually give you the most gain - though having a high level of general fitness can't hurt as long as it's not detracting from your specific climbing improvement Before you get too invested in a training plan, it's worth asking yourself what your goal is. For example, something like "My goal this season is to sport climb a local overhung 40 move route with monos" and then work from there to understand if you need to invest in training things like power endurance, specific kinds of finger strength, or maybe just work on your mental game, etc. For the purposes of the original ask, there's lots of general exercise that may be helpful for climbing, but before starting with those, ask yourself if you are actively trying to push past your limits on the wall. I found my climbing improved drastically once I started taking my attitude toward how I spent my climbing days much more seriously, without any extra training. Just being more focused and present with a learning mindset helped me improve very quickly.
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Nov 25, 2021 16:53
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Deadlifts are cool and good and dont require racks or benches
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Nov 25, 2021 17:06
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For some additional context: I’m lifting weights 3/week as is for general health reasons, so I was mostly curious if there are eg one or two lifts/accessories I can tack on to that which would be useful. Not really imagining I’d start doing super intense climbing specific training, though I really should start doing yoga anyway for general flexibility. Idk if that changes anyone’s thoughts. Has been interesting reading! Also, when y’all are talking about weighted pull ups or system boards or hangboards, what level of climbing were you at when you started doing this? I imagine probably y’all were at a higher level than I am (v5s are pretty much my limit atm)?
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Nov 26, 2021 10:22
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I only just started using a Beastmaster for finger strength and I climb around 6c/7a (5.11-12 I think in us grade). Don't know how that translates to v-grade. I I would say that it really helps, in my experience. Also I agree with everything else that's been said 😄
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Nov 26, 2021 11:43
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I've been feeling like adding some kind of weight training / hang boarding would help me out after plateauing for a while, but I've started to teeter back to "No I have plenty of strength, my technique just sucks" lately 
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Nov 26, 2021 12:31
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My gym was hosting the Canadian Nationals today. Setting was mostly cool and seeing the best in the country on your home gym is pretty cool. Much easier to guess how hard moves probably are and such. Also a girl I often talk to at the gym made it to semi-finals and I didn't know she competed so that was pretty cool. climbing escalade canada is the youtube channel if anyone is interested
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Nov 28, 2021 23:34
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How was the crowd for that^? Seems like that'd be a blast to watch. My gym held a competition of sorts back in 2019, I guess it must've been, for some of the better local climbers and that was fun but certainly not "national team" tier still a really fun environment though soaking up the crowd energy and everything. Last night my gym held some fund raiser for a nonprofit that was basically a race of sorts. Teams of 4 climbers just do as many climbs as they can within 20 minutes and whoever gets the most points wins. So a 5.9 is 9 points, a 5.10 is 10 points etc. My partner and I put up 20 laps on a 5.9 in 20 minutes which we were pretty stoked with, our other 2 teammates did a little bit less because they decided to climb multiple different routes instead of just blast 1 as many times as possible. The team who climbed after us managed to 29 laps on the same 5.9 we were climbing though which was loving crazy to watch. I know some people who like to just do laps on the autobelay like that, but it was never really something I could get into. But making it a competition and having a set timer and doing it with friends made it a lot of fun, might have to make it a more regular occurrence.
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Dec 1, 2021 18:11
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Sab669 posted:How was the crowd for that^? Seems like that'd be a blast to watch. I've attended both a USA climbing nationals bouldering and sport comp. I thought it was a ton of fun and would do it again. Speed climbing in person is so fast. Crowd during both was pretty good. Lots of cheering. It was a good time. For both, I could see there being some benefit in bringing some binoculars so you could get a close up view if some of the holds. The sport comp was also neat because the finals routes and some of the semi-final routes stayed up so I was able to give them a shot the next day. I couldn't even start the men's final problem. The first move was way harder than I could climb at the time and there wasn't a good way if skipping it. The women's I was able to get to the first bolt but that is where it started to be hard. I hadn't bothered tying in as I didn't expect to get that far but I don't think I would have made it much further.
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Dec 1, 2021 22:15
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beat9 posted:I was there around three years ago with my girlfriend. We climbed at Sella, Penon de Ifach and a bunch of other places that I can't remember. Only did sport though. I remember Sella having super smooth and polished rock and Penon having some really old and sketchy bolts and everywhere the bolts were really far apart. Like you'd climb 15m on maybe three or four bolt, then you were expected to do a traverse for maybe 5m sideways and 3 up, coming really close to groundfall potential. Just came back from Costa Blanca after 10 days there. Se stayed at the climber hostel Orange House (can recommend!) Climbed at Sierra de Toix where we did the amazing Perle 6a+. 60 metre abseil into a seacliff cave and then 3 pitches to climb back out through a hole. Spent two days at Penon de Ifach where we did Costa Blanca 6c+ and El Navegante 7a, 8 pitches each with the crux pitches at the end. What an awesome feeling to climb steep and exposed 250 meters above the Med. The start pitches were mixed/trad and polished so a bit spicy without bringing pro but it'd be too much of a hassle to climb the entire thing with a rack! We thought we smashed the routes, clean onsight except for second go at each of the crux pitches, swapping leads without any big pause except for a short lunch. The Rockfax guide book says that an efficient team can climb the Penon in 3 hrs. We took 4.5 hrs per route. Have no idea how to shave off 90 mins from each. I even pissed while lead belaying! Psyched to return and try a couple of the harder ones in some future vacation. Had plans to climb a couple trad multipitches at Echo Valley and Sella/Rosalia but it was a bit too windy and cold so we stuck to cragging. Brought a double rack but didn't place a single piece! Still cragged in the sun at Echo Valley and the main south facing cliff in Sella. Sigmund Fraud fucked around with this message at 12:15 on Dec 2, 2021 |
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Dec 2, 2021 08:09
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https://www.climbing.com/news/wide-boyz-climb-the-great-rift-2500-foot-5-13-bridge-crack/ They always get into crazy stuff.
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Dec 2, 2021 19:27
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I can respect the hell out of the physicality of something like that, but I just don't "get" urban climbing stuff like that.
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Dec 2, 2021 20:08
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One of the public libraries near where I live is apparently widely known to be a V2 bouldering route to get to the roof and I’m very tempted every time I walk by.
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Dec 2, 2021 20:15
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spwrozek posted:https://www.climbing.com/news/wide-boyz-climb-the-great-rift-2500-foot-5-13-bridge-crack/ Was just looking at that and thinking, that's insane, the crack can get wider or narrower as traffic passes, their pro could come out or their hand could get crushed. Sure enough they talk about that in the article quote:“If you hang there and look at the two edges of the crack, you can see them go from being parallel to not parallel as the bridge is shaking,” he said. “If you look at the Friends inside the crack, they’re rocking inside the crack. It’s moving that much. Sometimes you’ll be hanging off a jam, trying to clip, and suddenly a lorry will go over the top and you’re like, ‘Holy poo poo the crack just expanded!’ while you’re in the jam.” Sounds like a terrible idea to me!
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Dec 2, 2021 20:17
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tildes posted:One of the public libraries near where I live is apparently widely known to be a V2 bouldering route to get to the roof and I’m very tempted every time I walk by. Buildering is a whole thing, you can find more than a few buildings on Mountain Project https://www.mountainproject.com/route/106515697/volunteer-park-water-tower There's even a guidebook for how to climb many of the buildings on the University of Washington campus, it used to be in print and everything until I think people got scared of legal consequences: https://alpinedave.com/uw_buildering/index.html Most of the routes are just finding places to chimney up.
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Dec 2, 2021 20:23
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Haha, every time I've seen the volunteer park water tower I've always thought about how climbable it looked. Glad I'm not the only one. Back in Pittsburgh there were a handful of bridge pilings made of stone blocks that made for surprisingly decent top roping.
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Dec 2, 2021 20:26
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