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Shoes! I couldn't find any Katanas in my size near where I live. Someone at the local outdoors shop said that the Miura is a quite similar shoe and maybe I should just get that one instead. Is this generally true? I bought some Katanas near new river gorge, liked them, and I lost them after only 3 or 4 uses  so I need to buy a replacement.
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Feb 27, 2013 18:52
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 08:00 |
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ZeroDays posted:Wow, concentrating on foot work and really paying attention to my feet instead of always trying to reach has immensely improved my climbing. It's one of those things that I knew you were supposed to do, but never actually practiced. So simple, yet so effective. I was always complaining about how my 6,3" partner had the advantage (I'm 5'7") because he could reach poo poo that I couldn't, but I realised I'd revolutionised how I approached a climb when I statically completed a move he had to dyno. Obviously I'm a beginner (been climbing a few months) but it's exciting when things just click. Awesome. I've been climbing 4 years and footwork is still on my "I know I'm supposed to be doing this, but..." list. Doesn't help that I'm tall... Anyway, I decided 2013 would be the Year of the Footwork, and indeed in the last month, I've actually been much more attentive to my footwork and  So far there hasn't been much time, so I've only had minor improvements, but it feels like I'm making progress and it feels a lot better.
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Mar 6, 2013 23:35
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 Who'da thought deepwater solo climbing could be indoor/gym-ified? edit: Well I'll be... alnilam fucked around with this message at 19:40 on Mar 8, 2013 |
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Mar 8, 2013 19:37
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spwrozek posted:Put my gear to good use this morning. My wife Belayed me up a big maple tree that is dying in my yard. Anchored off and pulled up my saw. Chopped a bunch of limbs off. It was pretty neat, wish a had a picture. Tree climbing with rope is super fun. A little risky on a dying tree, but it looks like it turned out fine. There are some crazy ascension techniques in the tree climbing world - I had a lot of fun learning about them, and if you already know rope pretty well from rock climbing, it's not hard to learn.
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Jun 10, 2013 22:06
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Can anyone recommend a good squeezy grippy thing for building forearm/grip strength? I've had to be out of climbing for a while and still have to for a few months. Meanwhile I'd like to rebuild my grip and forearm strength a little.
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Jul 22, 2014 14:14
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gamera009 posted:Captains of Crush. Don't forget to exercise the opposing muscles. Extensions are even more important, and harder to recover if there's an injury. Thanks! Could you elaborate a little, or give me some terms to google for? I've never explicitly "worked out" those muscles before since i was climbing anyway.
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Jul 22, 2014 15:14
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Question about protecting myself during toprope anchor setup where there is hike-in access to the top: There's a local climbing spot that has tons of anchor bolts at the top, but not along the climb itself (not sport lead-able), but there is hike-in access to the top. The tricky part is, it's easy to hike up there, but to access the rings farther along the wall, you need to walk along a kind of precarious ledge. It's a foot wide, not that precarious, I'm sure people do it all the time without protection but I'd rather protect myself. I've done TR anchor setup in the past using a prussik on a medium-length static line around a tree to protect myself. But here, there is no obvious thing to put such a line around, not without hiking way farther up. Like it's far enough that I'd basically need to bring a whole nother climbing rope. So my first thought was something like, have 2 slings on myself as I walk along the ledge, unclipping the trailing one and clipping it to the next bolt ahead (yes, they are that frequent / close together) as I walk, always keeping at least 1 sling clipped on. The downside of that is if I did fall, it would be a shock load on the sling, so I'm not sure this is the best method. Any other thoughts? e: i made a helpful illustration  both rock ledges are about a foot wide, and the upper ledge is maybe 2 feet above the lower one... so not hard to walk along, but not worth the risk of a trip and fall alnilam fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Jun 11, 2021 |
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Jun 11, 2021 20:56
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armorer posted:Do not fall on a sling. Period. But then when I set up the anchor, i need to throw the rope down. I guess the belayer could be waiting below and lower me...
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Jun 11, 2021 22:03
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KingColliwog posted:I bought a few meters of dynamic rope that I used to make a double lanyard and I put autolock twist biners on both ends. I use it for pretty much the situation you are describing (if I'm picturing it correctly). Yeah i just called and found a place in town that sells dynamic rope by the foot, I'll probably do this
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Jun 11, 2021 22:44
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Here's another TR anchor related question. I've learned to make TR anchors three separate times: 1. An actual class I took on building anchors from trees and such at the top of the cliff, from a certified instructor 2. Learning from experienced climbers how to set up two quickdraws at the rings at the top of a climb, preferably with one of them locking, but a lot of people don't bother even with that 3. Learning from experienced climbers to set up a cordelette or webbing anchor from 2-3 rings with locking biners at the master point, if you and other people are going to climb the thing all day I haven't done 1 in a long time, since lately I'm usually climbing bolted stuff these days #2 (quickdraws) I've done plenty #3 it's been a while, and I'm trying to review and double check my knowledge - since I have top access at the place I'm gonna climb, I figure I might as well do the more solid anchor style. Plus I may want to add a little distance between the bolts and the master point, since some of the bolts are just above the ledge. The question I'm going towards is about the materials for #3 - in the past, I was always using someone else's stuff, and I'm trying to double check all my own materials to make sure they're appropriate. I was taught to use 7 or 8 mm accessory cord to set up a cordelette anchor. Everything I find online, including from AGMA and AAC sources, speaks of using 7 mm accessory cord (I have 20 ft of 8mm so I was going to use that). But two times now I've gone to buy rope and mentioned something about a TR anchor, and the store people would say oh I think you actually want this big beefy 10+ mm static rope that is really rigid. Like so rigid that I could not imagine it forming a good supple loop between two bolts that are only a foot apart, let alone tying 4-6 strands of this stuff into a figure 8 on a bight and still having a tidy anchor. So - I'm not crazy, right? 8mm accessory cord is fine for a cordelette anchor from bolts/rings? And if so, what is the huge 10 mm static rope even used for, is it more for style #1 (anchoring from trees and stuff)? Also, when using webbing for these kinds of anchors, how thick is it supposed to be? I have a 120cm sling/runner of 18mm nylon that I was thinking I could use for some cases (I know only to use webbing when there's no rubbing, so not for the cases where the rings are above the ledge).
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Jun 14, 2021 19:57
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I never learned the quad in person, though I have seen it in this pretty nice video with an AMGA certified instructor. Still I prefer to do what I've been taught IRL in person so I will likely stick with something more like what she shows in 1:10 (clip loop to bolts and pull down, grab all strands and tie a bigass figure 8 on a bight) since that's what I've done before and seems to be quite common / accepted. Maybe next time I go out with someone super experienced, I'll ask them to show me a quad. Thanks to both of you for the sanity checks though.
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Jun 14, 2021 20:43
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That's so cool! I've always wanted to try some light mountaineering, don't wanna do anything crazy just some easy (relatively speaking) but slightly technical ones. I just need to find an experienced group to teach me and then find a weekend away from the toddler 
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Jun 15, 2021 15:17
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Endjinneer posted:More of this! You've got a good eye for photos. I moved to the Willamette valley in Oregon last year so I'm definitely in a better place to learn than i used to be (western PA) I backpack, i climb, i feel like I'm well positioned to do okay at it, I'm just not gonna attempt without people who know their poo poo
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Jun 15, 2021 23:30
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When y'all say therabar, if I google that I get something called the Tyler Twist - is that what you mean?
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Jun 24, 2021 23:58
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Blackhawk posted:I think the experience reinforced to me that my 'ideal' climb is a really long but really easy multi-pitch. This is my dream climb as well
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Jul 4, 2021 23:03
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Same sorta. After a life of being a skinny bike kid with no upper body strength and no interest in it, I took up climbing because it was a fun game. After a year or so I saw a pull up bar, which I could never even do one before, and gave it a go... turns out I could do like ten  When I hurt my knee, I decided to take a hiatus and take up weightlifting instead to keep up the strength I had gotten from climbing. Pre climbing me never would have lifted a weight. Just a total shift in how I thought about exercise, because of climbing.
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Jul 7, 2021 00:18
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MockingQuantum posted:Thanks for all the advice about being a big chonker while bouldering! I went climbing last night and it was a really good experience. I tried maybe 9-10 of the easiest range of problems the gym has over the course of a couple of hours, and was able to finish (send? do I get to use bouldering slang now?) all three of them. I'm sore today but nothing hurts in a way it shouldn't, so I think I rested sufficiently between attempts and stopped while I still had a couple in the tank. I think it's going to be slow going, getting to a point where I feel confident and not out of place, but I enjoyed it a lot and will probably be getting a membership at the gym. Overhangs are harder for everyone. That's why they put them in gyms! (That and it's probably a little safer for bouldering than a slab) Overhung stuff will tire your arms out faster but will also train them faster IME alnilam fucked around with this message at 17:36 on Jul 9, 2021 |
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Jul 9, 2021 17:33
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I go off-route all the time when I want to re-try a hard move I failed on higher up. It's really common when people are projecting something. Then when you finally get the hang of the harder move, you rest and re-attempt the route as a whole. Or like, cheat and use the wrong foothold during the hardest part of the route, then come back and try it the "right" way later. Even experienced climbers do stuff like that all the time in the gym. Other random poo poo I see all the time in the gym: Someone finding two jug holds on an underhang route and doing pull ups on it Someone making up their own cave traverse "Doing laps" (up- and down-climbing repeatedly, often with no regard to which route certain holds are on, to tire yourself out at the end of the night)
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Jul 9, 2021 18:07
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Slow News Day posted:Just watch this short series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkfUqdr-0zk drat this is great
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Jul 14, 2021 19:08
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Assuming it's clean and dry, is it better to coil and hang a climbing rope for storage, or store it in a rope bag? Or doesn't matter?
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Jul 19, 2021 18:56
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It's been about 2 months since I got back into climbing for the first time since getting married. My ring, which was always a little tight, is definitely too small now. I climbed outdoors yesterday at a spot with really nice cracks and struggled for several minutes to get it off, and I'm afraid to put it back on. Has anyone else found this to happen? Like I have to assume it's because of the climbing. Wondering if it's from callus, or actual finger muscles bulking up, or mild swelling from being banged around and hung on all the time.
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Jul 21, 2021 18:00
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gohuskies posted:You shouldn't wear the ring while climbing. It can deglove your finger if things go wrong in a fall or something. Do not google image search this unless you are very brave. Yeah I took it off because I was doing crack stuff, and then it occurred to me that I shouldn't be climbing with it at all, even in the gym / non-crack stuff. But definitely not for crack stuff.
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Jul 21, 2021 20:34
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Climbing adjacent: i summited a mountain last weekend and it was amazing. Non technical mountain but a loving hell of a hike. South Sister, 10,500 ft, 1 mile of elevation gain over 6 miles, about a third of it scree. Climbing related: I hurt my big toe pretty bad because I was jamming my foot forward to compensate for a blister. It's still a bit sore and the nailbed is turning grey, so I think I'm gonna lose the nail  Anyone lost a big toenail before? Can one climb with a recovering toenail? Tape it?? e: obligatory summit pic w/ summit lunch 
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Aug 8, 2021 18:36
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I've assembled a diverse collection of locking biners based on what has been cheap / on sale, and there is a bewildering variety of them out there and I'm wondering why there are so many different types / how important selection is. For discussion, here's what I have:  From top to bottom: #1 is an auto-locker I use on my PAS. #2 is prusik loop for rappelling or aid climbing #3 is belay/rappel The two matching blueish ones I have not actually used yet but got on sale because of a time I was out with a friend who was using my belay biner to belay me and I realized I didn't have enough locking biners to clean the route and rap down, luckily it was a hike-out spot but I had wanted to practice cleaning. The bottom 2 (black/silver) are the ones I use for a toprope anchor. For single-pitch sport climbing, I believe that even before buying the blue-ish ones, I had enough lockers to do everything you might want to do. (Not pictured are non-locking quickdraws and plenty of ropes/webbing/slings). Anyway I guess I just want a sanity check on what else one might need a locking biner for, and also, why are there so many different types? Like, what could I do with some of these that I wouldn't want to do with another? Could I use any one of these for any of the other applications? The only specific thing I'm aware of is, I was taught not to use an auto-locker in an application with potential shock-loading, i.e. not for toprope anchors. Also what is the deal with those biners with an extra gate inside that I see sometimes?
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Sep 7, 2021 18:08
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Thanks for the sanity check. So there's no reason i wouldn't e.g. use the smaller ones (perhaps the matching blue ones) for a TR anchor? I just feel like I usually see bigger biners used for that purpose, which is why I use the black and silver ones. Admittedly kind of a monkey see monkey do thing, and I don't know why it would matter much.spwrozek posted:Never heard anything about auto locker failing from shock load, makes no sense to me. I really dislike auto lockers in general but I would use one anywhere I use a regular locker. The ropes/anchors class I took many years ago was taught by a very old climber who was against them for anything but static loading, like a personal anchor. He actually demonstrated a rope jolting up, passing by the locking mechanism, and pulling it open, though it took him a dozen tries and he clearly had practiced. His bottom line was, this is incredibly unlikely in practice but it's even less likely with a screw gate, so why risk it. I don't know if it's ever happened in practice (I know most climbing falls are for other reasons, not biner failure) but that demo stuck with me. He also got a screw gate biner open by flicking the rope past it a bunch of times, causing it to unscrew a little each time, I guess trying to demonstrate that nothing is foolproof. alnilam fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Sep 7, 2021 |
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Sep 7, 2021 19:54
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spwrozek posted:That is some wild teaching.... I didn't know enough to ask him back then but I'm sure he'd grumble about it. I've definitely top roped on that kind of setup but I do prefer lockers and I make half-locking draws for anchors like that.
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Sep 7, 2021 21:26
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I only buy organic chalk, no MgCO3 for me
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Sep 16, 2021 01:50
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RabidWeasel posted:I never really understood why people used loose chalk over chalk balls, it seems to just waste a load of chalk and ensure that you have to blow / dust a ton off your hands. I don't get it either, reaching down to my sack and giving the ball a little squeeze always seems to dispense just the right amount of white stuff to make my hands nice and sticky
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Sep 16, 2021 18:13
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bvj191jgl7bBsqF5m posted:
It's actually the name of a great biblical hunter, it's only thought to mean "idiot" because of Bugs Bunny
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Sep 22, 2021 06:36
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Got another likely climbing related stress injury to ask about. Soreness/weakness centered in my ring and middle fingers' first knuckles (the knuckle closest to the hand), radiates a little bit to the medial side (pinky side) of my wrist, exacerbated by pinching type stuff in climbing and also by picking up a cast iron pan by the handle. Sound familiar to anyone and are there any good rehab exercises to work it out? e: possibly relevant, same arm in which i had tennis elbow a few months ago, which i mostly knocked out with some rest and a therabar. but this time the pain isn't really in my elbow. alnilam fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Sep 29, 2021 |
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Sep 29, 2021 19:58
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It's more centered around the one that connects finger to hand. I have been working on more crimpy and pinchy stuff lately and it might be why. so I'll try these exercises and maybe work on some more juggy or slopey stuff for a bit, do some endurance work on easier routes, etc.
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Sep 29, 2021 20:58
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A lot of outdoors shops even sell climbing rope by the foot
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Oct 5, 2021 15:17
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Funny question, when people do multi day sleep on a port-a-ledge climbs, do they poop? How? Also do they pee off the edge or into a bottle or ?
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Oct 5, 2021 19:16
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My Miuras are almost out of rubber so I need a pair of backup shoes while I send those off for a re-rubber. My Miuras are only the 2nd pair of climbing shoes I've ever had, after my total newbie Mad Rock shoes (and my Miuras have been re-rubbered once). I'm wondering if I should branch out in style, or just get what works. I've been very happy with the Miuras - a bit of a curve but not crazy, a decently pointy toe, and comfy enough that I don't mind standing around in them for a while / belaying in them, although I usually do take them off between climbs. It's just there are like 30 different climbing shoes at our local shop and it's just overwhelming, especially considering I've only ever tried 2 shoes. One friend told me I should consider something flatter for outdoor climbing, since they are better for smearing, and save my curvy shoes for gym stuff. But I can smear okay with the Miuras... Any opinions on that opinion? Any general thoughts on shoe selection? I do a lot of gym TR/lead and an okay amount of outdoor single-pitch sport lead.
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Oct 29, 2021 19:09
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Climb easier stuff and practice taking rests on the wall. One hand on one hand off, count to 5 or 10. Really makes you think about positioning and is good practice for longer climbs.
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Nov 8, 2021 18:45
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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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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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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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We finally found the person ACDC wrote the song about
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Dec 4, 2021 01:39
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 08:00 |
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Slow News Day posted:As a side note, I looked into building a climbing wall for myself in the backyard, but the holds seem extraordinarily expensive. It might convince me to try to craft my own. Wooden holds can be really nice but it's really hard to get it right. Buying them premade costs way more than equivalent polymer holds, which honestly are amazing. I know they're expensive but nothing about climbing holds is trivial. I'm not saying don't do it, but if you do it, do it for fun. You're not going to save time/money by making your own, not if you want to have a good end result.
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Dec 9, 2021 04:49
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