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Me and someone else have been teaching ourselves lead climbing at the gym. Bad idea. A mixture of arrogance and stupidity led me to believe it is simple. Needless to say we pissed off some employees after several errors. Feeling discouraged but I suppose most take classes.
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Jun 18, 2018 19:09
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Ravenfood posted:What kind of sketchy gym lets you climb lead without checking that you have any idea what you're doing? Fair question. We did a lot of research beforehand and know top roping, so I think we appeared competent at a surface level, only upon close scrutiny did it turn out we kinda sucked. One gym worker eventually (our third day, tbh) analyzed our every move. Mahlertov Cocktail posted:If you mean that you and another person without lead experience are trying to figure it out on your own, do NOT do that. Swallow your pride and take a class, for your own and others’ safety. Yeah agreed, totally. It was a dick move to not take a class first.
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Jun 18, 2018 21:37
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Not being paranoid while rappelling down a rockwall outdoors has been a bit of a psychological obstacle for me. Absolute trust in a system of friction devices, a harness, rope and an anchor is so different from trusting your own hands and feet! Is anyone aware of the failure rate in harnesses and how soon to buy a new one?  Gear failure, not the anchor system (tying rope around a large boulder or tree eliminates feelings of insecurity) is my greatest fear on rappell, as that to me is hard to predict. Product quality and death is separated by a thin red line, so says my worried self.
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Aug 12, 2018 20:06
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thank you all for the advice. Routine gear inspections & using a prusik are things I'm going to do. A plentiful source of caffeine won't hurt either. another tip would be to read rappelling news articles only in moderation... https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/cops_courts/article_9e3e9091-9920-5179-a6a9-5e7a9f7694de.html - Grand Teton rappelling death https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/06/03/616544264/2-climbers-fall-to-their-deaths-from-el-capitan-in-yosemite - Yosemite rappelling death and promise yourself not to end up in situations like this: https://deadspin.com/stuck-ice-climber-saves-his-rear end-with-death-defying-rapp-1823583891 - oh poo poo
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Aug 14, 2018 01:25
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I took a break from climbing over the holidays; after a two and a half week hiatus I BOMBED at the gym. I felt clumsy, I back-clipped, I barely had any strength to make it up, and burned out quickly. Usually for biking or running I can jump back in. for climbing I sucked. Is this a phenonemon for newbs (I started lead climbing over the summer) or it is typical for any climber?
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Jan 8, 2019 02:13
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Any Sac or Bay Area goons know the top climbing spots around? I've been to "turtle rock" and the Ring Mountain area, also an underwhelming bouldering spot in Vacaville, but I'm not an expert as I usually go the mountainsenraged_camel posted:I was climbing at the gym today when some guy fell from the top of the problem next to the one I was working on and broke his ankle. Had to be taken to the ER. Honestly baffled how an injury like that happens at the gym. Were they not roped in properly or was it a fall on the boulder wall, etc?
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Mar 2, 2019 07:54
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interrodactyl posted:Best rope climbing is Gold Wall which is apparently private property and climbing websites advise to "be quiet" out there lol this reminds me of the documentary Valley Uprising, about the rebellious origins of this sport
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Mar 3, 2019 06:11
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Honestly I did find myself annoyed by Sanni in Free Solo. She gave Alex her number at a book signing and knew quite a lot about his intense, unusual and dangerous lifestyle only to then push to change him to a more normal, suburban, nurturing lifestyle. Neither type of life is bad, but the contrast between both was puzzling. And yes Alex describing herlike a pet in his van was lovely
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Mar 12, 2019 22:27
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Baronash posted:If you're interested in how cavalier attitudes result in accidents, I'd suggest tracking down a recent edition of Accidents in North American Climbing (or their website). Thanks for the reminder, I remember seeing this and thought it would be great to have and just bought a copy on Amazon. For me my biggest problem is knowing when to call it a day or when to turn back. As a novice I err on the conservative side and occasionally wish to end a climb even if something "just doesn't feel right." A shorter, safe day is better than the alternative. Of course it could be argued I'm missing out, more frequently than necessary, on the biggest rewards of climbing, which is pushing your limits.
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Mar 17, 2019 15:50
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I'm in an annoyingly ambiguous situation with rock shoe fit. I got La Sportiva Katakis, an aggressive leap from the Rogue 5-10s I've been using for three years. What I'm finding with the new Katakis is heel pinching that's somewhere in between unpleasant and painful. I'm torn between trying these out for a few more climbs to see if they expand enough to get rid of the issue, or to size up 0.5. I have no experience with an aggressive shoe with a special heel, so maybe I just need to get used to it? Blah.
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Mar 24, 2019 03:16
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:What I'm finding with the new Katakis is heel pinching that's somewhere in between unpleasant and painful. I'm torn between trying these out for a few more climbs to see if they expand enough to get rid of the issue, or to size up 0.5. Thought I'd provide an update on this. Took advantage of BackCountry's excellent return policy and sized up 0.5. The pain while mild did not go away with the prior pair after a few days at the gym. +0.5 fixed it. Just anecdotal and I know situations vary
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Mar 28, 2019 21:55
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I finally got to a point where I understand the rappel system and don't feel as scared, though I must admit I havent gone down anything too gnarly. Just curious - is everyone using a runner extension in their rappel setup? My understanding is that the "old school" way does not involve a runner going through your harness tie-ins, but using one gives you more distance from the friction device and better control.
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Apr 11, 2019 00:14
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I've been climbing regularly (usually 3 times a week) at the gym for a year and I am still godawful at outdoor climbing. The simplest explanation is because I only do outdoor climbs twice a month, if even that, however I find outdoor/indoor grades quite different too. Indoor 5.8 is very easy; outdoor 5.8 not so much. I failed a 5.8 crack near Trinidad, CA on the coast this weekend, very discouraging. I am not talented but I enjoy this hobby despite my questionable progress.
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Apr 22, 2019 03:20
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Hauki posted:good god i sucked rear end in the gym today I can relate to the random suck days at the gym. I don't see any rhyme or reason to it, some days I feel sloppy and weak for no particular reason. I think there are tons of factors involved. In realizing this is a fact of the hobby, I don't get bugged about it like I used to. I did have a super real case of psychological barriers that were overcome though. Tried a 5.10+ outside last month and failed miserably. I just wasnt feeling it.. Felt unsafe. Returned last weekend and finished it.
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Jun 14, 2019 05:20
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I dont know what it is with crack climbing but I enjoy it despite the anguish of learning and getting better. Yesterday I top roped a crack that had a long horizontal section on a face with no good footing! Also the crack was often too wide or too small for hand jamming so I had to aid it with cams (hand jamming skills = good, not so much other crack climbing techniques) aiding is my new policy for tough top rope routes. If all else fails without aid it is best to still move forward rather than stop
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Jul 14, 2019 20:03
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Jester Mcgee posted:How do I find someone to do lead climbing with in the gym? I learned to lead climb and belay climbing outside with some knowledgeable friends, but they live far away so we can't climb together regularly. None of the people I know at the gym want to climb ropes, likely because I know them from bouldering near eachother. Should I just walk up to people already at the tall walls and ask if they want a third person? Climbing has yanked me out of my social comfort zone so many times. Based on like 99% of my experience being in the climbing community, other posters are right to suggest asking random people to join in. I say this because climbing culture, to me, is INSANELY chatty and outgoing. I find it overbearing at times and my partner and I tend to avoid groups and do our own thing. Standoffish and dickish I guess but most climbers are not like me - I definitely feel like an oddity as a quiet person with this hobby.
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Jul 21, 2019 07:52
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My climbing ability has gone downhill these past few weeks being so busy I can only climb once a week rather than a few times. Also I sort of burned out and felt stressed during my last outdoor climb in August. Had to be reminded of some basic techniques. Taking a breather I guess. Must be nice being a college or high school kid basically living next to a rockwall!
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Sep 7, 2019 19:43
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Top roped a 5.11 offwidth last weekend and afterward noticed my La Sportiva Kataki's got ripped open at the toes! I assume heel-toe camming is what did it, as I'm no master at the technique, though I'm not 100% sure whether or not the shoes were damaged at some point earlier anyway, has anyone tried RockandResole.com, is it worth the hassle to get them fixed? or is there a better service out there
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Nov 15, 2019 02:44
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here's the situation
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Nov 15, 2019 03:18
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Thanks for the tips, so to speak. Regardless of outcome this is a harsh lesson to pay close attention to wear and tear, even on relatively new, costly shoes (got them in March I think)
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Nov 15, 2019 21:52
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Suicide Watch posted:One thing could be the rappel using a grigri. With a partner, the stretch combined with nearing the end of the line could have pulled just enough rope through his grigri to shoot him off the line. Freaky Seems like the last page in that thread clarified it was indeed short roping without a stopper knot. Or, I'm a moron and I misunderstood. The debate in that thread is confusing. With that said, my goal for next year is to take a rappel class. I dislike rappeling and can't shake the fear of it. My partner, who taught me, double checks my set up before proceeding. It has been a real drag outdoors and I hope to get more comfortable.
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Dec 4, 2019 03:31
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So I recently went climbing outside near Tahoe. About ten different groups (mostly climbers, some hikers) were also in the area, scattered about, of course. Some had out of state license plates. I found that interesting. Calling Tahoe a "local" area to visit during quarantine is a huge stretch for me, but this left me with the impression that Climbing World is taking stay at home orders lightly. (This is purely observational)
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Apr 20, 2020 16:03
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Did some awkward but fun lie backing on top rope this weekend. I would guess this is a 5.9 but there appears to be no documentation on the climb. Of course, obscure climbs = perfect for pandemics... 
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May 18, 2020 02:35
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spwrozek posted:Where was the lie backing? Or was it for giggles? It was the part directly above the shrub but really I did all sorts of "techniques" since it is a weird climb and I have a long way to go on improving
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May 18, 2020 15:04
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