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I've been interested in climbing poo poo for a decade but never went out and did anything about it because I'm not very interested in working with ropes and harnesses and what not. Then this week I finally learned that bouldering is in fact a thing that exists. Earlier today I registered for an introductory belaying class at Stone Gardens Bellevue. The real draw is the extensive bouldering area of the gym, but I figure that this belaying session will be a great guided start to climbing in general. Finally gonna give climbing a proper shot tomorrow afternoon! I'm pretty sure I'll love it.
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Jul 27, 2013 09:24
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 13:36 |
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That was loving awesome. Started on a 5.6. Easy. Moved to a 5.7, kind of tough. The staff belayer challenged me to do a 5.8 with a bit of an overhang. It took a couple of attempts, several holds, and almost all of my energy, but I got to the top of that loving wall. We then moved to bouldering where I proceeded to easily do VBs and get my rear end kicked by all the V0s. I finally got one V0 after several tries! I think I might have had better luck with them if I wasn't so drained from the 5.8 climb, I guess I'll find out next time I go. I wasn't really feeling the burn during the climbing, but as soon as I stopped and sat down for a while I realized I could barely move my forearms. This made signing the registration form for the month long beginning bouldering class really hard. Also the palms of my hands burn, especially at the base of my fingers. Will moisturizer or anything help with this, or do I just have to deal with it? Kefit fucked around with this message at 02:10 on Jul 28, 2013 |
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Jul 28, 2013 01:59
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Went climbing for my second time today. I tried every v0 I could find at the gym. Sent seven of them and got my rear end kicked by five more. I think I wasted a lot of my energy early on with a really steep one (by my standards) which kept me from going at later problems full blast - but it was worth it, because I felt like a badass hanging from the wall at the top of it. Though I sure do hope I'm not breaking gym etiquette by grunting loudly during challenging moves near the end of a climb. Also managed to get my first flapper already. My climbing class starts on Tuesday so I hope it heals enough by then to not be an issue. Anyway, shoe rentals are $5+tax so I suppose I should pick up my own pair sooner rather than later. Everything I've read up on suggests I should pick up some Mad Rock Flash 2.0s, but I can't find any stores around here that carry them so I can actually try them on. At the gym I rented a pretty snug pair of 5.10 Stonelands VCS at size 10.5. Are sizings between different makes of climbing shoes similar enough that I can just order a pair of Mad Rock Flash 2.0s in size 10.5 and hope for the best? Kefit fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Aug 4, 2013 |
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Aug 4, 2013 04:49
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Students in tonight's intro climbing class:
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Aug 7, 2013 06:58
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I lightly sprained my left ankle the day after my first climbing class (and I wasn't even climbing at the time). It kept me off the wall for a week and a half, and really I probably should have kept away for a full two weeks. But I almost lost my motivation to keep going with this climbing thing so I forced myself back to the gym when my foot was still a bit tender. Luckily I managed not to re-injure myself! I've been back a couple of times since then and am back to having a blast. But the loving flappers just keep on coming. I've had two more this week despite judicious use of ClimbOn, ugh.
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Aug 23, 2013 07:16
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gently caress yeah, I sent my first V2 today! I've been working on this for a few climbing sessions now. Then I sent two more. Almost got a third, but was too tired to do the last move. Feels drat good. My skin is ripping off less now too. Either I'm developing better grip or I'm spending less time on problems composed of giant jugs. Probably both.
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Sep 8, 2013 06:18
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I've been climbing a lot of crimpy problems lately, and I've started to develop a bit of soreness in the ring and middle fingers of each hand. It's most pronounced when I bend my fingers, but it doesn't impede my climbing at all. It feels like typical muscle soreness, except I know that I don't have muscles in my fingers. Should I be concerned about this? I've been climbing 3x a week for 90+ minutes each time, and while the rest of my body can keep up with this, I'm worried that I might be overdoing it a bit with my fingers.
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Sep 17, 2013 01:44
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Covert Ops Wizard posted:Certainly tendon damage if you can't feel it while you're actually climbing. Ice and rest. And you're right, your fingers have never seen stress like this, so your schedule (which is pretty much right at the point where you're pushing it too hard) is just too much for them. Give them a couple weeks to a month of rest, then take it easy and maybe get into routes for a month after. Otherwise there are a few other choices, keep climbing like you have been and see a tendon finally go (Which is months and possibly years of recovery time), Half rear end the resting and see the problem come back pretty quick and linger, or just climb easier stuff and have the problem be manageable but never go away. Obviously, a full period of rest is for the best, though I do know how hard it is to take time off. drat, I was afraid this might be the case. I guess I'll take a week or two away from the wall and then come back with some lighter climbing sessions. Maybe twice a week and not keeping at it until I'm actually shaking from exhaustion. But I'm going to miss totally destroying myself at the gym.
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Sep 18, 2013 07:13
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So I had been stuck on V2s for a couple of months now. Like, I could send almost any V2 at my gym with a little work, but I could barely even start the V3s. I sent a single V3 a couple of weeks ago (and promptly celebrated by twisting my ankle lightly), but that seemed more like a fluke than anything else. Tonight I sent two more V3s and made some very solid progress on two more. Hell yeah. I hope this becomes a regular thing! I feel like I've made some breakthroughs in terms of controlling my center of gravity and body positioning against the wall. Now if only I could get past struggling to even start heavily overhung V2s... I wish I could get one of my friends into climbing, I could use a partner. Too bad they're all perpetually broke and/or lazy.
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Nov 7, 2013 08:05
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Covert Ops Wizard posted:If only there were other people at the gym you could make friends with :P If only I wasn't a weirdo introvert with social anxiety issues who considers himself lucky to have friends at all :P But seriously, yeah the best times I've had at the gym have been when I've joined an impromptu team up to work a tough problem together. Maybe I should properly introduce myself and learn some names next time that happens.
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Nov 7, 2013 20:50
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My goal was to send a V4 before the end of 2013. That didn't happen, though I did get a V3+ a couple of weeks ago. Oh well. I guess that just means I'll have to send a few V5s before the end of 2014!
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Jan 1, 2014 00:23
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God drat, today I climbed a new V4 (my third ever) and FIVE new V3s. I think I'm finally getting over that V2/V3 plateau, and it feels awesome. For reference, I've been climbing two to three times a week since last August. A couple of weeks ago I picked up some Scarpa Vapor Vs to replace my smelly disintegrating newbie shows. At first I didn't like them at all - my old shoes were relatively shapeless, and the pointed toe of the Vapors confused my feet. But I just needed a couple of sessions to get used to them, and now I love them. They make me pay more attention to my feet and reward this by letting me stick to things that my newbie shoes would slide off of hopelessly. Also, the Vapors don't smell horrendous (yet?), which is a real nice change of pace. Kefit fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Apr 11, 2014 |
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Apr 11, 2014 03:25
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4R7 THi3F posted:What's the process of learning how to boulder on holds that don't have any grooves to sink your fingers into? Is it like mostly finger/grip strength, or is it a clever way of using tension and pushing yourself up? I tried to climb some V2's and couldn't even start them because they have harder holds :/ Experiment with your hand placement on the hold and often you'll find a place where you can catch your hand and lock yourself in somewhat. Even on big round holds there are often places where there's a sharper crease, or where the hold hooks out a little bit, or where you can wrap your hand around part of it, etc. For a lot of holds all you need to do is find this sweet spot, especially on easier problems. On harder stuff these sweet spots won't be as good, so you'll need to pay a lot more attention to positioning your legs and body in such a way so that your body weight naturally pulls your hand directly against the hold's sweet spot, providing you with maximum grip for minimal effort.
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May 8, 2014 22:26
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Colonel J posted:On the bouldering wall, should I try to downclimb every route I do? I've been jumping a lot from the top of the walls and just realized that there are probably benefits to downclimbing which I'm missing. Every time you jump or fall off the wall there's a chance of injury. This is especially true if you're tired and not able to concentrate as much as you should on the landing, like after sending a hard problem at your limit. All it takes is misplacing a foot and/or landing in an awkward part of the pad to roll your ankle badly enough to need to stay off the wall for a couple of weeks (or longer). It's best to down climb as much as you can to minimize this risk. Of course, a controlled fall is generally better than an uncontrolled tumble off a botched downclimb. This is particularly true on some overhangs, where you can just extend your body vertically from the finish hold and drop straight down to the floor relatively safely.
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May 12, 2014 23:28
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 13:36 |
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Yesterday I was working on a v4 and determined that the last move required a dynamic lunge for the top of the wall. I went for it and smashed my face into the wall hard, right by my left eye. Now I look like a DV victim, but the important part is that I still made the move and sent the problem! Take that, you stupid wall.
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Jul 7, 2014 16:32
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