Any other VB rockclimbers?

[Morticia]

Does anyone else climb? I'm doing gym climbing right now (we have a nice climbing gym in town, and it's too cold/wet to climb outside right now).

I'm happy because I totally nailed a 5.11 stemming problem on thursday, but I don't have anyone to brag to, so I'm hoping there are other climbers here. :cool:

Also, does anyone know if there are non-leather belaying gloves? I've never seen any that aren't leather. I have some now, but I'd rather buy non-leather when/if I have to replace them.

[DoshKel]

Hey...this is so cool that you posted this :D. I have really been thinking about getting into climbing, because one day I want to get into ice climbing...and thought this might help. I have a couple questions though:
- Does rock climbing and ice climbing relate at all? Will rock climbing help condition me for ice climbing?
- What else do you do to prepare for climbing? Like...do you weight lift, run, etc...?
- I am really small and weak, so do you think I could get into it...and still excel?

Thanks :).

Cheers.

[Morticia]

I don't ice climb, personally. I have this thing about voluntarily going out in the cold; it isn't me. :D That being said, from what I understand, rock climbing is VERY helpful in preparing you to ice climb. I know a lot of people at the gym I climb at are very into both; I don't know anyone who only does ice-climbing.

I am not a huge, super-muscled person, either. I did lift for a while, and my weight lifting teacher suggested that I concentrate on lifts that built up my shoulders in order to be a better climber. I've also found that things I've done that have improved my balance and flexibility- martial arts, ballroom dance and yoga, mostly- have really helped me. Climbing isn't only brute strenghth. It really amuses me to see big, macho buff looking guys unable to do climbs I find easy. Being less, um, dense can help. I'm way more flexible and have better balance than a lot of the guys, so I can generally hold my own even though they're stronger.

So.. I don't think being small or "weak" will keep you from excelling; it'll just be different. I find that different things are hard for me and for my husband/climbing partner, who is 6'4". (I'm 5'10"). Some things are actually easier for a smaller climber, and of course, some things are harder.

ETA: ack. I keep finding things I forgot to add. I haven't been running much recently, but I did 3-9 miles/ day last summer, and the lower body strength also helps. I find yoga is keeping me in pretty decent shape right now, though.

Hope that's helpful! Sorry it's kind of rambling.

[DoshKel]

Thats very, very helpful :D. Thanks you. After I posted, I thought about being lighter and climbing. I realized that being light, but also having some muscle might be better than being Arnold Schwarzenegger :lol:. Although wow, you mentioned running, yoga AND martial arts. Thats awesome because I have been doing running and Kung Fu for 7 years now, and recently just started yoga :D. I have a few more questions though if you don't mind (sorry...heh):
- I live in Tampa, Fl...not exactly climbing paradise heh. But, I do know of numerous climbing gyms in my area...so will me starting out in a gym be acceptable? As opposed to say...living in the Rockies :lol:?
- SHould I start out with a coach/trainer/whatever they are called? Or should I just start climbing, get used to it, see if I really want to train for ice climbing, etc.?

Thanks again :).

Cheers.

[Morticia]

In my opinion, gyms are the best place to start. There are lots of people at all stages of climbing expertise, so people can give each other tips. I've been able to help people out at the gym by suggesting they do this or that differently; if they'd started outside, nobody would've had the chance to teach them.

Oh, and by the way, although I'm from CA, I'm actually living in the Rockies right now :D (for school), so your comment was pretty funny.

I actually haven't done much outdoors climbing, because of doctor's orders. (I have a clotting disorder that makes me bruise easily, so they were scared I'd kill myself if I fell, even though I'm always on a rope). Now it's somewhat better, and I'm allowed outside, but I live in a snowy area, so gyms are where it's at right now. My husband has climbed a lot at both, and I think he'd say that gyms are a great place to start, as well. It takes some of the pressure off while you get the climbing technique down. You don't have to worry about setting up the climbs yourself, or anything.

As to the coach/trainer/etc. thing...I never had one, really, but I started climbing with my boyfriend (now husband), who had been climbing for a lot longer. As a side note, he is tall but very thin, and an AMAZING climber, which adds weight to the lightweight climber= good climber idea. Anyway, I had him teach me the basics. If you don't have any friends into climbing, I'd try to get someone interested and start climbing with him/her. That way you have a climbing partner you can work with. I'd be sure to get someone at the climbing gym to show you the ropes (ouch, that was a bad, if unintended, pun). You do need someone to make sure you know the basics before you start climbing. At the gym I go to they make you take a quick crash course for ~20-30 mins or so, and then set you loose. They always have employees walking around to make sure people are not doing anything stupid, and to answer questions. So that's how I've mostly seen it done, and it seems to work. I think you need time to figure out what you're doing/how you climb before getting coached by a trainer on how to improve your technique. After you've been climbing for a bit, it can be helpful to get someone to give you tips on how to improve.

I don't at all mind answering questions, so ask away if I'm not making sense, or if you have other questions. If I don't know the answers, my husband probably does, and I can ask him.

[DoshKel]

You rock :rockon:. You basically answered all of my questions really heh...thanks so much. I plan on going to the gym next week and starting up.

Wait...actually, a few more questions heh.
- Is this an expensive sport/lifestyle? I had a very involved friend when I lived in Chicago that I remeber saying it was pretty expensive. He didn't give me the low-down as to why, but I imagine some of the equipment used might be pretty expensive. Also, traveling, if thats someones bag, might also pump the cost up heh.
- Also, a personal question for you :). Have you ever free climbed? Like with no safety ropes and stuff? That looks really freakin' cool...and definitely adrenaline pumping.

Cheers.

[epski]

Climbing is one of my favorite sports, though I haven't had much time for athletics of any kind for some time now. I live in California, and have climbed at Joshua Tree, Hemet, in Malibu, and some areas near the Salton Sea whose names I forget. I've never been able to dedicate enough time to climb beyond a difficult 5.9, but I enjoy it immensely. Let me post some pics from a Hemet trip (Taquitz and Suicide Rock), and I'll come back to link 'em.

Here you go. Pumped this out from iPhoto real quick-like:

http://home.pacbell.net/epski/pics/

[iLuvChicks]

Does anyone know of any rock climbing gyms near Pensacola, FL? There was an awesome gym in San Antonio, TX where I used to live, and I am going through withdrawls ;)

If all else fails, I might have to hop in my car and drive.

[Morticia]

- Is this an expensive sport/lifestyle? I had a very involved friend when I lived in Chicago that I remeber saying it was pretty expensive. He didn't give me the low-down as to why, but I imagine some of the equipment used might be pretty expensive. Also, traveling, if thats someones bag, might also pump the cost up heh.
- Also, a personal question for you :). Have you ever free climbed? Like with no safety ropes and stuff? That looks really freakin' cool...and definitely adrenaline pumping.

Cheers.

It can be expensive; it depends how much gear you buy. I just have a harness, shoes, chalkbag, belaying device,and belaying gloves. My husband has all that plus ropes and other stuff. I'm not sure how much all my stuff was...maybe $300 all together? I got it over a period of time, so it wasn't all at once. Also, most gyms allow you to rent gear if you don't have your own.

As to free-climbing: no, absolutely not, never. my life is worth more then looking cool. I would HIGHLY recommend against free climbing. Why risk it? Everyone falls sometime, after all. I'd like a rope to catch me when I do. Someone at my gym broke his neck? back? (i forget which) because he fell when he hadn't tied his knots properly.

If you want to do the no-ropes thing, you might get into bouldering. It's no-ropes, but on routes that don't go up too far. Most gyms will have a bouldering area.


Epski: Nice photos! I wish I had climbing photos of myself, but so far I don't have any. I normally climb 5.10b/c, but occaisonly I'll hit a 5.10d/5.11. I think they rate the climbs a LOT easier out here then they do elsewhere. I know the gym I went to in MD rated their climbs much harder.

[veganinohio]

I'm very much a beginner, but I've climbed at Joshua Tree. Unfortunately, Ohio's not great for climbing (as in there are basically zero outdoor climbs).

[zoebird]

i just started climbing about a month or six weeks ago. i absolutely stink at it, but i really love it.

part of the reason why i struggle is because i don't have depth perception. this means, i really can't see the shape of a hold, so my progress is slow in figuring our what i'm grabbing and how best to grab it. my progress is even more slow because i'm learning this process on my own on a bouldering wall, rather than on the ropes.

that being said, i've been consistantly getting better. i just successfully and gracefully completed a 140 on the bouldering wall that i've been working for a couple of weeks. I've muscled through it in awkward, ugly ways, and so i don't 'move on' to a higher number (though i do work the other 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 problems--which is something like 8 problems total) until i feel that i have the movement down on the number that i'm on (which is the point value for the competitions, which of course, i don't do). So, i feel good about the 'red' 140 (the one i did gracefully) and now the blue 140 is near my grasp (so to speak), but since i have the red, that means i have to start on the pink and brown 160s!

of course, these color codes are really just marking the route, you know, and they dont' have inherent meaning or value.

but, super fun, is that i have made some friends who are really cool--and i was working on the bouldering wall the other afternoon when the route maker was making new routes. They have a new buddha grip (that is, a grip shaped like a buddha), that he was going to use on the end of the traverse, and i thought, since they name all of the pathways things like "midnight burn" and "path of fire" and STEM-U-NATION and what not, that the new traverse that was once "great traverse" and then "sooper-dooper traverse" should be called "path to enlightenment" because it has a buddha at the other end. Haha! so, of couse, the course is a Son-of-a-B, and i can only manage the first section of it and suck at certain crossover moves. BTW, any traverse is pretty much beyond my skillz!

As for actually getting on the walls, it's a rare treat for me because i go in off hours when not a lot of people are around. when there are a few people around, i'll always see if there's another single person there who is willing to go with me. i offer to belay for them of course, and this happens perhaps once a week for a few hours. I warm up with a few passes on the ropes that have the 5-4, 5-5, 5-6 routes, then i move onto whichever routes are available. i'm mostly working on 5-6s and the occassional 5-7, but there's this one 5-5+ that has me good and frustrated. It's partly because of a back thing (thank goodness for chiropractice care, though) and it comes out from the wall at a nice angle and when i go for this one grip (that i've felt up enough times to marry, but haven't yet figured out how to hold onto it), i get a nice pang in my back where the chiropractor is doing is work. so, it's still out of my capacity, but hopefully not for long.

anyway, i'm learning, but not yet graceful. having fun though!

and to the question of belaying gloves--i recommend gardening gloves. i borrowed my moms which are a sort of sport silk (That material that wicks away moisture but is not silk, for real, but called 'silk') and have rubber palms. these are lightweight and easy to use. of course, i prefer to belay without gloves, so that i can get the appropriate callouses. i found it helps with the climbing callouses.

[zoebird]

oh, and costs.

i get access to the gym for free as a worker there. i told them i'd be happy to work in exchange. then, they told me what i would work and what not. THe nice thing is, they even pay me to work. i was allowed access to the shoes and harnesses until i bought my own.

i just bought my own shoes and harness. i bought the shoes and harness on sale for $125 total. the rock gym equips each climb area with grisgris on the ropes (that's a belaying tool, one of many types). So, i didn't need my own grisgris, and i didn't get my own caribeaner either, because the gym provides those if you need them (which generally we don't). Ryan buys chalk for his weight training, we carry it in a home-made pouch to the gym, so i made a second pouch for myself to use at the rock gym. At some point, i may drop the $20 on the calk bag, but for now, this pouch works. i mostly us it while bouldering, and i leave it on the floor, then boulder, and then when i get back down, i'll refresh. i don't sweat much anyway.

so, i didn't spend too much--and supposedly REI has even better deals than the ones that i got. so, it's not terrible.

the most expensive thing, IMO, is access to the rock gym--for us it's $10 for a day pass (if you bring your own equipment) and $15 if you rent equipment. THere's a membership that you can do, but it's as much as a regular gym membership in our area--$42 per month. so, can be pricey.

but, with work exchange, there's always an option. i belay in exchange. pretty simple--i work a 2 hour party, get paid, and then i get to climb. :)

[unconquerable]

Long time newbie climber here... I picked up climbing about a year ago, but have only been outside once! Most of the climbing I do is in the gym, which severly limits my skill and motivation. I am trying to find a job this summer that I can do a lot of climbing at. The local wall or something of that sort.

Anyone in the WI, IL, IA area want to go climbing sometime give me a shout!

I go to Beloit College in WI but live in Des Moines, IA

[veganinohio]

i'll start with - free climbing is so stupid. adreneline rushes are great, sure, yeah, but come on.



I'm new to the sport, but I believe you mean "free solo climbing."

[zoebird]

i probably won't do outdoor climbing. i don't have depth perception, so it's hard enough for me to see and understand the shape of brightly colored and tape-marked grips available to me at a rock gym. but, i enjoy myself so much at the gym that it's ridiculous! so, i'll just stick with that and enjoy myself.

yesterday, i did get the opportunity to belay. I learned some great things during the climbing that really helped. First, i do very well on the 5-4s, 5-5s. and 5-6s. I am working on two 5-6+s and two 5-7s in particular. One of the 5-6s has a hug around a ledge, and the other starts in a 'bouldering-like' 'cave' space and then you move up and around. it's pretty cool, but also tough--and i keep looking for a grip around the corner/edge, that isn't there, which means i match on this one tiny grip over and over.

also cool, there is a great coach there, phil, who's really nice. he's offered me some great advice, which i'm definately going to take up. What stops me on those two particular 5-6 and 5-7s is that i loose track of where my feet go, and though i can see my next arm movement, i know i'm not supposed to just campus (which is just using arms, right?) to get up to it. i probably could, but that just doesn't seem right considering the level of the climb.

so, phil told me that, to summit a climb like that, just find any foot hold--regardless of route color--to help me get a feel for the arms of the route. then, once down, i can look for the appropriate foot holds. On the next pass, then, i can strive to bring hands and feet together--using the route foot holds.

i found this particularly helpful with the new 5-7 route that i tried. it was just put up on sunday, so i thought i'd give it a try. there's one very narrow part where i think i need to just switch feet and push up/off to get to the next left hand hold, then switch again to get to the right--as they are placed much like a ladder. then, they spread back to the left and head to the summit. finding the feet at that one point was really difficult, but i got a feel for it.

also, there's a new 150 route on the bouldering wall that i was able to work on. i worked my way through the smaller numbered routes, started on the three 150s, and completed one 150 with grace. The next one up is a 200, so i started on that as well.

bouldering makes me nervous, really. the first time i bouldered, i went up the 15 or so feet to the summit of the 60 that i'd been working on for about an hour. i got up there and asked how i was supposed to get down. the girl below me said, 'just drop!' and i did and it wasn't fun. so, once i summit, which is the easy part, i get really nervous, because ihave to find a way down--which seems much more difficult.

one guy there told me to climb one route, and then down climb another, route of lesser point value. this was an interesting process. As i climbed the 90 yesterday, i down climbed on the 60. somehow, that seemed to make more sense. after climbing the 140, i down climbed the 90. of course, for the 100 on the more difficult wall areas, that is the lowest point value, so i climb both up and down the route.

anyway, i'm learning.

[veganinohio]

nah, i mean free climbing in general. (minus most bouldering) if ya wanna get technical, there are other forms of free soloing though. :) but free climbing refers to anything without gear.

I don't really care, but from what I understand, free climbing means climbing without the aid of gear--for example, without grabbing on to the rope, standing on bolts and petons, etc. I'm pretty sure top roping (as a safety precaution, not a climbing aid) still qualifies as free climbing even though gear is involved.

[Morticia]

I don't really care, but from what I understand, free climbing means climbing without the aid of gear--for example, without grabbing on to the rope, standing on bolts and petons, etc. I'm pretty sure top roping (as a safety precaution, not a climbing aid) still qualifies as free climbing even though gear is involved.


Umm...around here free climbing means no gear, no ropes, etc. Top roping would definitly not be considered free climbing. It may be a term that means different things in different places, though.

One thing we did to cut down on the costs is buy a two year membership. A lot of places drop the membership fee if you commit to sticking around for a while. Since my M.S. programme is also two years, we figured it made sense.

Oh, and Zoebird, I found one unusual reason that a chalkbag is really nice. I have one that has a little zippered ring pouch, so we both drop our wedding rings in it and don't have to worry about banging them up on the wall or having them lost or stolen. That, in and of itself, is worth 20$ to me. Plus some problems would be impossible to work through if I didn't have my chalk all ready to go. :D

I think I'm going back to the gym tonight to try to work on that 5.11 stemming problem again. I made it up last time, but fell several times, and I'd like to get up without falling at all. It's my current challenge, I guess. :cool:

[remilard]

I've thought of giving this a shot maybe this summer. I have free access to a climbing wall until I graduate, and presumably never will again so now would be the time to try it out.

What would be the basic set of equipment I would need to climb on an indoor wall? I am assuming probably just gloves and shoes which wouldn't be a lot of money if I can get some used.

[Morticia]

yeah maybe it's petty but with free climbing you definitely don't have a top rope, no gear whatsoever. and it's CRAZY scary.

:yes: That's what I thought, too. I don't think it's petty...it's better if everyone knows what each other is talking about. If we're using different definitions, it'll get really confusing really fast.

I bet it's crazy scary. I don't free climb, and never will. :no: I like not being paralyzed way too much to risk it.

Remilard: I started out with shoes, a harness, a chalk bag and a belaying device. If you climb with someone you know you can share a chalkbag. Some gyms may have belaying devices you can use, but none of the ones I've been to do. I highly recommend getting your own harness, though. Gym rentals tend to be uncomfortable.

[veganinohio]

yeah maybe it's petty but with free climbing you definitely don't have a top rope, no gear whatsoever. and it's CRAZY scary.

I hate to call you out on this, but I've done quite alot of reading on rock climbing and free climbing is almost universally used in the way I'm using it and not in the way you are. So I looked it up. It's not the most reliable source, but here's one from wikipedia.com:

"In aid climbing, all means of ascent are used, from pulling on gear to climbing rope ladders attached to drilled bolts.
In free climbing, climbers use only their hands, feet and other body parts to make progress. Ropes and other gear are only used for protection.


Solo climbing is climbing without a partner. It can be done with a rope for protection ("roped solo") or without any form of protection at all ("free solo")."

Obviously, some climbers are going to use different terminology, but all of the books and everyone I've talked to has used them this way. Feel free to look it up if you want, or continue to use your own terminology. Who cares?

[zoebird]

ok, a funny, funny thing happened while belaying today at the rock gym. You'll laugh, you will!

I was belaying for about four hours (there was a school group there, about 70 kids) and i didn't remember to bring a hair tie. i have long hair (just below my shoulders in length), and i tried to keep it tucked into my shirt so that it wouldn't get caught in the grisgris. OK, so, guess what?

I got a hair cut. LOL

it's just one lock, really, and it's below the top-front lock--so you really can't see it--but man it was funny. i was crackin' up. i sorta knew it would happen.

anyway, i thought it was funny. I kicked bouldering wall 150 butt today too. :) (during the 1/2 hour lunch break that we all had).

[malcularius]

maybe its a different dialect with different regions but from fellow climbers where i live. free climbing is climbinmg with out using gear to get you to the top of the climb. free solo is with just your self no protection or anything.

personaly im a free climber, or that grouping i do sport and top rope.

[GOPVeggie]

Free soloing means no gear or rope of any kind.

Free climbing includes leading and free soloing.

[veganinohio]

Free climbing includes leading and free soloing.

And top roping?

[GOPVeggie]

Yes, as long as the climber doesn't weight the rope.

Any ascension without aid is free climbing.