Advice on transitioning by Arno Ilger between planning your moves and moving your plan while climbing.
“Climbing consists of both stopping and moving. At stances you stop rest and prepare; between stances you climb. But, you also need to blend these. This blending is a transition. Negotiating these transitions is critical for creating deliberateness.”
1st photo is Peter leading out of the pit, 2nd one is PPM trying out his new 5.TUFF route and 3rd photo is Kyle most of the way up an older PPM route. There was a rare appearance from Johnnie Mac with his new subtle BRITE LITE BLUE shoes. Lisa climbed a few new routes but had to go home early because of her curfew.
A few of us are going to TF this Wednesday arriving at the Wisconsin side about 11ish. You’re welcome to join us.
This is the original account of one of the classic climbs of North America and the largest free standing tower in the US. The image below is one page from the November 1962 National Geographic. The rest of the scanned pages are here (scroll down about 3/4 of the way) and here. Modern description here including this great quote on the Sundevil Chimney route: “Climb 5.9 mud up the chimney past a few bolts. This is one of the most interesting pitches in the desert. Climb light on the mud!”
Get a 6’ long 2x4, put a few hangers in it so you can clip into the middle one and hang from the top one, and go crazy bolting new routes. At least that’s one way to do it. Explanation here.
This article shows the direction forces put onto protection. Like the two examples below.
This might be a joke – I can’t tell. But this newspaper article quotes a gym climber about the problems of climbing outdoors:
"They should have signs and stuff and trash cans outside," said Pham, who climbs regularly in the safety of a San Francisco gym. "I don't think they even clean your rocks off for you out there."
It is confusing climbing outside since there is no tape on the holds. And the rocks get dirty and won’t stay where they are supposed to stay. And it might rain or be hot or cold.
Most new climbers are climbing sport or bouldering, according to this article. It’s easy to see why. There are some good tips here for leading climbs as well as a discussion of the number of rock climbers.
“Trad climbing has lost some of its appeal, or is a smaller blip on the radar. I still know plenty of folks that prefer trad, but there was a day when there was only trad. Trad climbing may be analogous to a lost culture. In fact, it is a culture within a culture, and as with the loss of any culture, it’s inevitable that knowledge specific to that culture is also lost.”
Oops - I just read the post below - never mind.
When you’re on that multi-day climb requiring about 7,000 calories a day, you can lick your chops thinking about what professional bike racers eat. Sandwiches – such as below – made with bread, bacon, jam and cheese. More recipes here.
If you ever asked yourself, “I wonder if I can do a fancy move with my headlamp on?” this Petzl video will answer your question. (After watching this video, I have developed some new smooth moves. Just ask me if you want to see them.)
This is from the Black Diamond quality control website.
“before you join two slings together think about the following:
And in addition:
Oh goody, a new type of hitch/knot. Here’s a strop bend, which is basically a girth hitch all dressed up.
I didn’t even know women could climb, so imagine my surprise when I found this video featuring women climbers explaining why they like to boulder. These are 4 of the top 20 classic boulder problems in US.
That’s what Stuart Smalley used to say. (Video link here in case you don’t know who he is.) But…
“Despite what all those self-help books say, repeating positive statements apparently does not help people with low self-esteem feel better about themselves. In fact, it tends to make them feel worse, according to new research.”
OK, I’m convinced; I’ll stop telling myself I can climb that new route. (But I will continue to tell myself, “You are a good little poster. You always find interesting posts with which to fascinate yourself.” I’m sure that will work.)
Here are “letters to routes at the climbing gym.” Purty cute but I think more a girl thing than a boy thing. Although I could’ve written this letter:
“Dear blue route,
I thought you were cool, but I’m not sad to see they took you down. No offense.”
I thought these two videos dripped with irony. In this video, sponsored by the Access Fund, Chris says “It’s our responsibility to treat them (boulders) with respect.”
In the video below, originally posted by Levi, the same guy is climbing a hugely difficult sport route. So how is the rock in this video “respected”? By drilling bolts into it and hanging hardware from it. And by using “pin scars” from previous climbers as hand holds. That’s all OK by me. But I certainly hope we don’t have to respect the rock so much that we can’t use it.
Although, come to think of it, when I climb I can hear the rock screaming “Hey, get off me you big lug. I’m about a bazillion years old. Oh no, you just smeared your feet all over my face. Ouch. You jammed your hand right into my innards. That hurt. Stop it.” (You have to listen really hard and put your ear right on the rock to hear it. That’s when I fall.)
Know what a WAG bag is? (Waste Alleviation and Gelling Bag) They are the way to keep the desert and the mountains cleaner. Here’s a demo.
We’re going canyoneering in Utah this October. In Europe, they call this canyoning. Here’s a video of canyoning in Italy. It combines ropes, water, rocks, danger, meaninglessness, and idiocy. All of the things I seem to like.
Happy Father’s day to all you dads out there. Two dads went climbing with us today at Red Wing. (Father’s Day is always so sad for me; Buddy never knew his Dad. He was abandoned as a puppy. Of course, I could criticize his Mom too, but that'll have to wait.)
Weather was perfect – overcast, breezy and no bugs. Ron, John, Rackie and I had quite a few climbs with no competition from the 6 others out there. And we realized that after today, we’re on the long downward slide to Fall. (Daylight tomorrow is 5 seconds shorter than today.) So get your parkas fluffed up, winter’s coming.
Sounds like it was worse than Kmart gear – boots didn’t fit, sleeping bag was for a kid. Pretty funny story and I really like his stocking cap.
This article analyzes 20 years of accidents in Yosemite. It divides accidents into various causes such as weather, belaying, rappelling, leading, etc.
They had “over 100 feet of sickening overhanging climbing on walls that move.” Is this next for VE? (There is no audio.)
This artist has a sleeping bag you might not want to use in bear country. (See the kid’s face in the photo below?)
An article on what to bring to survive in the woods. I liked this part:
“.. you need to tell someone where you're going and when you'll be back. Leaving a note in your vehicle at the trailhead helps. While you're at it, suggested Turpin, also leave an imprint of your boot on a piece of tinfoil, so the search-and-rescue crew will know which footprint to look for.”
This Sunday there will be a group of climbers starting at about 9AM. So join us if you can.
You can always spot climbers by looking at their equipment, but if you want to guide someone’s fall onto the ground, these tips might help. (I especially liked the one where the spotter burned the climber on the leg with a cigarette to get some extra oomph.)
After climbing, I like to bulk up on beer and brats. But this might be a better idea:
“A modest light to moderate aerobic session, however, can actually help speed recovery—-such active recovery has been shown to encourage recovery after intense workouts. Something like going on a 30-minute moderate bike ride, 45-minute hike, or light 10- to 15-minute run would likely be helpful.”
This is one of my favorite climbs to watch. I have watched it 10 times at least.
It truly has only seen one day of use.It’s a 10.3 dia (Edelweiss) so a good all around rope and definitely good for top rope.$50 is a really good deal.
Is it like this?
This is a way fancy move, Doni. I found this photo on Facebook, but your fans want to know, what route is this? Red Wing? I know your project is work Ethic, is this it?
Three weeks ago, Malibu's Johnny Strange delivered a message from the top of Mt. Everest, stating, "Stop Genocide."
But he carries another message for fellow teenagers: Pursue your dreams and meet challenges head-on.
Strange, 17, after scaling the world's tallest peak at 29,035 feet, flew from the Himalayas to Australia and on Monday (Tuesday in Australia) strolled to the top of 7,310-foot Mt. Kosciuszko to become the youngest person in the world to have climbed the highest peak on seven continents, known collectively as the Seven Summits.
Strange beat a record held by Long Beach mountaineer Samantha Larson, who achieved the Seven Summits when she was 18.
Afterward Strange typed an e-mail to family and friends that read: "Never let anyone stifle your dreams no matter the feat, for if you have the heart and the courage, impossible is nothing."
It helps to have a wealthy attorney and fellow adventurer as a father, but this should steal nothing from Strange's accomplishment. He climbed Antarctica's Mt. Vinson when he was 12 to set this project in motion, and Everest is daunting for climbers of any age and experience level because of its perilously thin air and unpredictable nature (six climbers have died on Everest this season).
Strange reached the summit of Everest two days after Utah's Johnny Collinson stood on top of the world. Collinson also is 17 and he's trying to bag the Seven Summits within a calendar year.
Strange said he chose Kosciuszko instead of Everest as his final Seven Summits peak because he wanted to tackle Everest "as a lone experience, not part of the Seven Summit goal."
--Pete Thomas
This is not exactly fun with rocks, but it is fun with ropes. We had some tree branches cut down in our yard tonight. It’s similar to rock climbing because you need ropes, special knots, a belayer, rappelling skills, snacks and you get to go way up high. It’s better than climbing because you get to take a gas burning chain saw up with you and cut off big branches. Which drop with a satisfying thump. Unless there’s someone below; in which case there is a horrifying thud. And then a scream.
Friday Renee, Levi and I climbed together. Renee did another lead out of the pit. I did a few leads and almost made a full lap up, across the roof (the short way) and back down. Levi, of course, did the full lap. And he did this climb with Renee belaying.
It was my first day back climbing and thanks to some excellent belayers – Lisa and Levi - I did pretty well. Some photos from
today.
A fairly long – 28 minutes – climbing video of a hugely overhanging mountain in South Africa. After spending a night on the cliff, they summit and jump off the top. Lots of gear placement shots and shots that’ll give you some vertigo.
A contest
Mountain Hardwear and Montrail join forces to celebrate the inspiration and motivation women provide each other to climb, bike, hike, swim, surf, trail run, and paddle. We want to know who that Go-to-Girl is that motivates you! Give us 300 characters on who motivates you and include a photo. Let’s go!
A wine from Australia whose name:
“refers to the high altitude vineyards from which the fruit is sourced”
Sure it looks cool, but how is a person supposed to pursue their "buildering" sport if they keep patching up all the holds?
