Climbing tips (and other stuff) every day. Rad.

So much work...

I bolted a new route today, and it got me thinking how stupid putting up new routes is. It’s stupid because of all the work that goes into it. Now, I know that there are still plenty of yet-to-be-climbed splitter cracks out there that require no cleaning or anything, but let me tell you what I went through today for a 50-foot tall, six- bolts-long limestone sport route:

• Sorted through all of my bolting gear and decided what to take and what not to take. Grabbed some bolts and hangers and made sure I had anchors. Loaded it all into a backpack, grabbed my rope, and threw the whole lot into my trunk.
• Drove to the area and parked. Hiked and bushwhacked (how’s that for an unpleasant combination) up a steep scree slope for five minutes to the base of the soon-to-be route. I wanted to see what the best approach was, and wanted to make sure I still felt like the route was worth bolting.
• Slid/fell down the death scree back to my car and further evaluated what gear I’d need.
• Packed it all up into a hideously heavy and unbalanced pack and somehow crawled my way back up the death slope (it really isn’t that bad but with a heavy pack it sucked pretty bad) to the base of the route.
• Got my harness, the drill (with battery), bit, wrench, brushes, hammer, and Gri-Gri out of the pack and bushwhacked left along the base of the cliff until I could cut back right on yet another steep scree slope up to the top of the cliff. More hideous bushwhacking. Oh, and it was 96 degrees F today and I was in the sun.
• Got to the top of the cliff and looked over the side, seeing where a good spot for the anchors would be. The rock at the top was crap, so I didn’t want to have the anchors there. I put a couple bolts in further back from the lip, anchored one end of the rope in, threw the rest of the rope off the cliff, and started to rappel down.
• I found some good rock to put anchors in and I started to drill a hole. My battery died halfway through the hole. I spent the next half hour cleaning off loose blocks on rappel. A few evil blocks nailed my backpack at the base of the route, but luckily they missed my rope. The rock is good but there’s more lichen than I thought there would be.
• Eventually I make it back down to the bottom of the climb. I look around for my other battery in my pack but don’t find it (I later realized that it was in the very bottom of the pack and I somehow missed it…). I brought my other drill just in case, so I march back down the talus to my car, deposit the first drill, grab the second (“This battery is fully charged, right?…”), and head back up the talus.
• I rig my Gri-Gri and ascender and head up the route. I spend another hour going up and down my fixed line, figuring out where I want the bolts to be. I drill the 8 holes (6 lead bolts and two anchor bolts), pound the bolts in and tighten them down, and continue to clean the route. I rappel down after I’ve put the lat bolt in.
• I try to re-hydrate and realize that I hate the flavor of Gatorade I’d brought and end up drinking the water that’s been in my trunk for a couple months. It tastes like plastic.
• I leave the drill at the base of the route and jug up to the top of the route. This is going to be the last cleaning effort. Armed with a quiver of brushes and other trickery, I spend another hour getting every hold as dirt-free as possible. I get as much of the lichen off as I can. I take off a few more loose bits of rock that leave more dirt behind them. I spend another 45 minutes cleaning the route.
• - I finally get back to the base and now need to get my rope back down (remember that it’s anchored at the top). I have two options: I can bushwhack around to get to the top, or I can ascend my fixed line yet again. I choose the latter.
• I finally get to the top of the cliff, clean off a few more loose blocks, unclip my rope from the bolts, throw my rope off the cliff, clip off my daisy chain and aider to my harness so they won’t get snagged on anything, and bushwhack/slide my way back down to the base of the cliff.
• I take my harness off and shove all the gear back into my massive pack. I realize that at some point during the day I dropped my wrench and don’t see it anywhere. I flake my rope back into its bag (which is tricky since the landing of the route isn’t flat and the rope keeps sliding off of the tarp).
• I somehow manage to get the pack on my shoulders (after first losing my balance and nearly dropping the bag down the slope), throw the rope bag over one shoulder, and stumble back to the car. Half an hour later I’m eating the least healthy Subway sandwich I’ve ever had and it tastes fantastic.

{ 4 comments }

Tape up those feet.

Foot blisters are always a worry for climbers. Maybe they’re from an ill-fitting climbing shoe, or maybe your boots don’t fit well. Maybe you’re feet got wet when you were crossing a stream. Whatever the reason may be, they happen.

I found a great page online at abc-of-hiking.com that talks about the causes of blisters, blister prevention, early treatment of blisters, and healing blisters after you get home. Check the article out!

In my experience, the best way to prevent blisters is to 1) Wear thin, breathable socks, and 2) Make sure my shoes/boots fit well. What works well for you?

{ 0 comments }

Don't make your friends feel like this...

I’ve gone climbing several times with people who are slightly embarrassed and self conscious about their climbing skills, or more specifically, the lack thereof. Maybe they’re brand new to climbing and not very good, or maybe they’re a bit heavier set. Whatever the reason, it can definitely hurt their climbing experience.

Embarrassment can be defined as someone drawing unwanted attention to their flaws. So here are some things you can do to minimize that unwanted attention:

1. Put them on routes that they will succeed on. This will heighten their sense of accomplishment.

2. Don’t comment about how easy a route is. The new climber might not think it’s so easy!

3. Point out and complement them on their successes. Even if the climber doesn’t make it to the top of the route, you can still say, “Man, you’ve got amazing footwork!”

4. Take them climbing in an area that isn’t very crowded. The more people (especially unfamiliar people) that are around, the more uncomfortable the climber might be.

5. Don’t show off. Yeah, you’ll probably be able to climb the 5.8 that they struggled on, but you don’t need to go campus your way up the 5.13 around the corner.

6. Invite other climbers that are at a similar level. Compared to you the climber might not be very strong, but he won’t feel too bad if he sees someone else who is at his same level.

7. Don’t obsess about a climb. Stress that you just enjoy being outside and that success on a route is not the determining factor of whether you are happy or not.

By minding the above suggestions, you should be able to help just about everyone enjoy their climbing experience. If you’ve got any other ideas, leave them as comments below.

{ 3 comments }

Lightning strikes!

In the US, lightning kills about 300 each year. The good news is that if you or someone in your group gets struck, you’ve got a 66% chance of living.

Obviously, you want to check the weather forecast before you hike. Make sure you understand the general weather patters of the areas you’re going to be in. For example, alpine areas often have afternoon thunderstorms. Desert areas don’t get much rain (duh).

Be aware of what the weather is doing. Check the horizon often. Is there a storm or clouds coming? Remember that storms move at about 20 miles an hour, so you can’t outrun one. Measure the time between lightning strikes and thunder claps and divide the number of seconds by 5. So 5 seconds equal 1 mile. That’s roughly the number of miles away the storm is from you.

Here are some tips for hiking and climbing in lightning storms:

Click to read the rest…

{ 0 comments }

Dear climbing: You're awesome.

I went climbing this afternoon/evening and it was fantastic. As the sun was going down and I was looking out over the valley, I started to reflect on how awesome it is to be a climber. We’ve got a pretty great hobby, don’t we?

So I would like to say thank you to climbing. Thank you, climbing, for giving me…

1. Strength — I’m not the pale, sickly little creature I probably would be otherwise.

2. Confidence — Pfff. If I can scale mountains with only my fingertips, I can go to work today.

3. Great friends — I’ve made great friends through climbing. I’ve also taken my generally non-climbing friends climbing and always enjoy the camaraderie that comes from sharing a rope with someone.

4. A distraction from everyday life — Once I start climbing, I forget about everything else that’s crappy or lame in the world. For me, it’s the ultimate stress reliever.

5. Something constant yet so varied — There’s rock climbing all over the world. There are climbers all over the world and we all have a lot of things in common. The rocks and mountains are always there. But think also about how diverse climbing can be! Rock, ice, mountain… Bouldering, sport, trad… Redpoint, onsight… Granite, limestone, sandstone, quartzite… The list goes on.

6. Something to always think about or do — If I’m bored and don’t have much time, I can look at climbing pics or read climbing forums. If I have more time, I climb. As I said before, climbing is always there!

7. A glimpse of amazing natural wonders — Climbing takes you to some of the most beautiful places in the world that otherwise you probably would never see.

8. It’s physical AND mental — I love how climbing isn’t just a brute sport. You’ve got to have your head in the game. Figuring out the sequence on a route is like putting together a puzzle. Climbing high above your last pieces of gear while keeping cool requires a strong mind.

I’m sure there are more, but I think I’m done writing about them. That’s another great thing about climbing; there’s always more to learn, do, and discover. Thank you, climbing, for making me the person I am today. I hope we have many more adventures together.

{ 0 comments }

Quotes are fun.

I’m traveling today and don’t have time to write anything. But here are two links to pages that have a bunch of climbing quotes:

Climbing quotes at gdargaud.net

Climbing quotes at arareko.net

…

Which ones are your favorites?

{ 0 comments }