Yeah, actually they were not distracting at all, the biggest painting was for a kid wall that was separate from the rest of the area. I didn't even notice the climber painting, and that tree painting wasn't bothering me at the problems were going up over it quite fast. The thing that bothered me is that the place is less than a year old and it looked like it was 10 years without fixing, patching, cleaning.
On October 06 2013 22:56 AeroGear wrote: I dont think you need to pick shoes that dont fit. Its not gonna work well to use crimpy footholds with bent toes.
You need a solid fit so your shoes dont slip on heel hooks and such, but there's no reason to torture yourself. That being said, if you're not used to wearing climbing shoes, they will feel slightly uncomfortable, especially if you have wide feet.
I need to shop for a new pair myself, tips being worn out and...the smell >_<
Has anyone here tried re-soldering?
It depends on what kind of shoe you're resoling. If it's something like a 5.10 Team or other shoe with a really thin, sensitive sole, you might be better off buying a new pair. Most resolers apply thicker rubbers - 4mm or 5mm - and you'll notice a difference, especially if you're going from a 2.5 or 3mm to a 5mm rubber. If you want to resole something stiffer, a TC Pro or Stoneland or something, then it shouldn't be a big deal. And that's not to say resoling a sensitive shoe is always bad; a friend of mine resoled his black Teams, then bought another pair because the old ones "feel like Solutions." Given that I love Solutions that doesn't sound so bad to me.
Cool, I have the Solutions, I'm unsure how thick the rubber of those are
Solutions are Vibram XS Grip2, 4mm rubber. I think the standard options are usually XS or 5.10 Stealth, so resoling your Solutions is probably completely fine assuming the rand isn't damaged. There's a basic diagnostic image in the spoiler.
I used to boulder all the time but haven't in a number of years. Now that I'm back living in CO, I'm looking to get back in to it (probably just at the bouldering gym for now). Glad to see so many other climbers
Another Bay Area climber here, not surprised we're so well represented in the thread as it seems half the people I meet these days have a membership at missions cliffs or iron works I'm mostly into sport, but learning trad. A friend took me a couple of pitches up El Cap earlier this year, and it's definitely got me motivated to go back and go higher.
Nursing a torn rhomboid/something near it at the moment (yeah, too much climbing =\ ) and it sucks so I won't be able to join in any meetups for the near future. Maybe sometime in 2014! xD
Adam screams and rages too much for my taste, but man is he a strong climber. That second problem is fucking absurd, with a ridiculously awesome match.
On October 09 2013 03:11 garbanzo wrote: Adam screams and rages too much for my taste, but man is he a strong climber. That second problem is fucking absurd, with a ridiculously awesome match.
Yeah I don't enjoy it either, but considering the problems and routes he climbs, it's understandable
I will be in Germany (Hessen, Giessen) for the next two months. My friend showed me a nice place in Wetzlar (Cube-kletterzentrum). If you are interested in meeting and doing some climbing (in Wetzlar of Frankfurt) just PM me. Right now I am around level 4-5. I think any person with a decent physical condition is able to climb 4 or 4+. Looking forward to gain some experience and improve my technique.
Here we go, I made you a little video presentation of the place I go indoor climbing the most, they had some open competition so there was a lot to film. And if not for the climbing, the joy of English butchering alone was enough Enjoy!
The image is from the Portland Boulder Rally. Small-ish comp with a decent prize purse. Finalists were Paul Robinson, Carlo Traversi, Matt Fultz, Matty Hong, Jon Cardwell and Jimmy Webb in men's, and Alex Johnson, Sierra Blair-Coyle, Isabelle Faus, Nina Williams (<3), Alex Puccio and Angie Payne on the women's side. Some interesting stuff and kinda a different style than you get in most competition climbing. There are some audio issues in the first bit of the video, but it clears up. The climbing starts around 2:14:00 with commentary by the ClimbingNarc and one of the routesetters.
On October 06 2013 20:32 icystorage wrote: do you really have to man up when wearing 1 size lower climbing shoes? =/ it's very uncomfortable and painful
I missed this post, and I'm sorry I did. The answer is that it depends. :D
First, it depends on what the shoes you're wearing are for. If you're looking for bouldering/sport climbing shoes for overhanging sections, then you'll want tighter, more aggressive shoes. If you're going to be climbing slabs, flatter, stiffer shoes are going to be more ideal. If you're doing longer routes or multipitch climbs, then comfort is more important. Every shoe is different, and every shoe has different performance goals.
Second, it depends on the company you're buying from. Every company has different designers and produces different shoes in different sizings. 5.10 tends to be smaller per size than those of some other companies, for instance, but often have more space in the heel. The other thing is that even within a single company's offerings, shoes aren't necessarily the same size. Try stuff on before you commit. It's not like buying pants.
Material matters too. A fully synthetic shoe will have almost no stretch, but a leather shoe will have half to a full size of stretch in the upper. Be aware of the stretch of your shoe before you buy.
Last, the closure system matters as well. If you have laces, you can customize the fit a bit more. A slipper, meanwhile, will need to be quite tight so as to not come off your foot.
The ideal fit doesn't involve pain. You should have snugness and no dead space, but no pain either.
Here's the other thing about shoes. A lot of really, really proud ascents have been done in footwear that by today's standards would be laughable. But socks didn't stop Lynn Hill from freeing the Nose. And more recently, they didn't stop Steve Lapen from repeating Ghetto Booty (5.14c/d). Don't stress it.
There was also a time where people climbed bare feet in Fonts. It was actually quite fun to see Adam Ondra failing to flash on such classic problem from so long ago. Slabs can really be tricky!
VOD of Sisu Masters, an invitation bouldering comp organized in Finland by Nalle Hukkataival. The four competitors on each side each set a problem and went from there (Dave's is awesome and very non-competition-y). Anna Stohr and Melissa Le Neve, plus two Finish women I can't remember, competed on the women's side. Nalle, Dave Graham, Anthony Gullsten and Killian Fischuber competed on the men's side. Pretty cool competition with some of the most awkward MCing and commentary I've ever heard, including an interview with Dave Graham featuring the interviewer snatching the mic away mid-answer.
Edit: In more news from Finland, Nalle put up a video on his Facebook page that is, to my knowledge, the first look at any of the moves on his Sisu project. The Sisu project is a semi-secret proj of Nalle's, in Finland, that's supposed to be one of the three or so truly next-level projects being pursued in the bouldering world right now. He's been working on it for five (or maybe seven?) years and still hasn't stuck the first move. (The other two megaprojects are Dai Koyamada's Mt. Hiei linkup of V13 roof tufa into V13 roof tufa into V13 roof tufa and Dave Graham's crazy roof project in Switzerland.)
On September 27 2013 13:28 AirbladeOrange wrote: Has anyone here been afraid of heights before starting climbing?
I have grown more and more afraid of heights and that was one (minor) reason why I started climbing again. Sometimes on longer walls towards the top I feel my powers running out much faster than they should be. Sometimes I think my grip wont hold no matter how big jugs there are. Annoying more than anything. I guess focusing on bouldering doesn't help either :D
On October 06 2013 20:32 icystorage wrote: do you really have to man up when wearing 1 size lower climbing shoes? =/ it's very uncomfortable and painful
In my opinion no. Use shoes that fit well and aren't too painful. When you climb more you will find out if your shoes are lacking and exactly where they are lacking. Then you will know which parts of your shoes you want to be tight and where it doesn't matter that much. Getting too small shoes wont make you any better climber - they might even stop you from climbing altogether.
On October 07 2013 03:10 Epoxide wrote: Has anyone here tried re-soldering?
I had my shoes resoled and that seems to have bought them at least 50% more lifetime for 30%(?) of the cost. They were otherways in pretty decent shape and don't smell awful either. I thought about buying a new pair but I felt like the old ones have still walls to climb.
I hurt my arm, I think its not something permanent or severe, more like a lack of rest between climbing. Tendon pain and I've had very contradictory info. Anyway, Today I did one pull-up and the arm was hurt for two hours. How long should I stay away from the climbing wall? I plan to take it easy for a long week, then try a pull-up again and see if I notice any pain and get back to climbing but very carefully...
Now, opinions of other people on the matter! I have been climbing only since August. Seems like the muscle strength got up but the rest didn't followed evenly.