Thread 2815854

This thread is a place to talk about outdoor climbing in any aspect (trad, sport, bouldering, aid, alpine, etc). Help out by sharing trip reports, photos, advice, etc.

Climbing is inherently dangerous but so are lots of things. Climb at your own risk.

Off-belay: >>2812365 (fuck mods)

/xs/ thread:
>>>/xs/224473

There is no such thing as A5: https://youtu.be/boQHYBhlOcs?si=y66caNWQeZoVn4Tv

industrial climber checking in
rock climbers are nuts

i guess a question I have for rockbros...
Before I start any job, we all go over a job safety plan. Where we are, lat/long, emergency contact info and methods (cell phone, radio talkgroup, site phone, etc) if something goes wrong. Who's doing what tasks, and what those tasks are. What hazards exist with the job and those tasks, and how are those hazards managed. How's rescue being done where the work's being performed, rescue equipment check, first aid kit check.
May have an additional rigging plan if heavy shit is getting moved around at height.

Do recreational climbers do any sort of climb/safety plan, or is all just hoping for the best?

I've considered doing a "climbing 101" at the local indoor rock climbing facility just to see how the rec side of things manages safety, equipment, and the like.

>>2815875
>Do recreational climbers do any sort of climb/safety plan, or is all just hoping for the best?
The latter, at least in my admittedly limited experience. I'm pretty new to climbing outdoors but I expect it varies a lot depending on who you're climbing with and local culture. If your intro to climbing is some commercial outfit then there's probably a safety discussion beforehand. For me it's been more like "this one goes up there, then there, then it's a bit run-out there so watch yourself, then it's pretty cruisy 'til the end" and "that's why you don't forget your helmet" (after narrowly avoiding braining myself when a big chunk came away in my hand).

You might get a kick out of this video. The climbs are serious step above what I'm doing but the vibe is the same. Especially the half-hearted glance at the topo before really just following your more experienced mate and the moment of hesitation before starting a climb because you're not 100% what he's shouted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBnO_jo1jsc

>>2815875
It's an interesting question. A work environment is different because 1) you don't get to choose your own amount of risk and 2) the company has some liability if something goes wrong. Because of this you're going to have much stricter safety protocols.

When climbing on rock, the most important safety decision you can make is "should I climb this route today?"--trying to match your abilities against that particular climb. If you climb within your comfort zone then it is very unlikely anybody will get hurt. On a job, you don't get to make that choice.

Climbing is like skiing, where you can choose to enjoy the hobby very safely on a ski resort/popular sport-climbing area or choose to assume more risk by skiing in the backcountry/climbing on poorly-protected choss in the middle of nowhere.

Ideally, both partners have a good grasp on self-rescue techniques, wilderness first aid, and know exactly what they will do in an emergency. In reality most people are just hoping for the best.

It's way safer than mountaineering though, so we've got that going for us.

>>2815875
There is a general backdrop of safety due to experience and how many close calls your partner has had prior. It's a little more careful if you're in a brand new spot. If it's somewhere you've been a number of times, it's all pretty casual (to the point of dangerous).

Did some bouldering in Unaweep Canyon last week. Way too hot. My skin was dead by day two. Oh whale.

Really liked this one. Getting down was fun.

https://youtube.com/shorts/SCECp9BZanM?si=rnU5Avk8geKt3t8i

>>2815854 (OP)
Ahh yes, thank you. Oh look I can post pics again too, here's the bolted buttress I mentioned in the terminated thread. There are others in the area too, including a couple that were easily in the twelves which made me feel weak even just looking at them.

how bad of an idea is to drag around 2 bouldermats in public transport? i have one but its not really enough for a lot of boulders.

>>2815949
>It's an interesting question. A work environment is different because 1) you don't get to choose your own amount of risk and 2) the company has some liability if something goes wrong. Because of this you're going to have much stricter safety protocols.
so about that, I am my company so I have a lot more say about the jobs I take or don't.
I have a hard policy of "No rank when it comes to safety" - anyone can, and has the responsibility to, call that "Stop" if the situation changes and something's not being done safely. A lot of ops I work with take a similar approach, so it's not like boss man saying "Go do this" and you don't have a choice, there's a definite risk-management and risk-acceptance level that's discussed and the climb/job is aborted if things don't jive.

>When climbing on rock, the most important safety decision you can make is "should I climb this route today?"--trying to match your abilities against that particular climb. If you climb within your comfort zone then it is very unlikely anybody will get hurt. On a job, you don't get to make that choice.
Absolutely do have that choice. "Personnel working within skill set" is a big deal. The site's still going to be broken tomorrow, the day after, the day after that. And complacency kills climbers.

>Ideally, both partners have a good grasp on self-rescue techniques, wilderness first aid, and know exactly what they will do in an emergency. In reality most people are just hoping for the best.
"Tower Competent" credential is that self-rescue, hurt-man rescue card. FA/CPR is nearly universal in the industry, outside of the wild-west crews that dgaf about their guys.

ISO 31000 Risk Management guidelines is where a lot of the industrial stuff comes from, and many of the rec training programs (AIARE in particular) takes a lot from that framework as well. TASARM from the Canadian snow/avalanche world also shares a lot. Both are very exciting books, if you can't sleep at night.

>>2815907
>don't forget your helmet
There's a few ground guys I work with that "don't like helmets". In the shack or in a truck I care less about it, but if you're under me, get a goddamn helmet on. I'm fumbly sometimes and I really don't want to fill out that paperwork.
Can't tell you the number of times I've bonked my head into a pipe mount or antenna that I didn't notice.

To be honest I don't think I'd feel confident if there wasn't at least a discussion about what the route is and any potential "gotchas".

Video was interesting, caught a few nuances there in the anchorage that I thought was interesting (Munter hitch for descent friction point, and what looks like a retrieveable anchor?).

"Goals vs. Objectives" attitude has been a good attitude for me.
My Goal is to get everyone home safely at the end of the day.
My Objectives are to get the system back online, hang that new camera, replace the antenna, whatever the job is.
Ultimately I need to reach my goal. If I can tick off all my objectives that day, that's just icing on the cake. But one way or another, I will make that goal.
Had a couple close calls, was making plans to do an assisted/hurt-man rescue for one of my climbers a while back. Lower from above, basically push him into the middle of the tower and bring him straight down (Tower tapers to the top, so pushing him inside means he's not gonna get caught on anything on the way down).
Another time I had a mount that I'd never assembled before, got it together on the ground but didn't have enough thread to bolt it to the tower. Disassembled and rebuilt that entire mount on the tower, and dropped a ~1ft long chunk of unistrut 120 ft down. Somehow missed the microwave dish on the leg below me. That shit could have killed someone if it hit them.

>AM towers will kill the fuck out of you
>Also that 50kW FM transmit array up top, it'll also nuke you
Broadcast shit is spicy.

>>2815862
>>2816015
>rock climbers are nuts
I take that as a compliment. As John Long says, it takes a dash of madness. Good to hear from you. Yeah you're much safer than most rock climbers but it's part of the job, so to speak. Actually search and rescue might be up your alley, you'd understand them. I love the pics btw. Now I'm wondering if the australian tree climber will ever come back.

>>2815992
Nice you made that look easy.

>>2815862
how do you protect yourself on these towers? moving lanyards like a via ferrata?

>>2816062
>via ferrata
I've heard this term before but still have no idea what it actually means, kek

>>2816062
>how do you protect yourself on these towers?
Double-leg lanyard is my primary fall arrest. 100% tie-off, so one leg is attached, make the next connection above/below/around and gate-check before you pull the first connection.

A lot of towers have a cable climb or "lad-saf" system installed. Vertical cable rated for fall arrest up a leg or face. A cable sleeve attaches to that cable, and attaches to the sternal D-ring on your harness. That allows for quick up/down on that ladder or step bolts, cable sleeve trolleys up or down the cable. In the event of a fall, the mechanism grabs onto that cable and a connector bends apart to absorb the energy in that fall.

2nd to that, a positioning lanyard allows you to park and work hands-free. I'm sitting in that almost all day. Attaches to my hip D-rings, or I can move it to my umbilical D-ring for a suspension-sit. That umbilical is what I work off of when I'm on a descender or for rope-access work.

>>2816062
Other times I'll set a working and backup line and work off those.
ASAP on my backup (red) rope is my fall protection. That device trolleys up and down the rope as I move, and locks onto the rope in a fall like a seatbelt. Shock pack (between ASAP on the rope and my dorsal D-ring) blows stitches out reducing the forces in a fall, since all the ropes I work on are static ropes and don't stretch (~2-3% stretch on it, vs. the 30% or so of a dynamic rock-climbing rope).
Green rope is my working line, and the device i'm working on is an "ID". Looks and functions like a grigri or rig, just bigger and has a few more safeties built in.

Sometimes I'll set the vertical lifeline and ride an ASAP all day, just moving on and off my positioning. ASAP keeps me tied off, but as I move up and down the tower in the work area, I don't have to constantly move hooks around.

Couple other techniques I'll use in rare circumstances. Retrieveable lifelines, double-belting, working on cowstails, or renting a manlift instead of climbing.

Pulling coax off a tower; customer was moving off that site to another adjacent site they owned. Landlord wanted all the mounts, hardware, cable, etc pulled. Set that backup and working line, started at the top and I'd descend down to the next snapstack, pull that and zip the coax off with a grinder, airmail that section down to the ground. >Picrel is looking-up from >>2816015 looking-down. Grinder on a tool lanyard on my side, wrenches/level/visegrips/sharpies/knife/tape/phone pouch next to it.

Should i get a new helmet? My current bd one doesnt have a good place to put stickers on the sides

>>2817714
Are you a construction worker?

maybe you guys can help me understand a think about pic related. it's a rappel system where you can descend the full length of the rope, if yours is 60m you can descend 60m for example. it works as long as you also have a separate 60m tagline/cord/whatever, which you use only to retrieve the rope.

my issue is that you are basically depending on a stopper knot. all your weight is against the knot and you rely on it not going through the mallion, otherwise you can't retrieve the rope (you don't die because the carabiner for sure can't fit, but still i consider that the system fails)

how possible is it that this happens in practice? obviously with rappel rings instead of maillon you can't do it, right? what do you do instead? i think my question is, aren't there any stopper knots that are bulkier, and that should be recommended instead of just a fig 8? obviously not monkeys fist, but maybe wrapping clove hitches around the figure 8 or something like that.

>>2818713
i ask this because a solution i saw (in a yt video, i can link it you want) is to use a clove hitch instead a fig 8. that way the carabiner is directly against the maillon, so it solves that problem, but it seems flimsy to use a hitch instead of a knot, which might move around the carabiner specially if you use a big carabiner, which you want in the case i'm worried about which is when the anchor is bigger than a mallion, say, normal rappel rings. i guess in practice the clove hitch can't really slip or move around or anything, but it just doesn't feel super safe

i say this even though i actually used this irl a couple years ago, but i'm plan on doing it again and i thought it's worth asking about it here

>>2818713
petzl seems to think its safe, you have a carabiner as backup the first couple raps, the last person can see that it's stopping on the not and they remove the carabiner

>rappelling isn't dange---

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/3-wa-rock-climbers-die-1-hurt-in-north-cascades-climbing-accident/

>>2818848
Reminder to always trust pitons left by the FA. That's history you know :^)

>>2818848
I hate how often this happens. I hear of more rappeling deaths than free soloists.

>>2818847
In this picture the carabiner doesn't have to be removed to lower the rope. I like to use the carabiner to attach my pull line when rigging similar systems

Old rope finally wore out enough to justify retiring it. God I hated that thing. I bought it used and could never fully trust it. Never buy a used rope. Anyway this one is beautiful and will replace both my 60 & 80 meter. Blurry cats included as a bonus for ya.

>>2818848
The survivor said they were rapping from a single piton, which is unimaginable to me. Not only that but they'd done it before on the same descent and it held.

>>2819118
Man that first climb with that rope is gonna feel so nice and buttery

here are some photos of my old rope getting absolutely mucked on its penultimate climb

>>2819139
in the PNW you basically have to just ignore the forecast or you'll never make it out, but this day was mostly a bust

>>2819140
Had to go off route on to reach the anchors and ended up squelching up a vegetated crack for the last 20ft

Is a clove hitch anchor trustworthy or am i gonna die because its not redundant?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UyInC0SkGo

>>2819148
Looks good to me. It actually is redundant if the sling were to break anywhere except inside the master clove. I'm not totally sold on this over a girth hitch though... apparently it was stronger in DMM's testing.

>>2819154
girth hitch is a bit harder to tie, no?

in any case any hitch is probably as safe as a knot. i think the reason fig 8 and overhands are so extended, and they are used basically everywhere, is that they are simple to make and test, and visually inspect. and once it's done you can forget about anything happening to it. so they are safer in that way, they minimize the chance of human error.

people recommend fig8 to tie to the harness for example, despite the bowline being better in every way. except on that the chance of error thing

I hike a lot and I would like to get into climbing
Am I better off trying more technical hiking trails and easing into climbing, or should I just go to a rock climbing gym?

>>2819890
you sit in a dark room and post on 4chan all day, you ugly faggot, you are worth less than dirt.

>>2819887
just try it out at a gym. The overlap between difficult scrambling and rock climbing ends at sustained 5th class where you should bust out a rope, and that requires a good bit of gear and knowledge. Although, I would try and recognize whether you prefer just difficult hiking because then it might be more worth it to gain mountaineering skills than being a climber

>>2818713
I've used this several times and gotten the rope stuck several times. What happens is the small rope wraps around the big rope and they're hard to separate because of the carabiner attaching them. I think it would be better to not have the biner clipped to the big rope. That said, the clove would be better suited since it's just a biner block at that point. The clove really can't move around the biner after it's tightened. What I would do is tension the rappel a lot before you unclip your tether, so you can be sure that clove is set tight, and that will give you confidence as you descend. You could also add somewhat of a backup (at least limiting your fall distance) by tying the ends together or to yourself.

To reiterate, it's important to be able to separate the two strands when you go to pull the rope down, and the reepschnur rappel (as the pictured rig is called) doesn't allow that.

>>2819180
No girth hitch is easier.

A knot is more redundant in a sense, because that hitch is going to rub against the rock and if it rubs too much you're dead, whereas there's less abrasion on a master point knot.

I do use the girth hitch anchor all the time, but the way this is set up looks like a lot of abrasion potential. I don't know why you have it extended so far. You could use nothing but those two lockers and get a better anchor.

Also, you have superfluous clove hitches at the bolts that don't add redundancy or anything.

>>2820705
>the small rope wraps around the big rope
i don't understand how that would happen. you are supposed to clip the small rope to your harness to make sure you don't lose it while you do down and that it doesn't move around and get stuck anywhere. or even pass it through the reverso, although obviously you are not descending on it. just to keep it tidy
>I think it would be better to not have the biner clipped to the big rope
if you don't clip it, you risk it getting caught somewhere while you pull it down. clipping it makes it so that it's always tight against the big rope while you recover it, and the big rope ends in you

>The clove really can't move around the biner after it's tightened. What I would do is tension the rappel a lot before you unclip your tether, so you can be sure that clove is set tight, and that will give you confidence as you descend
thanks, this is what I wanted to hear

>>2820715
It just does wrap around, not endwise but on a bight. There's a lot of friction between 60m of rope when they're to forced next to each other.

The risk of the biner getting stuck is the same whether or not it's clipped to the rope. But if it's free then at least you'll be able to whip it out easier.

Fellas, climbing gear is expensive as fuck where I live so I can't make mistakes on this, been thinking on getting 6 11cm quickdraws and 4 alpine ones, is this enough to prevent rope dragging?

>>2820881
11cm is a meme. I would go around 17cm. Also I'm assuming you're gonna be doing sport climbing, don't bother with alpine draws. Sport climbs are usually set up so that drag isn't too bad anyway

How do I get started with trad if none of my friends are into it? Doing a course is way too expensive (you need to do 2 other courses that teaches the stuff I've been doing for 10 years by now)...

Do I just work my way up by placing some extra nuts along an already bolted (albeit crappilly) route?

Alright bros, i need to get a glacier rope for 2-4 person rope teams, should i get a 50m or 60m rope? Or get 2x 30m half ropes?

>>2821426
This is a great way to start. Ultimately You'll want a trad buddy. Hit some Sport Routes you and your friends like to do, and practice placing gear along the way. Proper placement is always one of the first things to learn to be efficient at trad, and is important to be comfortable with to not lose your gear. Have your friends try if they want and hopefully they'll get into it to. Or start looking at buddy boards at gyms nearby

>>2821426
This and then practice aid climbing. Also buy cams ffs. Harder to find them for cheap these days but keep an eye on the mountainproject for sale forum.

>>2821570
this anon. this is how I started, I got really comfortable way faster by just aid climbing every route I possibly could

>>2820881
I like 11cm for sport. For trad, I only carry alpines

>>2821426
Aid. Tricams

>>2821504
im american so the obvious choice is a single 60m . alpine butterfly the rest into the system and convince your mate to carry it instead of you. However if there is absolutely any possibility of doing some steep rappels then the twin ropes is worth it

Don't die climb gen, get out and climb something. My excuse is it's been a hundred degrees but I'm going to go out try this weekend.

>>2824185
I’ve been out working in Alaska this summer :( would love to climb out here on days off

What crag is that and your leader is qt

>>2824185
i'm trying ok but this weekend is going to fucking rain again

>>2815862
Is it hard to get into that work? Is it dumb to get into that work?

>>2824260
>Is it hard to get into that work?
As a tower hand, not really. Stacking new towers and painting jobs are just construction jobs in the vertical axis. Wireless ISPs add in a little more technical skill (microwave/ip).
Most radio shops (LMR or broadcast) don't do tower work - they hire it out. Those contractors don't do any of the tech stuff, they're just "put antenna on tower" and the radio shop does the technical stuff like line sweeps, equipment installation/testing.

Get your tower cert, basic climbing and safety, usually 2+ days. Rigging is a good skill to know too, especially if you're doing bigger hauls (heavier cell antennas, dishes, tower sections). Rope Access SPRAT/IRATA will open a bunch of doors to you, both in RA and tower work. First Aid/CPR and OSHA10/30 also good ones to have if you're looking to move into foreman/supervisor roles.

Might get some snowcat/atv vehicle training if your company has and uses those.

>Is it dumb to get into that work?
It's a small niche industry so there isn't a ton of demand for it, but it's also an industry that many other industries depend on. I do quite a bit of public safety work, cops and firefighters rely on their radios, so there's always going to be work there if you know what you're doing.

Some companies are better than others. There's a lot of cowboy companies out there that don't train their guys to do things right, and your career options there hurt because of it. They're just out there trying to make payroll, lowest-bidder companies. Other ones train and take care of their guys, those are the ones you want to work for.

I've made a decent living in it, but i'm not "just" a tower guy either.
>I fucking hate climbing monopoles.

>>2824187
It's one of the crags in the hills south of 29 Palms CA. It's a pic from MP and not sure who but I think she's a local and I'd be happy to follow her anywhere.
Where in alaska? I worked at a lodge in Kantishna in Denali NP. It was so wild and rugged and vast it made me huge impression on me. I want to go back someday. Are you a guide or a grunt?

>>2824259
You guys and your rain...can you take a mental health day?

today some old ladies on a hike cheered me on while i was bouldering :D

>>2824185
I've been out climbing every weekend but haven't felt like posting recently. It's getting hot here so I've been doing some night climbing which is new for me. The most significant difference is that it's harder to see the feet, especially on overhangs.

>>2824298
Forgot pic. This was on a 5.11b. Hard for me, and in the end neither of us could pull through the roof crux. I think on a fresh go I could make it happen.

>>2824290
I always get asked about the crash pads when I'm hiking. I just tell people it's in case I need to take a nap.

>>2824301
Hard night climbing is pretty impressive, now I want to try it.

>>2824185
yup, almost every weekend. not too much interesting stuff to say about climbing at devils lake. Its comforting, its sandbagged to hell, buncha people. I miss climbing in the UP, hopefully I can get out again this fall when the mosquito's and flies die out

>>2824353
This does look nice, I've heard a lot about it.

>>2824273
Just doing some grunt work near Homer. Man camps, slogging through the bush. Fun stuff. Making money to spend the rest of the year hopefully just being a good old fashioned dirtbag again. It would be cool to climb some of the volcanoes I stare at while at work. Denali would of course be sick too.

Never climbed and never will
can someone explain to me why it has become the most quintessential yuppy normie pasttime in the past decade?

>>2824371
climbing gyms are expensive, basically
outdoor climbing is less yuppy, although that's changing too as people migrate from in to out

tried out multipitch with a friend the other day, really cool

i want to ask about chinese products and how do you guys decide what gear to trust. is it the brand name? the certification, be it EN CE UIAA or whatever? or is it the price?

my partner saw that i have a xinda carabiners and didn't know the brand, and when i told him i got them off aliexpress he freaked out a bit. but they are certified for 25kn and there's vids breaktesting them on youtube and they are fine, i don't understand how you could consider them any worse than western brands. but even after i told him this he seemed a bit mad at me

>>2824509
>chinese products
please dont, you arent only risking your own life but your partner's too, just to save maybe 1-2 dollars per carabiner? they will last for 20 years after you buy them anyways, or just buy used gear instead its probably cheaper than new chinese ones anyways
>how do you guys decide what gear to trust. is it the brand name?
yes pretty much any company from US or EU is fine due to the much stricter regulations for PPE equipment which climbing gear is classified as.
Chinese gear might come from the same factory but they also might skip a step such as heat treatment to sell them for cheaper, or worse quality control. As someone who loves aliexpress chinkshit i still wouldnt really trust it with my life

>>2824510
what about this though?
>they are certified for 25kn and there's vids breaktesting them on youtube and they are fine
do you have info on what those regulations that apply only for US or EU companies are? back when i bought these it looked like they had the same certification as the equivalent carabiner by black diamond, that's why i bought them

also have there been any accidents with them? idk how popular they are but they've been selling them for 5+ years, some of them must have failed by now in real life if they are somehow worse. is there some kind of database or something for these things?

>>2824509
>they are certified for 25kn
Are they though? Or did someone just put a UIAA cert on the packaging?
And if Xinda is listed on the UIAA database, how rigorous are the testing procedures? Do they conduct follow up testing to ensure that the carabiners they've certified are the same quality as those actually being sold?

And if Xinda is listed on the UIAA database AND you're confident with the quality assurance processes involved in the certification, are you sure the carabiners you've bought are genuine Xinda?

>>2824513
im not a professional in the subject
https://www.theuiaa.org/safety/certified-equipment/
they have a few UIAA rated products but many of the ones on their aliexpress store are not listed here, UIAA is the rating i trust the most for climbing so that's already pretty sketchy, i cant find any accidents including them but they also arent used very much. on their aliexpress store i see many 16kN carabiners being sold as rock climbing carabiners which is scary too
they mention meeting EN12275 on many of their products but no official proof of it or declaration of conformity for (EU) 2016/425 which is required for the relevant PPE products to be sold in the EU, of course they sell from china so they might not have a reason to spend money for that even if their products are fine

i downsized my shoes

>>2824515
as you say not all their products are uiaa and it's hard to find the ones that are. one of them is the D biner i have, i think that's the cert i saw back when i bought them. i see no reason why i shouldn't trust these as much as any western equivalent

do you know if there's a similar database for EN12275 like the one you linked for uiaa? as far as i understand the only way of proving that you are EN12275 certified is to have a "EU DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY", which i can't find for any of the chinese gear although i could for some black diamond biners. but i don't get why they would lie about the EU cert if they passed the american one without issue, i think it's more likely that their chinese marketing team are retards and just didn't announce it. also they should have been sued or something already. but i wish the EU had a database you could search like uiaa does. although even the uiaa dabatse is lacking in many ways

the main issue i wanted to whine about is that most people just go with what everyone else tells them, but in reality they know fucking nothing about which gear deserves trust or not. and as soon as you question them, or bring up that a product was made in china they lose their minds and come up with ridiculous shit like >>2824514

>>2824371
Whole body cardio/strength exercise in one subscription.
Great for Main Character Syndrome victims. Your average instagram tatoo sleeve Deano (uk) needs content/reason to live and this gives it in spades.

>>2815854 (OP)
Is gym climbing welcome here? I do a lot of that. But I'm looking to climb the outdoor walls around me sometimes this summer.

You guys bewilder and amaze me.

I’ve been climbing a few times, always with rope unless it’s under 8ft, and every time I’ve shit myself. The two scariest times were going up a wet cliff like some of the anons here posted, and another time relying on a skinny girl to be bottom rope. I’m shit scared of heights too!
How do you do it? It’s such a cool and fun sport but I can never bring myself to enjoy it in the moment because of my fear. Do you guys just not have that? Why aren’t you fucking scared god damn it. I have so much envy and respect at the same time.
>im not looking for encouragement I’ll never not be scared and dont want that to change, just genuinely curious because I always thought heights were a universal fear.
I get sweaty palms watching free solos climb too!

>>2824574
managing your fear is a large part of it in every medium of climbing. starting out- fear of falling, not trusting the gear, fear of fucking up, fear of heights. sport - fear of hitting a ledge, fear of rope tangled fall, fear of falling at the first clip and decking. trad- not trusting your gear, shit placements, running it out, fear of loose rock/killing your belayer, same stuff from sport too. ice - not trusting your placements, fear of popping your tools, fear of pumping out and falling at all, fear of killing your belayer

anyway you get it. It's true some people are very predisposed to being fearless but tend to also be careless climbers that eventually injure themselves and chill out. Keep in mind that most climbers are nervous about what they are doing, it really is just a mixture of experience, emotional stability, and maybe retardation that allows climbers to climb hard sketchy routes. Trust me if you keep at it you will be climbing stuff you would never imagine yourself getting on

>>2824509
I would be fine with it if you backed it up with a non-chinesium biner. I use a knockoff camp lift I got off of amazon for my trs setup but I always back it up below it with a modified toothed ascender. Like you said and looked into, it should be fine but any partner doesn't want to think about falling on their partners shitty weird gear

>>2824574
The first step is trusting the gear/belayer. That involves understanding the gear works, and learning to use it properly. If you don't really trust this chain of things to keep you alive, why the fuck are you off the ground? Also don't climb on wet rock, that is dangerous.

>>2824574
Alex Honnold does it by literally having a brain mutation that causes him to not feel fear

>>2824638
The wet rock was with ropes, and the only times I’ve even been on an actual rock face was with cadets.
>>2824638
Didnt have a choice :/ but I’m not a bitch so I went up.
>>2824648
Yeah something about his amygdala that needs more stimulation than normal. His eyes freak me out too!

I haven't done much climbing, nothing with ropes either apart from a rock wall they used to have in the mall. How do you get into climbing?

>>2824702
Most people will start by visiting a climbing gym and building skill + relationships with other climbers. Then find somebody who is willing to teach you how to climb outdoors. Even if you self-teach, you will need a climbing partner.

>>2824574
It's experience + trusting the system. Many climbers have a strong fear of heights. The way to overcome this is by knowing with certainty that you are safe, or at least within your acceptable level of risk. These give you the tools to control your fear.

>>2824616
>I would be fine with it if you backed it up with a non-chinesium biner
just use the non-chinesium biner as the first option then, wtf

>>2824558
check out the thread on /xs/

>>2824538
good work anon! That shit sucks. I have you noticed a significant improvement in your climbing technique?

When's the last time you've used a hip belay, /cg/?

>>2825970
we both know I'm never gonna do that but why did that artist have to draw her like a slut?

>>2824371
As best I can tell it got bad when the Free Solo documentary came out. I was part of the problem; I got started when COVID lockdowns ended.

Climbing gyms, particularly east coast cities are by far the worst. Outdoors tends to be a mixed bag but spots like the Red River Gorge are fantastic climbing full of absolute douchebags. Proper trad areas are still yuppie-free for the most part. Getting into that discipline is expensive and entails a lot more risk.

I sent my first 5.11d at the softest crag in the world. Gotta take a screenshot and frame it quick before mountainproject updates the grade...

To me it felt like 5.10d. All the routes on this crag are graded like this. I almost sent a 5.12 here which is laughable since I usually punt on 5.10b.

>>2827472
>5.12
wtf is with this climbing grade inflation

>>2825970
I used to do this all the time when I worked as an arborist

>>2828589
Kek. While grade inflation is a thing, it's also true that people back then really had no idea how much potential there was with advances in training and gear. On Beacon Rock there's a route that was first aided with spikes driven into the wall because the climbing was considered to be impossible. Today that pitch is graded 5.7.

This crag In climbing at is definitely inflated though yeah

>>2827472
>>2828594
can I guess? tensleep or rrg? I wish I had it that easy, devils lake typically keeps me a grade or two lower than my usual output

Man I love climbing

>>2828622
Nah it's a small crag on the coast. Everything else in the area humbles me pretty quickly.

This was an 8 pitch 5.7 I climbed yesterday. You'll probably recognize it if you've climbed in Banff before. Excellent rock. I've never done limestone slab before but it's a great combination.

My dad is a hero for this one though I think it was about his limit

will i regret it if i cheap out and get a kind of shitty (9cm thick but not that small) pad as my second one? i probably wont be doing highballs for a while but im not getting the full ground coverage i want with my current large pad

>>2830576
that's probably fine usually there's one area you want covered more than others. put the big pad there and the smaller pad elsewhere. plus it'll be easier to carry around.

>page 10
okay how about this one:

what's the best way to move from trad/multipitch climbing into proper alpine routes? let's assume that I won't be climbing on any ice/snow. my primary concerns are
- getting off-route
- rockfall
- acclimatization
- lack of experienced partner
I'm thinking about just taking a trip to the tetons and doing some scrambling or looking for a partner to take on beginner routes

>>2833185
Gun club sucks

I’d say the best way to move from trad/multipitch into proper alpine routes is to pick an accessible, easier line that you know you can reverse or summit and exit if things get dicey. A smooth, rappable wall with bolts or good ledge stations to anchor off of for bailing or easier, mountainneringish routes you can just scramble back down on. I also think if you’re leading 5.9 in the Valley, that doesn’t directly translate to 5.9 in the High Sierra (Central Pillar Frenzy 5.9 vs Mithril Dihedral 5.9+). Take pictures of topos, landmarks and other ide tidying features to reference while you’re up there. Always check suspect choss before you pull on it. You could always hire a guide or make friends with some locals to get you up a route if it’s your first time. Seriously, no shame in the guide. It’s a service for a reason. Will probably negate all your worries. Above all, just sack the fuck up, get out there, and don’t die!!

>>2833227
>gun club sucks
yeah well every time I go to vegas it rains so I've had to get pretty well-acquainted with the limestone

excellent advice though, thank you. I've done guided trips in the past and always had a great experience. I think that would be the best option but I just quit my job and I'm not sure how much I want to spend. For now I'll look for routes with bolted anchors and good topos.

is chalk cheating?

Local area I wanted to try was closed due to a bear sighting aparently, had to make do with the state park another 5 miles away. Bushwacking hiking approach was fucking miserable carrying all my bouldering pads (im also a soft fat weak bitch) but then i stumbled into a freakishly good boulder that had me entertained for a while
I hope the bear fucks off by next week
>>2834285
Being a great ape with fine motor control is aid

>>2834285
i guess the alternative would be to hang and let your palms dry in the wind, so yes.

is climbing a meme sport

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyIJ_c5dXSE

>>2834857
>closed sure to a bear sighting
>for a week
it's not like a nesting raptor or something why can't you just wait a couple hours for the bear to fuck off somewhere else. anyway lucky finding a good boulder... seems like 90% of boulder problems in my area aren't even worth doing.

>>2835203
the alternative is just that climbs are harder, some more than others. 99% of people use chalk way too much

>>2835660
holy shit i forgot about these videos

Yo, anyone in upstate NY want to go do some trad in the Adirondacks with me? Just got back from Alaska, packing the van up and getting ready to spend some time out there. Would love to crush with a fellow sperg. Hit me up on here and we can exchange info. Won’t kill you, comfortable leading up to 5.10 on gear in the Valley/5.11 in Red Rocks.

Has anyone here been to el potrero chico?

>>2836254
Naw but I’d love to go. Got some friends headed down there soon.

>>2836420
Same and I'm gonna join them on the next trip. It's only a bus ride over the border for us so we plan on going a lot.

>>2836176
These hands were made for jamming.

>>2836884
Good for jammin a hand crack, finger crack, your girls crack, her friends cracks or your crack

>>2836420
I’ve got a buddy going down there too. I’d love to get on Sendero Luminoso, but really just bolted jungle big walls and tacos after sounds like a fantastic hang

>>2836909


>>2836440
I clicked on the wrong post so here’s your (You)

I really don't understand how people find climbing fun

Captcha: XGAYA

>>2837043
How would you feel if you didn't have breakfast this morning?

>>2837045
Hungry until lunchtime, is that what climbing is like? Being hungry?

>>2837043
post body