/rcg/: Rock Climbing General

I'm really new to bouldering. I've been doing it for about three months, and all at my local UK climbing gym, but Christ, what a sport! Beats the shit out of anything I've gotten into before - football, cycling, squash. I love it and I'm trying to get in there three times a week.

> Apologies for not being more interesting/constructive but I'd definitely lurk here

>>1014777
I'm actually looking to reopen a gym in the Jackson, MS, USA area. I'm a frequent patron of all the gyms in my college town, but what would you like to see as a newcomer? I'm going to have to find or build a community from scratch.

>>1014798
I don't think anything which you wouldn't have thought of. The biggest thing for me, at a couple of gyms I've been to, is the approachability/friendliness of the staff. That makes it lots more attractive to newbies. As does decent snacks/coffee. One of the gums I go to have a lunchtime deal (weekdays) with half price entry and a free hot drink

In terms of walls, a range of inclines, overhangs, and traverses makes the experience as fun and accessible as it can be.

>>1014777
Same here. I'm relatively new to rock climbing and bouldering, but I know my dad has done a lot in the past and my uncle still currently does it (he hikes and camps over in Arizona, does a lot of bouldering there. Got his own home set up n all). Trying to pull in some money to get a gym membership to a place but shits all expensive asf... especially where I live.

I've been going to a gym for a while now and love it, but am wondering whether I should get a membership now or whether I should spend my time outdoors with my unis climbing club. What do you think? I could do both but it'd mean just paying extra for that membership.

I guess it's hard for me to gauge whether gyms are worth the money at this point since I'm so inexperienced. I have a friend to go with every week.

>>1015014
Gyms really are great, since it's a controlled environment for building skill year-round. How often do you go? May or may not be worth it for the membership.

any other charlotte, nc senpaitachi here? i go to inner peaks a few days a week

>>1015031
I've been going three times a week, planning to keep that up if I get a membership

>>1015102
Three times a week definitely makes the membership worthwhile. Day passes get expensive.

File: IMG_5151.jpg (4MB, 3264x2448px) Image search: [Google]

4MB, 3264x2448px

I came across a rock face and noticed climbing things attached to it. I tried climbing up to see if I could touch the first attacher but couldn't. Are climbing shoes that sticky? Even though it looks easy because of the little grab holds on the rock I couldn't do it.

>>1015996
Shoes are a big help. Magic little things.
Wouldn't recommend climbing without protection, though. You could be seriously injured.

>>1015996
climbing rubber is super grippy, but also climbing shoes are engineered to maximize minute purchase points with pointed toes, sharp edges, and stiff soles that hold your weight.

10 what? Like 5.10 or V10? Cause thats a bigggg difference. I climb for my college in the WNC region which is super fun. A lot of cool outdoor climbs around me too.

>>1016054
>op is so new he doesn't know to preface grade for clarity
>anon thinks he may be talking v scale not yds
lrn2context you fucking moron

>>1016054
5.10. V10 is faaaaar from my reach.
Any recommendations for opening a gym? It's on. What would you want as an advanced climber?

>>1016054
>>1016059
>bigggg
>faaaaar
you guys are gggaaayyy

>>1014798
While not a newcomer myself it's always nice to have a lot of auto belays if you feel like doing laps.

>>1014798
Put up a 45 trans 60 Bouldering wall. If you want people to get strong that's the way to do it. The best wall for training.

>>1015996
Where is this! Looks like a fun route

>>1014798
I'm planning on opening a huge rock climbing gym in my city too. We have a small ass bouldering gym at the military base which sucks, a university gym that's ok but only for students, and recently our first commercial bouldering gym opened up but is small and the owner is a cunt with a warped perception on climbing. I applied there but he was more concerned about hiring pretty faces than competent workers. Glad I didn't get hired. I'm opening it to bring something great to our city and partly to spite that particular owner.

I'm working on getting some patents on several ideas I have to start my own business(es) and once the money is flowing and I'm financially secured, I will focus on opening the gym.

Good luck on your endeavor. I'm stoked on mine

>>1016054
>a lot of cool outdoor climbs around me too
Lucky fuck.

I mean, I'm not super experienced, but everything around me is rotten shale and limestone and generally unsafe to climb if it's steeper than a good scramble.
>tfw used to teach rappelling for the BSA
>tfw the ONE natural climb we had (mixture of basalt and limestone), the *entire* face sloughed off mid-climb on a group of Venture scouts, all of which were injured by falling debris but no fatalities thanks to a top belay anchored 30+ft back from the edge

>>1017702
sucks, bro. sorry.
>tfw able to daytrip to the Valley
feelsgoodman.jpg

File: La Sportiva Miura XX.jpg (139KB, 480x320px) Image search: [Google]

139KB, 480x320px

Currently I am looking for new all-round lace pair of climbing shoes, after killing a pair of Ocún.
Having tried 5.10 and Boreal, I decided to look into LaSportiva. I have somewhat narrowed down my choice to:
>LaSportivas Miura
>LaSportiva Miura XX (Limited ED with P3)
>LaSportiva Genius
>LaSportiva Testerossa
Currently my main usage will be mainly indoor as I am atm not in the position to go /out/ frequently. Also the only LaSportiva shoes available for testing are the regular Miura.
My goal is to make them my only high-end shoes for the forseeable future.

>I would appreciate if you could share your experiences with those shoes.
Thanks.

>>1019912
Have you looked into Scarpa? The price point is a bit lower, in my experience.

>>1014775
Really been trying to get into climbing, went to Acadia with my friend this weekend and am deathly afraid of heights. loved climbing tho, wat do

>>1019981
Stay indoors at a gym. Boulder. Climbing isn't about heights for me. It's about the challenge.
If you're going to stay outdoors, using more or better protection might help to calm your nerves.

>>1019983
He's been telling me about bouldering. It looks like it takes a whole bunch of upper body strength, I'm in shape but not exactly yoked.

>>1019984
Not necessarily. Bouldering difficulty just ramps up a lot faster than toproping.
If you stay at V2 and below, it won't require massive upper body strength. It's just like if you took the hard part of a route and got rid of everything else.

>>1019978
Thanks for the input.
I have no experience with their lace products. Subjectively I have found their products rather gaudy, which should obviously have no impact on their performance.

How are they?

>>1019981
There is no shame in being afraid of heights and climbing is a great way of slowly tackling this fear.
That being said I'd also recommend, like
>>1019983 to stay indoors and get used to the height component.

Real rock is a lot more unconsistent and 'insecure' than gym climbing. Unforseen larger falls due to rock slippage are more likely outdoors and can potentially ruin the sport for you. It is a better place to tackle that fear, before you tackle outdoor projects.

>>1019985

I think Bouldering is the move. Might try to hit a gym tomorrow. I'll keep you updated!

>>1019989

Thanks for the input. I think the gym is definitely the way to go.

I really want to get into climbing/bouldering, but there aren't any good rock gyms in my area.

what do?

>>1020000
digits

>>1020000
What's the area? Someone might be able to point you to one that's not well-advertised.
Also, nice quads.

>>1020000
>>1020004

East side cleveland. I know there's Cleveland Rock gym, and I guess I'll get a membership there, but I don't want to be climbing the same walls every day

There's also Climb Cleveland.
Also, most places change a section of the walls every two weeks. With any luck, the two gyms will change on alternate weeks, so you've always got something new to do.
Even so, climbing the same stuff over and over is a lot more fun than you'd think.

>>1020007
>>1020006
Sorry, meant to (You) you.

>>1020007
Makes sense. I'll check them out, although they're both sorta far.

File: IMG.jpg (3MB, 3264x1836px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 3264x1836px

>>1015996
Are you me, anon?
This week I also found a wall with a few routes with bolts for climbing, I managed to climb it without any safety gear but desu I did it on an end of the wall where it was kinda easy. Still fun tho, I wish I had friends that were into it.

>>1019912
Why lace over velcro, anon?

File: IMG-20170521-WA0001.jpg (681KB, 3264x1836px) Image search: [Google]

681KB, 3264x1836px

Just spent four hours in this Mecca.

>>1020060
I simply prefer lace for the security of fit. While velcro is secure, it never was as secure for me as a good lacer.

Also i never felt that the speed of lacing your shoe outweighed the lack of perceived 'insecurity'.

Hope that answers your question.

>>1020119
*speed of velcro

>>1020119
It did. Thanks anon.

>>1020016
I couldn't climb the one I found at all unless I went around. I might try again though.

>>1020063
That doesn't look like Joshua Tree.

Going up to Seattle this weekend, then Vancouver for the week. I'm thinking of hitting up Stone Garden in Seattle, then Cliffhanger in Vancouver. Any fellow climbers in the area have recommendations? I'm bringing my family, and they're not certified to belay. Do those gyms have staff who will catch me, or at least autobelays?
Any help is appreciated.

File: 280134_31282_XL.jpg (175KB, 1024x768px) Image search: [Google]

175KB, 1024x768px

>>1020063
>9' of plastic
>mecca
god you must live in a shitty place. i'm 3 hours from climbing's actual mecca

File: 037DF231-D23D-4E85-A343-A048443CD38D-3798-000005B4A7A2B8CF.jpg (14KB, 318x159px) Image search: [Google]

14KB, 318x159px

>>1021064
fuck off. i live in actual mecca

File: thattaway.jpg (6KB, 293x139px) Image search: [Google]

6KB, 293x139px

>>1021099
>thinking this will trigger /out/
/pol/ is over there

>>1021099
it'd be pretty cool to climb the Kabbalah.

File: slide-placeholder.png (197KB, 918x648px) Image search: [Google]

197KB, 918x648px

>>1021099

>>1021099
Does Islam even allow you to climb? You have to pray to often to actually climb. Not to mention that bomb vest can be quite cumbersome and weigh you down.

>>1020063
My garage has 14 foot ceilings and I was actually thinking on building a climbing wall.

>>1021279
رمي بعيدا محرك أقراص أوسب الخاص بك

I have not been able to go to my climbing gym for the past couple of months due to health issues and traveling.
But I do intend to go tomorrow, and it will probably suck a lot due to the long break.

It sucks to live in a country with absolutely no cliffs. I need to go abroad while driving for a couple of days to reach nearest climbable rocks. If you have some natural rocks nearby - cherish them, you are lucky.

>>1014804
Good staff are awesome. One thing I've run into is some horrible egos in climbing. It's like, I know I suck, I'm just trying to have fun and get better. No need to rub it in that I'm a gumby.

>>1019912
Miuras are OK. Few of my friends got them, usually the shoes hold up for 18-24 months of moderate climbing. Very agressive and uncomfy but if you're going to climb indoors shouldn't be a problem

File: 1493991549146.png (19KB, 565x540px) Image search: [Google]

19KB, 565x540px

>tfw maybe tendonitis
Also who /ATL/ here?

>>1021102
A joke tries to hit you but you dodge!

File: Miuraxx.jpg (2MB, 3264x1836px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 3264x1836px

>>1019912
>>1023757
Got the LaSportiva MiuraXX.
Regular shoe size is 40-41 and went for 38 Miuras.
Indeed tight. The first time I wore them I could wear them non-stop for about 1h straight.
I expect them to expand (leather) and break in with time.

Does anyone have experience with Miuras and how much they stretch?

Newbie here. I want to get into climbing but I'm worried about my weight being an issue. One of the reasons I want to do it is because I think it would be a great workout too. There's a climbing gym near where I live. I'm 5'8 210lbs is this going to be a no-go or can I do it, it will just be hard?

>>1024851
If you're new it's probably aight, itll just be harder. might be an issue if you don't lose a few pounds before you git gud though

>>1024907
thanks anon.

>>1024851
one of the things i love about climbing is that there is a challenge for everyone. you'll find something to climb. also, nobody there will give a fuck how hard you climb, so don't be self conscious about how you do. you're going to flail, that's fine. everybody does their first time.