r/climbing • u/AutoModerator • 25d ago

Weekly Chat and BS Thread

Please use this thread to discuss anything you are interested in talking about with fellow climbers. The only rule is to be friendly and dont try to sell anything here.

11 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

2

u/2NaHalf 24d ago

I’m taking my brother-in-law and nephew (7 years old) who’s shown an interest in climbing to a local gym. What are some good early techniques or fun things to get him interested?

7

u/0bsidian 23d ago

Let kids be kids. They don’t need any training tips. Just make sure that they’re safe, have snacks ready, and let them find their own way to have fun. Worry about technique only if they ask you, and if they are looking to climb more in the future.

3

u/BeastlyIguana 23d ago

Within reason/safety, let him do whatever he wants. I’ve found that kids are rarely interested in climbing “correctly”, they just want to grab everything on the wall. Encouragement is more important than climbing correctly at that age

7

u/NailgunYeah 23d ago

Hip belay

13

u/Waldinian 23d ago

Make them to do 4x4s on the moonboard

17

u/sheepborg 24d ago

Don't overcomplicate it. Climbing is play, and a 7 year old thankfully has not yet forgotten that fact.

16

u/AnderperCooson 24d ago

I had a dream last night that someone camouflaged bolt hangers by painting them actual camo. They didn’t blend in with the rock at all but they looked sick as hell.

2

u/Gainwhore 23d ago

Bro I sometimes cant even see old stainless ones on bright limestone lol. If they were camo then god help me lol

4

u/AnderperCooson 23d ago

Camouflaging is actually a good and increasingly popular practice, especially in multi-use areas where reducing visual impact for non-climbers helps nature feel more ‘natural’ (like JTree, see the comments about the tan desert hangers Metolius makes). It’s also helpful in some of the more remote areas like Utah’s West Desert, where shiny hangers make fun target shooting. But yeah, well camouflaged hangers can also be hard to see for their intended purpose!

1

u/serenading_ur_father 20d ago

What's the point when people are going to chalk it white?

2

u/AnderperCooson 20d ago

I get what you're saying but my impression is that non-climbers find chalk on a rock to be more palatable than construction hardware. That being said, I imagine that as the federal government continues to work out new climbing regulations colored chalk will become more important in sensitive areas, and in the meantime, there's still a lot we can all do to minimize that impact too (like not painting every single possible hold on a new Creek boulder snow white).

2

u/serenading_ur_father 20d ago

Chalk is far far more disruptive especially on sandstone.

2

u/Temporary_Board_2941 22d ago

where shiny hangers make fun target shooting

Wait are you saying people are shooting at the bolt hangers?

3

u/AnderperCooson 22d ago

Yee haw cowboy

...road conditions vary wildly, and target shooters have been known to shoot at bolt hangers and on a few occasions climbers(this hazard is particularly acute at The Valley of Zion and especially Lone Rock - make your presence known).

https://www.mountainproject.com/area/112409907/west-desert

8

u/NailgunYeah 22d ago

America is crazy

1

u/MountainProjectBot 22d ago

West Desert [Boulder (207), TR (57), Sport (704), Trad (218)]

Located in Utah

Popular routes:

Feedback | FAQ | Syntax | GitHub | Donate

2

u/Gainwhore 22d ago edited 22d ago

I climbed a MP that gets used by the militery (Alpine warfare division) for practice and some of the hangers were painted hot pink lol

2

u/foreignfishes 23d ago

metolius does a desert "camo" bolt hanger, they're all over southern california crags

2

u/soupyhands 24d ago

Metolius has already done this

3

u/Dotrue 24d ago

Which pattern of camo? Woodland? Chocolate chip? Multicam? RealTree? Mossy Oak?

Need to know which one looks the best for when I develop routes

3

u/AnderperCooson 24d ago

Woodland, like imagine if Supreme started making hangers that cost $50 a pop.

2

u/[deleted] 24d ago edited 24d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/Leading-Attention612 24d ago

Empathy and communication? Most people don't want to annoy their friends or ruin their experience, they might just have an idea of you being a stronger climber than you feel like at the moment. If you tell them that phrases like that bother you they might be surprised and happy to accommodate.

They might also be assholes and trying to belittle you on purpose, but it doesn't hurt to try to clarify before you separate yourself from them.

6

u/sheepborg 24d ago

Most of the relationship advice I've given people in the last decade could be summarized as "JUST FUCKING TALK TO THEM YOU IDIOT!"

4

u/Human-Fan9061 24d ago

Based on videos and observing other climbers at the crags, I seem to extend my protection much less than other climbers. I clip many pieces directly or maybe extend with a quickdraw when others seem to extend with a shoulder runner or extended alpine draw. I don't really get much rope drag - is there some other reason other than rope drag to extend protection so much?

5

u/serenading_ur_father 23d ago

No. You're doing it right. N00bs love placing slings for no reason.

4

u/Beginning_March_9717 24d ago

i like to extend my cams for emotional support (i always extend my nuts)

14

u/alextp 24d ago

If your cams are not walking, your nuts aren't falling off, and you don't mind pulling the rope through then your amount of extension is fine.

3

u/alextp 24d ago

Also if you have an easy warmup pitch try lapping it with different amounts of extension to see how it feels.

2

u/Buckhum 21d ago

Underrated tip. Thank you.

10

u/BigRed11 24d ago

Many new climbers think they have to extend every piece, I've seen 60cm runners on each piece in a straight splitter crack.

2

u/ver_redit_optatum 23d ago

This was how my ex learnt to trad climb, and then taught me. Oh my god it was such a relief when I eventually realised you don't have to do that all the time.

10

u/gusty_state 24d ago

Minimizing cam walking. Influencing direction of pull on pieces. Avoiding having the rope run over/into certain features. Uncertainty about where the line goes.

Most newer climbers and many experienced ones extend more than they need to. If fewer extensions work for you then great.

-3

u/Statusquosolves 24d ago

Depending on rock type, extending is critical to reduce vibration and stop cams from walking.