hawkwing_lb | Climbing, and sundry other things

One day, I will have to learn the ratings for the climbing wall.

Today, managed two routes, both ones I've finished before. Actually got onto to overhang on the next route I'm working on conquering. Tried - and failed, woefully - three much more tricky routes, and didn't have the chance to try the next route I want to attempt to conquer.

As soon as I can afford it, I need to get climbing shoes. I understand they can make a difference. (I also need to get new runners, since mine are pushing up eighteen months now. While they're holding up marvellously well, I think perhaps this won't last. Not if I keep abusing them at the climbing wall.)

Tomorrow, I get to do outdoor running. I walked myself a route a while back, one that's maybe a mile and a half, two miles long (and at least half of that on a definite uphill slope), but I haven't had the chance to see if I can run it. Or some of it.

Also tomorrow, I need to organise my notes, shelve my books, and arrange my plan of attack for this ~three week period of pre-exam time.

This is going to be fun, I think. I get to do a lot of the reading I skipped the first time through, but because I've already done some very similar exams, I'm not worried that my prep will be inadequate. My prep's already adequate: this is just a matter of making it better, and learning interesting! new! facts and facets while doing so.

Hey. Was I optimistic just there? Wow.

I must be feeling pretty good.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Boots will probably push your grade up about 2 grades (what do you use now?) Runners - I assume you mean quickdraws? (2 carabiners and short sling?) The 'life'depends on the number of falls and exposure to UV. (also height above ground, when you fell. Falls at 50 feet are much less damaging than falls at 10) Most gear comes with lifespan ratings - pop into a climbing shop and read the ones on new gear similar to yours. Carabiners - despite what they may say, really don't have a lifespan, unless subjected to a drop onto a hard surface from more than about 10 feet (in which case, throw away) you can buy mini-slings and sort quick draws like that. I am an old phart these days can sort of get up grade 20-21 Australian. My hardest ever was onsight 24 trad. I've followed a few 25's (26 was the hardest in the world then, now we're up to 32) My son is leading sport 23 on rock.

Runners = running shoes. I believe Americans call them trainers or sneakers. :) I've a decent pair from the Nike "Air Pegasus" range that I've used for everything for the last eighteen months and change. (My approach to shoes: pay for quality, and they last.) And that's what I use at the wall.

I'm going to invest in the real thing in a couple weeks, though, I think: the Great Outdoors' online shop lists a pair for seventy-five quid that one of the other climbers recommended to me.

My harness (http://www.greatoutdoors.ie/shopping_admin/product_details/product.cgi?product=CH007&cat=Climbing%20Equipment&sub=Climbing--Climbing%20Harnesses), belay device (http://www.greatoutdoors.ie/shopping_admin/product_details/product.cgi?product=CEB003&cat=Climbing%20Equipment&sub=Climbing--Climbing%20Essentials%20-%20Belay%20Devices) and carabiner (http://www.greatoutdoors.ie/shopping_admin/product_details/product.cgi?product=CKS003&cat=Climbing%20Equipment&sub=Climbing--Karabiners%20-%20Screwgate%20Crabs) are new since January, and came with 24 months' warrantee. So I figure I'm good for a little while. (I do check for stress on the seams every so often, though.)

So far I'm a baby climber: I can manage three routes at the wall, but they're the easiest ones. (I can't figure out the rating system: no one seems to know if the new routes that went up at Easter have even been rated yet. If the ratings listed actually apply, I'm climbing something that's 3, 4a, maybe 4b in the French system, which is what, 12 in the S. African system, 5.5 US?) I'm working on an overhang, but I don't have either the strength or the technique, yet, to do anything that relies on the really bitty holds, or involves a lot of overhang.

Ah! sorry 'runners' are trad climbing term for the wedges chocks and cams you insert into cracks. The rope 'runs' through them. I assumed you were leading the routes. 12 seems quite easy for climbing wall, but possible. Note the nice thing about this is that if you can do a climbing wall 12, you can do a natural rock 14... as natural rock lower grades are seldom as vertical. Of course at the other extreme if you can do 24 climbing wall, you can climb 22 natural. Technique is really best learned on natual rock. It can substitute a lot for strength.
For climbing boots... lasting quality does not equate to price. price is how hard they'll let you climb... so the top end are pricy and fragile. Size is also vital. They HAVE to fit tight. Go into a climbing shop and get the right size - about a size smaller than shoe size is typical. I would consider - for what you're doing (indoor wall) a pair of rock-slip ons - something like a mad rock flash - R650 here (around 40 pounds UK) should last you three years of regular use. Paddy goes through a pair of boots about every 9 months - but his are ultralight 2 sizes too small shaped horrors :-) and he is hard on boots.

Ok I just went and looked at your prices - I think you need scout around a bit more :-)http://www.mountainmailorder.co.za/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=3
is a local SA site - don't suggest you order from them, but that is plus import duty!

The Great Outdoors place has been really good and helpful about gear every time I've been in to them, so I figure the same should apply when I go to talk to them about shoes.

Ireland is, however, in the top three most expensive countries in Europe, so. Seventy-five quid is probably the best bargain I can hope for (that's about stg£50).

I'm looking forward to being able to do actual rock climbing, but there aren't a lot of places I can get to around here, so I'll have to take one of the club's organised trips next year to do some.

At which point I'll hopefully be a better climber, too. :)

Aha. Silly me. I got the currency wrong. That's not too bad a premium. Don't wait 'until you're better' to do a club trip. Natural rock tends to make you better at technique. And if you don't have huge amounts of upper body strength it forces you into using technique - and seriously - like riding a bicycle - once you 'get' it most of techniques are simple and natural to use. Climbers generally are very good to new climbers - probably less so in the wall situation because of numbers. When we went to the UK in the dark ages to climb, I had one contact. He took us climbing in Yorkshire and passed us on - literally like a parcel - to Don Willans in Wales. This is rather like saying 'this writer friend of mine took us to James Joyce and told him to look after us :-)' and was just about as insane as that would be.

Cool.

The problem with climbing is that if I'm going to do it on rock, it'll have to be an overnight trip. Because there really isn't anywhere that close.

So I'm waiting until I can actually climb stuff before going to fall off more stuff. :)

Ach. This when I really start realising I have no idea :-). I saw some grand pictures of Irish sea-cliffs and thought there must be lots of climbing in your back yard as it were. I think we also have a far more laid-back attitude to travel with the distances here (Eric said the roads in Ireland are like those in New Zealand - don't say 'Oh, 50Km I'll do that in half an hour' because it could take that... or two hours. Mostly it's freeway driving at 120km/h here. We've got three bolted areas we climb at - the closest is an hour away, and the others are 2-3 hours off - around 200-250 Km There are some others near Durban (about 2 hours) but heat and crime are a problem. We've done day trips to all of them... I guess it is us that are weird, eh?

There's climbing in Wicklow, and down south, and in the west - but Wicklow's ~two hours by car, and the others are three-four hours by car, minimum. Getting there by rail or bus would be iffy, at best.

(I am student. I have no car. No licence, either.)

I live north of Dublin, which is like flat growing land. If I become a better climbing, with training to lead climb and such, and can get some more experienced mates, I might try climbing in Howth, which has a quarry and some cliffs. But. I lived there for twelve years, and never saw climbers on the cliffs, so.

Yeah, the roads are kind of iffy. I mean, there are good straight roads from Dublin to Belfast, Dublin to Galway, Dublin to Limerick, Dublin to Cork, but... if you want to get around outside those, you're probably looking at an hour or so to do 50km, longer if you get lost somewhere unsignposted with very windy roads. (Like the Sky Rd. out of Clifden, Co. Galway, into Co. Mayo. Seriously. Crazy.)

Climbing, and sundry other things

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