Funny Climbing Gym Stories?

Here's a fun one, of me:

Basically first time leading in the gym, having lead my first sport route outdoors not long before:

Holding onto a pinchy sloper, as I overcome the over hung potion of the climbing wall, I'm trying to make the clip, and I come off. I make a very loud "uuurghh!" noise (prompting everyone in the gym to look), flip backwards because I stupidly back stepped the rope, come with-in a foot of head butting my buddy, and then swing under the overhang and slam my shoulder into the wall. It was quite the production! I fortunately walked away from this with just a bit of rope burn behind my knee - no other damage/pain.

Worst part was looking back up at the route, and seeing the bomber jug I was "supposed" to use as a stance for making the clip....

This was my first ever fall on lead. Gave me some jitters the rest of the day, but fortunately no lasting impact, and it taught me a lot.

GregMiller wrote:Was at Movement Boulder a month or so ago, and there were two guys taking turns aiding up an overhanging line of bolts. I mean, 4 aid ladders each, fifi hooks, the works. It was actually really fun to watch, because aiding is something I'd like to get familiar with, but don't really have a resource for.

I once had a friend suggest practicing aiding at the gym. He said that he used to when he was younger practice aiding/hauling and even setting up his portaledge in the gym. Unfortunately they told me no and that it was against gym policy. Sad day; I was really looking forward to fulfilling everyones dreams of seeing that guy with a ton of gear climbing in the gym. I would have loved to watch him as youngster setup his ledge on the gym wall.

With how crowded most gyms are these days, aiding would probably annoy people who want to climb a route.

Ana Tine wrote:With how crowded most gyms are these days, aiding would probably annoy people who want to climb a route.

That really depends on when and where you go. Personally I feel like gyms are for training and are a first come first serve basis. I've been annoyed when groups take multiple laps on a route but then I remember there's plenty more and go find something else to do. If someone gets annoyed with me for training on what I need to train on to accomplish a goal; well that's their choice to get annoyed. (But I'm also not talking about 6pm on a Friday there is a certain level of curtesy.) I just don't think is someone else's place to be annoyed by the way I feel I need to train to accomplish my goals. It is called aid climbing so yeah I would be "climbing" so why should someone else who choses to climb in a different style make what I'm trying to do less? They can go climb something else because right now I'm climbing this route whether or not they agree with the style.

But getting back to telling/hearing gym stories and not to start a debate on "gym ethics". I'm out.

My husband had been working a pretty hard boulder problem, V6 if I recall correctly, and kept falling a couple of moves from the top. This little girl, probably about 10 years old, asks if she can have a try. She floats up the thing, makes the move he'd been struggling with, then says 'And now, for the grand finale!' and does a huge dyno to the finish. She wasn't being a jerk, just having a blast climbing. It was super cute and hilarious - we still laugh about it. Kids are amazing.

Mark E Dixon wrote: I have always thought you went "in direct" ie two words, in directly to the bolt, not "indirect". Comments? Time for a vote?

Ha ha, you are correct. I took my gf climbing outside, she knows how to belay, but is not very experienced. Anyways, I ran out of steam and started to aid the last 20' of the crack, going in direct and asking for slack to clip my next highest piece. Needless to say she was very confused and scared because she thought I was clipped indirect and something might happen.

BrokenChairs Carlile wrote: They can go climb something else because right now I'm climbing this route whether or not they agree with the style.

You do realize that gyms are private businesses?

I doubt your "first come, first served" ethic will get you far when the staff tells you to stop annoying the other patrons.

Although watching the episode would likely qualify as a Funny Gym Story. I can just picture the police trying to pull you down :-)

Mark E Dixon wrote: You do realize that gyms are private businesses? I doubt your "first come, first served" ethic will get you far when the staff tells you to stop annoying the other patrons. Although watching the episode would likely qualify as a Funny Gym Story. I can just picture the police trying to pull you down :-)

If they want to take it that far and go tell on me for taking too much time on a route then I would laugh, comply and post to this thread. But if they call the cops I'm going in direct and never coming down!! I was just saying I paid to climb there too so I just don't feel bad if someone is annoyed by the style I choose to employ because they think I'm taking too long on one of the hundreds of routes. honestly how long could it really take me to clip 10 bolts. Guaranteed people have spent more time TRing routes in a gym.

BUT the gym did already tell me no so I guess we'll never find out. If a gym did allow me though I would not care about taking a few extra minutes to dial my rhythm.

Long Ranger wrote: In direct to my heart the diss courses straight and true I, a gym climber am humiliated in the thread of humiliating stories of gym climbing

Respect.

Josh Triplett wrote: ...all the judgemental asshats ... small and petty ... adamant and vociferously voiced opinions and judgments ...thread devolved quite rapidly... frail sensibilities.

Josh Triplett wrote:I do my best not to judge.

Ahahahahah there is a funny climbing gym story right there :-)

Hey, awesome work on picking up the hints and agreeing to get a shirt, thanks!

My friends and I were climbing at a Ft Collins gym for the first time. We were cranking as hard as we could, and when we were done, the employee on duty had us sign some paper work.

It was Liz Grenard-aka Lizard Queen, and she commented, "Sign it if you can." We could barely hold the pen and all I could do was scribble.

Biggie Fresh wrote:Saw a guy leading indoors (with fixed draws like normal) with two prussik loops and a single quickdraw on his harness. And of course he was shirtless.

I don't understand this... what's wrong with having some rescue gear on your harness? I have some stuff I just keep on my harness because it'll save my ass in an emergency. Do y'all take your self-rescue gear off your harness every time you go to the gym? That sounds like way too much work and, with my luck, I'd probably forget to put it back on for when I need it.

eli poss wrote: I don't understand this... what's wrong with having some rescue gear on your harness? I have some stuff I just keep on my harness because it'll save my ass in an emergency. Do y'all take your self-rescue gear off your harness every time you go to the gym? That sounds like way too much work and, with my luck, I'd probably forget to put it back on for when I need it.

It's a pain when you have to get a quick chalk- up, or make that awkward clip, and there's something getting in the way and making a tangled mess.

Then what do you do outside?

eli poss wrote: I don't understand this... what's wrong with having some rescue gear on your harness? I have some stuff I just keep on my harness because it'll save my ass in an emergency. Do y'all take your self-rescue gear off your harness every time you go to the gym? That sounds like way too much work and, with my luck, I'd probably forget to put it back on for when I need it.

Prussiks are probably overkill in the gym, but you are absolutely right about carrying a spare draw for potential emergencies.

Anecdote: Out of laziness, I never bothered to clear a runner and an extra locker in my gym pack that I would carry around at the gym.

I used the runner and locker on two occasions for gym "rescues". Once to help free a climber who had managed to cinch the rope from below her last draw around her ankle into a slipknot during an inverted fall -- she was fully suspended by her foot, and the rope was cutting off circulation fast. The runner and locker let me redirect her weight to another bolt so we could free her safely.

Second occasion was a very similar situation, except the climber somehow managed to impale his ankle on a draw after the rope cinched around his foot (seriously, no bullshit). Again, the runner and locker let us redirect his weight to a bolt so we could remove the draw from the wall and safely lower him for EMS.

In both situations, the gym staff were not prepared to respond, let alone quickly. Having the extra gear close at hand helped resolve both situations in a reasonably fast manner.

Now for the "funny gym story" part. The impalement happened as a birthday party was going down on the opposite side of the structure that was climbed on. Lots of high decibel screaming and cursing from the poor guy who was hanging like a worm on a hook, all very audible to the parents and party-goers next door. Ha ha?

Got some good chuckles reading through this. Even from the sours bickering to each other :)

eli poss wrote: I don't understand this... what's wrong with having some rescue gear on your harness? I have some stuff I just keep on my harness because it'll save my ass in an emergency. Do y'all take your self-rescue gear off your harness every time you go to the gym? That sounds like way too much work and, with my luck, I'd probably forget to put it back on for when I need it.

A few years back, I was at a climbing gym when a climber freaked out after a fall and her belayer managed to get the grigri stuck and didnt know what to do. Gym staff decided to take her off belay by having two staff members grip the rope above the grigri with their hands, remove the grigri from the belayer's harness, wait for additional staff member to put on harness, attached another grigri above the stuck grigri, and then lower the climber who was shrieking uncontrollably.

This was maybe a few weeks after i started climbing and knew nothing about climbing/self rescue/belay escape, anything, nothing. And at the time, I thought the gym employees were strong bad asses ready for anything!

At a Seattle climbing gym, Mr. Blowhard Douchebag would belay his female partner as if it were the last thing he wanted to do at that moment. Looking everywhere around the gym except up at her as she was climbing, making it abundantly clear that he was bored off his ass. As she would top out, he would lower her mach speed, as if she were in free fall, putting the breaks on only when she was a few feet from decking. I'd see something falling in the corner of my eye as if someone came untied, but then realize he was just lowering her again. She was clearly highly uncomfortable with this zero resistance lowering method apparently only known to the most highly skilled and annoyed douchebags.

This dynamic continued throughout the time they were there, and she carried on like a champ without complaint.

Jplotz wrote:At a Seattle climbing gym, Mr. Blowhard Douchebag would belay his female partner as if it were the last thing he wanted to do at that moment. Looking everywhere around the gym except up at her as she was climbing, making it abundantly clear that he was bored off his ass. As she would top out, he would lower her mach speed, as if she were in free fall, putting the breaks on only when she was a few feet from decking. I'd see something falling in the corner of my eye as if someone came untied, but then realize he was just lowering her again. She was clearly highly uncomfortable with this zero resistance lowering method apparently only known to the most highly skilled and annoyed douchebags. This dynamic continued throughout the time they were there, and she carried on like a champ without complaint.

Sounds like you are making assumptions here. There are people I have climbed with for years and we like to screw with each other at gyms so they may have both been fine with what they were doing.

Fernando Cal wrote: Gym staff decided to take her off belay by having two staff members grip the rope above the grigri with their hands, remove the grigri from the belayer's harness, wait for additional staff member to put on harness, attached another grigri above the stuck grigri, and then lower the climber who was shrieking uncontrollably.

My face when...WOW. you gotta be kidding me.

Our gym recently introduced a new rule that all staff on the clock must wear a harness and carry a belay device in case they need to assist in some way. Now I find myself sitting here wondering how many actually would know what to do in an emergency.