Ridiculous Climbing Gym Policies...Let's Hear Them

Loyd Wofford III wrote: I agree with the rule of no auto belaying cracks, especially deep fingers or anywhere a foot could get caught in the crack, can you imagine falling on an auto Belay and had your foot jam stick as your hands pop out of the crack? We never set the auto Belay where our natural cracks are 

Lets just ban crack climbing outright. Can you imagine what would happen if there was an earthquake and the crack ate you??? That why I only top rope V0s while covered in bubble wrap.

I went to a gym once that didn't sell beer.

Jim Titt wrote: I went to a gym once that didn't sell beer.

BYOB?

Haha.  My friend was trying to get signed off for lead belay at club sport in Portland. I was to take her test fall. She was way lighter than me. I climb up the steep wall 30 feet or so with the last draw at my toes and  and say “ok, I’m falling”. The gym employee says no. Climb higher. I think to my self “what a tool. That would have been an ok length fall to test. So I climb up 5 more feet and jump. It felt like a big fall. It ended with my toes lightly touching the ground and her hanging eight ft up at the first bolt. The gym employees eyes were like saucers! He said “ i meant climb up and clip a few more draws”. I looked at him and said “oh..... sooo where do we go from here?”. He just told me to never do that again.  The whole time my partners feet dangled above us. 

Darrell Cornick wrote: Haha.  My friend was trying to get signed off for lead belay at club sport in Portland. I was to take her test fall. She was way lighter than me. I climb up the steep wall 30 feet or so with the last draw at my toes and  and say “ok, I’m falling”. The gym employee says no. Climb higher. I think to my self “what a tool. That would have been an ok length fall to test. So I climb up 5 more feet and jump. It felt like a big fall. It ended with my toes lightly touching the ground and her hanging eight ft up at the first bolt. The gym employees eyes were like saucers! He said “ i meant climb up and clip a few more draws”. I looked at him and said “oh..... sooo where do we go from here?”. He just told me to never do that again.  The whole time my partners feet dangled above us. 

You’re the reason gyms have weird rules... employee or not why would you knowingly put yourself at risk just cause the guy says ‘go higher’ 

Ppl do anything nowadays for that lead belay tag ... 

Ska Ggs wrote:

You’re the reason gyms have weird rules... employee or not why would you knowingly put yourself at risk just cause the guy says ‘go higher’ 

Ppl do anything nowadays for that lead belay tag ... 

Ummm why you judging so hard? Nobody decked. Sounds like a safe fall to me. 

Blake Neville wrote:

Ummm why you judging so hard? Nobody decked. Sounds like a safe fall to me. 

Perhaps, but lightly touching the ground is not the goal after a fall on purpose... at least not my goal. But I guess I’m not as good at math and tend to round way up when I calculate fall distance and won’t take a risk on a 30+ ft fall as described 

They all do stupid shit because most are no longer run by climbers.  They've become a commodity and are being bought by businessmen and corporations looking to jump on the bandwagon who know jack about climbing.  Its all about how can I make the most money the fastest.

Ska Ggs wrote:

Perhaps, but lightly touching the ground is not the goal after a fall on purpose... at least not my goal. But I guess I’m not as good at math and tend to round way up when I calculate fall distance and won’t take a risk on a 30+ ft fall as described 

Belayer was clearly a physicist and had all the calculations figured before the fall. I get your point though. 

Blake Neville wrote:

Ummm why you judging so hard? Nobody decked. Sounds like a safe fall to me. 

Being inches away from decking is not a safe fall.

A safe fall is one where you don't splat.

NorCalNomad wrote:

Being inches away from decking is not a safe fall.

What if it was a soft catch?

. Mobes wrote: A safe fall is one where you don't splat.

Would you call being inches from being run over by a car safe? 

NorCalNomad wrote:

Would you call being inches from being run over by a car safe? 

Would you not?

Long Ranger wrote: I almost got kicked out of Pacific Edge in Santa Cruz for having my shirt off. Never would have thought that to be a problem. They didn't care that I lived in Boulder AT ALL.

I'm for not wearing headphones while climbing, although I understand that the music being played is not to everyone's taste (it's usually not to mine). Bouldering.... OK(ish), but I see that shit lead climbing, and I think that's kind of an accident waiting to happen. Instead bring like, a boombox and a dog or something.

Pacific Edge was the first place I encountered having to take a lead fall to get certified (probably 1997 or so). You also had to climb a specific difficulty (I seem to recall that it was a .10b back then, and their ratings were stout back then and they had dusty gravel on the floor that negated the stickiness of shoe rubber. Good times...

I've been at gyms that don't allow you to walk around barefoot yet they encourage beginners to climb in street shoes that could have stepped in shit/vomit/etc.

. Mobes wrote: A safe fall is one where you don't splat.

No, a near miss is a sign that the climbing gods let you get away with it.

This time.

It's also their way of letting you know to get your excrement assembled, or your will in order.

Ska Ggs wrote:

You’re the reason gyms have weird rules... employee or not why would you knowingly put yourself at risk just cause the guy says ‘go higher’ 

Ppl do anything nowadays for that lead belay tag ... 

I was not at risk. If I was was, I would not have done it The rope came tight after maybe 15 feet, add 6 or 7 feet off rope stretch and my belayers being pulled  8 feet off the ground. I had been slowing down a long time. It was just a super soft catch. I had maybe a 6-8 ft margin of error before it would have been a landing with the force off jumping off a chair. Something I’m totally comfy with. I have been clipping bolts and taking whips big and small since 1996. I guess a total of 3-6 vertical miles. The only time I have been injured on a fall climbing was when I  a scraped up knee in 1999. One medium bandade later I was fine 

Climbing is exiting and involves risk. I free solo, have been way runout and had do do a move more times than I can count. In  aid climbing I have wished to be somewhere else on the planet other than hanging from the piece I was on really badly. Do what you want in climbing. Chose your margin of error. Just never be wrong.  
In this sitution my belayer had caught me 50 times outside. She is solid. The only risk was if the bolt ripped through the plywood. That seemed unlikely. 

Darrell Cornick wrote:

I was not at risk. If I was was, I would not have done it The rope came tight after maybe 15 feet, add 6 or 7 feet off rope stretch and my belayers being pulled  8 feet off the ground. I had been slowing down a long time. It was just a super soft catch. I had maybe a 6-8 ft margin of error before it would have been a landing with the force off jumping off a chair. Something I’m totally comfy with. I have been clipping bolts and taking whips big and small since 1996. I guess a total of 3-6 vertical miles. The only time I have been injured on a fall climbing was when I  a scraped up knee in 1999. One medium bandade later I was fine 

Climbing is exiting and involves risk. I free solo, have been way runout and had do do a move more times than I can count. In  aid climbing I have wished to be somewhere else on the planet other than hanging from the piece I was on really badly. Do what you want in climbing. Chose your margin of error. Just never be wrong.  
In this sitution my belayer had caught me 50 times outside. She is solid. The only risk was if the bolt ripped through the plywood. That seemed unlikely. 

I've seen alot of people like you in the gym and outside. You are the risk. Shenanigans leads to accidents.

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