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

Chuck Norris soloed Freerider

Mike wrote: Edit because I don't feel like bumping the thread again and making this go on longer. I see it as being a requirement for passing a lead test as silly (you will not convince me otherwise). I would more equate it to tying a perfectly safe knot such as a fig 8 with a proper yos finish and having them fail you because they didn't like how you tied in without giving you a chance to tie in how they request.

Hey many we're not going to mock you just because you failed the test.  I'll admit that's an annoying way to fail as it's far from universal but it's hardly a ridiculous policy.  

I have never tied a knot at the end of my gym rope, and have never been asked to do so by any gym employees at any of the gyms that have lead climbing, whether They provided the ropes, or whether I brought my own.

But I have recently noticed this practice at two separate gyms (both gyms that provide ropes), where some climbers would always check if they had a knot at the end of the rope before climbing, then untie the knot, pull the rope through after leading, and then go through the motions of tying the knot, checking that it was tied, climbing, untying, pulling through, tying, checking, etc.

It seemed pretty silly, because even on the longest/most overhung routes in this gym there is plenty or rope left over when leading, and these people weren’t climbing the tallest/longest routes... but they were very serious about it. 

It’s just a good habit for outdoors... I said Honnold doesn’t as a joke cause when he went outdoors a knot could have saved him a serious injury when sanni lowered him off the end of a rope and dropped him... Gym rule weird, but it’s an outdoor habit I do in the gym too. 

Ska Ggs wrote: It’s just a good habit for outdoors... I said Honnold doesn’t as a joke cause when he went outdoors a knot could have saved him a serious injury when sanni lowered him off the end of a rope and dropped him... Gym rule weird, but it’s an outdoor habit I do in the gym too. 

You know what else could have saved him... a better girlfriend

Tim Lutz wrote: Chuck Norris soloed Freerider

Chuck Norris soloed Freerider....on weed.

Blake Neville wrote:

You know what else could have saved him... a better girlfriend

The Sanni-hate on MP is so weird. And ugly. 

Phil Lauffen wrote:

The Sanni-hate on MP is so weird. And ugly. 

She ruined what could have been a perfectly good climbing film. 

NorCalNomad wrote:

Only ridiculous if you don't know the data and science behind that.

When I worked at a gym and saw an OLD harnesses I would tell the person that they should probably replace it and why. The nylon on your harness (hell, any plastic) will weaken over time even if kept in a completely dark dry box with the tags still on, that's just the nature of plastic chemistry.

What is ridiculous, valuing $50 every 3-5 years over your safety and peace of mind. 

So if I hand you a brand new climbing harness stored in the dark that's 5 years old and never used you're gonna throw it in the garbage and tell me it's unsafe to use?

Or would you just give me one of those lectures as an materials 'expert' and let me go ahead and climb on it realizing that there is no danger and the industry standard is 10 yrs?

Tradiban wrote:

Chuck Norris soloed Freerider....on weed.

Captain Kirk should’ve used a rope to climb Freerider, apparently he’s no Chuck Norris. Good thing Spock had those rocket shoes

Jennie Matkov wrote:

Captain Kirk should’ve used a rope to climb Freerider, apparently he’s no Chuck Norris. Good thing Spock had those rocket shoes

(sorry, end derailment)

Kirk wasn't on Freerider, he was attempting the Nose. He fell out of the 10c hand crack on Boot Flake.

Marc801 C wrote:

Kirk wasn't on Freerider, he was attempting the Nose. He fell out of the 10c hand crack on Boot Flake.

Ahh yes, thank you. Even better 

Cron wrote: It’s because of insurance policies.
Also, people are inherently dumb.

Cron for the win on this one.  

This thread seems more like a Rorschach test for how anal the poster is than anything else.

Mike D wrote: I think requiring a knot at the end of ropes is a good thing. If nothing else, having one enforces the importance of the practice of using them outside where you may not know the exact length of the route you’re jumping on.

Safety is important, and gyms are, like it or not, where new climbers are coming from.

Failing someone on a lead test for not tying one is a bit over the top, perhaps. 

I understand this point, and am all for teaching safety to new climbers, but there should be some kind of standards or test for climbing gym employees to be qualified to teach anything. The vast amount of misinformation, just plain wrong, and silly information i see climbing gym employees/managers teaching people is truly concerning. Of course, the newer climber takes this as gospel because they assume the guy who manages the climbing gym MUST know what hes talking about, when it is apparent to the rest of us that he does not.

Look I might seem like an anal duche for being overly cautious about gym rules. But there are things most people fail to think about in the big picture.

1. These are businesses that, like any smart business, are looking to limit their liabilities/ minimize their risk.
1a. You getting hurt in the gym doesn't just effect just you. You or multiple people fuck something up bad enough, and that could dramatically change how they have to do business. ie. "you'll ruin it for everyone."
2. It's always way better to teach someone to be as safe as possible. Because they will become more lax about things as time progresses and their experiences/ further learning will dictate what is overkill. When I would teach sport anchors I would tell the class exactly that, and that my level of personal risk outside might very well be different than what I'm teaching. ex. you certainly wouldn't teach someone that a wrench is a hammer, but when you're working on something...it might just be the best hammer you have at that time...
3. Climbing inside is different than climbing outside. Sometimes that's a really good thing, sometimes it's kinda lame. 

Ska Ggs wrote: Honnold doesn't tie a knot in the end of his gym rope ...

And famously was dropped to the ground by his girlfriend in the freesolo film by not having a stopper knot.

Gabe Parker wrote:

And famously was dropped to the ground by his girlfriend in the freesolo film by not having a stopper knot.

Really?

NorCalNomad wrote: Look I might seem like an anal duche for being overly cautious about gym rules. But there are things most people fail to think about in the big picture.

1. These are businesses that, like any smart business, are looking to limit their liabilities/ minimize their risk.
1a. You getting hurt in the gym doesn't just effect just you. You or multiple people fuck something up bad enough, and that could dramatically change how they have to do business. ie. "you'll ruin it for everyone."
2. It's always way better to teach someone to be as safe as possible. Because they will become more lax about things as time progresses and their experiences/ further learning will dictate what is overkill. When I would teach sport anchors I would tell the class exactly that, and that my level of personal risk outside might very well be different than what I'm teaching. ex. you certainly wouldn't teach someone that a wrench is a hammer, but when you're working on something...it might just be the best hammer you have at that time...
3. Climbing inside is different than climbing outside. Sometimes that's a really good thing, sometimes it's kinda lame. 

An anal douche is just an enema. Change my mind.

Andrew Krajnik wrote:

An anal douche is just an enema. Change my mind.

I can't argue, it checks out.

Also, I'm reminded of a once-favorite pejorative of mine: "douchenozzle". Tip of the spear, brother.