Women and climbing partners

L Kapwrote:

I have been super COVID cautious since mid-March. I started climbing again just last month. I'm not climbing with any of my pre-COVID partners. I found one new partner who is also only climbing with me and is otherwise mostly self-isolating at home. No gym climbing, only outside. We wear masks when we're within 10 feet horizontal of each other or other people. Climber wears a mask until they're about 20+ feet above the belayer, because gravity. We look for crags that aren't popular or crowded. We drive separately and we use hand sanitizer. Maybe all of this is overkill, but it's the most exposure I have to anyone besides my husband. It feels great to be back on rock again, but kind of sad to be so limited. I see people in my local area looking for random partners on FB all the time. That feels like a past world to me. 

Its impressive! I wish I could work out something like that. Definitely not an overkill, I feel like we’re all trying to do our best it’s just your best is really really good. 

Yula Movchanwrote:

Sorry to hear that happened Ma Nu. But I agree with what the other people said, it very well may be Covid related. Is there a bulletin board in your gym? Maybe worth trying and posting there? That way only interested partners will contact you.

No, they just didn't want and that is ok. 

There is no bulletin board and the gym is too small.... there is not even a cashier. you have to get the key and go in by yourself. it is really small. :) The people I'm climbing with now I found in a group on FB.

Yula Movchanwrote:

Its impressive! I wish I could work out something like that. Definitely not an overkill, I feel like we’re all trying to do our best it’s just your best is really really good. 

I'm lucky to live in an area with a lot of rock, and because of that, a lot of climbers. It helped that both my partner and I included our COVID requests in our online posts seeking partners. From there, it was easy to match up. I wish more people around here would talk about their COVID precautions openly and help normalize it.

L Kapwrote:

I wish more people around here would talk about their COVID precautions openly and help normalize it.

Yes it is true. I think what makes it hard is that you can be dead much quicker from a mistake on the climb than from the virus so my choice of partner is more based on the skill level and how much I trust them and then I worry about how many other people they climb with. I guess also I don’t have as many choices as you might have. 

There is a fair amount of cross contamination happening with gear swapping and all as much as I try to be on point. I end up taking two weeks off after each time I climb. 

How do you manage the gear with your partner?

Yula Movchanwrote:

Yes it is true. I think what makes it hard is that you can be dead much quicker from a mistake on the climb than from the virus so my choice of partner is more based on the skill level and how much I trust them and then I worry about how many other people they climb with. I guess also I don’t have as many choices as you might have. 

There is a fair amount of cross contamination happening with gear swapping and all as much as I try to be on point. I end up taking two weeks off after each time I climb. 

How do you manage the gear with your partner?

I agree that climbing safety is #1!  It seems to me from my very small sample size that climbers who care about COVID safety are also really good about general climbing safety so selecting for COVID safety gets you both, but that might not be universal. It's definitely worth having the conversations about safety practices before picking up a new partner.

My partner and I aren't that worried about surface transmission. The virus is not that hardy so it doesn't survive long on surfaces, especially outside where it's sunny and breezy. Also, the fear with surface transmission is that you get the virus on your hands and then you touch your mouth, nose, or eyes. We are using hand sanitizer between pitches and being careful about touching our faces. Certainly we're also more alert than before about things like wiping noses, and sanitizing hands before eating. My understanding is that the biggest risk factor is breathing in the air that someone else breathed out. So we don't carpool, and we wear masks like I described above. We don't talk in each other's faces when we're together at an anchor. No special protocols about handling gear. I'm not worried about sanitizing my rope or draws or pro. I think that's overkill, like wiping down your groceries when you take them into the house. 

I’ve mostly climbed with men, but I’d like to climb with women. I feel like it would be a different environment and a fun time. I’m always down to climb inside or outside in ABQ/NM :) 

Got started climbing w/other women, have only climbed with a guy once so far. Had another guy that wanted to go with me, but ghosted me after seeing a picture which was rather disappointing.

I mostly climb with men and with their girlfriends who have ended up becoming good friends of mine. I enjoy the time as a group but I would really like to climb with a group of women. 

I am interested in climbing with other women to the exclusion of men. My partners have all been men. I could really use some low key energy.