overheard at the crag: post it

Overseen/overheard this weekend at the local sport crag: two very in-shape climbers hiking up the steep switchbacks to the crag from a different wall about a 1/4 mile away, cooler in tow, breathing heavily and walking slowly

'Whoo man this approach is rough! So steep!'

As they walk by, my partner notices they still have their aggressive climbing shoes on.

I weep for their toes and their shoe rubber.

Dan Dwrote:

Yeah, I have a friend who says things like "I just did my first 10a! I had to hang two times but I did it".

I don't know what to say to her

How about “congratulations!” ..?

Em Coswrote:

How about “congratulations!” ..?

No, I'd never congratulate her. Climbing isn't about having fun and accomplishing personal goals, it's all about the SEND

(Of course I congratulated her, I'm not a monster)

Em Coswrote:

How about “congratulations!” ..?

Yes. Local/generational variants of "that's rad!" and "you rock!" are also appropriate. 

Dan Dwrote:

(I'm not a monster)

^I dunno, sounds like something a monster would say.

j/k I'm glad you congratulated her in the moment. 

Not heard, seen. I recently noticed a guy with a wooden egg slung onto a quickdraw. My old school self imagined using this as passive pro but it didn’t make a lot of sense. The group didn’t have the type of attitude to sling rubber chickens or dildo’s. Or the odd duck who had brass cast walnuts. (I have also seen that).

I asked. Apparently it was for grabbing the QuickDraw, somehow that’s better than my method of looping three fingers through the top biner.

He also mentioned using it to boink, which without a prussik doesn’t make sense, and a handled ascender would be far better. 

No judgement. I’ve grabbed a lot of draws in my life too.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsionwrote:

Not heard, seen. I recently noticed a guy with a wooden egg slung onto a quickdraw. My old school self imagined using this as passive pro but it didn’t make a lot of sense. The group didn’t have the type of attitude to sling rubber chickens or dildo’s. Or the odd duck who had brass cast walnuts. (I have also seen that).

I asked. Apparently it was for grabbing the QuickDraw, somehow that’s better than my method of looping three fingers through the top biner.

He also mentioned using it to boink, which without a prussik doesn’t make sense, and a handled ascender would be far better. 

No judgement. I’ve grabbed a lot of draws in my life too.

It's a boinking egg. It is a prussik, and the egg is the the handle. Easier than just grabbing the rope.

I haven't gotten a good answer why you just wouldn't bring a double length sling for a foot loop instead. Possibly sport climbers are afraid it's the first step to big walling.

I like to use a shoulder length sling (which I already have on me to go in direct at the top to clean) and a longer quickdraw, the fatter the dogbone the better. Use the sling to tie your friction knot of choice then clip both biners to the sling so the dogbone turns into a handle.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsionwrote:

Not heard, seen. I recently noticed a guy with a wooden egg slung onto a quickdraw. My old school self imagined using this as passive pro but it didn’t make a lot of sense. The group didn’t have the type of attitude to sling rubber chickens or dildo’s. Or the odd duck who had brass cast walnuts. (I have also seen that).

I asked. Apparently it was for grabbing the QuickDraw, somehow that’s better than my method of looping three fingers through the top biner.

He also mentioned using it to boink, which without a prussik doesn’t make sense, and a handled ascender would be far better. 

No judgement. I’ve grabbed a lot of draws in my life too.

To my knowledge, a dude around sonora makes those, they're called beaster eggs. People use em on real steep route to boink back up when you're hanging in space.  They're not my jam, but a lot of people at sport crags run em

june mwrote:

As a small climber, people often tell me that I cheat because the holds are bigger for me. ( we won’t talk about the fact that they are further away and I have to use smaller holds/different sequences)

That's funny. I'm gonna have to remember that for some of my partners.

Dan Dwrote:

Yeah, I have a friend who says things like "I just did my first 10a! I had to hang two times but I did it".

I don't know what to say to her

"Good job! I bet you'll get it clean next time"

Dan Dwrote:

Yeah, I have a friend who says things like "I just did my first 10a! I had to hang two times but I did it".

I don't know what to say to her

Try:

Good job

Way to push yourself 

I’m happy for the progress you’ve made 

You could also gently encourage her to find a different partner than you. It seems like you two have different levels of sincerity .  

almostradwrote:

To my knowledge, a dude around sonora makes those, they're called beaster eggs. People use em on real steep route to boink back up when you're hanging in space.  They're not my jam, but a lot of people at sport crags run em

Before my body rebelled and I got weak, I did zillions of steep routes. It was my jam for sure. I found that when I was fit enough to climb steep routes with a certain level of success, that boinking just wasn’t an issue.

Coming off and being so weak that I couldn’t boink back to the holds, was usually an indication that this wasn’t my day (or week or month).

The goal is to eventually free the steepness isn’t it?

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsionwrote:

Before my body rebelled and I got weak, I did zillions of steep routes. It was my jam for sure. I found that when I was fit enough to climb steep routes with a certain level of success, that boinking just wasn’t an issue.

Coming off and being so weak that I couldn’t boink back to the holds, was usually an indication that this wasn’t my day (or week or month).

The goal is to eventually free the steepness isn’t it?

As ropes have gotten skinnier boinking has gotten harder and more painful to do bare handed.  In the gym with my 9.7/9.8 it's not a big deal, but it's a different story on my 9.1 sport rope especially when the rope hasnt fuzzed up at all yet.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsionwrote:

Before my body rebelled and I got weak, I did zillions of steep routes. It was my jam for sure. I found that when I was fit enough to climb steep routes with a certain level of success, that boinking just wasn’t an issue.

Coming off and being so weak that I couldn’t boink back to the holds, was usually an indication that this wasn’t my day (or week or month).

The goal is to eventually free the steepness isn’t it?

When you are hanging 30ft from the bolt after 35m of climbing, you might not be so keen to grab your skinny rope and boink that many times. 

Although I usually walk the rope.

Using my buddy’s beaster egg today. Yes, it is a wooden handle on a prussik cord that is far more comfortable and easy to grab than a skinny rope. I like it for all the reasons listed above, but also because it is far kinder to your skin and doesn’t take as much off.

The guy on the wall in the photo, Vince, makes them.

I think every party here today has one. 

If you want to turn this thread into this, we can.

I’m no stranger to falling 30ft or more from my bolts, on near horizontal lines. I preferred a 9.4 but occasionally used skinnier. I know this game.

You can plan ahead and bring a Jumar up the route. It is superior in every way to an egg or a bare hand.

You can also just take at each bolt so you’ve got the juice to run the route bolt to bolt, or close to it, and get an idea of the moves.

I’d go as far as to say that if you’re working a route, and taking 30 ft falls, and insisting on boinking back up that you aren’t learning much for your send and your belayer probably hates you.

But I climbed 13 trad before I did that on bolts, so my mind and fundamentals of the vertical construction of climbing was quite different than a lot of folks.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsionwrote:

If you want to turn this thread into this, we can.

I’m no stranger to falling 30ft or more from my bolts, on near horizontal lines. I preferred a 9.4 but occasionally used skinnier. I know this game.

You can plan ahead and bring a Jumar up the route. It is superior in every way to an egg or a bare hand.

You can also just take at each bolt so you’ve got the juice to run the route bolt to bolt, or close to it, and get an idea of the moves.

I’d go as far as to say that if you’re working a route, and taking 30 ft falls, and insisting on boinking back up that you aren’t learning much for your send and your belayer probably hates you.

But I climbed 13 trad before I did that on bolts, so my mind and fundamentals of the vertical construction of climbing was quite different than a lot of folks.

Dude I was boinking up 13s when you were still hangdogging 5.6s. Just sayin

You two should just have a boink off to see who's the better boinker.

Doctor Drakewrote:

Using my buddy’s beaster egg today. Yes, it is a wooden handle on a prussik cord that is far more comfortable and easy to grab than a skinny rope. I like it for all the reasons listed above, but also because it is far kinder to your skin and doesn’t take as much off.

The guy on the wall in the photo, Vince, makes them.

I think every party here today has one. 

That's definitely aid.