Things climbing-related that annoy you

Jay Crewwrote:

people that don't completely untie the knot every single time are NOOBs, gumbies, flailers

lol.  But don’t  forget, Context is everything.  Not everything is a gym/sport context.  Only NOOBs, gumbies, flailers apply rules “every single time”   Even if out of context

At least we can all agree that everyone that can’t seem to tie a good figure 8 should be publicly shamed and ridiculed 

almostradwrote:

At least we can all agree that everyone that can’t seem to tie a good figure 8 should be publicly shamed and ridiculed 

Which, im guessing, is half of the people replying to this thread…

Mark Pilatewrote:

lol.  But don’t  forget, Context is everything.  Not everything is a gym/sport context.  Only NOOBs, gumbies, flailers apply rules “every single time”   Even if out of context

there is zero benefit in leaving half a knot in the rope, ever

Jay Crewwrote:

there is zero benefit in leaving half a knot in the rope, ever

Again, context. I’d say there is zero benefit making absolute pronouncements, ever.  
Walking away from a rope with a knot in it, we’d agree. If you’re amongst friends, and we want to be efficient on a cold day ice climbing, I’m gonna snatch the rope from your hands before you can obstreperously insist on untying it fully for no “benefit”.

I’m curious what benefit would I describe to my girlfriend who is standing there when I hand her the knotless rope and she has to redo what was just there because I insisted on undoing it in front of her just to hand it to her.   

Weird thing about fig-8: I tie it backwards than most climbers I know. I thread the 8 from the bottom up;, through my tie-in point. The way I twist the rope to tie the initial 8, before the rethread, is so that when I pull the rope up through the tie in point, the knot is perfectly presented for the rethread.

If instead, I try to reuse someone's half eaten knot, when I try the rethread the knot is "upside down" and I have to rethread "backwards" from my usual method. I attribute this to the notion that most of my friends and partners tie in by passing the rope top-down through the tie in point.

I got into the bottom-up-though-tie-in-point because I started off with bowlines, which need to be tied bottom-up.

Net-net: I always remove the knots my friends leave for me, and start over. If I am coming off TR, I always completely remove my knot. I do get some looks from time to time, like wtf? I gave up trying to explain long ago. I just shrug and tell them to quit being so fucking lazy.

Lol.  Who knew tying in for a top rope session with friends was so fraught with issues?  (Do I untie it fully or will they think I’m a poseur or a jerk….if I don’t, will they think I’m a noob?…..is my figure 8 upside down? - am I gonna die?….did I leave too much tail or not enough?….I’m gonna go bowline today….hehehe, that fucker tied a back up -what a gumbie….)

 I’ve been blissfully ignorant having largely climbed with the same crew for the last 25 years.   

The world is fraught, my friend. I climb with a small number of partners as well. I'm just backwards is all. Its me, not them! I just retie my own knots and bliss is achieved!

Sometimes, when feeling really sassy while top roping, we just pass around the bite with a couple lockers. YGD

People who think “backup knots” are anything more than just keeping slack out of your way.

People who don’t tie backup knots when they are mandatory 

Mark Pilatewrote:

Again, context. I’d say there is zero benefit making absolute pronouncements, ever.  
Walking away from a rope with a knot in it, we’d agree. If you’re amongst friends, and we want to be efficient on a cold day ice climbing, I’m gonna snatch the rope from your hands before you can obstreperously insist on untying it fully for no “benefit”.

I’m curious what benefit would I describe to my girlfriend who is standing there when I hand her the knotless rope and she has to redo what was just there because I insisted on undoing it in front of her just to hand it to her.   

gumby, flailer..... and your girl, she 'keeps trying to slide into my DM's

Tone Loc wrote:

What if you’re higher than your rope is long?

I often times am

Tone Loc wrote:

What if you’re higher than your rope is long?

That's not what is under discussion.

Jay Crewwrote:

gumby, flailer..... and your girl, she 'keeps trying to slide into my DM's

Haha.   You hand my girl a blank rope and she’ll force you to your poseur knees and make you tie her in fully using your ragged lips and tooth.  Then send you off for snacks. :)

Guidebooks that use cheap glue on the spine. I have lost a few pages to the wind.

Bailing on a fancy wire gate because I forgot to throw a couple leaver biners - solid gates - on the slings.

Cherokee Nuneswrote:

Weird thing about fig-8: I tie it backwards ...

Bottom-up through the tie-in isn't the normal way? Apart from annoyance with certain partners who insist on retying the starter knot for a 10-inch tail, can't say I've ever had issues tying in with a starter, or noticed or cared which way my partner re-threads theirs, as long as we all end up with a semantically-perfect-enough fig 8. Which we do.

/self-indulgent contentment in the bitchin' thread

Cherokee I’m the same way. I always untie every time. It takes an extra 10 seconds and it prevents me from having a funky knot that’s hard to untie or one with too much tail for my liking. Simple as

Cherokee Nuneswrote:

Weird thing about fig-8: I tie it backwards than most climbers I know. I thread the 8 from the bottom up;, through my tie-in point. The way I twist the rope to tie the initial 8, before the rethread, is so that when I pull the rope up through the tie in point, the knot is perfectly presented for the rethread.

I tie it the same way you do. It's how I was taught and how I teach it to others. Almost everyone I see does it that way as well.