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clipping is hard

Original Post
Elie G · · New Jersey · Joined Mar 2025 · Points: 0

tried "lead" for the first time today, used auto belay as backup, just wanted to see what is was like. belaying lead is easy, but clipping is so hard! finding the perfect position without pumping out and actually clipping is so tough. 

F r i t z · · North Mitten · Joined Mar 2012 · Points: 1,155

It sounds like your head game is holding you back more than your finger strength. Most likely the prospect of gate flutter is keeping you from being able to commit to the move fully.

You should really look getting a set of Black Diamond Cairn Draws (I believe they're spelled Karen Draws in the United States).

Each draw had two opposite-and-opposed steel triple-lockers on the bolt end and on the rope end. A set of 18 should get you up most gym routes.

Besodden with confidence in the virility of your gear, you may now perform the strongest move to ascent the best grip Craig and find clipping to be easy and fun for the whole family.

Ray Murphy · · NJ · Joined Feb 2020 · Points: 814

keep on practicing, Elie!

wild times on MP when actual humans are impersonating bots

Elie G · · New Jersey · Joined Mar 2025 · Points: 0
Ray Murphy wrote:

keep on practicing, Elie!

wild times on MP when actual humans are impersonating bots

do i really sound like a bot 

apogee · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 0

Elie G · · New Jersey · Joined Mar 2025 · Points: 0
apogee wrote:

what’s the meaning of this image i always see it 

Daniel Joder · · Barcelona, ES · Joined Nov 2015 · Points: 0

Keep at it Elie and you will get the hang of it. Practice clipping draws on the ground with either hand and either side of the body (and draws facing both directions) until you can clip quickly and efficiently. One thing that happens to me is I’ll feel desperate and want to clip the next draw RIGHT NOW because I don’t want a long fall, so I end up clipping from a very uncomfortable or strenuous stance… then, after I have clipped, I make the next move and say, “Damn, I should have clipped from here—it’s so much more casual!” Not always, but it is a not infrequent occurrence. So… keep at it!

Oh, and I was taught that the general rule is to clip the draw when that draw is roughly somewhere around waist or chest height, but I’ll often break that rule and clip way above my head if I am in a secure stance. Obviously, if you miss the clip and fall in this situation you have a lot of extra rope out and your fall will be longer, so consider that (especially at the second and third bolts!).

Mark E Dixon · · Possunt, nec posse videntur · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 984
Elie G wrote:

what’s the meaning of this image i always see it 

You see a turtle lying helpless on its back.

What do you do?

Mark Pilate · · MN · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 25

Edit:  aw man, Mark beat me to it, sort of. 

Elie G · · New Jersey · Joined Mar 2025 · Points: 0
Mark E Dixon wrote:

You see a turtle lying helpless on its back.

What do you do?

turn it into a souvenir :) 

kidding 

Ray Murphy · · NJ · Joined Feb 2020 · Points: 814
Elie G wrote:

do i really sound like a bot 

yeah, kind of. most new accounts on mp forums are deemed a bot until proven otherwise. adding a profile picture totally helps in this turing test. 

Seth Dyer · · Phx, AZ · Joined Nov 2024 · Points: 235

Lol first think I do at this point is check if they are a bot.. this one is suspicious. 

I mean I guess go climb outdoors, make a to do list at least lol, buy some shit from other dirt bags. 

Anyways got three new trad leads in today. 5.6, 5.7, and 5.8. It's so interesting how the style of climbing changes when your following and cleaning the exact same route 

Freaking love the thrill of lead climbing out doors.

Christopher Antimie · · Orange County, CA · Joined May 2022 · Points: 30

Make sure your belayer uses the correct color gri gri which corresponds to the holds on the route. The yellow fat cam grigri is specifically for bat hanging cramp hook routes and the red triple locker grigri is for undercling campus routes.

J L · · Craggin' · Joined Jul 2023 · Points: 4
F r i t z wrote:



Each draw had two opposite-and-opposed steel triple-lockers on the bolt end and on the rope end. A set of 18 should get you up most gym routes.

This one time at camp 4 I heard a story where the rope whipped around, walked the cam straight to the back of the crack, undid two triple action lockers opposite and opposed, smacked a neighbouring free soloist on the behind, and wrapped around a branch and pulled out a 600 year old cedar.

Ever since then I bring a blow torch and weld my lockers shut. The crag developers keep yelling at me but safety first bro.

F r i t z · · North Mitten · Joined Mar 2012 · Points: 1,155
Elie G wrote:

what’s the meaning of this image i always see it 

That's called a "cigarette." It's like an analog version of a vape pen. It's a device that people utilized to ingest nicotine.

 Fortunately, now that Febreze has released the Boba-licious Hello Kitty Sour Patch Minors starter kit ("Now With 25% Less Red 40!") such barbaric paraphernalia has all but gone extinct.

Nowadays the only people who partake in cigarettes (and the lesser known variant, cig-dihedrals) are sport climbers who grab dogbones and AL.

But now that you've established that you're not a bot (because as my students' research papers this year have demonstrated, bots know how to use punctuation), here's a tip for clipping ...

... you're probably overgripping. Dial back the grades or add off-route holds until the climb is extremely easy for you, and then get in the habit of clipping in the most relaxed way possible. Then increase the difficulty while still clipping with a light touch.

Botty McBotFace · · Yugoslavia · Joined Feb 2025 · Points: 0

The worst part is that this bot is from New Jersey. 

Eric Moss · · Exton, PA · Joined Apr 2016 · Points: 95

There are several clipping techniques to choose from.  For forehand clips, I prefer to put my thumb in the basket of the biner, then dump the rope with forefinger.  For backhand clips, I put my forefinger in the basket, then dump the rope in with the thumb.  I don't do that open-palm clipping.  

Daniel Joder · · Barcelona, ES · Joined Nov 2015 · Points: 0

You from Joisy? I’M from Joisy! What exit!?

Chris Duca · · Dixfield, ME · Joined Dec 2006 · Points: 2,345
Elie G wrote:

what’s the meaning of this image i always see it 

If you haven't already figured it out, Her name is Rachel and she's a character from the movie Bladerunner.  She's a replicant human (Nexus 7) that can mimic human emotion.  

Chris Duca · · Dixfield, ME · Joined Dec 2006 · Points: 2,345
Botty McBotFace wrote:

The worst part is that this bot is from New Jersey. 

Inquiring minds would like to know who the human is behind Botty McBotFace.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

General Climbing
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