Funny Climbing Gym Stories?

bkozak wrote: Actually the two bowlines of his that I uploaded are in fact not bowlines. Take another look at them. A correct bowline has the strand going around the anchor point coming out of the top of the first loop created. In both of his, that strand is coming out of the bottom of the loop. I made that mistake plenty when I was learning the knot and it is not correct if you do that. As pictured above (and in every other picture of a correct bowline) the strand going around the anchor point comes out on the top of the first loop, not underneath. So yes, my guide taught me correctly.

You're simply looking at the bowline from a different perspective than you're used to. In all your reference pictures you are looking at the "front" of the knot. In the images of the knot you are criticizing you are looking at the "back" of the knot.

Tie a bowline and flip it over, then examine it vs your image. You'll see.

Actually, here's a pic for you. Same knot, two perspectives:

bkozak wrote:So yes, my guide taught me correctly.

There are two variations to the single bowline.

The one usually referred to as "bowline", has rope end coming out on the inside. It fails under ring loading.

The one with rope end coming out on the outside, the one shown in the photo, is known as "cowboy", "dutch" bowline. It does not fail under ring loading.

Brian L. wrote: You're simply looking at the bowline from a different perspective than you're used to. In all your reference pictures you are looking at the "front" of the knot. In the images of the knot you are criticizing you are looking at the "back" of the knot. Tie a bowline and flip it over, then examine it vs your image. You'll see. Actually, here's a pic for you. Same knot, two perspectives:

Looking at it that way makes a bunch more sense. Thanks for sharing that. I will fully admit that I was wrong in my judgement, although that is a very wonky way to tie it because everything is reversed.

I was at an indoor gym, and a woman climbing TR caught my attention.

She was the climber, and was talking loudly as she climbed. Showing-off and yelling down how to most efficiently do the route. All the while her friends below were exclaiming how great she was, and how she was crushing everything.

She even came back down and did the route a second time, back-to-back.

After her second topout, as she was being lowered, she was doing the typical removal of her shoes. Man, she was proud as heck.

I couldn't help grinning when I saw that it was a 5.8 grade climb.

I guess some people REALLY like the attention.

In Christ: Raymond

ARonchetti wrote:My fiance and I are warming up in boulder cave at our local climbing gym. A bro struggles and upper body powers his way up a V1. My fiance, who was about half his size, then gets on the same problem and does it with perfect form. He's still breathing hard and she didn't even work getting up it. Suppressing the laugh when I saw the look on his face was difficult.

so your girl is a stronger climber than that guy... what's the funny part? twenty years ago i could consistently onsight 12a and v6; i never thought less of anyone who struggled with those grades, or any other lower grades. i'd likely struggle on a v1 these days. your fiancee being "about half his size" also probably has a power to weight advantage. you're a lucky guy to have a girl that provides you a sense of superiority.

bkozak wrote: Actually the two bowlines of his that I uploaded are in fact not bowlines. Take another look at them. A correct bowline has the strand going around the anchor point coming out of the top of the first loop created. In both of his, that strand is coming out of the bottom of the loop. I made that mistake plenty when I was learning the knot and it is not correct if you do that. As pictured above (and in every other picture of a correct bowline) the strand going around the anchor point comes out on the top of the first loop, not underneath. So yes, my guide taught me correctly.

well, i definitely know what a bowline is supposed to look like, and the illustrations you have provided are very cool because they are the best way to make sure we are all on the same page – thanks for that. maybe i am just seeing something wrong, but it really looks to me like the chucklehead's bowline is in fact a bowline, just with a really loose bight, and no backup. i did not mean to challenge your guide's teaching, i was just trying to insult you because i am a jackass. i'll have to take anotherother look at the photos now, because you have me questioning my observational capacity. either way, even tied correctly, a bowline is a knot that is designed to function under consistent load, and is far from ideal for most climbing applications without a pass back through the loop and a subsequent fisherman's backup.

wasn't this thread supposed to be about funny gym stories?

amarius wrote: There are two variations to the single bowline. The one usually referred to as "bowline", has rope end coming out on the inside. It fails under ring loading. The one with rope end coming out on the outside, the one shown in the photo, is known as "cowboy", "dutch" bowline. It does not fail under ring loading.

what you say here sounds like the opposite of what is true of bowlines. you may be using "inside" and "outside" in a different way than i am used to. in rope tying vernacular a bowline with the working end passing through the loop on the inside of the knot is a proper bowline. a bowline with the working end passing through the loop outside of the resultant knot is unreliable and easily capsized.

aaaaaand faruckingout, we've turned it into another bowline thread! it's not my fault, you guys did this days ago... somebody gonna steer this back into gym humor?

mbrd wrote:aaaaaand faruckingout, we've turned it into another bowline thread! it's not my fault, you guys did this days ago... somebody gonna steer this back into gym humor?

can we knot?

cleanroomdirtbag wrote: can we knot?

• buh-dum, crzshhh*!

cleanroomdirtbag wrote: can we knot?

Funniest gym story of the day so far.

mbrd wrote: what you say here sounds like the opposite of what is true of bowlines. you may be using "inside" and "outside" in a different way than i am used to. in rope tying vernacular a bowline with the working end passing through the loop on the inside of the knot is a proper bowline. a bowline with the working end passing through the loop outside of the resultant knot is unreliable and easily capsized.

Please start a new thread called the deadly bowline.

I love this thread.

a friend of mine told me that her friend often shortroped her on lead, in an attempt to loosen the shortroping friend up, i asked her to give me a catch on the most overhanging, juggy 5.7 i've ever seen, and i launched an all points off dyno off the starting hold
i came uncomfortably close to missing (i'm not much of a dyno-er, this was close to my limit), and the look on the belayer's face was one of horror initially but she recovered, laughed and let me continue up the route

note:i totally stole this from an Andrew Bisharat article, which i thought was hilarious

Raymond Moreno wrote:I was at an indoor gym, and a woman climbing TR caught my attention. She was the climber, and was talking loudly as she climbed. Showing-off and yelling down how to most efficiently do the route. All the while her friends below were exclaiming how great she was, and how she was crushing everything. She even came back down and did the route a second time, back-to-back. After her second topout, as she was being lowered, she was doing the typical removal of her shoes. Man, she was proud as heck. I couldn't help grinning when I saw that it was a 5.8 grade climb. I guess some people REALLY like the attention. In Christ: Raymond

Sure the showing off and taking off your shoes on lower is funny on a 5.8, but when I am home for holidays, I take my family out to the gym - mother in law, sisters in law, their boyfriends and husbands, and my wife - none of whom are climbers. If they are flailing up a wall covered in holds with smiley faces, books, and dinosaurs, I might hop on and show them how to keep their hips in, how to step up, and not constantly use their arms. When it clicks for a new climber they don't have to be doing pullups and locks a foot in for the first time, it is incredibly exciting. Getting up 50 feet of slightly overhanging wall after not making it 5 feet up is an amazing feeling for someone who has never done it before.

Plus, after someone rainbows up their first route and is super excited, it's kind of awesome to watch the person who brought them doing hard stemming routes, big roofs, and a dyno or two because the moves just look cool.

Damn, let people have fun and be excited!

"i was once at a gym and saw a dude eating a cliff bar, shortly after i saw him bouldering shirtless, dude definitely did not wait 40 mins before exercising, that's how you know how deadly the atc is" -this thread

James Hicks wrote: I legit saw a guy with a full rack on his harness at my local gym not all that long ago. Proudly jangling his way up 5.9 top roped routes. They were really shiny. Go figure...

maybe the guy wanted to know what it was like to climb with the weight of a rack. a shiny new rack, heavier because he hadn't chunked out any aluminum from placements or falls. maybe...

rging wrote: Please start a new thread called the deadly bowline.

ehhh... sorry about all of this...

mbrd wrote: well, i definitely know what a bowline is supposed to look like, and the illustrations you have provided are very cool because they are the best way to make sure we are all on the same page – thanks for that. maybe i am just seeing something wrong, but it really looks to me like the chucklehead's bowline is in fact a bowline, just with a really loose bight, and no backup. i did not mean to challenge your guide's teaching, i was just trying to insult you because i am a jackass. i'll have to take anotherother look at the photos now, because you have me questioning my observational capacity. either way, even tied correctly, a bowline is a knot that is designed to function under consistent load, and is far from ideal for most climbing applications without a pass back through the loop and a subsequent fisherman's backup. wasn't this thread supposed to be about funny gym stories?

Looking at it again after someone else posted a picture flipping it around, I saw that I was indeed incorrect, but it was just tied very weirdly. Didn't mean to hijack the thread.

Back to funny gym stories, I overheard some an Earth Treks say they liked the climb they just did because the "grips were so grippy". Made me chuckle.

Jack Servedio wrote: Sure the showing off and taking off your shoes on lower is funny on a 5.8, but when I am home for holidays, I take my family out to the gym - mother in law, sisters in law, their boyfriends and husbands, and my wife - none of whom are climbers. If they are flailing up a wall covered in holds with smiley faces, books, and dinosaurs, I might hop on and show them how to keep their hips in, how to step up, and not constantly use their arms. When it clicks for a new climber they don't have to be doing pullups and locks a foot in for the first time, it is incredibly exciting. Getting up 50 feet of slightly overhanging wall after not making it 5 feet up is an amazing feeling for someone who has never done it before. Plus, after someone rainbows up their first route and is super excited, it's kind of awesome to watch the person who brought them doing hard stemming routes, big roofs, and a dyno or two because the moves just look cool. Damn, let people have fun and be excited!

yeah, this!

who the hell is anyone to determine what is appropriate for someone else learning to climb? i've always taken off my slippers at the first rational opportunity, and not everyone was born climbing bookshelves and muntins.

don't get me wrong, i hate the gym movement and the overpopulation of the crags, but i still can't see denying any individual decent tutelage.

as you seem to allude, a lot of these folks will never become climbers, but will relish the experience of having climbed. that's fucking awesome, and they deserve to treasure that experience.

any elitist crap putting down low to mid grade climbers is some weak punter garbage.