TT Rock Climbing Club

“ok I got it... Bragging rights.... that's cool”

“look at the links in wikipedia that explain how "red point" and "pink point" got their names (click on "red point" and "pink point" in the definitions). climbing has a lot of really cool history.”

“It's about style, Rev.

Onsighting routes is more demanding, aventurous, dangerous, rewarding, exciting ect... blah blah blah.

The purest style.”

“That's what I said ... Bragging rights.... nothing wrong with that

Every sport has its own set of bragging rights”

“GreenMonkee knows of what he speaks ;-)

Remember in the end it's about having fun. I've seen climbers push themselves so hard doing 11's and 12's (on lead) that they forgot why they started climbing to begin with. It's easy to burn out or to be scared all the time.

Too many people climb over their heads and wonder why they aren't progressing faster. You get to be a 5.10 climber by climbing 5.6 and 5.8 as much as you can.

Have fun and don't worry too much about ratings.

my 2 cents.

PS. I realize that this was just about definitions, but it's one of my favorite rants...don't mean to offend anyone. Good questions to ask BTW.
last edited: 7/11/07 9:42:55 PM”

“ok... I guess I would put it in the same category as the gear talk and weight talks that on in here.. Thru hikers have a certain respect I am not being denigrating when I say bragging rights. I think that's cool”

“Here are the pics from last weekend.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/559822789pACQuP

I made four onsights on classic Gunks climbs.
Easy Verschneidung 5.3 PG ** aka Easy V
Ursula 5.5 PG *** also the name of one of my climbing partners.
Arch 5.5 PG ***
In the Groove 5.6 G **

and a top rope, The Spring 5.9 PG ***”

“every now and then the guys at the gym will say something i won't understand and i have learned to perk up and ASK what the heck they are talking about. the only dumb question is the one that doesn't get asked.

my big thing this week was lead climbing up a wall and then upside down on the underside of an arch. i only made it 1/2 way over the underside of the bridge before i had to drop off. still, i was upside down and totally disoriented (took too long and got tired) but it was a major rush. two or three more tries and i'll make it. sound tough but it's actually not so bad.

gains for me have been small and incremental. i found i have to mix things up or i get in a rut and stop progressing. i now pretty much just climb for the workout (best in the gym imo) and the fun of hanging out with the guys.

i am really pumped about my trip to rrg this weekend. last time i was there climbing was with my kids... just bouldering for me. this time it's with my climbing friends so i'll get to really climb.”

“oh and on the bragging rights thing... and the red point pink point business.

there are routes that I climb in the gym that are 5.8 routes that i FLY up without even thinking... not because i am a super climber or because they are under-rated but because I have climbed them many times before and the motions are totally wired and don't even require thought. i'll use these to warm up and try to climb the routes my sadistic friends set (the bast**** love to put things out of reach and make me dyno and i have the scabs to prove it). my point is that it makes sense to have a way to describe how difficult it is to climb something without a lot of prior knowledge or without draws being set in advance for this reason.”

“I agree, Steve. It's all about having fun, for me.

I use the grades to have an idea of what I'm getting into. I have yet to take a lead fall and I'm in no hurry to do so. I backed off something a couple of weeks ago, while going off route, that I wouldn't have thought twice about going for on TR.

Things are different on the sharp end of the rope.”

“Jimmy... I completely agree”

“Have fun, Jimmy.

And take lots of pics :)”

“i would really like to get into trad climbing but the $$ sort of keep me in the gym or sport climbing. i am hesitant to purchase anything for a rack until i have a better idea where i would do most of my climbing... the midwest is such a vacuum for anything like this. i do own four metolius ultralight cams (bought to set a rappel anchor in the Grand Canyon) which were a great investment. i guess that's a good start.”

“you could always try climbing bridge abutments. They were the highest things around when I lived in IL and IN”

“when you get ready to do some trad climbing i'd recommend spending a day with a guide learning how to place pro. Set up two ropes, one tope rope one lead rope, and fall on your gear placements while protected by the tr, it'll give you tons of confidence in your gear placements and you'll learn what works and what don't.

rc.com has tons of accident stories where guys fall 50 - 90 feet or more zippering gear all the way down coz they didn't get good placements on bomber cracks.

my 2 cents -

pinkpoint, redpoint, onsight, flash.....

they're all climbs

and all fun

:)

but onsights do feel good!”

“"Things are different on the sharp end of the rope.”

Boy, ain't that the truth, LOL.

The ratings are an important way to rate and grade climbs for sure. I remember having some friends talk about knocking off some "doubles". They had only climbed in our local area. I told them they would run into some 5.6's that would scare the hell out of them one day....they laughed.

Then they got back from climbing at the Pinnacles National Monument. They told me about being terrified on the 5.6's there. 60'+ runouts and bolts that would pull out of the rock with your hands. They didn't belittle 5.6's anymore ;-)

When I taught climbing, we would often go to the Valley and leave the guide books at camp. We would walk around and I would tell them to let me know if they saw something they wanted to climb. When we got back to camp we would open the books and see what they did. If you want a real old school perspective on climbing try that sometime. Not having a beta can change a 5.4 climb into a true adventure. It can also humble you very quickly and teach something that is not gone over very often anymore....how to stop in mid climb and get the hell out of there :-)

Betas and bolts have taken a little of the adventure away. If ya don't believe me, try it sometime...its a real kick in the butt!

Roan is right on....get instruction and practice setting pro. It's a huge leap from top roping to lead. Cams are NOT stick and go!
last edited: 7/11/07 10:17:46 PM”

““Sweet!! I love that pic of Robitaille dangling with just a few fingertips in the crack.

GreenMonkee will probably want to do that now. Shiznit.”
Pennsy
6:18:19 PM
7/11/07
ignore this user


Did you bump your head, sir? I'd like to keep my fingers, thank you very much.


Thanks for the links, Roam. Very cool.”

“When you start placing pro give me a call if you wish. I'll see if I can get you a deal on screamers. I work at Yates Gear.”

“The ratings are an important way to rate and grade climbs for sure. I remember having some friends talk about knocking off some "doubles". They had only climbed in our local area. I told them they would run into some 5.6's that would scare the hell out of them one day....they laughed.

Then they got back from climbing at the Pinnacles National Monument. They told me about being terrified on the 5.6's there. 60'+ runouts and bolts that would pull out of the rock with your hands. They didn't belittle 5.6's anymore ;-)

When I taught climbing, we would often go to the Valley and leave the guide books at camp. We would walk around and I would tell them to let me know if they saw something they wanted to climb. When we got back to camp we would open the books and see what they did. If you want a real old school perspective on climbing try that sometime. Not having a beta can change a 5.4 climb into a true adventure. It can also humble you very quickly and teach something that is not gone over very often anymore....how to stop in mid climb and get the hell out of there :-)

Betas and bolts have taken a little of the adventure away. If ya don't believe me, try it sometime...its a real kick in the butt!

last edited: 7/11/07 11:17:46 PM”
mtnsteve
11:15:31 PM
7/11/07


Right on, Steve.
Thank you.
last edited: 7/11/07 10:24:30 PM”

“Hey Steve, i'll take you up on that later this summer perhaps. Thanks for the offer!

There is a LOT to be said for seeing the rock, or mountain, or bigazz hill, and passing on the web search to find the best, hardest, most scenic, whatever route/path/trail to the top.

Just climb it!

See it, climb it, revel in the experience.

----------

GM - you bet - if you havn't found it yet, go acquire a copy (any issue) of Alpinist. You'll be ruined for all other climbing type mags.

btw, in Alpinist 20, the guide that did my first outdoor class has an article, about his experience on Mt. Huntington (pg 38).”

“i admit i don't totally understand the wiring of the younger punks i climb with. they are a wild bunch and i feel 20 years younger when i climb with them. still, at times i think they have a death wish and i feel 20 years older for telling them to wear helmets and checking knots/etc/etc. they all have given each other cool names (like our "trail names") and call me "mr pitts". sigh.

i realized the other day that one of the guys (the youngest) just turned 20... if i had had a son with my first wife... well... that would have been him. wow! cool but then he is not old enough to legally drink beer which is another "senior moment". haha!”

“Mr. Pitts, you should come west sometime and check out the granite at Lumpy Ridge wiht me sometime.”

“No prob Roam. We often have cosmetic seconds that I can sell at cost too.

Mr. Pitts...keep climbing like you are and let the younger folks climb at their pace.

Actually "Mr. Pitts" is kinda cool. Gotta be some respect in that ;-)
last edited: 7/11/07 11:58:02 PM”

“that would be cool roam around... :)”

“Great posts Steve! Thanks for sharing your expertise with us noobs. :o)

Not having a beta can change a 5.4 climb into a true adventure. It can also humble you very quickly and teach something that is not gone over very often anymore....how to stop in mid climb and get the hell out of there :-)

Have you been following me? ;o) Twice this summer I have gotten off course and onto a route where I said "holy crap!" One was a little scary but both were excellent learning experiences on how to get out of a mess safe and sound. (plus it's good to have a monkee around)

Have fun rockin at RRG, Jimmy. Pics!
Tomorrow, I'm off to Seattle to hike up a little volcano, but I am psyched to get back on the rock again. I hope they have a Climbing and/or Alpinist mag in the airport book shop.”

“all packed up and ready to go... man am i looking forward to this!”

“Have fun, you bastages.
No climbing for me this weekend :(

I will be punished by crushing.
Rock root and mud in the Daks with LZ.
My brother, Bilo, stay home in cage.
High five!”

“We have an indoor rock gym opening here soon. I was talking tot he owner yesterday. They will have a 5.12 lead rope course going up to a skylight at about 35 feet. Thing loks like it slant at a 40 degree angle. Can't figure out why you don't just plain fall off.”

“haha, i am still sore from the weekend which says i did it right! i forgot my camera at home which was a real "doah" moment but my friends brought their cameras so i'll have pictures to post eventually. what a great area with some really great routes. it is an awesome moment when I think that thousands of people have climbed these routes long before I was ever on the scene...”

“I've heard really good things about that area, looking forward to your (friends) pics!”

“the red river gorge climbers coalition does great work, although the kiosk at miguels is quite a disappointment. Lots of room for improvement there.”

“Can't figure out why you don't just plain fall off.”
Ramblinrev
12:21:29 PM
7/13/07

Seems unnatural. I can't fathom that level of difficulty.”

“"Can't figure out why you don't just plain fall off.”
Ramblinrev
12:21:29 PM
7/13/07

massive chest and arm strength. which I personally do not possess.
:)”

“i hang out at the sport routes just to watch people climb stuff like this. it's poetry in motion. i agree it's strength but it's strength in balance with general fitness and endurance in a blend that you can only get by spending a lot of time on the wall. the best training for climbing is climbing...”

“Picked up Alpinist 20.

Dude, owe you a beer.”

“Its an awesome magazine - the photography is simply stunning.

Agreed Jimmy - poetry in motion for sure. Good climbers make it look effortless. Its fun to watch.”

“hey! if i take this new job i am being offered the company is headquartered in reston, va. the cto says he is a climber, about the same level as i am. how cool is that? anyway, i'll be spending a fair amount of time in reston so i will prolly want to start planning some climbing/hiking into my work schedule if i take the job. the cto told me that we should go to the gunks but i don't know how far that is from reston. based on the pics you sent it sounds ideal except i have very little trad gear... indoor climbing and sport routes have been the limit of my experience with a little top-rope setting (basic anchors).”

“There's plenty of top roping there and I'm sure we could make some time to show you around ;)


I'm having climbing withdrawal. Went on an awesome hike last weekend that I committed to like a year ago. Attending the Drunk=ferst this weekend. Leaving for Cali on the first. Hey, I might get to squeeze a weekend of climbing in before the big trip.

Paging Dr. Pennsy...”

“I'm meeting a buddy at the gym tonight for a little indoor workout. Hard to go after work the past week or so since the monsoon pattern started here :(

maybe saturday am though :)


good luck on that new gig JS!”

“enjoy.....


http://www.alpinist.com/p//tcl30-1”

“have y'all seen these things? i only have four cams (metolius) that i used for a grand canyon hike last year. i know i want some more and in a wider range. these things are expensive but potentially worth it. all the metolius gear i have is outstanding. i am not buying anything this season but researching for later.”

“Thought you guys might be interested in some links from Matts Latta Outdoor site.

Check them out....

Climbing Discussions

Climbing Wiki

Climbing Blogs”

“it's more fun to post about climbing on a backpacking web site... and kayaking and running, etc, etc. haha!”

“but you do know that this isn't really a backpacking site - its a social and political forum frequented by people who happen to backpack, climb, run and kayak, and such nonsense.”

“yeah, that's why it's called "thebackpacker.com" haha!

i hear you.”

“let's go climb a rock. i'm free on wed and fri. you bring the equip and i'm there. only as long as you are in san diego county of course. does this work for anyone? :O)”

“little bit tough for me to get to San Diego County after work, but if you can meet me in Boulder Canyon, I'm there!”

“Climbing Porn......
“enjoy.....


http://www.alpinist.com/p//tcl30-1”
Roam Around
2:56:52 PM
7/20/07


OMG! That was F'n orgasmic!

Going to go have a smoke now.”

“glad I could help ya out my friend!”

“oh - fyi....

don't go climbing in that kilt bro. leastways not if I'M gonna be belaying.”