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decemberdays27
May 2, 2006, 10:50 PM
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i searched for a post about this but couldnt find any, so... has anyone found that toping out is the hardest part of bouldering? to me at least, i can climb all the way to the top, but when i reach over to grab something, theres hardly ever anything there. i always end up having to almost hump the wall inching my way up just to finally reach something that i can grab. are most problems like this or is it just the ones ive climbed? is there anything i can do to get better at it? thanks, i appreciate the help
*john
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jeremy11
May 2, 2006, 11:37 PM
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try topping out a 30 foot 5.6 trad route onto steep forest dirt using a tree the size of my finger on the cliff edge and then digging into the dirt for holds to finish... looking at a 20 foot fall if you blow it. downward pressure only on the mini trees and dirt holds!! :shock: :shock:
work on mantleshelving... I know what you mean, some boulder top outs are really scary. just figure it out.
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treez
May 2, 2006, 11:56 PM
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I had a really old book called "learning to rock climb" that had some good pictures of good and bad manteling technique. The woman in the pics is smokin if I remember correctly (I was an adolescent). See if you can get your hands on a copy.
In the situation you describe it is common to be looking for hand holds when all you need to do is stand up.
This concludes my helpful goodguy post of the day.
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decemberdays27
May 3, 2006, 12:32 AM
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thanks for the help. i see videos of people toping out and have seen people actually do it. maybe its all in my mind but if i try to push with my arms and just stand up, all i see in my head is me back flipping off the boulder..... maybe ill just try it anyways next time, maybe looking for better foot to stand on before toping out.... hope i dont die, lol
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lowballin
May 3, 2006, 1:16 AM
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after years of erosion that the top of a boulder takes from rain it tends to get slick. so you go from crimps and jugs to slopers you cant see its the hardest part for me. Just focus on your feet.
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bould_move_er
May 3, 2006, 9:53 PM
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Learning to mantle is tricky. It's uncomfortable at first and there is always the chance that your foot might blow while you're in that funky position. My advice is get over that mental hump and trust your spotters (that is if they can be). The more you try it the more you will build muscle memory for those situations, as with most climbing techniques. I've certainly been at that point where you get to the top and your mind is telling you that there is no way you can get over. Have bit it many times when a smear foot has slipped on a mantle as well, glad I travel with good spotters.
If you've seen videos of mantles and fellow climbers then I don't know how much I can add as far as technique (got a crash course at HP40). Here goes though, getting over the top by a mantle is about momentum for me. Learning how and when to use your legs and twist on your palm to end up doing what would be a tricep push-up. To get up on your palms and twist your arm it sometimes takes a little hop to get your momentum going, then start pushing with the triceps and get your leg up (or leg up first, depends), leg up (dig your knee in, pants a must), and kinda' roll your hips in synchrony with your knee as a friction point. Depending on the problem sometimes your hands are turned in and you use the thumb pad (palm) as a major friction point or the other side under the pinky and ring finger. Once again, it's certainly uncomfortable and you can slip, but the more you try it the better you get at it. Then, one day you'll do your first warm-up mantle of the day and laugh about how hard/funky that used to be. 8^) Good luck with the top outs and hope this somehow made some sense. :lol:
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jakedatc
May 4, 2006, 1:54 AM
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i agree.. takes practice. And don't worry, not all boulder problems are blank on top (though when they are you'll be glad to know what to do). Think about getting out of a swimming pool. and nicely, not belly flopping. i try to get a good foot hold on the face.. usually the last hand hold, throw the opposite foot up and out kinda wide, then stand up on the face hold, flip that side's hand so fingers are pointing to the face.. rock up and stand up.
from Pway on a problem called Forget your Feet.. basically it's some smearing to a mantle
http://img.photobucket.com/...uckaway/Img_0147.jpg
think.. in a few months you'll be climbing harder than you are now and you'll struggle to the top and be like whoo only a mantle to top it out.
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decemberdays27
May 4, 2006, 3:06 AM
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thanks for all the help guys, all your info helps a lot and is very detailed, listening to it all even makes it seem easier in my head, lol. thanks again
*john
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tonloc
May 4, 2006, 3:50 AM
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bouldering at caslte hill taught me to really mantle...its akward and ugly, just throw the foot and learn to enjoy them...they can be akward...however the old beached wale hump does have its place, don't forget about it...
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geobum
Jun 18, 2006, 8:39 AM
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In reply to: bouldering at caslte hill taught me to really mantle...its akward and ugly, just throw the foot and learn to enjoy them...they can be akward...however the old beached wale hump does have its place, don't forget about it...
i climbed a little slab at castle hill, as well as some problems with dodgy mantles. "forget your feet" is a good motto for castle hill; every foothold is so slick-- lots of upper body tension to keep you on the rock. i woke up the morning after a day at the hill and i felt like i had been hit by a train :lol:
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bizarrodrinker
Jun 19, 2006, 7:01 PM
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I recommend the HP40 school of mantling. S*@$#y slopers with bad feet will make all else seem easier. I know it did for me!
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aikibujin
Jun 19, 2006, 7:22 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: bouldering at caslte hill taught me to really mantle...its akward and ugly, just throw the foot and learn to enjoy them...they can be akward...however the old beached wale hump does have its place, don't forget about it... i climbed a little slab at castle hill, as well as some problems with dodgy mantles. "forget your feet" is a good motto for castle hill; every foothold is so slick-- lots of upper body tension to keep you on the rock. i woke up the morning after a day at the hill and i felt like i had been hit by a train :lol:
Have you guys tried *drum rolls* The Unrepeatable? Classic Castle Hill mantle testpiece. One move wonder but man, what a move.
To the OP, if you boulder in PA, then yes you often have to deal with desperate sloper topouts. Sometimes the topout is the crux of the problem. It will take a while to get good at it, meanwhile, try keeping your weight over your hands when you mantle. Avoid the tendency to belly flop, sometimes it works, but often you just end up slowly sliding backwards on your stomach while pawing desperately for a hand hold.
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bizarrodrinker
Jun 19, 2006, 7:31 PM
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In reply to: To the OP, if you boulder in PA, then yes you often have to deal with desperate sloper topouts. Sometimes the topout is the crux of the problem.
right on!
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rock_gecko123
Jun 22, 2006, 2:21 PM
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decemberdays27 Posted: 03 May 2006 00:32 Post subject: Re: toping out
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thanks for the help. i see videos of people toping out and have seen people actually do it. maybe its all in my mind but if i try to push with my arms and just stand up, all i see in my head is me back flipping off the boulder..... maybe ill just try it anyways next time, maybe looking for better foot to stand on before toping out.... hope i dont die, lol
dont worry bout it man i know how you feel. yesterday i was climbing and i had a sloping dirty mess to top out on and it was on an overhang where i would have totaly flown like 5 feet away. the thing to remember is that you need good spotters. thats why their there. if u backflip off the rock( which isnt that likly) then they can atleast push you onto your crash pad. i had a friend once who came fly'n off this rock and smacked her right out of the air.. granted she smashed her face against the pad.. but at least it was the pad and not a rock :) :) finaly when ever i encouter that i usualy like the swimming pool idea and the main thing is to keep your body weight ridiculusly far forward. practicly make love to the rock. when when you get a little forward move your knee over the edge and push up. just remember to keep your wieght forward. have fun climbing!
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vector
Jun 22, 2006, 3:43 PM
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How I ended up in the bouldering forum giving advice is a mystery and possibly a misdemeanor as well. But I find myself having to disagree with rock_gecko and agree with aikibujin (hey Boer).
The intuitive desire to lean your chest onto the ledge you are topping out on and reach for hold that are not there is usually a bad idea. As aikibujin says, keep your weight over your feet by keeping your shoulders and hips in line with said feet as long as possible. The higher you get your feet on the route, while mantling with your hands, the easier and more secure the final step on to the ledge will seem. If you have your chest on the ledge, you won't be able to get your feet as high with control (try leaning your chest on a table and stepping your feet onto a chair or the table top, then try it standing up straight). I learned this from Aikibujin himself at Governor Stable but I mostly use it toping out on 5.6 trad pitches where the technique is considered to be easy (still scares the crap out of _me_ though and I never hesitate to grab a tree for help if there is one).
*edited for clarity
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ninja_climber
Jun 22, 2006, 5:27 PM
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*cough* Bum Boy,HP40* cough*.... :roll:
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gymjoem
Jun 27, 2006, 6:03 AM
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ya it is just what kind of topout it is because there have been some where i have to hump my way up top but then other time i can just pretty much do a pull up mantle (if that makes sense)
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