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maculated
Feb 19, 2009, 5:05 AM
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Every time I go to a gym and they make me take the belay test, I get nervous. Been climbing for almost ten years now and I am still always worried I won't know what their "three things" they're looking for are. Got a new one this weekend. ATC all set up, ready for the belay test. Gal asks me, "What do you do with that end?" as she points to the belay end with the coil on the ground. "Uh, hold it?" She looks at me like I'm joking. I look back at her, "Don't take my hand off it?" Still looks at me. "Uncle?" "You tie a backup knot in the end of it." Ahhhh, gyms.
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jakedatc
Feb 19, 2009, 5:08 AM
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nOOb ;) :waves: hi Mac
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no_email_entered
Feb 19, 2009, 5:27 AM
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so are you sayin maybe this should be called belay 'chicks'?
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suilenroc
Feb 19, 2009, 5:33 AM
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If a gym owner thinks that knots should be tied in the end of THEIR ROPES then they seriously need their head checked! Hahah, thats a new one on me!
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jt512
Feb 19, 2009, 6:54 AM
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suilenroc wrote: If a gym owner thinks that knots should be tied in the end of THEIR ROPES then they seriously need their head checked! Hahah, thats a new one on me! Actually, I used to climb at a gym where not every rope was long enough for every climb, so whenever I was less than 100% sure that I was using the right rope rope for one of their extra-long routes I would indeed tie a knot in the standing end of the rope. Jay
(This post was edited by jt512 on Feb 19, 2009, 6:55 AM)
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suilenroc
Feb 19, 2009, 6:55 AM
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wow, you just stated that you are dumb. well done. dumbass.
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jt512
Feb 19, 2009, 6:57 AM
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suilenroc wrote: wow, you just stated that you are dumb. well done. dumbass. Um, excuse me?? Jay
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suilenroc
Feb 19, 2009, 6:59 AM
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no need for an explanation, just read what you wrote, then read it again. n00b.
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jt512
Feb 19, 2009, 7:02 AM
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suilenroc wrote: no need for an explanation, just read what you wrote, then read it again. n00b. Yes, shit-for-brains, there is indeed a need for an explanation. Jay
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suilenroc
Feb 19, 2009, 7:06 AM
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jt512 wrote: suilenroc wrote: no need for an explanation, just read what you wrote, then read it again. n00b. Yes, shit-for-brains, there is indeed a need for an explanation. Jay Alright, turd-four-butts, instead of making it a practice that you tie knots in the end of your gym ropes... How about you request ropes long enough for the gym. Or I guess you could be just like you are suggesting and deal with short ropes... n00b. btw, shit-for-brains is not a good way to attack someone... just so you know..
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climbingam
Feb 19, 2009, 7:07 AM
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at the gym I go to, I was being belayed by someone new. their hand was palm up, which I'll agree is not accepted practice now. While i'm on the wall TR'd, without having the belayer take (just relying on grigri), they start talking to them about how to do it right. I'm like WTF? I'm up here and you are distracting them from belaying me. Have them lower me first then tell them or wait till the climb is over. I couldn't believe that the kid did a major safety infraction to fix a minor one.
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jt512
Feb 19, 2009, 7:12 AM
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suilenroc wrote: jt512 wrote: suilenroc wrote: no need for an explanation, just read what you wrote, then read it again. n00b. Yes, shit-for-brains, there is indeed a need for an explanation. Jay Alright, turd-four-butts, instead of making it a practice that you tie knots in the end of your gym ropes... How about you request ropes long enough for the gym. Or I guess you could be just like you are suggesting and deal with short ropes... n00b. Not every gym is as well run as the one you apparently are familiar with. At this gym, you didn't "request" ropes. The ropes were simply lying around piled up on the ground. They differed in length, as did the routes Maybe there was an employee around to ask; maybe their wasn't. Maybe I wouldn't trust the employee's answer even if he was around; after all, each of us is responsible for his own safety, is he not?
In reply to: btw, shit-for-brains is not a good way to attack someone... just so you know.. I wasn't attacking you; I was describing you. Jay
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suilenroc
Feb 19, 2009, 7:14 AM
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horrible. simply put. i'm out.
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maculated
Feb 19, 2009, 7:20 AM
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My work here is done. Muwahhah. Sup, Jake.
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angry
Feb 19, 2009, 7:22 AM
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suilenroc wrote: horrible. simply put. i'm out. You started this, you're not allowed to quit. Go back out there and egg him on some more.
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suilenroc
Feb 19, 2009, 7:23 AM
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angry wrote: suilenroc wrote: horrible. simply put. i'm out. You started this, you're not allowed to quit. Go back out there and egg him on some more. I can't! I'm out of PBR!
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Carnage
Feb 19, 2009, 4:29 PM
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jt512 wrote: suilenroc wrote: If a gym owner thinks that knots should be tied in the end of THEIR ROPES then they seriously need their head checked! Hahah, thats a new one on me! Actually, I used to climb at a gym where not every rope was long enough for every climb, so whenever I was less than 100% sure that I was using the right rope rope for one of their extra-long routes I would indeed tie a knot in the standing end of the rope. Jay my boss is kinda an idiot and cuts w/out measure for the most part. so some of the top ropes barely reach the ground. then when he belays, instead of taking in slack alot of the time he will just take a step backwards, so when he lowers people when hes standing like 20 steps away from where he started, its usually pretty close as to weather he has enough rope to get em to the ground. hes started tying knots in the end, but he ties em right on the tip of the rope, so it would probbably just get pulled through if it were to hit his belay device.
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kachoong
Feb 19, 2009, 5:22 PM
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I agree with belay check, if they do it properly and also accommodate a variety of ways to do the same thing. As Jay said, you are responsible for your own safety and must do your own checks. Some of the n00bs that work in these places aren't going to know anything "normal" outside their narrow field of vision. It unfortunately doesn't help either if their equipment sucks. I was at a gym the other day with the wife.. they checked our harnesses but didn't ask us to explain anything and didn't even watch us belay. We had said we were climbers and had our own gear, but if you gotta do the test (by the rules of the gym) I expect them to be observant and attentive. It really just showed us how badly run and organized the gym was as a whole. Never going back! I've also had a gym employee not even know what a Reverso was. They even requested that I use one of their Grigri's while lead belaying instead of what I had. I refused and asked to speak with someone more knowledgeable.
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acorneau
Feb 19, 2009, 6:03 PM
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Hey kachoong, I'm going to borrow your story but this is not directed at you personally...
kachoong wrote: I was at a gym the other day with the wife... I expect them to be observant and attentive. It really just showed us how badly run and organized the gym was as a whole. Never going back! This really gets to me, because gyms get damned if they do and damned if they don't. Some folks don't want to change their habits to conform to house rules; "Don't make me use floor anchors." "Don't make me use the gym's Grigri's." "Don't make me belay palm down." etc.... Others get upset when they aren't watched/babysat enough; "Someone should have told me I could have hurt my ankle jumping off the boulder." "I didn't know the Grigri wouldn't catch on it's own." "Why don't they tell those people they're doing it wrong?" etc.... Understand that gyms are offering a service at a price-point. Sure, you could get an all-AMGA-trained staff, all brand new equipment, and "do whatever you want" rules, but expect to pay $50 a visit. (Yeah, like that would really happen.) Grrr... Ok, rant done. No need to reply, just needed to get that out.
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kachoong
Feb 19, 2009, 6:54 PM
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Yeah.. I agree. It's a balance of three things - Quality, Price, Service. For sure, you can't have all pieces of the cake. I just like to see a smile or two and to see that they care about their business/job... that's all.
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johnwesely
Feb 19, 2009, 7:26 PM
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jt512 wrote: suilenroc wrote: If a gym owner thinks that knots should be tied in the end of THEIR ROPES then they seriously need their head checked! Hahah, thats a new one on me! Actually, I used to climb at a gym where not every rope was long enough for every climb, so whenever I was less than 100% sure that I was using the right rope rope for one of their extra-long routes I would indeed tie a knot in the standing end of the rope. Jay That was pretty insightful.
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cracklover
Feb 19, 2009, 8:34 PM
Post #22 of 74
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maculated wrote: Every time I go to a gym and they make me take the belay test, I get nervous. Been climbing for almost ten years now and I am still always worried I won't know what their "three things" they're looking for are. Got a new one this weekend. ATC all set up, ready for the belay test. Gal asks me, "What do you do with that end?" as she points to the belay end with the coil on the ground. "Uh, hold it?" She looks at me like I'm joking. I look back at her, "Don't take my hand off it?" Still looks at me. "Uncle?" "You tie a backup knot in the end of it." Ahhhh, gyms. Ha! That's funny. I once climbed with a gym rat at the Gunks. About halfway through the day I realized by it's look and feel that his rope was a gym special. He told me that yes, he'd snatched from the gym. He didn't know that their low stretch TR ropes were different from the standard dynamic UIAA rated ropes. Glad I didn't fall at all that day. GO
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acorneau
Feb 19, 2009, 9:00 PM
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cracklover wrote: He didn't know that their low stretch TR ropes were different from the standard dynamic UIAA rated ropes. Glad I didn't fall at all that day. Don't know about your friend's gym, but we use the Blue Water DynaGym ropes which are fully UIAA and CE approved, with an impact force rating of 8.5kN. I usually use my own rope when leading, but have used the gym rope in the past with no problems. It's just a little harder fall/catch.
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cracklover
Feb 19, 2009, 10:47 PM
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acorneau wrote: cracklover wrote: He didn't know that their low stretch TR ropes were different from the standard dynamic UIAA rated ropes. Glad I didn't fall at all that day. Don't know about your friend's gym, but we use the Blue Water DynaGym ropes which are fully UIAA and CE approved, with an impact force rating of 8.5kN. I usually use my own rope when leading, but have used the gym rope in the past with no problems. It's just a little harder fall/catch. Don't know about you, but when I'm looking down ten feet at that sketchy pink tricam, I don't want my rope to have *barely* squeaked past the UIAA test when it was new. GO
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neuroshock
Feb 19, 2009, 10:53 PM
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acorneau wrote: cracklover wrote: He didn't know that their low stretch TR ropes were different from the standard dynamic UIAA rated ropes. Glad I didn't fall at all that day. Don't know about your friend's gym, but we use the Blue Water DynaGym ropes which are fully UIAA and CE approved, with an impact force rating of 8.5kN. I usually use my own rope when leading, but have used the gym rope in the past with no problems. It's just a little harder fall/catch. One of the gyms here in Chicago uses static rope for TR because the wall is ~95' tall. With that much rope out, even gym-oriented semi-static ropes have enough stretch to hit the concrete floor from 15' up.
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