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boymeetsrock
Dec 9, 2009, 6:27 PM
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Hi ladies. I am posting a questions for a friend of mine. If this has already been discussed I would greatly appreciate a link. Tried to search but didn't get anything relevant.
A female friend of mine is just getting into rock climbing. I mean just climbed for the first time and got her first pair of shoes this week new.
She lives across the country, otherwise I would take her out to learn. I wanted to give her some options/ outlets for finding partners who would be willing to teach her the ropes. The two biggest concerns are that a) someone would want to teach her, and 2) that she should feel comfortable in not partnering up with some nasty person.
Would any of you be so kind as to offer some advise or personal experience? I have given her a couple of suggestions but we are curious as to a female perspective. I think her biggest fear is being stuck with some skeevy dude.
Thanks!
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lena_chita
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Dec 9, 2009, 7:08 PM
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I'd say that her best bet is going to the gym and meeting people there. It takes time, but gym is a good public place where she can meet and evaluate the 'creepiness' factor of the guys before she goes on one-on-one trip with anyone.
She can also stick to group trips until she gets to know people -- some gyms occasionally organize group trips for newbies, have technique and lead classes, or they might have their own message board where trip information is being posted, etc. A good place to start... Some gyms also have women's climbing/training groups, etc. It just varies too much i can't say what she would find.
She shouldn't discount a possibility of partnering up with another newbie (any existing friends she might want to introduce to climbing?). While having a mentor is importnat, sometimes it works out better if you have another person at the same level as you are, and you are learning things together. A gym is a safe place to do that for two newbies. And as a pair they might feel a bit safer approaching more experienced people and asking questions because there is less room for misinterpreting the quest for information for trying to fish for a guy when it is coming from a pair.
As a general note, I've had really good luck meeting people and climbing with them, and avoiding creeps and sticky situations, unwanted come-ons, etc. If anything, I found fewer creeps among climbers than in general population, LOL.
I probably would not advice her to just meet up with someone at the crag if she is a new to climbing and doesn't know what to look for. But as she gets more experienced, even that becomes a reasonably safe possibility. (there are places I would go if I were partnerless and wanting to find someone to climb with for a day, and there are places I would avoid at all costs, but that's part of getting experience, kwim?)
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boymeetsrock
Dec 9, 2009, 7:36 PM
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Lena, thanks so much for a very thoughtful response.
I would be glad to hear from others if you have any other ideas!
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kiwiprincess
Dec 9, 2009, 7:45 PM
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I found the Gym a good place to meet people. Go to a gym with bouldering if she goes alone and she can do that until someone else comes along who dosn't have a partner.
There was also Women's climbing group trips in my town which were a good way to learn..not just be taken care of.
The more you climb the more you'll see the same people and over time become friends so just keep it up over the hard start and it'll become easier. don't get disallusioned and give up.
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boymeetsrock
Dec 9, 2009, 8:17 PM
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Kiwi, thank you!
I gave the link for this thread to my friend and she is very appreciative. So, I just wanted to pass along her thanks in addition to my own.
Keep the anecdotal stories coming. I think she will appreciate hearing what other women have gone through when entering the sport.
She has been athletic her whole life but mostly in organized sports, which are really no preparation when it comes to breaking into the climbing world.
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gblauer
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Dec 9, 2009, 8:54 PM
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When I first started climbing I spent all of my time at the gym. It was hard to meet people at first, but, once people saw me as a "regular" they were much more willing to climb with me, give me beta etc.
When I was ready to transition outdoors, I actually posted on RC.com. I was lucky to meet up with a group of local, passionate climbers and I was quickly integrated into their climbing group. Since that time (7 years ago), I am now very active in the preservation and fund raising for our local climbing area and I volunteer my time at the gym to introduce women to climbing.
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granite_grrl
Dec 9, 2009, 9:17 PM
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When I started climbing it was actually outside, but then that partner went away for a while and I had to fend for myself.
This was out in Nova Scotia, which had an absolutely amazing community. There were lots of events, weekly bouldering sessions outside, tons of "for fun" comps which usually cost little more than a day pass, if not cost the same. It also had an active message board which I took advantage of and would go out with groups going out when ever I could.
This might not be possible depending on where she lives, but I don't know if I can add too much more than what Lena mentioned.
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boymeetsrock
Dec 9, 2009, 9:35 PM
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Gail, Rebbecca, thank you both!
There may well be little to nothing more to add regarding ways to find partners, but we are both enjoying hearing how each of you got into climbing. Keep 'em coming.
She lives in AZ, btw, fwiw.
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lvpyne
Dec 9, 2009, 10:11 PM
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Similar to granite_grrl, I learned to climb outside rather than in a gym. I took a weekend "women's climbing clinic" at Enchanted Rock (in Texas) and found that was an awesome way to get introduced to the sport and -- this was really important to me -- to find similarly motivated female partners without the "creepy guys wanting a phone number" factor.
You mentioned that she's in AZ? There are a ton of women's clinics and climbing venues -- she might try checking those out as well. Also, all of the gyms that I've been to in AZ (Phoenix, Tucson, Flag) are generally really friendly.
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tavs
Dec 9, 2009, 10:17 PM
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I got started through the outing club at my college, so that wouldn't be a ton of help for her. But many towns that have significant outdoor-active populations have climbing groups or "mountain clubs" outside of what you find in a gym. A good friend of mine moved here from the East Coast; while she fell in with a group of climbers through work connection fairly quickly, for the first couple of months she got outside and learned more by going on trips with the Wasatch Mountain Club. She does have some stories of meeting some odd folks and having a few weird experiences on trips (nothing sketchy), but it was a good place to start. Your friend could also look online for a local message board. We've got a (reasonably) active one that oriented towards SLC. She could try to arrange to meet up with a group at the gym through that.
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gblauer
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Dec 10, 2009, 1:48 PM
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boymeetsrock wrote: She lives in AZ,.
Is she in PHX area? If so, she should reach out to Manny (sonso45). He is a great guy, very experienced climber and extremely well connected in the climbing community.
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boymeetsrock
Dec 10, 2009, 5:09 PM
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tavs, thanks for the suggestions.
Gail, great suggestion! I think we may give that a shot. Hopefully Manny won't mind.
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curt
Dec 11, 2009, 3:12 AM
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Manny won't mind, although he is currently in Spain.
Curt
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boymeetsrock
Dec 11, 2009, 3:49 AM
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Appreciate you saying so.
You in the PHX area? (shameless, I know)
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curt
Dec 11, 2009, 4:46 AM
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boymeetsrock wrote: Appreciate you saying so. You in the PHX area? (shameless, I know)
Yes, I'm in the PHX area. However, as Gail basically implied by my non-mention, I'm obviously not a nice guy like Manny.
Curt
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caughtinside
Dec 11, 2009, 5:21 AM
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curt wrote: boymeetsrock wrote: Appreciate you saying so. You in the PHX area? (shameless, I know) Yes, I'm in the PHX area. However, as Gail basically implied by my non-mention, I'm obviously not a nice guy like Manny. Curt
I will second that. Manny is nice.
Churt is not.
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boymeetsrock
Dec 11, 2009, 12:46 PM
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caughtinside wrote: curt wrote: boymeetsrock wrote: Appreciate you saying so. You in the PHX area? (shameless, I know) Yes, I'm in the PHX area. However, as Gail basically implied by my non-mention, I'm obviously not a nice guy like Manny. Curt I will second that. Manny is nice. Churt is not.
In this venue of internet anonymity, it is nice to get verification when people like this Churt guy come trolling around. Thanks.
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boymeetsrock
Dec 11, 2009, 12:54 PM
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curt wrote: boymeetsrock wrote: Appreciate you saying so. You in the PHX area? (shameless, I know) Yes, I'm in the PHX area. However, as Gail basically implied by my non-mention, I'm obviously not a nice guy like Manny. Curt
What if there was a nice single malt involved? Rumor around here is that sh*z is like kriptonite to you. 
Seriously though, sorry to put you on the spot.
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gblauer
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Dec 11, 2009, 1:24 PM
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curt wrote: Yes, I'm in the PHX area. However, as Gail basically implied by my non-mention, I'm obviously not a nice guy like Manny. Curt
Ha ha...Nothing implied Curt!
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cantbuymefriends
Dec 11, 2009, 1:48 PM
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Hey, Boymeetsrock. Why not point your lady friend to this site, and tell her to get an account of her own?
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boymeetsrock
Dec 11, 2009, 1:53 PM
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That is in the works. She is new to all of this climbing stuff. I just thought I'd offer a little 'insider' help. kwim?
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caughtinside
Dec 13, 2009, 1:53 AM
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boymeetsrock wrote: caughtinside wrote: curt wrote: boymeetsrock wrote: Appreciate you saying so. You in the PHX area? (shameless, I know) Yes, I'm in the PHX area. However, as Gail basically implied by my non-mention, I'm obviously not a nice guy like Manny. Curt I will second that. Manny is nice. Churt is not. In this venue of internet anonymity, it is nice to get verification when people like this Churt guy come trolling around. Thanks.
Churt is not to be trusted!
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lena_chita
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Dec 13, 2009, 3:36 PM
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caughtinside wrote: boymeetsrock wrote: caughtinside wrote: curt wrote: boymeetsrock wrote: Appreciate you saying so. You in the PHX area? (shameless, I know) Yes, I'm in the PHX area. However, as Gail basically implied by my non-mention, I'm obviously not a nice guy like Manny. Curt I will second that. Manny is nice. Churt is not. In this venue of internet anonymity, it is nice to get verification when people like this Churt guy come trolling around. Thanks. Churt is not to be trusted!
Definitely not. I will make every effort to avoid him when I head out West in couple weeks.
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tjmckee
Dec 14, 2009, 5:40 AM
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Hey everyone - I’m the “lady friend” of boymeetsrock. It was great reading everyone’s responses….well almost every ones  , and thanks so much for all the information! It sounds like the gym will be the best place to start to find groups and other people also interested in finding climbing partners.
AZ is a great place to be if you want to take up the sport. With that in mind, it’s hard to believe I’ve never even met a single rock climber in the almost two years I’ve lived here!
Appreciate all the feedback, and if anyone has more suggestions, please let me know! Thanks again!
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macherry
Dec 14, 2009, 6:46 PM
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tjmckee wrote: Hey everyone - I’m the “lady friend” of boymeetsrock. It was great reading everyone’s responses….well almost every ones , and thanks so much for all the information! It sounds like the gym will be the best place to start to find groups and other people also interested in finding climbing partners. AZ is a great place to be if you want to take up the sport. With that in mind, it’s hard to believe I’ve never even met a single rock climber in the almost two years I’ve lived here! Appreciate all the feedback, and if anyone has more suggestions, please let me know! Thanks again!
thanks for stopping by!!!
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