Jan 19, 2011, 5:31 PM
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Re: [Kartessa] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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I went once. The guy with "15 years climbing experience" rigged a sport anchor with a non-locking biner connected to a locking biner, metal-to-metal. It twisted, the gate opened, and half the anchor failed.
Jan 19, 2011, 5:36 PM
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Re: [Vegasclimber10] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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Vegasclimber10 wrote:
I have had both good and bad experiences with the local climbing Meetup. Actually more good then bad, but as some people have noted, you need to question your proposed partners - or "organizers/teachers" carefully before heading out with them. A lot of people use Meetup as an initial foray into sports and such.
I actually know a few local Meetup climbers that are very experienced and are willing to help others learn without being elitest.
I'm not huge on going to actual climbing meetups, due to the large number of people locking up an entire crag for hours.
Can't say as I agree with blueeyedclimber's comment, as I have a pretty decent social life and I am an organizer for one of the largest hiking meetup groups in the US. But to each their own.
Jan 19, 2011, 5:42 PM
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Re: [lrossi] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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lrossi wrote:
I went once. The guy with "15 years climbing experience" rigged a sport anchor with a non-locking biner connected to a locking biner, metal-to-metal. It twisted, the gate opened, and half the anchor failed.
No thanks.
Funny thing, I met up with a climbfind guy one day, he had "8 Years climbing experience" but felt the need to point at my harness and ask "What's that?" looking at my ATC... I called another friend over to play Top Rope for the day, halfway through one climb I got the "hey, are you good there? I gotta take this call?"
He still calls me every so often asking if I want to go outside.
Jan 19, 2011, 5:51 PM
Post #31 of 75
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Re: [tower_climber] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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tower_climber wrote:
The Raleigh Rock Climbing Meetup is full of great people. I've been climbing with them at local gyms for the last several months and hope to get out on some real rock this spring/summer with a couple of the members.
The raleigh meetup is full of a bunch of noobs. They consistently piss of the other people climbing in the gym, and the gym staff (i'm climbing partners with one of the managers at a local gym)
They come in and have no presence of people around them or where they're going. I've had people tie in right next to me and climb routes that run into mine, or they just hang on the wall for 20 min, stuff like that.
They also bitch to the staff about ridiculous shit. Its a climbing gym, the air is going to be full of chalk, stop whining.
Jan 19, 2011, 5:56 PM
Post #32 of 75
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Re: [Carnage] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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Carnage wrote:
tower_climber wrote:
The Raleigh Rock Climbing Meetup is full of great people. I've been climbing with them at local gyms for the last several months and hope to get out on some real rock this spring/summer with a couple of the members.
The raleigh meetup is full of a bunch of noobs. They consistently piss of the other people climbing in the gym, and the gym staff (i'm climbing partners with one of the managers at a local gym)
They come in and have no presence of people around them or where they're going. I've had people tie in right next to me and climb routes that run into mine, or they just hang on the wall for 20 min, stuff like that.
They also bitch to the staff about ridiculous shit. Its a climbing gym, the air is going to be full of chalk, stop whining.
Carnage, I think Tower_Climber is one of your Raleigh types... can I suggest going to a couple of their meetups and teach them some manners?
Jan 22, 2011, 10:50 AM
Post #33 of 75
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Re: [Kartessa] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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I organize the Vancouver Rock Climbing Group in Vancouver, BC through the meetup site. From my experience:
1. Like any other groups (no matter they are new or have a long history, big or small), the quality and safety greatly depends on the leadership and the style of the group
2. The meetup site generally has much greater social networking power/capacity/speed (and user-friendly-ness) than many existing group's networking website/portal. This increased capability obviously (just like anything) can go both ways. On the bad side, you can have some newbies gathering up and doing something unsafe endangering themselves and others. On the good side, it can greatly benefit many climbers in many ways (obviously having more climbing partners is a big one). The leadership/style of the group will dictate which side it will be at.
3. People who use the meetup are generally very easy-going and more open to meet, climb and social with new people and not shy at all.
4. Meetup groups do have a higher proportion of less experienced : more experienced climbers. But it's not unique to meetup groups. This is also true to many other established groups. It's a natural trend, generally, more experienced climber will already have more climbing partners (less pressing need to find climbing partners) and their project/desired climbs will be way more specific and require specific partners with certain personality, style, motivation and experience which usually cannot be achieved in a club outing setting.
5. In my group, we have locals and international travelling climbers from absolute newbie to 5.12 onsight climbers. The networking power of the meetup site has benefited them all.
6. One of the best ways to find climbing partners is meeting people at the crag.
Jan 22, 2011, 2:46 PM
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Re: [joewtc] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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To stay on topic, here's my take on meetup.com.
It's the blind leading the blind. I'm not wild about "clubs" as a general rule. They tend to be like lemmings, one following the other off the cliff.
If you are a new climber, you have ZERO reference for who knows what they are doing versus who does not. Most of the group outings with clubs I have seen are usually poorly organised.
Jan 22, 2011, 2:50 PM
Post #35 of 75
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Re: [socalclimber] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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Here's a typical statement from a meetup site: "I can lead 5.10 and I really want to go outdoor climbing more. I have been outdoor rock climbing once and ice climbing once."
My wife and I have seen the local group at the gym and from what I've seen they probably better stay at the gym...
Jan 22, 2011, 3:24 PM
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Re: [Lbrombach] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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Lbrombach wrote:
naitch wrote:
My wife and I have seen the local group at the gym and from what I've seen they probably better stay at the gym...
What a dumbass statement. I can easily say "I've seen people climbing at the gym and from what I've seen they probably better stay at the gym."
The difference is, they aren't part of a organized group pretending to be climbers and have an organized public presence to attract others. The context here is meetup groups, not individual climbers.
I'm sure meetup groups vary a lot but from what I've seen it's often the inexperienced advising the inexperienced. The statement that I quoted is an example of this...scary...someone claiming to be a 5.10 leader and they've only climbed outside once. Hopefully no one gets hurt.
Jan 22, 2011, 3:36 PM
Post #38 of 75
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Re: [naitch] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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naitch wrote:
Lbrombach wrote:
naitch wrote:
My wife and I have seen the local group at the gym and from what I've seen they probably better stay at the gym...
What a dumbass statement. I can easily say "I've seen people climbing at the gym and from what I've seen they probably better stay at the gym."
The difference is, they aren't part of a organized group pretending to be climbers and have an organized public presence to attract others. The context here is meetup groups, not individual climbers.
I'm sure meetup groups vary a lot but from what I've seen it's often the inexperienced advising the inexperienced. The statement that I quoted is an example of this...scary...someone claiming to be a 5.10 leader and they've only climbed outside once. Hopefully no one gets hurt.
I don't see anyone misrepresenting themselves. The guy can lead 5.10 at the gym and is a complete noob outside. As long as people know what they're signing up for...My first trip outside was with a guy who had been climbing "for years in several countries." I luckily had studied toprope anchors because he tried to run our rope through bolt hangars (not even rap rings) and throw it over the edge several feet back. The fact is I don't see a lot of climbers with years of good experience taking in the noobs that walk in the gym off the street. And whether you meet someone at the gym, the crag, or meetup - if they misrepresent themselves and you haven't done enough of your own homework to see it, you're screwed.
Jan 22, 2011, 4:05 PM
Post #39 of 75
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Re: [Lbrombach] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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Lbrombach wrote:
The fact is I don't see a lot of climbers with years of good experience taking in the noobs that walk in the gym off the street...
Whatever...that's not my experience. We've helped helped out many noobs in the gym and taken them out if they were interested in getting out. I've observed others doing the same. My experience is that anyone who's friendly, sociable, has a teachable attitude and is not a smartass will find competent help at the gym and are gradually integrated into the local scene - if that's what they want. YMMV - this is just my experience. My issue is with incompetent people organizing events.
Jan 22, 2011, 4:09 PM
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Re: [naitch] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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naitch wrote:
Lbrombach wrote:
The fact is I don't see a lot of climbers with years of good experience taking in the noobs that walk in the gym off the street...
Whatever...that's not my experience. We've helped helped out many noobs in the gym and taken them out if they were interested in getting out. I've observed others doing the same. My experience is that anyone who's friendly, sociable, has a teachable attitude and is not a smartass will find competent help at the gym and are gradually integrated into the local scene - if that's what they want. YMMV - this is just my experience. My issue is with incompetent people organizing events.
Jan 22, 2011, 6:06 PM
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Re: [jt512] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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jt512 wrote:
Lbrombach wrote:
naitch wrote:
My wife and I have seen the local group at the gym and from what I've seen they probably better stay at the gym...
What a dumbass statement. I can easily say "I've seen people climbing at the gym and from what I've seen they probably better stay at the gym."
You just made the same "dumbass" statement you accused naitch of, Dumbass.
Jay
My God - you're dense if that's how you interpret my post. Yeah...you guys are right. Meetup groups have only inexperienced, dangerous noobs and almost certainly a higher injury and fatality rate than the the all-knowing general RC.COM membership. And because I saw Mexicans steal some cars on COPS, you'd better not park where I can find your car.
I can see naitch's point but I recognize that he could not have possibly seen that many meetups groups in action so his data is very limited. Still, I can respect (but disagree with) his perspective. Jay is just an ass that talks shit but I'm certain has learned everything he knows about climbing off the internet. He probably went outside once, left his bailing draw on a 5.9 and scurried back to his gym to tell all the noobs there his tales of outdoor greatness.
Jan 22, 2011, 10:00 PM
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Re: [joewtc] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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Anyone can create a Meetup group - so, naturally, they vary quite a lot in character. Certainly some people put too much trust in the meetup organizer - but that's just the nature of newbies. Anyone can also bring friends to the crag, or organize climbing trips through other venues. There's nothing to prevent inexperienced people from taking bad advice. Ideally everyone would buy a book or hire a certified guide to ensure that their "experienced friend" knew what they were doing, but that's not realistic.
I organize a group in the Washington DC area. We're mostly about gym climbing, with some outdoor top-roping thrown in. There are other local groups that try to be more hardcore and selective, but there will always be a large number of newbies to any "semi-public" sort of event. If you just want a casual, social top-roping outing, or a gym workout, the Meetup group is great. For harder stuff - the meetups can probably serve as a way to meet partners, but you'll need to do some screening of your own.
Jan 22, 2011, 10:27 PM
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Re: [TimothyMark] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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TimothyMark wrote:
Anyone can create a Meetup group - so, naturally, they vary quite a lot in character. Certainly some people put too much trust in the meetup organizer - but that's just the nature of newbies. Anyone can also bring friends to the crag, or organize climbing trips through other venues. There's nothing to prevent inexperienced people from taking bad advice. Ideally everyone would buy a book or hire a certified guide to ensure that their "experienced friend" knew what they were doing, but that's not realistic.
I organize a group in the Washington DC area. We're mostly about gym climbing, with some outdoor top-roping thrown in. There are other local groups that try to be more hardcore and selective, but there will always be a large number of newbies to any "semi-public" sort of event. If you just want a casual, social top-roping outing, or a gym workout, the Meetup group is great. For harder stuff - the meetups can probably serve as a way to meet partners, but you'll need to do some screening of your own.
So what you are saying is that I can start adding Meet-Up to the list of reasons why more and more people I run into around here treat the outdoor's like a climbing gym? Thanks.
Jan 22, 2011, 10:48 PM
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Re: [altelis] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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So what you are saying is that I can start adding Meet-Up to the list of reasons why more and more people I run into around here treat the outdoor's like a climbing gym? Thanks.
Jan 22, 2011, 10:50 PM
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Re: [TimothyMark] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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TimothyMark wrote:
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So what you are saying is that I can start adding Meet-Up to the list of reasons why more and more people I run into around here treat the outdoor's like a climbing gym? Thanks.
Jan 22, 2011, 11:20 PM
Post #48 of 75
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Re: [altelis] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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So what makes it "gang-roping", besides the simple group size? Is it a matter of hogging climbs? Personally, I try to take things down when we're done with them, and if another party wants a particular climb, we'll always let them through.
I'm genuinely curious if there's something we can do to better share the local crags, or if it's just sheer numbers that you find objectionable. I love real wilderness and solitude, but let's face it - you won't find it at easily-accessible parks (ie Great Falls). The DC area has a ton of people, and we need to share the natural resources around here as best we can - both between climbers, and with all of the others who want to enjoy them.
Jan 22, 2011, 11:55 PM
Post #49 of 75
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Re: [TimothyMark] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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It's not about "sheer numbers". It's about how those "sheer numbers" are broken up.
There is a very large difference in how resources get shared, and how the area is experienced, between: 1) 50 people in 20-25 groups 2) 50 people in 5-10 groups.
It's been my experience that when larger groups (really greater than 4 or so) go out top-roping, there are few people in the group that know how to conduct themselves in a considerate manner.
I usually see bags placed everywhere and anywhere, and the bags are usually in varying states of "exploded", people are loud, and generally take up much more space proportionally than a smaller group.
And often large groups talk about how they take down climbs when they are done with them, but my experience has been that large groups aren't "done" with a climb until the days over.
As for sharing the resources with the non-climbers, that is a joke, right? There are few places where the two user groups interact so little. I have NEVER felt like the area was crowded because of non-climbers, even when there are hundreds of them around. The cliffs are much farther down the trail than the majority go, and we hang out at the BOTTOM and the trail goes around the TOP....
And, you might certainly be a courteous group leader. Its certainly possible. However, they are most definitely the exception not the rule, and even the most courteous of groups make way more impact on an area and it's users than a similar number of people in small groups do.
Jan 23, 2011, 12:32 AM
Post #50 of 75
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Re: [altelis] Have you every climbed with anyone you found on Meetup.com
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If you've been climbing for any length of time, you're generally not going to be climbing in areas where there's a high density of noob groups. Usually they stay pretty restricted to places with a high concentration of easy routes.
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