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paulc
Oct 4, 2001, 8:09 PM
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Guys;
I haven't checked where you are at, but if you are intending to climb in North America then I would strongly suggest not getting into rosin. Most serious climbers that saw you with that at the crag would probably give you a stern lecture about the problems associated with using it.
What problems you ask?? Well it sticks to the holds, doesn't wash off in the rain and after a while the build up gets slicker than owl shit. Climbing on routes that are that slick is a pain in the ass especially if it is a hard route with slopers on it.
I think this came up recently here, but I decided to post this caution again. Stick to chalk or the eco ball thing. I think that there are other methods for reducing the amount that you sweat (thru your hands). I think someone mentioned drionic or something like that.
Upshot, no chalk good, chalk and eco ball ok, rosin BAD, m'kay?
Paul
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talons05
Oct 4, 2001, 9:01 PM
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So just how slick is Owl poo? Ha ha, i also have heard this about rosin, and have never used it. If chalk or eco-ball doesn't seem to be working for you, the only thing I have found is to USE MORE CHALK! If you fall 2 moves up from wet hands, use more chalk, and chalk up along the way if you can. I understand this is not really that helpful, but it's the best advice I can give.
AW
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paulc
Oct 4, 2001, 9:06 PM
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I take it you've never seen that ad with a climber on a wall, with arrows pointing to all of her gear, telling you that you can get them at some online store or another. And she is reaching for a ledge covered in owl shit. The arrow says www.owlpoop.com.
Pretty funny ad if youv'e ever been there.
Paul
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jds100
Oct 4, 2001, 10:03 PM
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ROSIN!?! AARRGH!! BAD for rock; it changes the rock permanently. I've read that the French use a "poof", a cloth ball that's slapped on the holds, but with each application, it makes the hold slicker, so it needs to slapped everytime, etc., etc. If this is inaccurate, please correct me, so we can all learn.
You can consider the liquid chalk that's been talked about briefly in a different forum; it's a mix of finely ground chalk and alcohol to coat the hand. Mixed reviews.
Also, there was an article in one of the climbing magazines a few issues back, about a surgical procedure to correct excessively sweaty hands. Radical, but you might want to check their website indexes for the issue, and then see if you can find it. Really, if you're sweating that much, you might have an unusual condition.
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pollux
Oct 8, 2001, 9:57 AM
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The best thing I have found, bear in mind I am new to this sport, but is the alcohol and chalk miz at the beginning. The only thing is that it totally dries out your hands beyond belief. You have to use lotion after you climb otherwise it will rip your hands up and it stops working.
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rck_climber
Oct 8, 2001, 3:11 PM
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At the risk of sounding pretty silly, heck all my posts take that risk, I find that good ol' fashioned dirt works pretty well for me in the absence of chalk or when I don't want to chalk up the wall. A quick rub in the dirt, only works in some places w/ lots of loose dirt at the base of the crag, slap the hands together and I'm good for a little while.
Good luck.
Mick
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downshift
Oct 8, 2001, 3:35 PM
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I'd have to argee with rck_climber a couple of times when I've fogotten my chalk I've used dirt or sand and it had fairly decent results. The downside is you get really messy is you sweat alot.
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climber_girl
Oct 8, 2001, 7:28 PM
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Well I fuond this thing was i was looking to buy chalk a couple days ago and actually it isn't chalk. Its in liek this black ball thing sort of like a chalk ball but instead of putting stuff on ur hands it soaks up the sweat with no residue or anyhting. I found it pretty cool but it was $8 CDN for one so i didn;t buy. Just my 2 cents!
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verticallimit
Oct 8, 2001, 8:36 PM
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hi its kurt from malta.It's the first time in my life that I ever heard about this problem.I use climbing chalk a lot,and will not climb with out it.One can say that I am a chalk aholic during climbing,I have got a big chalk bag and when ever it is possible I will cover my hands entirely with chalk.Are you using good quality chalk?Any way if you are determined not to use chalk at all you can try climbing resin.It is not the one used to fix bolts but it is appropriately desinged for people with problems like yours and also used in climbing areas where chalk is prohibeted for environmental issues and health hazards.If you ned further help do not hesitate to e-mail me on send a private message.
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jds100
Oct 8, 2001, 8:53 PM
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Kurt,
I think you might be thinking of rosin, and that is definitely something that, in the United States, has been deeply and strongly frowned upon for years. Typically, if someone is found using rosin in the U.S., they will receive a lecture on the damage it does to the rock, and have their "poof" taken away permanently.
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dustinap
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Oct 12, 2001, 9:42 PM
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For outdoors unless you're leading very hard stuff, there isn't that much of a reason to heavely chock.
I don't usually care chock with me outdoors. When I see people heavely chocking up on a 5.5 it really makes me mad. It'll eventually end up looking like the boulders around Camp 4 in the valley.
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samshafer
Jan 7, 2002, 9:50 AM
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I'm with Dustinap, the less chalk the better. I do carry it on lead for when I get scared; but I still think of it mostly as just "psycho" pro (kind of like those #1, body-weight only stoppers). [You know how that extra minute you spend chalking up gives you time to contemplate the reality of life, death & falling.]
I feel that I should be able to climb most things within my range without chalk. It's better for the rock & makes me feel more like a man!
I do spend a lot of time wiping my hands on my sweat pants though.
I did read a suggestion once somewhere to use fine sawdust in the chalkbag as it leaves no residue & is obviously biodegradeable. Never tried it.
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krustyklimber
Feb 8, 2002, 8:58 AM
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Part of the reason they use rosin in France is because at many of the crags the use of chaulk has been banned. The reason for the ban is because chaulk has been found to have an adverse affect on the vegetation at the base of but especially on the crags, chaulk was lowering the soil ph to the point of killing even large trees. So use your chaulk sparingly while we still can! The way they handle the build-up problem is to have regular clean up days where the rosin is washed off with soap and water, a thing many U.S. crags could benefit from.
As for the original question you might try Metolius' Super Chaulk. I've been told it has an antiperspirant in it which takes about 30 minutes to work so you might have to chaulk-up on the approach.
As for the eco-ball thing they smell and feel exactly like the rosin ball that I used as a baseball player.
I hope I haven't clouded up the issue
Jeff
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greatgarbanzo
Feb 8, 2002, 11:08 AM
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Here in Venezuela some climbers use Benzoil Peroxide, it looks and feels almost the same than chalk but is cheaper... you may want to give it a try...
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fo_d
Feb 8, 2002, 11:47 AM
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I use Metolius Super Chalk and it is the best thing I have found, I can defenatly tell the difference from regular chalk, but you need to wash your hands ASAP and get plenty of good quality lotion on. I did'nt heed the warning and my hands were hard and peeling badly, it's taken over 3 weeks to get my hands back in decent shape. if you cant wash your hands before the drive home from the crag it is best to just go ahead and slop on some lotion before you leave even without washing.
Les
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zlipper
Feb 8, 2002, 2:54 PM
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have any of you guys tried metulious super chalk that stuff works exteremly well and i have super sweaty hands and ever since i used super chalk no problems
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climb512
Feb 8, 2002, 4:45 PM
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Climbergirl, what was the name of the stuff you looked at? 8$ canadian, isnt that like 1$ in real money?
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dontneedfeet
Feb 8, 2002, 6:44 PM
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This could probably be a different thread altoghether, but I'll tack in here anyway - anybody mix chalk brands? I find mixing Bison, Metolious, and the gym block stuff (basically I buy one of everything) sometimes give you different qualities. It's probably totally psychological, but I don't care, still do it... Anyone else?
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phyre
Feb 8, 2002, 6:54 PM
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When I am on a hard climb and I sweat too much I just chalk up more and everything is usaully ok. What I want to know is this,
am I the only one who's hands sweat when I am reading, talking, or thinking about climbing for an extended amount of time? (20 min or more) It is kinda taboo to chalk up while you are sitting in the back of class on a computer reading the RC.com posts. anyone know of a way to fix this problem?
phyre
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apollodorus
Feb 19, 2002, 2:29 AM
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Back when men were Men and the only chalk was on Olga Korbutt's hands, tincture of benzoine was what was used. You can also try some of those "skin toughener" type products. They tend to dry the skin right up.
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crackaddict
Feb 19, 2002, 3:14 AM
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I have never had this problem. Dirt always works good. You know that really fine dust that you find at the bottom of a climb. Plus it turns the rock to it's natural state. I don't know. Hey is'nt there some kind of new liquid chalk. It goes on like lotion but dries quickly and turns into chalk. Does anyone know what I am talking about? Maybe that stuff works.
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quiver
Feb 19, 2002, 4:50 AM
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I know a good doctor that is working on sweat gland removal techniques.
I'm thinking of trying it myself.
[ This Message was edited by: quiver on 2002-02-18 20:52 ]
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EricVT
Aug 13, 2007, 5:23 AM
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I have to say, I have the exact same thing going on. Anytime I even think about climbing, espcially while on RC.com.. my hands start to sweat for no reason. makes me think back to my college psych class about some type of conditioning that thought of climbing triggers sweaty hands.. hmmmmmmmm
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rgold
Aug 13, 2007, 8:42 PM
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I spent some time bouldering in Fountainbleau around 1975, at a time when chalk had not made it to Europe at all. Indeed, the French climbers used rosin, but since they used it extensively before chalk arrived, one cannot claim that rosin use has occurred because of a chalk ban. (And I personally don't believe the soil Ph arguments. Soil compaction from thousand of climbers tramping around the trees is a far more likely explanation for any observed tree problems.)
Anyway, the point of rosin as the French used it was primarily to make their feet stick better. The stuff they used was to keep rubber belts from slipping on metal pulleys. The ball of poof was slapped on the shoes and on the footholds, the hands were an afterthought. When I tried pouf on my hands, I thought it made them greasy.
As for the rock, what happened, in addition to the a glaze that developed over time, is that the rubber/rosin combination left black marks on all the footholds which were permanent, a very ugly addition to the boulders.
As for chalk being non-permanent, I think anyone who has been part of a chalk clean-up has found that this is not true. You can reduce the chalk build-up by washing and scrubbing, but you can't eliminate it, at least not with plain water, and in many cases the residue you can't get off is very substantial.
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hipclimber
Aug 14, 2007, 3:08 PM
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There is actually a cream you can put on to regulate your sweating. I had a guy on my floor in university who used to sweat excessively from his palms. he would put on a cream twice a week and it regulates his issue. I think it was called DRYSOL (over the counter lotion). I'm not sure how healthy it is, but this might be a solution for those with hyper hydrosis.
I keep telling one of my partners to get this, but he's too lazy. ....wouldn't be surprised if he's one of the guys posting on this forum. haha. Let me know if anyone takes this and if it works.
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