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acuteennui
Feb 10, 2002, 3:49 AM
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I started climbing last summer with a pretty experienced climber who is in his mid-fifties. We've done some one-pitch top-roping and trad climbing at Hinkley (a little cliff here in Ohio), train at a climbing gym once a week, and we even made one insane trip to Seneca Rocks in thirty degree weather in December. Here is my problem:
It seems like everyone in the world climbs better than I do. The girls at the gym. The old guy who taught me to climb. Teenagers, kids, everyone climbs better than I do. I have finally gotten to the point recently where the 5.8 climbs in the gym are within my grasp, and I have begun to make decent stabs at some 5.9's. I guess it's comments like the ones in this month's Rock and Ice magazine that dishearten me, where the author was saying that the only drawback to climbing in Puerto Rico is that the island's hardest climbs are "only" 5.12. Hell, the gym we climb in barely even has any climbs of 5.8 and below. It's mostly 5.10 and above, which is a joke for me right now. I seriously think that my ceiling for my whole life in trad climbing will be 5.10, maybe 5.9 if I have to lead it.
What I want to know is: are any of you seasoned climbers actually at my level? Will my whole life in this sport consist of waiting until no one is watching to climb to hide my shame?
I'm not really hung up on "being good," I just want to know if my impression of being surrounded by supermen is accurate, or if anyone else out there is mortal and sometimes feels what I do; that the whole world just "gets it" and I don't.
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aulwes
Feb 10, 2002, 3:54 AM
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Welcome to RC.com, If you keep climbing you will get better! You don't even need to be soper strong to be good just work on your technique!
Have fun and keep on clinbing!
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o0ocindyo0o
Feb 10, 2002, 4:10 AM
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The "supermen and women" you see at the gym are probably there, or climbing elsewhere, 4-7 days a week. At least, that's how it is at my gym. If you want to improve, boulder! A lot. You will be amazed at how fast you improve. Also, walls that aren't vertical (overhangs etc) are wonderful for building strength.
my 2 cents
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uhighfreak
Feb 10, 2002, 4:37 AM
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Don't worry about it. I have been climbing for about a year abou the same amount as yo and I can not climb much higher than I could when I started. I think everyone is right when they say that the more you climb the better you get. The people you see that are so good at the gym are probably climbing inside and outside at least 5 days a week. I think really young peopl look amazing 'cause they can climb so well but they are also lifting less weight. I would say that if yo are not satisfied with how you are progressing in the sport just work a little/alot harder depending on what you want from the sport. I think also, though, that how well other people are doing compared to you should not really matter. If you can come away from the rock or gym saying I did my best or I worked really hard today, then it doesn't matter how other people are doing. Hang in there and good luck
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tangboy
Feb 10, 2002, 5:24 AM
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Dude,
one word... BOULDER!!! i am serious. i started almost a month ago... but i can climb some 5.9's toproping, but i usually just boulder til i can get over to seneca or whatever. bouldering improves strength and technique. if you want some endurance boulder a long traversing route with a wide range of holds and foot holds. thats what i think is the best way to build up and learn! thats all i got... hope it helps.
tang
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maculated
Feb 10, 2002, 5:40 AM
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Tang's right. Bouldering will help you immensely. Climbing gives back the kind of effort you put in. I used to go to our climbing gym once a week, twice if lucky and I was barely ascending 5.8's. Now I climb more like 2-3 days a week, and add a couple hours of bouldering and I'm redpointing (top rope) in the 5.10a/b range.
[ This Message was edited by: maculated on 2002-02-09 21:40 ]
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jmlangford
Feb 10, 2002, 6:20 AM
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I'm a weakling too! When I was 23, I free-soloed a short 5.10a-not very smart. I didn't due any rock-climbing again until I was 35. I did a lot of alpine stuff but nothing too hard. I started a career, got married, had kids, and the biggie, gained 22lbs. Right now I am thrilled to lead 5.7 and if I am lucky I will crank off an easy 5.9. Until I lose that 22 lbs and get my strength-to-weight ratio back in line, I don't anticipate doing harder climbs. You don't have to do harder climbs to be better. You can be a GOOD 5.7 climber. This is getting too long-just have fun!
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jt512
Feb 10, 2002, 6:33 AM
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The more you train/climb, the faster you will improve. Climbing once a week, isn't going to get you good very fast. You can train up to four days a week; more than that doesn't provide enough recovery time and will lead (quickly) to injury.
Climbing hard routes reuires good technique and a high strength:weight ratio. Ask the good climbers at your gym to critique your technique. Ask yourself to critique your strength:weight ratio, and don't forget that that ratio has a numerator and a demonimator.
-Jay
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barney_89012
Feb 10, 2002, 7:58 AM
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boulder, boulder, boulder, and boulder some more. go to the gym more than once a week, and just climb youre heart out. and just remember not to get mad, but to have fun.
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barney_89012
Feb 10, 2002, 8:00 AM
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boulder, boulder, boulder, and boulder some more. go to the gym more than once a week, and just climb youre heart out. and just remember not to get mad, but to have fun.
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sok_the_rok
Feb 10, 2002, 10:12 AM
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hey,i know the feeling of being in the stagnant period that you are going through,i tell you i've been there and i know it hurts,but you know what you can do is take a rest atleast two days in a row and then do some boulder problems,i think climbing high is to see where you are but to improve your grades you need bouldering and resting is very important,you'll go nowhere if you don't take rest.... let your system produce some energy for you to climb higher grades.
i know you can do it just keep climbing,it happens to everyone.
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jmlangford
Feb 11, 2002, 12:31 AM
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Rok...Thanks for making me feel better I've been "stagnant" for over 15 years now. Gee whiz!
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daggerx
Feb 11, 2002, 2:00 AM
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I would like to be the first to say yes you are probley the weakest climber in the world. Yep I bet there is no one weak as you, you weak weak weakling.
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codey
Feb 12, 2002, 10:32 PM
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Sorry I cant help.I started and my first climb was a 5.10
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nikegirl
Feb 12, 2002, 10:51 PM
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I admittedly climb about 4 days a week.
Boulder mostly.
I have been told, over and over.
climb climb climb
boulder boulder boulder
Good advice!
I stick with the VO's to V2's.
Push myself once a week, on harder ones.
problems, I just work on, over and over...and maybe next time, I'm in the gym, I start fresh.
Just eat it up...what ever your accomplishment...
It's an accomplishment.
I think positive thinking helps. Mental, positive thinking...truly helps me.
Speaking "it" into existance.
my two cents.
T
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toobigtoclimb
Feb 13, 2002, 1:02 AM
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JUST HAVE FUN!
It doesn't matter what level you climb. I've been climbing for a long, long time and can just do 5.9's and the occasional 5.10. The fact is that I don't have the ultimate climbers body and never will. And, climbing isn't the only thing in my life. I'm busy with work, family, kids, friends, etc. The people that you see that climb really well at the gym have:
1. a natural gift
2. the right body composition
3. put climbing at the top of their list
This is why I call gym climbing "anti-climbing." It really puts you in a competitive mindset. To me climbing is about individual achievement not competition. Use the climbing gym like a regular gym. Go there and work out and get stronger.
Think about it this way. Almost everyone knows how to ride a bike. Some people ride around the block, some people ride to the grocery store, some people ride 60 miles with a club on the weekends, some people ride in the Olympics. When you ride around the block on your bike why compare yourself to the guy riding in the Olympics?
Just enjoy the wind in your hair while you ride.
BC
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maddie
Mar 9, 2002, 2:26 AM
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Climb for yourself and not what the rest of the world is doing. But just keep at it and Practice! As they say "Theres always someone who can climb better than you", and i guess that means there is always someone worse! so dont worry.
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mightymucklebunk
Mar 9, 2002, 9:48 PM
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Yes you are Haven't you read all our posts, and you know everything thats posted is true.
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crux_clipper
Mar 11, 2002, 11:54 AM
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Don't worry bout it. climb hard, stay cool!
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treyr
Mar 11, 2002, 12:21 PM
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Keep climbing and practicing and you will get a lot better.
Trob
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boms
Mar 11, 2002, 4:01 PM
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i don't know if anyone has already said this but i found that when i hit a stumbling block about 6 months into climbing, there were a few things that someone told me to do and it helped no end,
get stronger not just arm power but also finger power, this means do lots of bouldering and long routes, don't bother with being able to do 3million pullups, at my best i could do about 5-10 pull-ups in a row but could lead english 6c (i think thats about 5.13)
technique, watch your feet if you listen to any decent climber talking about how he did a route he wil be talking more about what he did with his feet than what he did with his hands, - grab a hold on a boulder wall and try different foot placements and see which is best to push from to get to your next hold, get someone who is good to help you with this if you need
lastly don't try to go too far to fast, sort out your tecnique and don't just try to climb as if it were a ladder, think about each move, go right down to something you find quite easy and start again, and use your legs more, you will take and ego bashing but would will climb better when you have sorted your self out
it helped me i hope it does for you.
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kevinwaldock
Mar 11, 2002, 5:12 PM
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somthing that really helped my technique was traversing around the gym on the begining holds of the climbs. and for me losing weight helped alot too.
have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
kevin
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metoliusmunchkin
Mar 15, 2002, 2:36 AM
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Not everyone is cut out to be a good climber, let alone a bad climber. There are certain aspects of the sport of climbing that most rarely acquire.
One of these many aspects, and one of the larger problems in the newbies of today, is the rather acute angle of mental preparation needed for a climb, and the mental toughness a climb forces you to endure. This can only become within a climber's grasp once he is truly in love with the sport, and when his adoration for the sport becomes so severe, that climbing is all he can think about.
It seems to me that you have the desire, and the love for the sport, and are willing to overcome its many obstacles.
Once the mental preparations/training for the sport is relatively at hand, it is then, and only then that the climber can move onto the physical preparations.
This physical facet can only become blossomed after the climber's technique is polished firstly. In order to train for the technique, in order to become a better climber, you must work on the particular movements needed while climbing (i.e. drop knees, drive-by's, technical foot placements etc.) and the proper times to use them.
Some embark on weight training to aid them in their quest to become a better climber. Yes, this could work, and quite well, but I feel that nothing beats climbing itself. In my mind, climbing is the best training for climbing. And this does not have to necessarily be in the gym, or on the rock. There could be some buildering aspects of this as well (buildering being: climbing on buildings).
As the wise words of Chris Sharma state:
Quote:A hold is a hold, is a hold, is a hold.
As most of us have already said: Climb, climb, climb, climb, climb, climb, climb, climb, climb, climb, climb, climb, 'till you can't climb no more. And then, climb some more!
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tenn_dawg
Mar 15, 2002, 3:11 AM
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I've been in the same position as you, wondering if I was ever going to be able to improve. I'm not a huge bouldering fan however. My best advise is best summed up by John Long. "There is no substitute for mileage on the rock" If you put in the distance, and focus on good technique, you will improve. Good Luck.
P.S. The most fun climb i've ever done was a 5.7---it dosen't have to be hard to be worth while.
Travis Griggs
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treyr
Mar 15, 2002, 3:24 PM
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No trust me you are not the only person
Trob
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