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CrazyCarl
Jul 27, 2012, 5:24 AM
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Hello,
I was wondering what's the proper way to ask someone how good they are. I'm a beginner boulderer and when I'm at the gym I ask people what level of "V" they can do when I'm wanting to know how good of a climber they are.
Is this the proper way or is there a more widely accepted way to ask someone their ability level.
Also is there any other important lingo terms I should become familiar with?
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shimanilami
Jul 27, 2012, 6:58 AM
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CrazyCarl wrote: Hello, I was wondering what's the proper way to ask someone how good they are. I'm a beginner boulderer and when I'm at the gym I ask people what level of "V" they can do when I'm wanting to know how good of a climber they are. Is this the proper way or is there a more widely accepted way to ask someone their ability level. Also is there any other important lingo terms I should become familiar with?
Oh, Carl, you're so Crazy!!! Woot-woot!!!
I'm not sure about asking someone how good they are. It's kind of dweebish, frankly. If anything, you should just watch as others climb. You'll learn more by watching someone than from any verbal response they might provide.
As for lingo, my favorite term is "dude". With all the available inflections, it just about covers everything you might want to say while climbing. As in,
- "Dude?" (i.e. do you have me on belay?)
- "Dude." (i.e. you're knot isn't tied.)
- "Dude." (i.e. check out that hottie.)
- "Dude." (i.e. that's my sister.)
- "Dude." (i.e. sorry.)
- "Dude." (i.e. you're on belay.)
- "Dude." (i.e. this is hard.)
- "Dude." (i.e. the rope is behind your leg.)
- "Dude." (i.e. I shouldn't have taken that last hit.)
- "Dude!" (i.e. Gimme slack!)
- "Dude!" (i.e. Fuck!)
- "Dude!" (i.e. that is the worst rope burn I've ever seen!)
- Etc. Etc. You get the point.
(BTW, I crank 5.12+ and V7... dude.)
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herites
Jul 27, 2012, 10:54 AM
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Put on your beanie, take off your shirt then spray about the sick gym send of yours. That's all you have to do.
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granite_grrl
Jul 27, 2012, 1:27 PM
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Don't get caught up with grades. "Good" is relative. So is "hard".
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Kartessa
Jul 27, 2012, 1:54 PM
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Dude.
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marc801
Jul 27, 2012, 2:17 PM
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CrazyCarl wrote: Hello, I was wondering what's the proper way to ask someone how good they are. I'm a beginner boulderer and when I'm at the gym I ask people what level of "V" they can do when I'm wanting to know how good of a climber they are. Is this the proper way or is there a more widely accepted way to ask someone their ability level.
CrazyCarl wrote: Also is there any other important lingo terms I should become familiar with?
Second, don't use the word "lingo" - it just screams "n00b!!!".
Yes, there are two vitally important phrases:
YGD!
STFU, n00b!
(This post was edited by marc801 on Jul 27, 2012, 2:19 PM)
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JimTitt
Jul 27, 2012, 4:04 PM
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I used to ask prospective partners how hard they climb, nowadays I ask how hard have I got to climb to follow. Everybody boulders better than me so I donīt ask about that.
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Geekstar
Jul 27, 2012, 4:11 PM
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If you can't tell by looking then there's really no reason to ask.
When I first started climbing, I had no idea how good the climbers I was climbing with were - not because I didn't know what grades they were climbing but because I had no understanding of movement. What would the point of asking have been? So I could say that I hung out with someone who could do a ____? Now that I have a little more experience, I have a much better perception of what people are capable of by watching, but again, what does it matter?
If a total stranger asked me what I could climb I'd be a little off put - you really only need to know if you're looking for a climbing buddy and then the first question should not be what do you climb.
(This post was edited by Geekstar on Jul 29, 2012, 4:13 PM)
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CrazyCarl
Jul 27, 2012, 10:04 PM
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To be honest, I just use the question as conversation opener and to see if I can climb with someone. Though I am fairly new to bouldering I'm a lot better than the average person at the gym. Still not good enough to climb with the best at the gym, but I'm not far off.
I like to approach random people at the gym simply for the sake of meeting new people, making friends, and finding a climbing partner for lead climbing. I just don't want to start climbing with someone and find out they can only do V2s and 5.8s. I don't want to seem like I'm showing off or discourage them(also when I'm at the gym I'm training very hard and want a partner who challenges me so I want to train harder).
Just watching them isn't always the most accurate way to see how good someone is because I often see the best climbers come to the gym and do V0s for half an hour to practice technique. I tell they're good by the fact they're not struggling and their technique, but I don't know exactly how good.
But with this post I'm more interested in the lingo question. By lingo I mean: Traversing, matching, bumping, smearing, dyno, belaying etc. I know some lingo but when I listen the elites talk I sometimes get lost. Any help would be appreciated thanks.
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saint_john
Jul 27, 2012, 10:29 PM
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Here is some secret lingo used by only elite climbers. Use this lingo around badass climbers and they will certainley befriend you.
Swallow: To dominate a boulder problem
Biggity: Inacurate beta
Dose: chalk up your hands before attempting to climb
Rope Knuckle: belay device (usually an ATC)
Johnny Flex: a dude that climbs shirtless
Skeedattle: to try a problem once, fail, and never try again
Dangle Tree: a harness with unneccesary accessories clipped to it
Rim Job: to bolt a climb on rappel (ie. from the rim)
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Marylandclimber
Jul 27, 2012, 11:37 PM
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http://climbing.about.com/od/climbersslang/Climbers_Slang.htm
There
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qwert
Jul 28, 2012, 2:02 PM
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CrazyCarl wrote: Hello, I was wondering what's the proper way to ask someone how good they are. I'm a beginner boulderer and when I'm at the gym I ask people what level of "V" they can do when I'm wanting to know how good of a climber they are. Is this the proper way or is there a more widely accepted way to ask someone their ability level. Also is there any other important lingo terms I should become familiar with?
If not:
There are way more important things when judging a climbers ability, than what "V" s/he can pull
qwert
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shimanilami
Jul 28, 2012, 4:54 PM
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CrazyCarl wrote: To be honest, I just use the question as conversation opener and to see if I can climb with someone. Though I am fairly new to bouldering I'm a lot better than the average person at the gym. Still not good enough to climb with the best at the gym, but I'm not far off. I like to approach random people at the gym simply for the sake of meeting new people, making friends, and finding a climbing partner for lead climbing. I just don't want to start climbing with someone and find out they can only do V2s and 5.8s. I don't want to seem like I'm showing off or discourage them(also when I'm at the gym I'm training very hard and want a partner who challenges me so I want to train harder).
Frankly, no one buys your claim that you ask others how hard they climb in order to protect their ego. I get the feeling that you're socially awkward and lack confidence in yourself. Unfortunately, knowing the "lingo" isn't going to change this.
If you want to meet people, then just be honest. Tell them that you're new to the gym and are looking for someone to climb with. Who cares how hard they climb? If you're climbing routes, then you need someone to belay you, and assuming that they have their belay card, it's probably safe to assume that they can top-rope belay. If you're looking for a lead belay, then you should definitely watch how they belay, not climb, before you get on the sharp end. If you're bouldering, just look for someone who's working the same grades as you. Ask if they mind if you work the same problem. Eventually, you're likely to strike up a conversation. Just be cool and things will work themselves out.
I travel a bit for work and always try to find gyms or crags in the cities I visit. I don't speak French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Chinese, or whatever the local language is, let alone the local lingo, but I never have a problem finding someone to climb with. Most climbers are pretty cool and welcoming to a newcomer, provided you're not butting in on their scene (e.g. being a third wheel, screwing up their workout, etc.).
There's nothing different about socializing in the climbing world. The same things that make someone likeable in the real world - being humble, considerate, gracious, funny, encouraging, etc. - apply in a gym.
(This post was edited by shimanilami on Jul 28, 2012, 5:41 PM)
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CrazyCarl
Jul 29, 2012, 9:51 AM
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Okay, I deserve those comments. I apologize if I sound like a troll and an ass. After reading my post I can see where you guys might think that. I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound that way.
I just want to learn some more proper terms for climbing techniques please. I am familiar with smearing, matching, bumping, hooking (heel and toe), crimping, and a few others. If you could provide a link to a instructional video or website containing a comprehensive list I would appreciate it thank you.
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CrazyCarl
Jul 29, 2012, 9:53 AM
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saint_john wrote: Here is some secret lingo used by only elite climbers. Use this lingo around badass climbers and they will certainley befriend you. Swallow: To dominate a boulder problem Biggity: Inacurate beta Dose: chalk up your hands before attempting to climb Rope Knuckle: belay device (usually an ATC) Johnny Flex: a dude that climbs shirtless Skeedattle: to try a problem once, fail, and never try again Dangle Tree: a harness with unneccesary accessories clipped to it Rim Job: to bolt a climb on rappel (ie. from the rim)
Thank you Saint John and Maryland climber, very helpful!
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marc801
Jul 29, 2012, 3:56 PM
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CrazyCarl wrote: saint_john wrote: Here is some secret lingo used by only elite climbers. Use this lingo around badass climbers and they will certainley befriend you. Swallow: To dominate a boulder problem Biggity: Inacurate beta Dose: chalk up your hands before attempting to climb Rope Knuckle: belay device (usually an ATC) Johnny Flex: a dude that climbs shirtless Skeedattle: to try a problem once, fail, and never try again Dangle Tree: a harness with unneccesary accessories clipped to it Rim Job: to bolt a climb on rappel (ie. from the rim) Thank you Saint John and Maryland climber, very helpful!
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Geekstar
Jul 29, 2012, 4:18 PM
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If you know the basics and you don't understand what people are saying, they might be playing with language in a way that's unique to them and not to climbing.
For example, I have a friend who calls smearing smudging and chossy rock saucy rock and a variety of other things. He just likes his words better. People who don't regularly climb in our climbing community would probably think that he's a bit dim if they didn't see the humor in it.
(I do like the idea of saucy. "Rock! Dude, the hold just came off the wall! You saucy wall you, trying to recreate Legends of the Hidden Temple up here")
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snowfall
Jul 29, 2012, 7:29 PM
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Dude?
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CrazyCarl
Jul 30, 2012, 9:15 AM
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That makes sense, thanks for the tip!
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Kartessa
Jul 30, 2012, 10:42 AM
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Dude.[/quote]
Dude?[/quote]
Dude!
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