I can remember when I first started climbing (6 months into it) we climbed Devil's Tower. We were there for a couple of days, sumitted twice the first day and 1x the xecond day. Since I was such a noob, my footwork was terrible. My legs were COVERED in bruises from my toes to my thighs.

I am happy to say, that as my footwork improved, my bruising incidents have declined dramatically. That's not to say I don't occasionally bang the hell out of one of my knees!

Truth be told, I am proud of my bumps, bruises and callouses.

At one of my annual check-ups I got seriously grilled about whether I feel safe at home, and whether I am in a violent relationship.

Really, I do it to myself, doctor!

At one of my annual check-ups I got seriously grilled about whether I feel safe at home, and whether I am in a violent relationship.

Really, I do it to myself, doctor!

Ya' know, that doesn't neccessarily sound any better.....




Kathy

this thread has cheered me up in a weird way.

like when someone actually asks to see my ID for my credit card, which has "CHECK ID" written in the signature area.

100+ hours? I can say with almost absolute certitude that I will never, ever do that again.

That was because I worked the whole weekend. If I average out my work week for the whole month, I think it ends up being about 65 a week. But it's OK because I still get a lot of climbing. For example, this week, I have 2 weekdays and the weekend off. Minus the husband, I would be climbing 4 whole days outside, but for conjugal bliss, only 3 days.

I need more than just technique to avoid bruises. I really need to learn to manage my gear better. Being forced to run out at the end of the pitch with a flaring offwidth desperately jamming my legs...I can tell you, it was not a pretty picture.

Your story made me laugh!

It reminded me of a trip to Mount Lemmon five years ago or so, with more or less the same question. I had taken a huge whipper and looked like hell -- split both my lips, my nose was purple and swollen, abrasions, etc. Truly stunning. My friend (this nice, quiet guy who is an engineer) opted to not point out how bad this looked before we went in to Tucson to grab some dinner. We'd been camping all week and showed up at some restaurant, rather feral looking. I went to wash up while he grabbed a table and this really nice, well-meaning lady followed me to the restroom. She told me that things "didn't need to be like this", "there are places that can help", etc. It took me a minute to figure out what she was talking about. She remained unconvinced when I explained that I had fallen rock climbing -- she even gave me a card for a domestic shelter in Tucson.

I was impressed that someone would offer help, albeit misguided for me and my poor friend who got really dirty looks the entire time we were eating dinner.

I had a climbing partner for a while who had to wear knee pads, she bruised so easily.

It WASN'T that she was using knees/shins to get up the route. She honestly had extremely sensitive skin that bruised if she so much as brushed the rock face.

This is me. I wear my self-made kneepads most of the time. Although they are not huge or bulky, so they do not get all the abuse and I end up with bruises on some parts of my knee anyway.

I also get small bruises up and down other parts of my lower legs which most climbers don't experience. I think my connective tissue disorder has a lot to do with this phenomenon.....$#%$#&*(^

What makes it so that some people bruise more easily than others?

At one of my annual check-ups I got seriously grilled about whether I feel safe at home, and whether I am in a violent relationship.

Really, I do it to myself, doctor!

What makes it so that some people bruise more easily than others?

Also dermal thickness. Hence why men bruise less than women--they have thicker dermises. (Also why you are less likely to see cellulite on them--the thickness of the dermis prevents the fat cells that push against it and the basement membrane from showing through.)