Introductions time!

[rydra_wong]

You know what? It's far too quiet around here. I see from the profile page that the comm has quite a few members and subscribers, so let's have an introductions post!

Comment and introduce yourself -- tell us what sort of climbing you're into, how you got into it, what you enjoy most, and/or anything else that springs to mind: dream routes? favourite shoes? sport or trad? slopers or crimps?

If you're lurking because you're not a climber (yet) -- tell us what's interesting you about climbing, what's holding you back, and what you're curious about.

To get the ball rolling: I started climbing a couple of years ago, having been lured in by posts from people on my f-list; before that, I would never have thought of it as possible for me.

I boulder -- indoors only so far, but I'm hoping to get onto some real rock before the end of the year. RL keeps messing with my travel plans, but one day, I'd like to make it to the Peak District or Font.

I fangirl Johnny Dawes and Alex Puccio. I like slabs, bridging, and nasty fingery balance-y problems, and I also like overhanging power problems -- when I can do them. Oh, and I'll talk endlessly about shoes if given the slightest excuse.

Comments

[karathephantom]

I'll go, I guess. I'm not a climber, but interested. I subscribed to the comm a while ago, back during Three Weeks for DW, but at the time, didn't have anywhere I could try climbing.

Unfortunately, when I was going down the list of things I could think of that would be needed to climb, I forgot one thing... I'm really, really scared of heights.

I dunno if that's something I could overcome, but the one time I've tried climbing, I quit long before it got physically hard because I was to scared to move.

But I'm still interested and think it's really cool. So, that's why I'm here.

[ilanarama]

I'm an old and semi-retired climber. I started in about 1989 when I dated (and eventually married) a climber, although I learned better from other people and ended up climbing with him only about half the time. I am pretty much strictly a trad climber, although I'd go to the gym in the winter, and my favorite type of climbing is multipitch on big peaks, although I have never done (nor really wanted to do) the multiday big wall type stuff. Probably my favorite and most spectacular climbs were Hallett Peak and the Petit Grepon in Rocky Mountain National Park, and the Durrance route up Devil's Tower. At my peak I was leading 5.9 and following/TR'ing 5.10c or so, but I haven't climbed much in the last 10 years (due to moving away from good climbing areas, and becoming obsessed with other activities) and am not nearly so good any more.

Here's a picture of me leading the 5.8 second pitch of Ruper, a stellar long climb in Eldorado Canyon near Boulder, Colorado:



I hate bouldering, because I'm scared of falling without a rope. I have taken 2 lead falls and they were both terrifying. I like toproping, because you can fall all you want. I like stemming and laybacks. I hate crimpers. I love it when the key to making a move is to figure out the right way to balance your body - maybe you need to flag your foot, or swap hands, or press on a sloper just enough. It's like solving a crossword puzzle with your body.

[dancinglights]

Hi. I've been climbing for a little over a year, entirely too much in gyms, and rather seriously for the past four months. I intend to climb outdoors often considering how much I go hiking, but my and my usual climbing partners' schedules mean I've only gone once, top-roping at the Gunks earlier this summer. It was everything I knew I was getting into the sport for and more, I just wish I had more opportunities for it. I want to go back to the Gunks quite a few more times, preferably once I can do 5.10s (gym 5.8s are what I can *reliably* do right now, and practicing for better) and head out to Seneca and other Mid-Atlantic-local climbing spots sometime, as weather and schedules permit.

My husband is slowly overcoming his fear of heights on easy gym climbs, and maybe someday we'll get to a point where just the two of us can manage outdoors ourselves and not worry so much about scheduling with other terribly busy people. I'll have to get over my fear of small trad gear someday, too.

Mostly I post about climbing and what it means to me in lj rather than here because. er. I don't know anybody. Which is silly. So hello.

Hello!

[jest]

I started climbing about six months ago. I like top-roping at the gym and trad climbing outdoors. I can consistently climb 6As at the gym, but I still mostly fall off the 6A+s. I'm only just learning how to lead so I don't really do anything difficult outside.

So far I really love climbing! I've always been very athletic; however, I don't like team sports, so climbing is great for me. I'm considering getting into bouldering so that I won't be so dependent on finding a partner for belay purposes.

[annalee]

Hi, my name is Annalee, and I'm learning Parkour, which is kind of a cousin to climbing in some ways. It involves that same kind of physical problem solving, and thinking with your whole body. Also it often involves climbing things.

I got into it, oddly, as a byproduct of becoming a babydev. I had never tried to learn programming before because I thought it would be too hard. Once I tried it and realized it wasn't so hard after all, I started wondering what other stuff I was talking myself out of trying. So when I saw parkour videos on youtube and caught myself thinking, "I could never do that," my second thought was, "I bet I could if I tried." I just began intermediate-level parkour boot camp this week.

The thing I probably enjoy the most about it is that it's completely non-competitive. Even when people are showing off and being super-flashy, no one's keeping score. It's entirely about beating your own personal best and finding routes and moves that work for your body.

Right now, vaults are my favorite thing, but once I've got pop vaults/wall runs down, I'm probably going to do them constantly just because I can (that's where you use a step up on the wall to transfer forward momentum into upward momentum, then use your arms muscle up and over the wall. I can get as far as hanging. Pulling myself up has yet to happen).

[sophinisba]

I started climbing about six years ago and enjoyed it a lot at first but not as much in the last few years. I joined this comm hoping it would reignite my climbing squee and that hasn't really happened, but I do enjoy reading about others' squee, so this is a good place for me to lurk. :)

[nanila]

I started climbing while I was in grad school in San Diego. A couple of my friends got really into it and became quite serious trad climbers. I never got that far - I tagged along on camping trips to Joshua Tree and the like and followed lead climbers and did a spot of bouldering. I went to a nearby (and very well-appointed) climbing gym regularly and could do 5.10b-c toprope climbs and V2 bouldering problems before my thesis ate my life. I made a few more outdoor trips while I was a postdoc, but I haven't climbed at all since I moved to England six years ago. I'd like to get into it again. I need to look into finding a decent climbing gym near Cambridge. Southern England also doesn't afford the kind of convenient outdoor climbing that Southern California did, so my motivation hasn't been high, especially since I got into running and that's very convenient. I'm hoping participating in this community will light a fire under my butt to get into it again.

[zanzando]

Hello!

I'm an - as of yet - non-climbing lurker, and rydra_wong has roped me in. :D (..... that pun was unintentional, I swear.)
Mostly I do yoga, walking and some basic exercises these days, although I know that I can get strong and muscled very easily from my shot putting days, and I hopefully haven't lost my fairly good balance from doing gymnastics back in the day. So!
Pretty much as soon as I'm back in Berlin I'll give it a try - the only thing you could climb around here are trees and buildings. And chalk cliffs, but I'm not suicidal.

[hejinglan]

I've always climbed trees and large rocks as a kid and have been mystified by those colorful "rock walls" I've seen at schools and in gyms but was never able to pursue it on my own. Finally, in college a very talented climber friend of mine brought me to a gym and showed me the ropes - literally. I've been hooked ever since.

I've only bouldered and toproped in gyms so far but I hope to actually climb outside one of these days. I'm not very strong but I swear I have never found another activity that is better for building strength than climbing.

I am currently studying abroad in Taipei, Taiwan and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be many places to climb. However, the other day my sister and I were surprised to find a somewhat run-down outdoor rock wall on campus with a rotting mattress below it as a pad... but we were so excited, we didn't care. It'll do for now!


_{My sister goofing off on the wall on TaiDa campus.}

[wpadmirer]

Wow! I'm very excited to see all the posts here. I don't check DW that often, but if this group becomes active, I'll be here MORE!

I turn 57 in October. I started climbing in the summer of 2009 at 55 (turning 56 that fall). I have a friend, Kij Johnson, who inspired me to try. She started climbing at 45 and is amazing. She is also a wonderful science fiction/fantasy writer (http://www.kijjohnson.com), and I happily suggest people check out her web site where she also posts about climbing.

I have only climbed in the gym, because when I started I was older, overweight by 40 lbs., and terrified of heights. The first time I ever went up a slab wall (top roping) I was hooked. It was the most fun, exciting, thrilling, fantastic thing I'd ever done.

At 40 I ran my first marathon (NYC Marathon), but that had been a long 15 years before and I have had hip pain that keeps me from running at all any more.

Climbing not only doesn't bother my hip, I've gotten stronger, gained muscle, lost 26 lbs., and become more flexible than I've ever been in my life. I regularly climb 5.8s, and I work 5.9s and 5.10s, and extreme overhangs.

I suck at bouldering, but I can successfully do recreational level routes (V1s mostly).

I am desperately trying to get more women my age to try climbing because it's just fantastic, but I usually climb with people who are in their 20s as they are the ones in the gym. (grin)

I'm also on LJ, under the same name, should any fellow climbers over there want to friend me!

[wpadmirer]

Wow! I'm very excited to see all the posts here. I don't check DW that often, but if this group becomes active, I'll be here MORE!

I turn 57 in October. I started climbing in the summer of 2009 at 55 (turning 56 that fall). I have a friend, Kij Johnson, who inspired me to try. She started climbing at 45 and is amazing. She is also a wonderful science fiction/fantasy writer (http://www.kijjohnson.com), and I happily suggest people check out her web site where she also posts about climbing.

I have only climbed in the gym, because when I started I was older, overweight by 40 lbs., and terrified of heights. The first time I ever went up a slab wall (top roping) I was hooked. It was the most fun, exciting, thrilling, fantastic thing I'd ever done.

At 40 I ran my first marathon (NYC Marathon), but that had been a long 15 years before and I have had hip pain that keeps me from running at all any more.

Climbing not only doesn't bother my hip, I've gotten stronger, gained muscle, lost 26 lbs., and become more flexible than I've ever been in my life. I regularly climb 5.8s, and I work 5.9s and 5.10s, and extreme overhangs.

I suck at bouldering, but I can successfully do recreational level routes (V1s mostly).

I am desperately trying to get more women my age to try climbing because it's just fantastic, but I usually climb with people who are in their 20s as they are the ones in the gym. (grin)

I'm also on LJ, under the same name, should any fellow climbers over there want to friend me!

[pellucid]

I'm loving all these stories!

I should have started climbing young but didn't, for some reason. I grew up near the Red River Gorge and had tons of friends in high school and college who were really into climbing; I could easily have joined in their enthusiasm and just wasn't interested for some reason. Years later, grad school, very urban setting with no rock to speak of anywhere nearby, I had a moment of frustration and stress while working in a very small library carrel and thought, "I wish I could just climb the walls." Epiphany. I immediately searched out local climbing gyms, recruited a friend to take a beginner class with me, and fell in love. That was about five years ago.

I climbed quite regularly, almost exclusively in the gym, mostly toprope with some indoor leading, for several years, but I've been off for most of the past year, due to other parts of my life getting too busy. I'm now back at it and trying to get back into shape, but I'm finding it a little frustrating to get back into a regular schedule and finding it impossible to get back into shape without a regular schedule. Part of the problem is that it's SO time-consuming: my gym is a 30-minute bike ride away (and more like 40 if the weather is bad and I have to take the bus), and because I tend to toprope, I find it almost impossible to get out of there in under two hours. I also feel like I need to go at least twice a week if I really want to improve rather than just maintain (and I definitely need to improve right now!), so I'm trying to remember how to fit 7-8 hours' worth of climbing back into my weekly schedule. When I'm on the wall, there's nothing I love more; when I'm sitting at home thinking about everything else I could do in those 3+ hours, it's hard to get motivated. Anyone have any tricks for this? Fortunately or unfortunately, I tend to climb with a large group of people--on any given MWF late afternoon and early evening, there will be 5-7 of us there, and we pair up accordingly--so there's no particular climbing partner accountability involved. Mostly, I think I need to get the habit formed again--climbing, after all, is about overcoming inertia, and right now I've got a lot of mental inertia.

As I dream about my ideal future life (I'll likely be changing geographical locations in a year or so, but where I'm going is very up in the air), it involves living somewhere near good outdoor climbing; I'd love to get out of the gym, at least some of the time, but I'm not in a position, geographically or financially, to do it now. We'll see!