bouldering on a negative slope?

[niqaeli]

So I'm new to climbing. Mostly, I've been bouldering as I don't have a climbing partner and also I prefer falling on my ass with less of an audience. And by that I mean, I've gone to the wall all of twice since my first lesson. But yeah -- bouldering.

Thing is, the bouldering routes at my wall are nearly all of them on negative slopes. Which, fine, I get the logic, it means people fall onto the mats instead of scraping down the slab. But I'm pretty well baffled as to how I'm supposed to engage my legs more than my arms in order to cling to the wall! There is exactly one route I've been able to send, and while I am willing to beat my head against the wall until I have something resembling upper body strength again, I feel like there has to be a better way especially as I don't think I will ever have the upper body strength to haul myself around that much!

So! Are there any resources online or any deadtree books that y'all would recommend? Videos or whatever, I just -- yeah. (I will go hit up the great god google, I promise! But I figured I'd ask for recommended resources first. *g*)

Comments

[jumpuphigh]

I have a couple of books that you can borrow once I get to that stage of unpacking. They will be some of the last things unpacked so that won't help you right away.

Quick hint: Try to always have one hip in towards the wall.

There are other things people do but I've always been crap at any sort of a negative slope so that's all I've got. It does help quite a bit.

[niqaeli]

You know, I had noticed that twisting my hips so that one was near the wall was my most effective way of not falling off the wall and feeling less exhausted.

It's going to be a long battle convincing my hindbrain that it is okay to twist myself up like that, alas. Gymnastics: kind of a mixed bag as a background for climbing!

[rydra_wong]

I feel like there has to be a better way

Yes! Backstepping, flagging (not the handkerchief kind), drop knees -- basically, there are a series of moves you can use for climbing overhanging walls, and they're all about turning sideways and getting one side of your body against the wall.

The basic principle:

If you're on an overhang and reaching up with (for example) your left hand, what you want is to twist yourself so that your left hip is close in against the wall. That gives your left arm a substantial amount of extra reach, and means that you have to bend and pull far less with your right arm.

It's hard to describe without pictures (or, ideally, video), but I learned a solid 90% of everything I know about climbing from these two resources:

The Self-Coached Climber by Dan Hague and Douglas Hunter (book)
The Neil Gresham Masterclass vol. 1 (DVD)

[niqaeli]

This makes sense, actually! Er, now to convince my brain that my hips in fact should not always be square. (Yay muscle memory that's over a decade disused and still hasn't actually faded much! Whoops.) I think I will pick up the DVD, at least. Yay video!

Though while I'm complaining, hey. Something else that's driving me nuts is the that the rental shoes are actually sliding off footholds which... um. Yeah. I really don't know what to do about that, to be honest, or actually if it's really an issue with the shoes or just me not being used to them/climbing?

[jumpuphigh]

Rental shoes are crap. If you are serious about climbing, start shopping for your own pair.

[rydra_wong]

I'm entertained that I keep posting comments then refreshing to discover that you've already said the same thing but with fewer words. *g*

[jumpuphigh]

That made me laugh.

[rydra_wong]

Er, now to convince my brain that my hips in fact should not always be square.

One nice thing with some simple problems on overhangs is that you can proceed by alternating: twist left, twist right, twist left, twist right, etc.. That might help you feel more symmetrical, at least. *g*

Though while I'm complaining, hey. Something else that's driving me nuts is the that the rental shoes are actually sliding off footholds which... um. Yeah. I really don't know what to do about that, to be honest, or actually if it's really an issue with the shoes or just me not being used to them/climbing?

It may be partly to do with having sloppy footwork as a beginner (everyone does), it may be partly to do with the shoes being too big (if you're going for the same size as your street shoes, try getting a smaller size next time) -- but I guarantee that it's a lot to do with rental shoes being shit. It's a universal law.

IMHO, stick with rentals just long enough to know that you're hooked, and to experiment with sizes and see how tight you want them, and then give serious thought to buying your first pair. It will make a lot of difference.

There was a recent thread of advice on buying your first shoes:

http://disobey-gravity.dreamwidth.org/36403.html?thread=279091&style=mine#cmt279091

[emperor]

The advice above is all sound. One more thing - try and keep your arms straight wherever possible. By rolling your shoulders you can get some extra reach (and all the hip-twisting helps too), but whenever possible, you want to be hanging from one (or two) straight arm.

[cofax7]

Yup, this.

Think like monkeys: you want your arms straight (straight arms because your bones are stronger than your muscles and if you try to hang on bent arms you will burn out immediately), and then you bring your feet up as high as you possibly can, and then you straighten your legs and in one smooth(ish) move, push upwards and reach to the next handhold, where you will keep your arms straight.

As Rydra says, the key to staying on the wall is to keep your hips as close to the wall as possible--this keeps as much of your weight as possible on your feet. This is difficult when you're nearly horizontal, but it still helps. And yeah, the way to do it is to twist your body sideways.

Take some time and watch some of the other boulderers, see how they twist their hips one way and then the other.