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Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

 Page 1 of 3. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 40 | 41 to 43
Author
Uber classic oz offwidths

amockalypsenow
14-Dec-2016
9:43:48 AM
What are the most awesome offwidth climbs you guys and gals know of? I'll be traveling NSW and Vic over the next 5 weeks...
Thanks in advance.
Cameron

ajfclark
14-Dec-2016
10:28:55 AM
Does Monarch at Mount Buffalo count?



Wendy will have the comprehensive list somewhere...
Wendy
14-Dec-2016
10:55:40 AM
I've never done Monarch because I'm too scared of a protectionless pitch of grade 17 squeeze chimney!
technogeekery
14-Dec-2016
1:03:32 PM
Fight Club, Tarana. Don't know about uber classic, but its quite 'ard.



Image by Kamil Sustiak. Story on VL here http://www.verticallifemag.com.au/2015/06/news-fight-club/

amockalypsenow
14-Dec-2016
8:52:18 PM
Yes, I need to get in that crack! monarch! Where can I rent a c--katoo to hold my gear while I chickenwing?
PeterW
15-Dec-2016
12:44:53 AM
Seeing that photo, all I can think of is Roland saying, "I should have made some bigger RPs!" :-)

And no, you do NOT want a bird on your shoulder. Hexy (the bird) was probably trying to undo the knots on his slings! (It's most disconcerting sitting in a hanging belay on the North Wall as Hexy flies in and start pecking at your belay!)

amockalypsenow
15-Dec-2016
3:03:41 PM
That bird sounds like my kinda satanic avian.
What's going on with his swami/rope-weirdness in the photo there?

ajfclark
15-Dec-2016
3:23:22 PM
Is he climbing on doubles but one is completely in the crack?
kieranl
15-Dec-2016
8:53:03 PM
On 15/12/2016 ajfclark wrote:
>Is he climbing on doubles but one is completely in the crack?
That would be a "No".
Also note the high-tech tie-in.
kieranl
15-Dec-2016
8:56:01 PM
Actually, I spoke too hastily, I think you are right about it being doubles.
mikllaw
15-Dec-2016
10:22:37 PM


Boffin in a Coffin 24 The Cathedral Sydney

amockalypsenow
16-Dec-2016
7:22:19 AM
Ooh! That looks good too! Thank you!
mikllaw
16-Dec-2016
7:37:22 AM
and Transcendental Meditation at ZigZag
https://www.thecrag.com/climbing/australia/blue-mountains/the-zigzag/route/13179679

Camjammer
16-Dec-2016
11:14:05 AM
Pipeline at Ben Lomond in Tassie is a brutal offwidth if you make it down there. Here is a previous thread on the climb

http://www.chockstone.org/Forum/Forum.asp?Action=Display&ForumID=15&MessageID=19031&Replies=7



ajfclark
16-Dec-2016
11:43:43 AM
All that discussion about bits of mast wedged in cracks reminded me of this from http://www.chockstone.org/interviews/smentz.htm discussing Passport to Insanity:

Q: I've been told a rumour that you tried to convince some students that a tin of baked beans would make good slung pro while teaching on a Climbing Instructors Association (CIA) course recently?

I don’t recall telling that to students, but they might have asked me about an incident years ago when I led the first pitch (the grade 20 off-width) on Passport to Insanity using a modified baked bean tin to protect myself. We had forgotten our big cams, and I was so keen to do the route that I made up my own piece of gear using two empty tins with a rock in the middle. I carried it up in an extra chalkbag, wedged it in the crack and slung it. Fortunately I didn’t fall on it.




JL
8-Jan-2017
4:31:56 PM
Possum Stampede, 22, Cania Gorge.
Rather corny video of FFA here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD3clS66Ftw
PThomson
8-Jan-2017
7:09:48 PM
I don't know if it's "uber classic", but not having many pure hard(ish) offwidths in The Blueys, I can say that Transcendental Meditation (22) at Zig-Zag in the Blue Mountains (which Mike Law mentioned above) epitomises the unavoidable pure-offwidth requirement like no other route I've come across up here.

Normally I can find some trickery to get around actually having "good" offwidth technique, or use my shoulder strength in chicken-wing gaston arm-bars to burl my way past it without any "developed" offwidth technique...

But after just spending 2 x 45min sessions on Transcendental Meditation, I never managed to tick it. I came close (within an inch or so, but just couldn't make ANY more height to complete the crux and mantle the slopers), and tore myself apart in every sense imaginable, but it beat me down, and left my crying (and complaining about my failure) today.

NOTE: The dorky individual in the photos below is my dad, who came out to belay me today =P







Regards,

- Paul Thomson

E. Wells
8-Jan-2017
7:51:22 PM
I had the same experience Paul. The guy I was with freed it so had to make a belay above just so I could pull up. The body squeeze above is 'interesting' also. We preplaced a hex over the back for the start with a stick which was just enough protection for the mantle. If I tried it again I might add just a few layers of tape to my left fist. It felt 1mm too small!
PThomson
8-Jan-2017
8:07:07 PM
Did you do it with Nathan, Ev? I heard that he may have repeated it cleanly?

Heh. Funny to hear you're comment about taping, because I was JUST having a debate with Neil about exactly that (I refuse to ever tape because I've found numerous examples where taping -even to minimise damage to my hands- makes the climbs grades easier, which to me is defeating the physiological uniqueness that makes climbing "the great leveler"). I feel like if you use tape or Hand Jammies or whatever on this route, you don't deserve to call it a tick... Because it's approaching it as a roof-offwidth which makes it the challenge. Taping to make your hands bigger for the sake of ticking it is defeating the entire point of this climb. I didn't put a scrap of tape on today.

I genuinely have no doubt if I'd taped to add a 1mm or two to the circumference of my hands I'd have been able to do it today, but in doing so I'd be artificially countering the aspects of my physiology which makes tight hands easy for me to climb (which, in turn, would be hard for someone with mitts big enough to do this route as Fist jams). Unlike climbing shoes or chalk, taping specifically to achieve climbs is not providing an "equal" (or more-or-less equal) advantage across the field, because it becomes a different experience specifically depending on physiology. Hence, as far as I'm concerned, it's a form of aid climbing.

Let the flaming begin (dons flame-retardant overalls). =P

Both hands and both feet in the offwidth (well, except for the hand that's currently chalking up):



-Paul T
Wendy
8-Jan-2017
8:32:27 PM
On 8/01/2017 PThomson wrote:
>Did you do it with Nathan, Ev? I heard that he may have repeated it cleanly?
>
>Heh. Funny to hear you're comment about taping, because I was JUST having
>a debate with Neil about exactly that (I refuse to ever tape because I've
>found numerous examples where taping -even to minimise damage to my hands-
>makes the climbs grades easier, which to me is defeating the physiological
>uniqueness that makes climbing "the great leveler"). I feel like if you
>use tape or Hand Jammies or whatever on this route, you don't deserve to
>call it a tick... Because it's approaching it as a roof-offwidth which
>makes it the challenge. Taping to make your hands bigger for the sake of
>ticking it is defeating the entire point of this climb. I didn't put a
>scrap of tape on today.
>
>I genuinely have no doubt if I'd taped to add a 1mm or two to the circumference
>of my hands I'd have been able to do it today, but in doing so I'd be artificially
>countering the aspects of my physiology which makes tight hands easy for
>me to climb (which, in turn, would be hard for someone with mitts big enough
>to do this route as Fist jams). Unlike climbing shoes or chalk, taping
>specifically to achieve climbs is not providing an "equal" (or more-or-less
>equal) advantage across the field, because it becomes a different experience
>specifically depending on physiology. Hence, as far as I'm concerned, it's
>a form of aid climbing.
>
>Let the flaming begin (dons flame-retardant overalls). =P
>
>-Paul T

Have you told Steph Davis she's an aid climber?

Seriously, there's a world of difference between a simple set of gloves and purposefully using tape to change the size of your hands. Or fingers for that matter. I almost never touch rock without tape gloves on since I became a nurse. Every little scrape sucks when you rub alcohol into them 50 trillion times a shift. Not to mention the infection risk. They really are just the same as shoes, actually, no, shoes make a much greater difference to climbing. Should we go back to hobnail boots to avoid aid climbing? Or will bare feet suffice? And these days, people have all sorts of specialist shoes. Surely that must be aid, choosing the pair of shoes that will make using those foot holds easier? Hell, I can find a few people who will still tell you that chalk is aid.

Honestly give yourself a break and just go the tape gloves! I have the same pair in the top of my pack that gets reused on whatever I'm climbing until it needs patching and then reused until it gets ridiculous and I treat myself to a new pair. That's much less particular than most people are about which pair of shoes they will wear up each route.

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There are 43 messages in this topic.

 

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