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What are most common grip types at Gramps/Araps?

widewetandslippery

8-Jul-2017
1:51:56 PM

Graeme Hill 16s

Wendy

10-Jul-2017
6:35:47 AM

On 8/07/2017 One Day Hero wrote:
>On 8/07/2017 Wendy wrote:
>> What 22s do you need fingerboard training for?
>
>All the vertical crimpy ones at nowra and the blueys, which you can't
>do

Piffle, I onsighted them all in about 1994 (strangely enough never having even looked at a finger board, did they exist then?) so now I have retired on my laurels with my fingers still mostly intact :)

Wendy

10-Jul-2017
6:38:06 AM

On 8/07/2017 jacksonclimbs wrote:
>I've done some Yoga in the past, but I think climbing specific stretching
>and core workout is a much better use of time.
>
>Hang-boarding is totally unnecessary to get you into the early 20s, I
>agree. Getting from low 20s to high 20s though, only climbing weekends,
>I think is more of a challenge. Doable without hangs, probably, but most
>weekend warriors that I have met at least, who climb in the high 20s, early
>30s, do some kind of hang-boarding.

I have 2 theories about part time hard climbers. One is they were born mutants. The other is they were born obsessed. Both help!

kieranl

10-Jul-2017
11:11:15 AM

On 10/07/2017 Wendy wrote:
>On 8/07/2017 jacksonclimbs wrote:
>>I've done some Yoga in the past, but I think climbing specific stretching
>>and core workout is a much better use of time.
>>
>>Hang-boarding is totally unnecessary to get you into the early 20s, I
>>agree. Getting from low 20s to high 20s though, only climbing weekends,
>>I think is more of a challenge. Doable without hangs, probably, but most
>>weekend warriors that I have met at least, who climb in the high 20s,
>early
>>30s, do some kind of hang-boarding.
>
>I have 2 theories about part time hard climbers. One is they were born
>mutants. The other is they were born obsessed. Both help!

The third is that they are Kevin Lindorff


shortman

10-Jul-2017
1:23:43 PM

On 10/07/2017 One Day Hero wrote:
>I'm not convinced that Jackson exists. He's a pretty well fleshed out character
>(much better than the usual clueless bumblies who spring from Stugang's
>warped brain), but something seems a bit off.

Yep.


IdratherbeclimbingM9

10-Jul-2017
3:07:23 PM

On 10/07/2017 shortman wrote;
>Yep.

Nah.

Jayford4321

10-Jul-2017
3:22:19 PM

On 10/07/2017 Wendy wrote:
>On 8/07/2017 One Day Hero wrote:
>>On 8/07/2017 Wendy wrote:
>>> What 22s do you need fingerboard training for?
>>
>>All the vertical crimpy ones at nowra and the blueys, which you can't
>>do
>
>Piffle, I onsighted them all in about 1994 (strangely enough never having
>even looked at a finger board, did they exist then?) so now I have retired
>on my laurels with my fingers still mostly intact :)

Yeh, but wot grips didU use, an witch 1 is Ur favrite?

jacksonclimbs

10-Jul-2017
5:05:30 PM

Pretty sure I'm not a character, in the sense that I'm not a recreation of someone's imagination. I'm not Texan either, I'm a Queenslander that lived in Texas for a few years, although that might be worse. I'm sure someone will bump into me eventually, might be a bit disappointing for everyone though, as I might not be able to live up to this caricature of me that's being created.

As for my approach to climbing, as you say, it's a free country - to each, their own.

Also, while I'm here, is there a way to filter for soft routes on thecrag?


ajfclark

10-Jul-2017
5:17:38 PM

On 10/07/2017 jacksonclimbs wrote:
>Also, while I'm here, is there a way to filter for soft routes on thecrag?

Search by FA Joseph Goding.

;-)

Olbert

10-Jul-2017
8:13:04 PM

I for one, welcome our new Texan friend. He's much more interesting and engaging than the rest of you regular jaded lot. Jackson, I believe you exist.

By any chance, have you so loved the world that you sent your only begotten son to save it from sin? If so, once you're done in the Gramps, I think we could really get something going.

Olbert

10-Jul-2017
8:20:13 PM

On 10/07/2017 jacksonclimbs wrote:
>Also, while I'm here, is there a way to filter for soft routes on thecrag?

Try Nowra on a crisp windy day in the middle of winter - everything between 20 and 30 with stars is an absolute classic and overgraded. Turn up at any other time of year and you'll wish you hadn't.

Wendy

11-Jul-2017
6:39:00 AM

On 10/07/2017 One Day Hero wrote:
>I was probably being overly negative there. Sorry Jackson, I'll try to
>be more agnostic about your existance.
>
>Really though, stu and wendy are peddling crap for someone who wants to
>redpoint sport routes. Wendy drops 6 grades when it comes to pulling on
>mingers. Meanwhile, back when stu was climbing hard via 'body tension and
>hip flexibility', he forgets to mention that he was probably 15kg lighter
>than he is now, and bouldering desperate V10s in the hole........but nah,
>finger strength didn't come into it!

I just don't pull on mingers cause my middle aged fingers don't like it anymore. Strangely enough, it was my forte in my 20s. You just had the misfortune to meet me after I had moved on to trenches.

Anyway, he was asking about araps, not hard sport routes (which you exagerate about, i still have a swag of 25ish ones in relatively recent history, i'm not dropping into the teens! That would however be what happens if you make me climb slabs). Araps is technical, challenging to read, involves a variety of techniques, has climbs of all sorts of styles, endurance is kinda useful and if you can place gear well, that might help too. Not to mention that I have no idea how people climb anything when they can't jam, that really does make everything easier.

and my argument is not about people focusing on that one soft tick, it is about actually becoming a better climber. Which i like to encourage people to do rather than focus on one soft tick. If I was going for a soft tick, I'd go for an overhanging jug fest which still won't need fingerboard training. Unless i was super tall any skinny, in which case, the vertical face would probably be easier still.

MichaelOR

11-Jul-2017
11:06:35 AM

Well Kevin has been known to dangle obsessively from a hangboard prior to his move to Nati. Probably doesn't need to now, although the hangboard might make a comeback since the café was purchased!


PeterW

11-Jul-2017
12:44:52 PM

That's a scary thought since Kevin would have been top of my list of people with strong fingers back in the day. The idea of him training them as well is mind boggling!

widewetandslippery

12-Jul-2017
12:46:29 AM

my 2 cents.

Finger boarding is good. It should be treated as strength training. It should focus primarily on tendon strengthening but muscle development as well. For a weekend warrior they mean the finger, hand, forearm complex get exercised outside of weekends. It also means actual intense finger training happens which depending what you climb at the crag does not always happen and impeeds improvement. As for grips, I think this is a poor term. Most exercises can be done on a simple edge. Training all fingers or including 1 and 2 finger hangs or at least incorporating a few hangs can really help you from injury if confronted, even on thin cracks. other than that the only other thionk would be actually grip strength which a finger board is not the tool.

Other training is good to. But it is generally muscular, finger strength comes slowly and needs to be maintained.

Hows the land of beers, steers and queers these days. Did you meet any of the Bush family?

Wendy

12-Jul-2017
8:47:59 AM

On 11/07/2017 One Day Hero wrote:
>On 11/07/2017 Wendy wrote:
>>Anyway, he was asking about araps, not hard sport routes
>
>I thought the original question was about holds on sport routes in the
>Gramps? This is getting confusing.

Says Gramps/araps. I will give you that these are somewhat different things. But then again, you can find plenty of different things without leaving either location. No grade was specified, but I am giving my usual opinion based on what the average climber climbs (about 18) and misdirected focus on actually climbing better (climb better not climb stronger. Most climbers who are thinking about training are already plenty strong enough to climb well into the 20s).

>
>>i still have a swag of 25ish ones in relatively recent history,
>>i'm not dropping into the teens!
>
>You do gr 27 and 28 funky trenches. At the Point (fair bit of crimp and
>pull) I didn't see you on anything harder than 22 (and even 22 involved
>substantial whinging).

I whinge on 19s at the point! The top few metres of all the face routes become reachy nonsense. Nothing to do with my finger strength, I'm just a grumbly shortarse.
>
>>my argument is not about people focusing on that one soft tick, it
>>is about actually becoming a better climber.
>
>I don't think people want to be better climbers, they want soft ticks
>on daytrips and short weekends. I reckon (it's probably been thunk a thousand
>times before) that you can sort of remain good as a weekend climber, but
>you can never get good. Getting good needs months at the crag. You can
>get strong though, and unfortunately for the purists, strong trumps good
>on lots of routes.

Well, they're never going to have a chance of getting good if they focus on strength training and a singe route. I have this theory that if you can onsight trad 18 you can climb lots of good stuff but if you can onsight trad 22, you can really climb enough good stuff to keep you entertained for life. From that level, it's also perfectly achievable to redpoint 25. That's not an unrealistic expectation even for those poor unfortunates choosing to live in cities and have full time jobs. But you know that work on your weaknesses theory of training? Greatest gains come from improving the greatest weaknesses? I don't believe strength is most climbers' weakness. It's just the thing everyone thinks to train because it's easy and convenient. When it actually does become your limiting factor (and I can think of a whole 1 climber who probably would benefit from some strength training), then work on strength.

It's also a really easy way to injure yourself. I declined to participate in the fingerboarding and bouldering training regimes of some friends over the autumn. Both of them now have finger injuries. If I'm going to injure myself, i'd rather do it climbing than training.
>
>>Unless i was super tall any skinny, in which case, the vertical
>>face would probably be easier still.
>
>Exactly! You don't really need body tension to climb most vertical face
>things. Just be tall, and be able to pull with fingers and push with toes
>on mingers. How floppy are people if they can't pull down and reach on
>vertical blueys stuff without body-waving off the wall?

Ok, so the training regime should really be diet and the rack? You make vertical face climbing sound even more boring than slabs.

Dave_S

12-Jul-2017
9:21:00 AM

On 12/07/2017 Wendy wrote:
>
>Ok, so the training regime should really be diet and the rack? You make
>vertical face climbing sound even more boring than slabs.

For a second there I was wondering how climbing a classic Arapiles hand crack would make you taller...

jacksonclimbs

12-Jul-2017
1:08:21 PM

TBH I thought it would be a relatively quick question with two or three responses, but this is an interesting discussion either way.

As I said earlier, each to their own. If people want to tick soft sport routes on day trips and spray about it to their friends, what does it matter? If they enjoy that, good for them. So long as they aren’t machine gun bolting trad lines, the various facets of climbing can co-exist.

On training, Wendy – I pretty much agree with you for the most part re: weaknesses core and just getting out on real rock, although I think that for the ambitious weekend-warrior sport climber like myself, finger strength needs to be built and maintained over time. In my experience, I’ve found what WWAS mentioned, that it can be hard to maintain it, and build it, through only climbing.

WWAS – I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting the Bush family but I really enjoyed Texas. It’s quite a diverse place despite its reputation. It’s cheap living and everything really is bigger – I’m having trouble adjusting to living in this shoebox townhouse in Melbourne that is apparently worth the same as an equally located 5 bedroom house with a swimming pool in Houston.

johnpitcairn

12-Jul-2017
4:51:04 PM

On 12/07/2017 jacksonclimbs wrote:
>I’m having trouble adjusting
>to living in this shoebox townhouse in Melbourne that is apparently worth
>the same as an equally located 5 bedroom house with a swimming pool in
>Houston.

Welcome to that party. A friend is complaining about similar things in Auckland.

I am, I admit, ageing rapidly. Attacking a range of stuff at Arapiles rather than (in the words of the Mentz/Tempest guide) "prancing around on face climbs" is very attractive. The finger tendons are certainly not holding up to the youngster's regime of crimpy shit, and my friends on training regimes are injured too. The jamming is improving, and lots of sweary fun..

Let's face it, even if you are the average onsights-18 climber like me, prancing around on face climbs is boring. Wendy I like the cut of your shortass jib. Training, um, no, just climb.

Not sure there was any point to my post. So what?

There are 39 messages in this topic.