Lulls and Lead Climbing

As much as I made it work to climb 3-4 times a week when the climbing bug bit, reality pushed back and happily reminded me of midterms and academic responsibilities. I've been slammed with homework, and climbing has had to take a back seat. I went a few weeks, barely climbing at all, and it's definitely taken a toll on my progress.

Now that school has calmed down a bit, I'm now trying desperately to get back where I was. I can still climb some 10c's, so my upper bound for top roping hasn't diminished, but my technique feels sloppier and my arms feel a bit weaker. *sigh*

Luckily, to kick my poor ass into gear, I've been taking lead climbing classes. Tonight was class 3 of 4, and it's been quite an experience. I got used to top roping at some point and learned that I was never really in any danger with Tom as my belay. Even with a not so great belayer, I had faith in the Grigri and never really felt alarmed. Starting lead climbing has lead me to discover fear all over again. It is terrifying to know that if I don't climb up to the 3rd clip of a route, I could easily deck and hurt myself pretty badly. Also, my belayer is way more important now, and an ATC is no absolute guarantee of safety.

The first class, we just practiced clipping and doing mock lead climbing while secured to a top rope. The mental aspect of the whole thing had me shaking on routes I could easily flash, with the added stress of clipping every 5 feet and managing to clip the anchors. The next class, we worked on the belaying portion, and learning when to give and take slack to give hard and soft catches. Still, I was a bit nervous, but felt more comfortable be the belayer rather than the climber.

Today, we actually lead climbed. And I actually lead belayed Tom. What a crazy concept. I climbed first today on a 5.6, and I was panicking as I reached the top. I clipped the anchors incorrectly, and my descent down was a rather slow one. Honestly, I'm not afraid of falling. I actually think falling is a lot of fun, especially if I know that I'm safe. However, the possibility of getting hurt in a fall, either by smacking into the wall or decking, is a very real one that I'm having to come to grips with. It doesn't paralyze me on the wall, but it makes me more uncertain and wobbly.

Clipping anchors is probably the scariest thing for me. Honestly, I should be more afraid going from the 2nd to the third clip. Not getting to the first clip means I'll hit the ground, but not from very high up. Missing the third clip is high enough to be hurt, and not high enough to be saved by the belay system at the same time. I got more afraid of that by the end of the day, but not too much.

We also did falling practice. First, just pushing off hard from the wall and practicing how to get our feet and hands out in front. Then, we climbed up a few moves and dropped. Finally, we went to the very top of the wall and dropped with the highest clip at about knee level. I did that a few times, and it was exhilarating. I actually had fun with it. Hopefully, I'll get comfortable with lead climbing pretty soon and will at least be able to get past the mental blocks.

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I'm nursing my first quasi-injury from climbing. I climbed three sessions in two days after a bit of a break from climbing. As a result, my left elbow started hurting me this morning whenever I brought it to a lock off position. It's like a twinging kind of pain toward the inside of the joint. It still hurts, but I did go climbing on it today for lead class. I didn't feel the pain much, but I do feel it now. It doesn't hurt to clench my fists or rotate my wrists around in arm direction. Making a screwdriver-like motion makes a popping sound, but little to no pain. I'm going to take a few days off of climbing and see how it feels. I have no desire to push myself with an injury.

I think that's all for now. I have to study for a math midterm tomorrow and get some sleep, so hopefully that will turn out well. Yay climbing!

Physics on the Rocks

As much as I would like to believe that my only responsibility in life is to send a 5.15, I occasionally have to remind myself that I have homework. This quarter, I am reliving the "joys" of physics and I find my notebook littered with force diagrams and Newton's favorite letters of the greek alphabet. But last night, I had an epiphany.

I prefer my physics on the rocks.

I realized that while I am bored to death by the countless examples of frictionless carts being pulled by massless strings, I could happily apply so many concepts to climbing. When I fall off the wall, what force do I exert on my rope and harness? How far will I pop off the ground if I'm belaying a 170lbs boyfriend who is falling a distance of 15 feet? How much chalk should I use to maximize friction on slopers? What is the coefficient of friction of Five Ten rubber vs La Sportiva?

I might try and do some calculations after I get past this first midterm, and maybe I'll be able to provide the answers to some of these questions. But my desire to learn physics just shot up by about a billion.

(Side note: I have decided that I will post about generic things, and then just include my current climbing progress at the bottom. This is just a little note for me to know where I'm at.)

Personal progress: Last week, I pointed to an 5.11a and joked that there was no way I'd be able to do it. I've only been climbing 2 months, and it seems like an impossible feat. But this guy standing nearby said ,"You could do it." I asked him if he really thought I could, and he said that I should at least make it a red point project. So, with curious confidence, I gave the route a shot and got to the final hold. My hand was inching up, fingers grasping to get over the lip of the hold, and I flew off the wall. I almost flashed an 11a!! Holy crap! So that was my new lesson of the week: confidence. I can climb just about any 10b, so it's time to start pushing 10c's and 10d's. I have no excuse not to.

Also, before I started climbing, I could not do a single pull up. I did not possess any upper body strength. Yesterday, I did 3 pull-ups. It is really awesome to see all these quantitative measures of my increasing strength thanks to climbing. I hope that in a few months, I'll be able to do at least 10 pull-ups. Here's to training!

Progress Abounds!

I haven't updated in awhile, but today is a good day!

I have been advancing in my climbing and I am super psyched about it. Most recently, I beta flashed my first 10c! It was so exciting to do the route and it was actually one that Tom completed earlier that day after falling off a few times. I was able to use my small hands and fingers to my advantage as I was able to get a good grip on some rather tiny holds. It was a really good feeling. =)

Otherwise, I'm climbing 10a consistently, so I would say that I could lead 10a. I've climbed a few 10b's, but most of them still give me a bit of trouble.

Today, I went to the IMA at UW for the first time to climb there. They have a big room with lots of bouldering and a few top roping routes that range from 5.6 - 5.12+. I was a bit disappointed with the rating system, though. The culture at UW seems largely skewed towards bouldering and all the routes were much harder than advertised. There were a few V0's that I had a rough time with and several V1's that I couldn't even finish. Everyone there agreed that the routes were "stiff" but that they liked it because when they go to other gyms, they feel like a champ. I can't say that I agree.

I did a 5.7, 5.8, and 5.9 just to see how the difficulty ratings stacked up. I don't think they were rated terribly well, but they were alright. (I should also note that the IMA Crags do not rate 10s. 11s, and 12s using letters! It's definitely a "fun" mystery to find out whether you're climbing a 10a or a 10d.) The biggest change for me was that the walls are a towering 40 feet tall!! I honestly thought the walls I normally climbed on at VW were about that height, but now I would say that they are about 30 feet tall. It definitely psyched me out on my first couple climbs, especially because I was on ATC with a new belay partner. But I quickly got used to it, and I think it's good for me to adjust to higher heights.

It was an interesting experience overall, and I will continue to climb there and get a feel for the community. I even got to feel like a badass today when I explained how hangboards work to a non-climber who asked me. (Because climbing makes you absurdly badass.)

(Side note: Up until today, I thought I had heard that you should be able to climb 5.11's before learning to lead climb. But I'm beginning to get the idea that you can do it much sooner than that, and I am definitely anxious to get outside. In fact, at the IMA, I was told that you should be able to climb a 5.8 to lead climb, but I'm not totally convinced. Time for research and I'll let you know!)

Bad Day Climbing

Yesterday was a yucky day climbing for me. I hadn't gotten to climb top rope in 4 days, and I finally got my chance to get on the wall again last night. And I totally bombed it.

By totally bombed it, I mean that I had a good warm up and did well on a bunch of 5.7's and 5.8's. I even beat the crap out of a hard 5.9. But then I struggled a bit on another 5.9 (although I managed to send it), and then I failed on a 5.10a. I just couldn't get past this one sequence, mostly for not knowing how to do it. With a little more height I could've mantled this one part, but I just couldn't manage it. I watched two other wonderful women do the route in two different ways, which inspired me to try and get past that part a third time. But as soon as I got up there, a familiar sense of impossibility swept over me again, and I couldn't make it work.

Asking someone to lower you when you haven't sent a route feels like one of the most humiliating things in the world.

What made it worse was that prior to my hiatus, I was the queen of climbing. On my last trip to the gym, I climbed a challenging 5.9 chimney route, then a 5.10a chimney route, and then a half slab/half vertical 10b. And my boyfriend, Tom, couldn't do it. It was the first time that I was able to climb a route that he couldn't do. It required flexibility on one particular sequence, and he couldn't move past it. As much as I felt bad that he was getting frustrated, part of me was ecstatic that I had managed a route that the tall and strong Thomas could not.

All in all, my bad day probably wasn't all that bad. But for some reason, it just felt like a huge step backward and I hung my head low as I left the gym. Hopefully, I'll do better today. *sigh*

The Beginning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnLQ1hm-Nac

This video is my current inspiration for climbing. I started climbing with my boyfriend about a month ago when he got back from 6 weeks in Palo Alto for job training. We head to the climbing gym about 4-5 times a week now, and the addiction just seems to grow.

Currently, I am very far away from the strong, sexy, and confident Alex Puccio. I can only climb V0's and V1's on bouldering. On top roping, I can do a few 5.10a's but my range is still all over the place. I even struggled on a 5.6 yesterday when testing it out for a friend before he arrived, so I've definitely got a long way to grow.

I hope to use this blog to voice my passion for climbing and chart my progress along the way. I'll include pictures and video when I can, and I hope you enjoy it. =)