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Ouch ouch ouch yesterday was tough! There was a boulder that just didn't want to be climbed and it took me several tries to go to the last handhold, and in the process I banged my knees all over the place so now, blue knees. At least I achieved it!
And my bf hurt himself (again) by doing I am not sure what wrong movement, but he has a lump on his tight muscle and he's limping. Poor guy!
I have been climbing/bouldering for 9 years (irregularly) and not once hurt myself, he started 5 months ago and has issues all the time. He's reasonably fit and does other sports as well, so I don't know what he's doing wrong, maybe just trying too hard.

I love climbing! Unfortunately, the gyms here are so expensive that I can only go once or twice a month for the foreseeable future. I completed my first bouldering route last week, so that was super exciting for me!

That sounds rough for you and your bf Anek! My friend Karl has a golf ball sized bulge on one of his elbows from banging it while climbing. Presumably, it's full of joint fluid. It's been there for nearly a month now. Yay for not having health insurance.

I had a good time tonight. I was tired because I went yesterday too but I managed an especially difficult (for me) overhangy 11b today and started mock lead climbing. It's way harder than top rope so far! I spent a lot of time fumbling with the gates trying to clip in.

Still haven't been climbing outdoors again, but it's supposed to happen a week from Sunday. We shall see.

Congrats on the first bouldering route Nebraskalaska!

Climbing thread! I've been going to an indoor gym since about November. I'm still only able to solve V0s/5.9ish ones consistently, but I'm enjoying my (slow, slow) progress. I'll definitely take it out to the Greenbelt when I get a little better & find a partner. I'm glad Evolv makes synthetic shoes that are widely available.

I need to climb! It's been too long! I've been working too much (consulting gig so long hours), but I'm going to try to get out of the office early enough tomorrow to get some climbing in. I've been using a 10-punch pass, but I'm going to suck it up and get an annual membership next time I'm in. I had one, but it ended a few months ago... I liked it because it felt like I got to climb for free for a year.

And now I'm sore. BUT I climbed my first f'realz 5.12! The last one I thought I climbed got downgraded to a 5.11(with some letter after it) the week after I climbed it. But there is a 5.12a that has been up for months and everyone agrees that it is a 5.12. I've tried it a TON of times, but I finally got it Sunday! And that is why my shoulders are killing me today... so worth it.

One of my climbing partners is going to take the lead climbing test so we can start doing some of that in the gym! Then I'll be all ready for outdoor climbing this summer.

Awseome job Pi
I went to an old gym I used to go to and i can say that their grades are much lower than my usual gym. It wasn't a problem for me, but my climbing partner is short and she couldn't reach a lot of the holds and was climbing at a lower grade than at the other gym. Not that numbers mean anything but we were discussing with some friends that some routes should be rated higher if you are shorter.

Congrats Pi! That's awesome. I did a couple .11cs on Sunday and the (less-overhangy) 11.bs are getting easier for me, but I tried an .11d at the end of the day and didn't get very far.

Tonight I'm going to do some more mock lead climbing, then hopefully I'll take the certification test on Friday or Monday.

What is mock lead climbing? I've never heard of it!

Lead climbing already?! My gym requires 6+ months of consistent belay experience and climbing 5.10s before they'll even let you take the class for lead climbing. Which means it's going to be a realllllly long time before I get to do any lead climbing.

For the certification for my gym, you just have to complete a 5.10b and lead belay without making any mistakes. I guess I do have about 6 months of belay experience now though.

Mock lead is when you're toproping but you've got an extra rope tied to your belay loop that you're clipping in as you go. That way, you have the safety of toproping but are doing all the work of lead climbing.

We went climbing Saturday and I did a little mock lead climbing. I'm doing well enough with it now that I think I'd pass that half of the test but I still have to learn a lot about lead belaying. I'm debating whether or not I should pay for a class or just study internet videos and practice.

In other news, Maygles (my partner) climbed her second 11a and got super close to finishing her first 11b! I'm very excited for her. We're checking out this new bouldering gym on Friday which I'm really excited about. http://www.touchstoneclimbing.com/dogpatch-boulders

Awesome job to Maygles!

I climbed both Sun and last night and my fingers are sore today! My newest climbing partner is better than me, but good at the same type of climbs I'm good at, so I'm learning a lot when we climb. We were going to do some lead last night, but he was tired from working the night before so we did top rope.

I really should start bouldering. I think once I have my motorcycle out and am working less I will... so in a couple of weeks!

I was supposed to go outdoor climbing yesterday but it was cancelled (the person with the car got called into work). Hopefully I'll get out there next week!

I went last Sunday and I'm still doing pretty good on 5.11s. I'm itching to go again but this week has been busy. I have 3 climbing times scheduled for next week though!! And I have my motorcycle back so I can get to/from the gym way easier if I just want to pop over for some bouldering.

My husband agreed to finally go with me next week. I'm excited! I hope he likes it, because I want a belay partner. If not, I'm at least glad he's finally giving it a try after all of my goading.

That's awesome! I hope he enjoys it!
My dude likes to go once a week, no more, no less. Now I'm trying to talk him into outdoor climbing... I think the "free" part of it might win him over (I have rope and stuff for basic sport climbing).

I tried bouldering! It was fun! I flashed a V3 (we started at V0 and worked our way up). After that my hands hurt and I fell on the last move of a V3+ and then couldn't grip anymore.

Next time I'm going to not TR first (I bouldered after doing some 5.10/5.11s) and see if I can do a V4!

Well done Pi! I'm sure you'll get a v4 next time. Flashing a v3 your first time bouldering is really awesome!

I went bouldering yesterday and finally nailed a v4 that I had tried on a bunch of previous occasions. I've been slacking on getting lead certified but it's still on my radar. .11cs are coming more easily but .11d is still too much for me. Yet again, the possibility of outdoor climbing this weekend is being dangled in front of me. We're having such gorgeous weather, I really hope my friend doesn't flake this time. Maygles and I are going to take part in our gym's bouldering competition on the 19th. Obviously we're not expecting to do well, but it will be fun to see some really good climbers in action. They're also doing a lights out/headlamp climbing event soon. We did that on Halloween and really liked it, so we'll probably do that again. It's super hard!

Nebraskalaska, how'd it go with Mr. N. this week? Or have you guys not been yet?

That lights out event sounds really fun!

We haven't been yet. We had planned to go on Monday, but my legs (especially the hip joints) were way too sore from running, and my right hand/wrist was really sore from bowling. I don't get to go very often so I wanted to be in tip-top form. We're probably going Friday!

That makes sense. Have fun on Friday!

Aw man, climbing? Sweetness.

I know absolutely nothing about what any of these numbers mean, but when I was in secondary school, my school had a mountain rescue service and hence a couple of climbing walls for training that also saw some use for extracurricular sports - I did climbing because I like it and because I suck at team sports, haha. Some of the mountain rescue service had a climbing tour around the Cairngorms and even though I wasn't in mountain rescue, I tagged along for that.

I've wanted to go climbing since I've moved back to BC, but not known where to go or how to start. Or had money to spare on equipment...

Vancouver, BC has a bouldering gym, so you'd only really need shoes (chalk is nice too and pretty cheap). They probably rent shoes so you could try it a few times before buying any. I have a friend that loves the bouldering gym there.

I'm not sure what a day pass costs, but some places if you go during off hours or buy a 10-punch pass it's quite a bit cheaper.

I don't think that climbing is a cheap sport, but a lot of the gear lasts a long time and if you get into it then it ends up being not too expensive. I've spent probably ~$750 on gear over the last two years (I'm geared up for single pitch sport climbing), but I won't need to buy anything else for quite a while. Shoe replacement/repair will be the next up in 6-8 months, everything else (harness, chalk bag, carabiners, quickdraws, rope, slings) should last me years.
I also have an annual membership to the climbing gym, but I go 2-3 times a week and so it ends up being one of my cheapest forms of entertainment and it includes yoga and a couple of guest passes a month (I get a friend in free, they buy me a burrito after!).

Hurting today...I was outside in the Gunks and took three falls, two were long pendulum swings. I was top roped, but probably 20 feet to the right of the anchor and lost my grip. Nothing really hurt, but pretty, sore and a few bruises and scrapes.
My bad shoulder is also hurting a bit, so this is a good week to relax. Flying out to Austin on Thursday and back Monday so I will not climb until Tuesday as a rest.
Thinking of going to Rumney, NH for Memorial Day Weekend. Just hoping it will not be too crowded.

It costs $5 to rent shoes and a chalk bag from the bouldering gym in Vancouver (The Hive). It's an additional $5 the first time you go there. This covers the cost of a quick lesson on gym safety and how to fall properly. As for drop-in rates, it's currently $16.50 most of the day and $12 from 9 pm to closing (11 pm).