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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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The first thing I learned after my 30 yr. climbing hiatus was that my skin had thinned.
Oh yeah, me too---without the hiatus. Maybe if I wasn't an Eastern wanker face-climber, I would have refined my hand-jamming technique over the years so as to offset the thinning of the skin, but things haven't worked out that way, and tape is the only alternative to a blood bath on even simple jams.
On a related note, my feet can't stand the pain of jamming either any more. I actually wondered whether my foot-jamming days were over, until TC Pros gave me a little hope.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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T Hocking said it for me.
I used to laugh at people who used tape. "That sh*t is aid!" I would exclaim. That was easy to say since the backs of my hands were like boot leather. I think it is long term sun exposure which is the culprit, but today the skin on the back of my hands my hands is more delicate. The palms and finger tips, which have not had the same exposure, are fine - tough as nails.
Anyway I'm still good with naked hands most of the time, but if you see me taping up for some sharp crack consider it a favor. You won't find my blood all over the route next time you do it. Personally I prefer to see chalk all over the rock over bodily fluids.
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Captain...or Skully
climber
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I use chalk. So sue me. It seems that some places less is more, though. We noticed in Sequoia that we didn't use much.
Donini edit: You use the Freeways, don't cha? You can see those from Space!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Since when are climbers politically correct?
I know that chalk seems to be a permanet part of a lot of climbs but 10,000 years from now after mankind has hopefully gone extint and no longer threatens the Planet, chalk will be long gone but chipping will still be evident.
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jogill
climber
Colorado
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I'm still curious who was the first climber to use it as well
Me. I took a gymnastics course at Georgia Tech in the fall of 1954 and immediately began using chalk for climbing. In the mid 1950s I took it to the Tetons and demonstrated it to climbers from the east and west coasts and some Europeans, including Brits. I took along a small block when I did Teton climbs as well as bouldering at Jenny Lake and climbing at Blacktail Butte.
I camped, climbed and bouldered with Yvon and others from CA in the mid and late 1950s. Some of the CA climbers were enthusiastic about chalk, but Yvon always felt it was (minor) cheating. Nevertheless, I saw a photo of him climbing in Canada some years later, wearing a chalk bag. Pat Ament had a lot to do with its use in Yosemite.
I spent a year at the University of Chicago (1958-1959) and visited Devils Lake several times, initiating its use there.
Chalk was particularly useful on controlled dynamic moves (which I pursued in an effort to use momentum as I had practised it in gymnastics - particularly the rope climb and the still and flying rings)
And yes, years later I saw the deleterious effects at various bouldering areas - caked and slicked holds and white patches everywhere. No matter what one thinks up, if it becomes popular it sinks to the lowest common denominator, I suppose.
Sorry if I have offended you. (not really!)
;>)
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slabbo
Trad climber
fort garland, colo
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Chalk be became cool when I did my first 5.9..1978
Cams were pretty controvasial though !
Classic old mountain- jon Allen free climbs Great Wall.. but uses chalk
I know I used chalk on GW
OP YA and when i bought a chalk bag form Hudon in '78..in NH
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Mike Friedrichs
Sport climber
City of Salt
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Everything in moderation. I do use chalk.
It has gotten out of control. I've been guilty in the past as well. Now I try to only use chalk when I'm sweating. I find that focusing on my breathing is a better way to stay relaxed and focused than obsessive chalking.
Something else that I do to try and not contribute to the problem is to do most warmups without chalk. I feel that if I can redpoint something almost two full number grades harder, I should be able to get up the warmups without contributing to the over-chalked slimy mess. And...take a brush and clean the holds on the way down as a common courtesy to the next climbers.
If people used chalk responsibly, it wouldn't be the problem that it is. The other day I saw a guy chalk on a boulder problem to jump off. Just doesn't seem necessary.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Chalking is sometimes a mental thing. Same with tincture. Just dipping and smelling the benzoin relieved the fear factor a bit. A bit of a pause to reorganize the mind.
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kennyt
climber
Woodfords,California
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I didn't even know chalk could be politically correct
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Captain...or Skully
climber
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Politically correct is a dumb term. Monkeys should have no use for it.
I get your drift, JohnTP.
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 4, 2013 - 09:44pm PT
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Well, Mr Gill has spoken and so have a lot of you. It sounds to me, like most things, moderation is probably the best advice. Personally, you can still think what you want and do what you want, and probably will. ( and that's been around with climbers for a long time:-)
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Ihateplastic
Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
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10,000 years from now after mankind has hopefully gone extint and no longer threatens the Planet, chalk will be long gone but chipping will still be evident.
To whom? Or should I say, to what?
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Mark Force
Trad climber
Cave Creek, AZ
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There used to be a really strong no chalk stand in Arizona in the 70s and the standards were breaking into 5.12. There was some incredibly bold climbing being done, too, with some no chalk climbers even doing 5.11x climbs! Not me, that's for sure! I have incredible respect for friends and partners from that period. Then into the 80s that standard faded.
You don't have to use chalk to climb hard.
Style is the way you choose to climb that doesn't have any impact on the environment. Knock yourself out. Ethics concern those things we do that have a significant impact. Chalk, bolts, heads, and pins have significant impact and come under the category of ethical versus stylistic issues for climbers.
We as a group used to be good wilderness stewards. Now we generally aren't. Chalk and bolts especially are issues that concern our relationships with other outdoor/wilderness users and can potentially result in limiting our access.
Chalk is littering; it's trash! No matter how anyone tries to frame it, chalk is litter (just like leaving tape wads lying around). And, at some level, chalk is (an) aid (but, then so are shoes and I could never get good at the barefoot thing). It diminishes the experience of discovery for the next climber and the aestheics of the environment.
In hunting, the tools you use will show how skilled a hunter you are. Use a long range rifle with a high powered scope may bag you a buck, but if you're good you can do it with a muzzle loader. If you're really good, you can do it with a compound bow. if youre better, you can do it with a longbow, and if you're really a badass you can jump out of a tree with a Bowie knife and get it done.
Having less technology between us and the experience forces us to be more skilled, more trained, and more conscious. So much of what we do in climbing has become just another consumer culture sport where all that matters is who has the bigger.....numbers. It doesn't matter how hard you climb. It matters what you experience and who you become from doing it. If you do a given climb racked to the nines with all the modern gizmos and chalked to the elbows, that's cool. If you do the same climb in a two inch swami and a rack of old hexes sans chalk, that's really cool.
A great standard, IMHO, is from the 1972 Chouinard catalog:
"Thus, it is the style of the climb, not attainment of the summit, which is the measure of personal success. Traditionally stated, each of us must consider whether the end is more important than the means. Given the vital importance of style we suggest that the keynote is simplicity. The fewer gadgets between the climber and the climb, the greater is the chance to attain the desired communication with oneself—and nature."
Chalk is essentially a universally accepted practice in climbing, but is it really an acceptable one? How did using chalk become politically correct? Because we humans are lazy and undisciplined by nature, we tend to want to measure ourselves by what others are doing, and we often make excuses or justifications for our behaviors we know are less than exemplary.
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mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
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Chalk is aid...
...skin is IN !!!!1111
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Mark Force
Trad climber
Cave Creek, AZ
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Steve Grossman is the crazy gifted climber I was thinking of when mentioning chalkless 5.11x in Arizona!
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rich sims
Social climber
co
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I remember a few climbers that did not use chalk by 76. Well I remember one Jeff Copper a fun guy to climb with.
Late 70s I called a Tucson climbing shop to see if they wanted to buy some of my gear.
When I brought up Chalk bags I was told Arizona climbers don't use chalk.
I laughed and said they sure do in Yosemite.
He replied monkey see monkey do.
We laughed I told him I would send my price list as they used haul bags as well in Yosemite and Baja.
A month later I received a order for a couple haul bags and an order for chalk bags.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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"PC" would be someone sticking a microscope up your a*# about how much chalk you are using etc. OP is off base.
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bergbryce
Mountain climber
California
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I'm a light chalker and honestly haven't seen that many routes that look like a connect the dots problem. Tick marks piss me off though.
Mark Twight has some pretty nice screeds concerning chalk usage with which I pretty much agree. Think of how much energy people waste hanging on a route and dipping their hands every damn' move?
I saw this sign at a climbing gym in Belguim one time that said something to the effect that no matter how much chalk you put on your hands, the problem isn't going to get any easier, which in it's simplicity made me realize the silliness of excessive chalking.
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Evel
Trad climber
Nedsterdam CO
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It's all John and Pats fault! (yeesh, just kidding..)
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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I think chalk is here to stay, but a number of people have said that moderation is the key. So here are two things to try.
1. Don't chalk up while you're still on the ground fer chrissakes. Wait until you actually need some drying action. In many cases, this by itself will get you fairly far up a pitch without yet making a mess.
2. At the risk of being repetitive: a chalk sock is automated moderation. Use one!
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