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| Messages 1 - 36 of total 36 in this topic |
patrick compton
Trad climber
van
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Jul 25, 2015 - 10:43am PT
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yep, and the trends will continue.
generation plastic.
kids at my gym can do 13s and v8 and many have never touched a real rock.
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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Jul 25, 2015 - 10:48am PT
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Is it now true (presumably on weekends) that Lover's Leap has "hourlong lines below every good route" as the article says?
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patrick compton
Trad climber
van
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Jul 25, 2015 - 11:20am PT
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downfall.... meaning more noobs at the crag than you and your friends like?
thats every sport, look at surfing, backcountry skiing....
just more people, wanting to do the same stuff you do.
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jeff constine
Trad climber
Ao Namao
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Jul 25, 2015 - 11:25am PT
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LOL!! Most folks at the gym like piss & Poop!! Because they go right into the bathroom with climbing shoes on, then right back to plastic hell. Never go to a gym.
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patrick compton
Trad climber
van
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Jul 25, 2015 - 11:33am PT
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So true Ron, Honnold started in a gym and now he often doesn't use a rope. Gyms are dangerous!
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Banks
Trad climber
Santa Monica, CA
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Jul 25, 2015 - 11:48am PT
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wow.. They call a 14 yr old gym climber "possibly the greatest climber to ever live"... LAUGHABLE eh?
How far out of touch can an article be that labels a 14 yr old gym climber the "greatest climber to ever live"???????
Reading comprehension Rdog...
The article says "is a serious contender to become the greatest living climber of either sex".
The world is changing and old people don't like it. Its been that way forever and will continue to be that way forever. I thought the article did a nice job talking about the changing landscape of climbing.
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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Jul 25, 2015 - 12:03pm PT
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The world is changing and old people don't like it. Its been that way forever and will continue to be that way forever.
This may be true, but true or not it is typically accompanied by the popular but fallacious conclusion that old people are wrong.
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Banks
Trad climber
Santa Monica, CA
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Jul 25, 2015 - 12:20pm PT
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And on the flip side is the equally popular and fallacious conclusion that the younger generations are wrong.
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aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Jul 25, 2015 - 01:45pm PT
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Ashima's hard ascents are not confined to the gym, she has cranked some hard 5.14 routes that few guys can do, in the Red River Gorge.
The "greatest climber of either sex" is hard to define. Could any of them repeat Charlie Porter's solo in Baffin where he crawls out on this hand and knees? How about repeating Lynn Hill's ascent of the Nose doing all the moves free?
The writer's perspective is interesting, and his basic premise is sound, that young kids start out in the gym, and can get proficient at hard moves more quickly, as compared to 40-50 years ago.
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Radish
Trad climber
SeKi, California
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Jul 25, 2015 - 01:56pm PT
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Hope its not a fad thing. Its funny how trends go. The Witherspoon movie in the wild.....and the book, caused lots of folks to head up the PCT this year. Lots! Almost, maybe more than the 70's backpacking popularity. I was in REI in Berkley recently on a Saturday and the store looked like an ant farm! People pawing over all the equip. Climber types asking lots of questions and the buying line was long. Long live Climbing!
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Lassitude 33
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Jul 25, 2015 - 02:52pm PT
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The article was well written and presents an accurate perspective on the changing nature of the sport and how people are training for and being introduced to the sport.
Yes, things were different when I learned to climb, but I would have been happy if there were gyms and specialized training back then.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Jul 25, 2015 - 06:03pm PT
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Yes, things were different when I learned to climb, but I would have been happy if there were gyms and specialized training back then.
Callin' bullshit on that Randy! You were waayyyyy to much of a low-key, keep to youself and your crew kinda guy. In, say, 1979 you'd a taken a flame thrower to gyms.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Jul 25, 2015 - 06:08pm PT
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If not for gyms I wouldn't have discovered climbing when I did. I can't say I'm upset about that.
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limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
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Jul 25, 2015 - 07:30pm PT
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Good, pretty balanced article.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Jul 25, 2015 - 08:11pm PT
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Nice to see someone in the media understanding climbing. Thanks for posting that Kevin.
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Srbphoto
climber
Kennewick wa
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Jul 25, 2015 - 09:07pm PT
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I don't think some of the (ahem) "older" folks on here realize that almost all of the young hotshots started in (and continue to) climb in gyms.
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jogill
climber
Colorado
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Jul 25, 2015 - 10:15pm PT
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The kids are gonna take climbing to where they want it to go, regardless of the grumblings of oldtimers. Sit back and watch the show and be amazed. This ain't daddy's sport no more.
Study the fascinating history of rock climbing . . . It's there that you can remain an authority. But don't expect your pearls of wisdom to be savored by the young'uns.
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
sawatch choss
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Jul 25, 2015 - 10:19pm PT
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Word.
Thanks jogill.
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Bad Climber
climber
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Jul 26, 2015 - 06:38am PT
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The Leap's okay if you can get on it mid-week. I was there for a week last July and had ZERO lines and no one climbing behind us, and we did most of the classics--Bear's Reach, The Line, Hospital Corner to Dead Tree, etc. Great times.
BAd
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pinckbrown
Trad climber
Woodfords, CA
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Jul 26, 2015 - 07:12am PT
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Rdog,
Have been climbing at the Leap regularly while
Rick is tending business in AK. I have not gone
on the weekends yet, but had no overcrowding
situation on weekdays. Parking lot less than 1/2
full - maybe 8 to 10 vehicles.
Pinckbrown
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pinckbrown
Trad climber
Woodfords, CA
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Jul 26, 2015 - 07:16am PT
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Well crap,
We should get together and climb the Leap!
Scott, Ron & Bob!
"Oldsters Rule"
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crankster
Trad climber
No. Tahoe
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Jul 26, 2015 - 07:18am PT
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It's a different sport, relax. You don't own the rocks.
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WBraun
climber
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Jul 26, 2015 - 07:26am PT
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I went to the Phoenix to climb it yesterday and some young punk walked by me carrying a boombox and free soled it.
He looked at me and called me a stupid American for using a rope .... :-)
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pinckbrown
Trad climber
Woodfords, CA
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Jul 26, 2015 - 07:34am PT
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I could care less how old people that I climb
with are. People are people. I try to learn
something new from everyone that I climb
with. I enjoy climbing with all different kinds
of people and will continue to do so till I can't.
pinckbrown
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Mighty Walker
climber
Vancouver
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Jul 26, 2015 - 07:55am PT
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I climb in a gym because it's a phenomenal workout and it's convenient. The people I know who climb in our gym are aware that it is a different monster to outdoor climbing. Many of us started in gyms and progressed to outdoor climbing. With good teachers, we understand that outdoor climbing is a different monster – a much more dangerous monster – so taking it slow and steady is the way to go.
The person who talked about sitting on a nearby rock listening to poor communication on the wall, might have considered teaching the rookies a better way to communicate because that would have been a valuable contribution toward making outdoor climbing safer for everyone. You have to learn somehow, right? Why not from climbers with more experience.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
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Jul 26, 2015 - 08:06am PT
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Good points Kevin W.
We should note that the author linked here is Daniel Duane one of our more prominent American climbing historians. And John Gill finds full agreement here with him. I am glad that those days of nastiest resistance to our evolution are mostly gone. It is a huge problem, this crowding but it should not necessitate advocating a full reversal nor other fantasies for some panacea that would have to be deeply undemocratic and mean-spirited at its roots.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Jul 26, 2015 - 08:22am PT
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But don't expect your pearls of wisdom to be savored by the young'uns.
Treat those young'uns with respect instead of disdain, show some interest in what they're doing, and you may find that they do savor your wisdom.
Edit: Just to clafify, this is not aimed at JoGill (who made the remark quoted above). If his posting on ST is any indication, he treats everyone with respect.
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BBA
Social climber
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Jul 26, 2015 - 08:24am PT
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I remember when Roper was trying to convince anyone to go to Lovers Leap to put up every new route possible, but we laughed at him and said why would we go there? We're in the Valley.
Today gym climbers who are not ready for real rock go out, but at least they are in shape. We had the same types in lesser numbers back then, too, but they had never been to the gym and may have been at even greater risk.
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Jul 26, 2015 - 08:37am PT
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I climbed at City Rock when Peter first open that gym, and then I watched Pacific Edge open in Santa Cruz. 15 years ago we figured out that the young'uns didn't really care about the pearls of wisdom that John talks about.
Climbing for most is a social sport--that's why bouldering is so popular, both in the gym and outside. But there are those that love climbing for what it means spiritually, for your psych.
Most climbers now get their starts in gyms, or at least the train in them. Sharma wouldn't even be a climber if it weren't for Pacific Edge. Honnold? Who knows.
There's no doubt, climbing is coming out of the closet as a fringe sport into one that is a main-stream adrenalin sport. When you see battery commercials with climbers in it, you know the perception of the sport is changing.
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JerryA
Mountain climber
Sacramento,CA
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Jul 26, 2015 - 09:25am PT
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I hope that there is a ban on children as team members when "climbing' is just another Olympic event on streaming video .
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David Plotnikoff
Mountain climber
Emerald Hills, CA
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Jul 26, 2015 - 08:39pm PT
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I hope that there is a ban on children as team members when "climbing' is just another Olympic event on streaming video .
Why is that?
If you look at the great leap forward in performance that came with skaters and gymnasts getting younger and stronger, you'll find yourself swimming against the tide here.
I'm not sure what all the consternation is about on this thread. Seems to be all over the place. Just general crankiness.
The irrefutable truth is if you put a five-year-old in a climbing gym and have them climb 3-4 days per week for 10 years you're going to come out with a very different animal than ever existed before. Quality coaching, advances in sports nutrition and injury prevention, free-weight routines tailored for climbing, etc. all add to that phenomena.
I've spent a bit of time around elite youth climbers over the past seven years, but I'm trying my best NOT to take the bait and get personal here.
So the youth of today are pushing the sport forward -- maybe in directions you don't agree with? It's the same old song as when Largo and the future Stonemasters encountered the Sierra Club and told them they'd come to conquer. On their own terms.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Jul 26, 2015 - 09:04pm PT
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Study the fascinating history of rock climbing . . . It's there that you can remain an authority. But don't expect your pearls of wisdom to be savored by the young'uns.
Truth, John. Now that I have almost a 50-year perspective of climbing - and watching climbing history in real time - it neither surprises nor disappoints me that climbing changes.
It also doesn't surprise me that standards keep rising. When I started climbing, we were a tiny portion of the population, and a rather homogeneous slice as well. As the population of climbers shoots up and the demographic broadens, how could standards stay stagnant?
And when I think of my first times on the rocks, bereft of experienced instruction, I don't think today's gym climbers do anything more stupid than we did. After all, it's hard to beat Tom Patey's definition of a beginner: "Someone, often dead, who should be kept away from the mountains at all cost."
John
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David Plotnikoff
Mountain climber
Emerald Hills, CA
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Jul 26, 2015 - 09:13pm PT
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On Tuesday night, my little girl and I will attend an annual party by the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter rock climbing section. She and some of the other attendees are separated in age by more than six decades. And yet it matters not. They are forever bound together in this community. She knows the sharp end of a Tuolumne 5.11 as well as they do. And age slips away. All that is left is memory, and desire and the burning will not to yield.
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Lorenzo
Trad climber
Portland Oregon
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Jul 26, 2015 - 09:16pm PT
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Jul 25, 2015 - 11:25am PT
LOL!! Most folks at the gym like piss & Poop!! Because they go right into the bathroom with climbing shoes on, then right back to plastic hell. Never go to a gym.
You must not have climbed at the base of El Cap in the 70's.
Never go outside.
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| Messages 1 - 36 of total 36 in this topic |
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