When Is Chalk Worse Than No Chalk?

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Gnome Ofthe Diabase

climber

Out Of Bed

Apr 26, 2016 - 01:05pm PT

Yup, & I know I'm missing out,
& my performance /conditioning suffer,
but,
going to a climbing gym is cheating , . . . . so is chalk
If a gym where to open up, here , close to me,
I would try not to go.
I try not to use chalk all the time, with mixed results. . . B~D

Gill's Egg needs No more Chalk.
Someone. . . add a story, & a picture wouldn't hurt

YEAHA, !
Curt!
That was the only pic, I could find.
Im not There But the crimps Glow.
Climbing by the 'white dot method 'steals from the experience,
A humble opinion, as well as a hypocritical one too, I use Chalk.

fear

Ice climber

hartford, ct

Apr 26, 2016 - 01:05pm PT

I think this thread is absolutely riveting compared to the "Ready for Satan?"-type threads....

Curt

climber

Gold Canyon, AZ

Apr 26, 2016 - 01:12pm PT

Gill's Egg needs No more Chalk.
Someone. . . add a story, & a picture wouldn't hurt

Sorry, I used chalk. No climbing shoes though, because THAT would be cheating :-)

Curt

overwatch

climber

Arizona

Apr 26, 2016 - 01:26pm PT

Not using chalk in the climbing gym should be a punishable offense in the same league as climbing barefoot. Plastic gets greased up so fast.

Between the feces and the grease-filled chalk the whole thing is just kind of gross

overwatch

climber

Arizona

Apr 26, 2016 - 01:31pm PT

yep, that's gross too. I try not to do the rope biting thing if I can and clip from my waist

Mike Friedrichs

Sport climber

City of Salt

Apr 26, 2016 - 01:41pm PT

Curious, does anyone here not use chalk when they go to a climbing gym?

Rarely. I go the gym quite frequently and have problems with my hands being too dry to grip the holds due to the over abundance of chalk already there. Occasionally I even spit on my hands to do a move off of a difficult hold that I'm having trouble gripping.

Oddly, I first realized this when I was noticed I could pick eggs out of a carton really easily after washing dishes when my hands retained some moisture but I couldn't do it when my hands were dry. Also, climbing in Europe I do really well (and use chalk occasionally) with slightly more humid conditions.

Years ago I did learn that obsessive chalking was not a good way of dealing with nerves. I focus on my breathing at rests and only chalk when I really need to.

jgill

Boulder climber

The high prairie of southern Colorado

Apr 26, 2016 - 08:19pm PT

. . . I noticed I could pick eggs out of a carton really easily after washing dishes when my hands retained some moisture but I couldn't do it when my hands were dry

Yes, that's why I now advocate cherry LifeSavers for times like those on the rocks. But there will be those among you who will argue strongly against this practice. Kind of like AGW.

;>)

Todd Eastman

climber

Bellingham, WA

Apr 26, 2016 - 09:05pm PT

Didn't we go through this several decades ago?

The puritans are funny, so serious and righteous about chalk while they grease up the holds...

gunsmoke

Mountain climber

Clackamas, Oregon

Apr 26, 2016 - 09:17pm PT

In most situations the weight of the bag isn't worth what little advantage chalk might give. I used to look down on those who use a lot of chalk, figuring it was a psychological thing. One day I knuckle bumped a kid who just put up a gym lead, and was surprised by the obviously wet feel of the back of his fingers. Having worked with a lot of high school aged kids, I've come to realize that some sweat profusely. In the case of one kid in particular, other kids would ask him to use chalk so that the route wouldn't be left slimed.

Curt

climber

Gold Canyon, AZ

Apr 26, 2016 - 09:24pm PT

Didn't we go through this several decades ago?

Yes. Same with the thread about retro bolting. If we didn't recycle old issues, we'd have nothing to talk about....except politics :-)

Curt