RRC Archives

Nice air guitar! You should get on stage with JB on Saturday as he's wrapping up his set with Freebird.

Welcome to climbing. All of us had to start somewhere and it sounds like you have the right mindset (have fun, challenge yourself) and have definately "caught the bug." I'm sure that as you go to the gym more and meet others, finding someone with experience to go out with shouldn't be a problem.

Book knowledge is a great thing, but it pales with actual experience. Safety is paramount. Unfortunately I have seen new climbers completely turned off of climbing by "experienced" climbers taking risks.

As for what books to read, Falcon publishing (I think) has a whole series of books that are basic outdoor climbing skills (maybe not the best written, but they cover the basics). I think some of the titles are "How to Rock Climb!" and "Climbing Anchors". One of my favorite climbing books is more on training than actual techniques and skills. It is "Performance Rock Climbing". It might be too early for that, but the first few chapters are great for any climber.

JB wrote:There are tons of women on here? that means at least 4000 pounds of women!! sweet!

absolutely - 30 women averaging a little more that 133 lbs each would equal 4000 pounds of women. there's definitely that many (much?) of us on here.

richelle, that would be me with the longish brown hair! and after looking at your profile pic i can honestly say yeah i remember you, haha.

kafish2, are you saying she came to the gym 1/2 nekked and wearing a diaper and headphones?

Well, I AM a little taller now, and I haven't worn a diaper in a while.

I'll post a more recent photo later.

I have never met a girl who couldn't find someone to take her climbing. I don't know if I'd call Kyle a good guy or not, but he'll definitely be able to take you climing and he's safe. Very good with protection. Plus, since he's so short he has to do a lot of moves the way you may have to, so that might be advantageous. If Kyle's busy, you can always try and hit up Jamen. Damn I miss Kentucky. If I were there we'd be climbing right now Richelle.

Sending a new girl out in the woods with Jamen cant be a good idea.

Richelle wrote:are there any good books about climbing I should read?

As far as learning to be safe one of the best investments you could make is John Long's "Climbing Anchors"

Besides being a safe belayer the next best thing you could do for yourself and your parnter(s) is learn how to manage bombproof anchors, or at least in the beginning be able to recognize what are safe and unsafe anchors.

John Long is coming out with a new, condensed version that combines all three previous "Climbing Anchor" books. It should be really comprehensive and filled with a lot of testing that he has been doing, especially with the sliding X anchor.