RRC Archives

Too much is made of "soft catches". Its an excuse. I mean cmon.....with the dynamic nature of the system anyhow....only super short falls are "hard". I've only had one bad belay....and I've fell on bunches of people who'd never belayed before. That bad belay was on Stain, and it was a shortrope fall, I was literally pulled off the wall about 5 feet above a bolt, so it was violent.

Otherwise, the system itself is dynamic enough.

Saying you can boulder Vwhatever if you can climb 5.whatever is ridiculous. They're whole different animals. ESPECIALLY in RRG where the routes are Endurofests, and the boulders aren't boulders.

I totally disagree. I've had several bad catches and so has Meadows. I've been injured and she broker her ankle. Of course, I also believe that you have to learn to fall. A belayer needs to watch for ledges, rope near or around your leg and make sure that you aren't short-roped. Short-roping sucks ass.

The biggest problem is that you only learn how to belay by watching good belayers and then belaying. It's too bad that you can't just read a book.

Anyhoo, I too am very picky.

I agree with the idea that belayers need to be aware of ledges, rope location, drag, trees, and lots of other things.

Short roping is a sin.

And yes, people need to learn to fall.

BUT.....none of that has dick to do with "soft catches". Thats a big load of crap. The system is designed to "soft catch" from the get-go, and it works.


What I see are LOTS of climbers who know they are about to fall, and JUMP. With that outward push, they're gonna hit the wall a whole lot harder. Thats the fault of the climber. Only the climber.

Learn to go for it, or learn to fall without jumping......

Belaying is pretty much just common sense. Its just too bad that climbers put so much responsibility on the belayer, that they don't take themselves.

Climbing is climbing. It's movement over varied and sometimes trecherous terrain... whether it is real rock, plastic, sport, trad, or bouldering... you still have to pull your ass up off the ground!!!

I could compare or contrast sport, trad, bouldering, whatever... all day long. They are all climbing! Different styles maybe or different forms of protection, but they are all upward movement...

It's ridiculous to think otherwise or consider one way right and the others wrong. People who only boulder are missing out on a lot of great routes (some with really cool boulder problems in them). Those who don't boulder are holding themselves back and will have greater difficulty dealing with cruxes (which are like boulder problems). Most of the harder climbs that I've done had a crux very similar to a boulder problem that I encountered at one time or another. It sure felt the same to me! Even the same moves.

512OW wrote:Short roping is a sin.

forgive me, yasi, for i have sinned. would you forgive me if i gave you a catch on your red-point of infectious this winter?..

Really I just want to climb in '05, hopefully as much as this year. I don't want to get (too) hurt. I most definitely want to keep putting as much effort into making it fun for me and everyone around me as I do in sending. Most importantly, I don't want to slip into the climbing tunnel vision I've had in the past that makes me neglect other areas and other people in my life. I'm a climber, but I'm not just a climber. There's shittons of other things to do with this world that are just as much fun and singular paths have always led me to desperation.

Other than that I'd like to challenge myself on ropes as much as I do on pebbles.

Thanks for the bouldering info. I need to get out sometime and do it and I think it will all make perfect sense. I also need to update my goals for next year after tonight to say that I want to send my 2nd indoor .12 and first outdoor .12. It might not have been a real route, but the moves were real enough and felt DAMN good!

charlie wrote:Really I just want to climb in '05, hopefully as much as this year. I don't want to get (too) hurt. I most definitely want to keep putting as much effort into making it fun for me and everyone around me as I do in sending. Most importantly, I don't want to slip into the climbing tunnel vision I've had in the past that makes me neglect other areas and other people in my life. I'm a climber, but I'm not just a climber. There's shittons of other things to do with this world that are just as much fun and singular paths have always led me to desperation.

Other than that I'd like to challenge myself on ropes as much as I do on pebbles.

Good observation Charles. Doin other shit makes you appreciate life that much more.

While it is true that sometimes you are really rock climbing and if you fall, you will get hurt, having a really good, heads up, A-Team type belay can limit the damage or avoid it all together.

Keep thinking the way you are, Kris, and you will hurt somebody one day when you could have kept them safe. Maybe you can just write it off to "personal responsablity" or whatever, but in the end it is your personal responsablity to be an active and skillful part of the climbing team. Yes, team, as the people I like to climb with are all about the team. Same with spotting. I have "taken one for the team" more then once, as have several of the people I boulder with.

Wes