Tri-Sets, Clearing the Room and Unfortunate Interruptions

After being involved in a series of unfortunate gym encounters I feel the need to bring up indoor climbing etiquette.

I find this post difficult to write because it might come across as selfish so please bear with me as I try to be a clear as possible. It will be long and I don't have any pictures to accompany it.

Personally I have found climbing etiquette to be primarily comprised of common sense and social courtesies and I am a huge proponent of practicing proper etiquette for several reasons; it's the right thing to do, I don't want someone new to the sport to get the wrong impression about climbers or pick up bad habits and everyone will have a better time if we all apply simple customs and manners to both indoor and outdoor situations.

Today was tri-set day. I had the day off from work and Max had a few hours between weddings so we trained. After warming up we spent 30 minutes climbing only on problems V5 (Max did 8 or harder) or harder and then we went into the workout. I won't explain it right now because I don't want to get off track but suffice it to say that it is extremely hard and by the end I wanted to throw up. And I will probably rest for the next two days.

We were in the very middle of one of the "Pull" stations on the campus board when someone asked Max a question. "Hey, have you done 1-5-8?" I couldn't believe it. We were in the middle of a very fast paced work out and we were both breathing heavily and this guy was just chatting away as if nothing was happening. We both kept going and when he didn't get a response he asked again. "Have you ever done 1-5-8?" Finally Max addressed him and said that we were doing something else. He tried to engage Max in conversation again but Max put a stop to that by saying as politely as he could that we were in the middle of a timed work out.

The work out is so hard that we look like we are just falling over and over so maybe he thought that we weren't doing anything important. But in my own opinion, anyone with a shred of social awareness could see that were deeply focused and involved in something that could not afford distraction.

This is not to say that we are complete jerks when we are training. Sometimes the gym gets crowed and today we shared the campus board with another guy and the hang boards with a couple that I will bring up later in the post. More often that not we have to adapt the work out because there are other people around and for the most part it is easy for us to stay out of the way.

I completely understand that some people use the climbing gym as a casual and very social form of exercise, and that is fantastic, I love that people are getting out and trying to be healthy. I also understand that some people are very serious and climb wearing headphones and train without chatting. Personally I don't enjoy wearing headphones but I am definitely not at the gym to hang out. If I can see both sides why can't this guy? Why did he choose that moment to interrupt us? It was very disappointing and I really hope that it doesn't happen again.

A tri-set example taken from BLOCHEAD. This is from last year and it has been severley tweaked and updated to fit our current needs.

Now on to the other encounters.

Lately I have been going to the gym alone due to my work schedule and I have noticed a significant difference in the way I am treated by other members. When I'm with Max no one says anything but when I'm alone guys are always trying to talk to me. This is just an example of how different it is when he's not there and not what my story is about.

Yesterday I went in for a very quick session and I found myself in a room with four or five other climbers, all male, and two of them happened to be working on a problem that I also wanted to try. I ended up finishing the problem and they did not. They were not happy. I had a bit of a work out plan; I was timing my rests and trying specific problems so after I finished that one I moved on to another without really thinking about the two guys until now.

Today during our 30 minute preview I wanted to try another problem, one that is very hard for me, and when I walked into the room the couple from the hangboard were already there. I waited until it was my turn to climb and then I tried the problem. It has several big moves and with my beta I end up cutting my feet a few times so it looks crazier than it really is. I tried the problem once and then I heard "Let's go," behind me and when I turned around I was alone.

Now I am only assuming that I am the reason that they are leaving the room and I could be completely wrong but this has happened to me on a few different occasions. Let me be very, very clear that it is not my intention to empty the room when I climb. Heck, I can't do most gym problems anyway because they are very dynamic and that is a huge weakness of mine.

There was a time when I first started bouldering that I was incredibly embarrassed climbing in front of strong people but now I look back and see how absurd that was. Everyone has to start somewhere and I don't care how strong you are or what grades you climb, it is amazing to finish a project and I am happy for anyone who can share this feeling.

My climbing has come a long way since those days and now I see the gym as a tool that I use to get stronger. I am not there to make people feel ashamed of their own abilities. I just want to get stronger and if I happen to be working the same problem as a group of guys then so be it.

I'll admit I have joked around about being stronger than boys but I'm not being serious or malicious in any way. I really just want to be a better climber and I'm not trying to get in anyone's way or make anyone feel bad. So please, people who walk away because of some tiny little girl doing some stupid gym climb, stop! If you want to get strong just like me then we have something in common and I'm not going to bite you, laugh at you or make fun of you AT ALL. Instead, let's work on it together and have some fun.

"Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose."

Just finished the first week at my new job. After two months of submitting applications only ONE company responded to my resume/cover letter combo and four interviews, a personality test and an "audition" later I was finally hired.

The actual work is easier than the interview process. This is what I do all day:

These pictures are terrible, I apologize, but there were 40 weddings today so we were busy. Right now I only know how to make boutonnieres, corsages and bouquets ranging from 3 to 18 roses but I hope to learn how to make more arrangements using different flowers soon. I like working with the flowers but ideally I would be a photographer since I'm far more qualified for that. Everything in time, right?

Since starting this job I've also become aware of how much I rely on climbing to define myself. Something I didn't have to think about at my previous job since I worked at a climbing gym. Back then it was too much climbing, as if that is a thing. When coworkers ask me what I do for fun I say "rock climb." And then I have to make up a few more things so that I sound normal. But climbing really is fun for me and it's all I want to do when I'm not at work, excluding eating, sleeping and other necessities.

This current schedule has drastically changed my training life. My favorite time to start a workout is around midday, just after lunch. With my job this is impossible so I have made some adjustments. I'm not used to being at the gym until 8:30 or 9PM but I will get into a rhythm.

Oh and just so you know, I'm not complaining in the above paragraph. It's just that I don't have anything else to update about right now. When my life gets even more awesome I'll be sure to write about it.

Summer Training Goal #1

Motivation in the form of red, white and blue Goldfish!

Yesterday was the first day of training. We started with a thirty minute warm up and then spent about two hours climbing. I spent most of my time on one of the the steepest bouldering sections working out moves to various problems. At first I was having a hard time but it is rare that we will have such little structure in the future. I prefer having a plan at the gym, otherwise I lose interest in just climbing around.

After the mini session we went to the campus board and took turns doing sets of pull ups on the rungs, switching between the different sizes each time. We took turns until we each amounted to 50 pull ups then we took a five minute rest before heading to the hangboards.

On the hangboards we used the same formula but with front levers instead of pull ups. We ended up using the Iron Palm Board. I started on the slopers and moved to a different grip for the last few sets.

I have never been able to do a front lever so I started with leg lifts and moved on to keeping one leg straight with the other bent at a right angle and switched legs with each set. I really, really want to be able to do a front lever and have decided to turn this into one of my training goals. Goals usually require deadlines so I will give myself until the last day of summer to complete one front lever.

It has been a long time since I have given myself a deadline like this and I'm not sure if I have budgeted my time well. Too much? Too little? I guess I will find out come September. Besides, I need to start somewhere and yesterday was just the beginning.

Frankie's Tiki Room

Photo: Gus D. the Irish Limo Driver

When I tell my climber friends that I live in Vegas they understand. Red Rocks is spectacular, Mt. Charleston is great in the summer and Vegas in centrally located. I can drive anywhere from 4 to 7 hours and get to places like Joe's Valley, Bishop and Priest Draw. And let's not forget Black Mountain, Joshua Tree and Tuolumne Meadows. Even Hueco is only one long day of driving away.

When I tell my non-climber friends (or family) that I live in Las Vegas I can almost feel the stream of judgement wash over me. Sometimes I think that they think that I'm living the Vegas lifestyle of every passing tourist.

So let me dispel some rumors. I've only gambled ONCE. Every other time I set foot on a casino floor I'm instantly carded by some hulking security guard wearing a black suit and sunglasses. I've been to the strip a handful of times but always with a purpose, to see a show or go to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay. Apparently there is a gallery of fine art at the Bellagio, who would have thought?

"Going out" consists of climbing outside or at the gym. And I don't mind. Vegas is full of overpriced mediocre restaurants and overpriced mediocre restaurant chains so there is little reason to go out and spend money.

Every once in while, however, you have to break the routine and try something new. A few nights ago one of Max's coworkers celebrated her birthday at Frankie's Tiki Room so we went down to wish her well and have a birthday drink with her. The drink was delicious, by the way. We had fun chatting with people about something other than climbing and I think the last time I had a cocktail was at The Violet Hour in Chicago more than two years ago.

Sick Dyno!

Yesterday we purchased month passes at the climbing gym. I went in with a positive attitude because this is our reality for the next four months, besides Charleston and travel, and managed to have some exhausting fun (holy crap I am out of gym shape). It was a great way to warm up for the summer of extreme training that lies ahead.

Toward the end of the session we started dynoing around. Dynos have never been my thing and usually I try to avoid them at all costs but getting better at explosive movement is part of the summer training agenda so I jumped around for a while until two massive flappers appeared. Of course. First time I am at the gym, sick dynos, huge flappers. It's almost funny.

Flappers!

You know when you get jug rash and then your calluses get soft and then the skin breaks? Yeah. I can't remember the last time I had a flapper let alone two.

First Ascents at the First Pullout

UPDATE: The video is here!

In terms of development today was a very productive day. Max and I both added to the long list of boulder problems here in Red Rocks. A few days ago I saw a boulder that was simply begging to be climbed and this afternoon we reached it just as the sun set leaving the rock hot and slippery.

After groping, brushing and chalking up holds, I figured out some beta and finished two lines on the boulder. One traverses the lip from left to right and tops out using the far arete while the other is a direct finish from the same start with a hellish mantle. I thought the mantle problem was more difficult and in the V6 range. I called it Slowpoke, keeping the tortoise theme going.

Little Tortoise, V5.

Photo: BLOCHEAD

This is the first boulder I've ever had to myself. Yes, Max was there to shoot video and be supportive but I cleaned the problems, sussed beta and finished them on my own. I'm fairly certain I'm the first person to climb these problems for I could not find any trace of chalk, shoe rubber or other wear that comes from bouldering.* New problems are almost always exciting and there is something very satisfying about completing the process and adding to the amazing boulders here.

I even broke a hold or two along the way. Breaking might be and understatement. I ripped, with my incredibly strong Hulk hands, from the boulder a chunk that weighed at least two or three pounds. I'm just waaay too strong for my own good. Luckily it didn't change the problem at all and I didn't end up using the huge scar that was left behind.

This is a really terrible photo of a birds nest with two chicks in it.

* But please let me know if someone else got to these before me; I'd love to know the names!

This is What You Don't See

Check out this amazing video by Damon Corso in The Stash on DPM!

The trailer was released a few weeks ago:

I've been having trouble embedding videos lately so I apologize if this doesn't work.

Buried Alive

During the past week most of my climbing attention has been focused on one problem at the First Pullout in the Scenic Loop.  The location leaves something to be desired.  Every time we've been there a pseudo macho dude asks some smart ass question about our crash pads.  I shouldn't expect much from the First Pullout.  It's the first stop where everyone can get out of the car, stick gum to rocks, leave trash on the ground, poop under bushes and boulders, take pictures and go on "hikes."  And it's Vegas.  Not exactly the epicenter of outdoor activities and ethics.

The rock climb is infinitely better than the gawking passerby.  It consists of a powerful roof section with a tricky ending.  There is one move I haven't stuck and every time I try it I jam my index finger against the rock forcing blood out from underneath the nail.  I really need to suck it up or find new beta.

Going for the big move on Buried Alive.

Photos by BLOCHEAD.

Between all the climbing and job hunting I somehow managed to buy a new flash and was second shooter at a Bar Mitzvah over the weekend.  It was the most fun I've had working in a long time!

Lizard!