i got space and space got me
In which Our Correspondent learns several things, some of which are useful.
First: yeah, I'm migrating over to DW. Crossposts will continue until morale improves, but everyone who's not-reading me over on LJ can continue not-reading me on DW, and likewise for those who are reading. Posts will be about 99% public and about 95% climbing diaries (with the occasional other stuff mixed in). We are of course all shocked by this.
Second: goals for teh climbing. I have set myself three! They might even happen!
1) Climb a 5.10 cleanly.
2) Become proficient at bouldering v3s and below.
3) ADVENTUR! Bike to Devils' Lake/climb/bike home over a weekend.
Timeline: by end of spring semester for all of these
Requirements: rope, crazy person willing and able to belay, possibly some practice on non-biked Devils' Lake ADVENTURs. Camping gear sufficient for number of crazy people involved in the biking. Food sufficient ditto, cargo capacity ditto ditto.
Now, skills what I have learned over the past week of climbing:
* I can now do hand-foot matches, if careful and if the hold is sufficiently large. This, in particular, makes the slab blue v2 I had been cursing at since the contest a feasible climb. Still haven't gotten the last move and a half (foot switch or awkward layback, either one sucks).
* Slowly getting better at crimping, though it kills my fingers. The pink 5.10a that's a currently active project is all crimps and pinches. The good holds are the ones where there's any degree of incut such that you can wrap your fingers around something and there's enough space for more than half your finger pad. The bad holds are...neither. Literally fingertip crimps of about 1/2" and no angle. One of those had spun from a horizontal crimp (hang down off it) to vertical (hang with your weight to the right of it) which made things even more challenging; with it spun I could still get past it when fresh but only barely.
* Endurance is improving, in that I can do back-to-back days of >90 minutes and not be completely dead.
* Balance and fluidity are definitely getting better.
* Power is getting better though endurance with power is still kind of pants.
* Generally getting better at laybacks by virtue of beating my head against the start of the 5.10b (which is about 15 feet of traverse, all done leaning back at a 45 degree angle). Yes, I can only get 3-4 moves into this one but I'm slowly getting *better* at those 3-4 moves.
First: yeah, I'm migrating over to DW. Crossposts will continue until morale improves, but everyone who's not-reading me over on LJ can continue not-reading me on DW, and likewise for those who are reading. Posts will be about 99% public and about 95% climbing diaries (with the occasional other stuff mixed in). We are of course all shocked by this.
Second: goals for teh climbing. I have set myself three! They might even happen!
1) Climb a 5.10 cleanly.
2) Become proficient at bouldering v3s and below.
3) ADVENTUR! Bike to Devils' Lake/climb/bike home over a weekend.
Timeline: by end of spring semester for all of these
Requirements: rope, crazy person willing and able to belay, possibly some practice on non-biked Devils' Lake ADVENTURs. Camping gear sufficient for number of crazy people involved in the biking. Food sufficient ditto, cargo capacity ditto ditto.
Now, skills what I have learned over the past week of climbing:
* I can now do hand-foot matches, if careful and if the hold is sufficiently large. This, in particular, makes the slab blue v2 I had been cursing at since the contest a feasible climb. Still haven't gotten the last move and a half (foot switch or awkward layback, either one sucks).
* Slowly getting better at crimping, though it kills my fingers. The pink 5.10a that's a currently active project is all crimps and pinches. The good holds are the ones where there's any degree of incut such that you can wrap your fingers around something and there's enough space for more than half your finger pad. The bad holds are...neither. Literally fingertip crimps of about 1/2" and no angle. One of those had spun from a horizontal crimp (hang down off it) to vertical (hang with your weight to the right of it) which made things even more challenging; with it spun I could still get past it when fresh but only barely.
* Endurance is improving, in that I can do back-to-back days of >90 minutes and not be completely dead.
* Balance and fluidity are definitely getting better.
* Power is getting better though endurance with power is still kind of pants.
* Generally getting better at laybacks by virtue of beating my head against the start of the 5.10b (which is about 15 feet of traverse, all done leaning back at a 45 degree angle). Yes, I can only get 3-4 moves into this one but I'm slowly getting *better* at those 3-4 moves.