Sunday, December 2, 2007

At least we can climb inside

The first decent snow of the winter finally forced us to accept the likelihood that we won't be seeing any more of the Gunks till springtime. Too bad, but at least we can still climb in the gym. Had a great time with Eric, Kenway and Maria at the Rock Club. Got to watch the pros (Kenway and Maria) work on some technical 5.11/12s. Eric and I have a loooong way to go, but we're starting to move onto climbs that are more than just a bunch of big juggy holds; they actually require some sequencing and balance. I found a nice 5.9 up front (set by Obe) where I encountered my first real crimpy hold followed by a weird pinchy hold. I burnt out on it, but hope to send that one next time.


Kenway on a big overhang (Jugs of Wrath, 5.9(!)).


Brian getting really scrunched (Safety Meeting, 5.8).


Our new friend Maria stemming (Juicer, 5.10).

7 comments:

kenny g said...

Great pics!

Brian and Eric, way to progress. As the holds get smaller, you'll find that the techniques you learned on the juggier routes totally apply - body positioning to maximize grip, controlled core tension, route sequencing.

As much as I love the long overhanging jug hauls, the balancy sequency routes (that I am way worse at) are actually more fun...

dep said...

That was a great session. A bit sore but not too bad today. I feel like I'm getting to the point where I can start to actually think through routes and pick up where I made a mistake. On one 5.8 I knew I'd make a mistake in the sequencing as I was starting and Kenway confirmed that my intuition was right. I think I'm now ready to work on specific techniques on physically easier routes and strength building, efficiency and sequencing on the longer routes.

And it's definitely time to get belaying...

dep said...

Brian are you going to repost those videos? I notice that sometimes those embedded videos cause safari to freak out in some javascript loop and sometimes their fine. I'll try to figure what the particular problem is...

brian said...

Yah, I'll post the videos separately. I can't comment on Safari, but they run fine in Firefox.

kenny g said...

Hey Brian, did you plan a day to go over to Cilogear?

brian said...

Not yet, owner said he was there till about 7pm or so. Address is:

153 Sullivan St,
Brooklyn, NY 11231

We can train it and walk over? Prefer a day? Maybe tomorrow or Wed? Let me know, and I'll ping him.

kenny g said...

Hmmm, that looks pretty far out in Red Hook - it'll be a hike from the subway (12-13 blocks from the F/G), but still likely easier than driving in the middle of the week.

Perhaps leave here around 6? Either day is fine...