New Things
I got new climbing shoes! Now, you may be asking, "Why did you need new climbing shoes when you've only used your first pair about 10 times?" Additionally, you may be wondering, "Was it really worth it to spend $120 on climbing shoes?"
Well, let me answer these questions for you. Yes, I did indeed need new climbing shoes. I blame this fact on DS, who insisted that anything larger than the size that hurt, was too big. Granted, climbing shoes are meant to fit tight. You're supposed to buy them smaller than shoes you normally wear. However, you're not supposed to get them so tight that you can't stand up in them. "They'll stretch" I was told. "Just break them in." Yeah well, what happened was I quit climbing, much to the dismay of DS, who'd just paid my yearly membership at the climbing gym.
So, I bought new ones, and I bought ones that are both good and fit. Did it help? I've already climbed twice this week, and I cleaned my first 5.9 today. I feel awesome!
I also bought a new fish, whom we're calling Phineas 2, or Ph2 for short. He's lived for a little over 48 hours after bringing home, which is more than I can say for Phineas 1. The little bastard. This one is still eagerly eating, and swimming excitedly around the bowl. Isn't he pretty?
Loot at that! It's taken me half an hour to write out this post. But that's okay, because I was distracted by Dr. House, who's a total hottie.
P.S. Tomorrow is DS's birthday! yea!
28 comments:
We love Dr. House! We're not watching now, but if we were watching TV, we would be watching Dr. House.
Climbing shoes. The woman tells me you were wise to spend the bucks. She used to climb years ago, years and years... OW! (She just slapped me upside the head.) Anyway, she tells me that she had a pair of "magical climbing shoes" that felt like poetry when they were on her feet... and she was able to leap small buildings in a single bound.
Hi Phineas 2! Ph2.
I should have known that a monkey and his human would understand proper climbing gear :)
I can't believe you were so disrespectful of Ph1. He gave his life for you!
And my climbing shoes do hurt, and I won't stand up in them...
Love the pictures of you climbing! I must warn you thought that on my visit.. I will take pictures, wave pompons and cheer, not climb. I can't even walk without falling down.
Mo, I wouldn't dream of making you climb. :)
Happy Birthday DS.
Welcome to the Blog, Ph2
BOBI: Inside joke? No, no, lil bro, we don't HAVE inside jokes. We're ALL one big family.
And Now: The Bitch Comes Out.
Okay, so maybe I like my smokes and hot dogs too much, but this whole 'climbing' thing is beyond me. Is it like a new division of the wheat germ generation? Why do you climb? Is it the sense of accomplishment? Because I get that from walking to the mailbox, but maybe my goals are just not as high. Anyway, don't you know you could like...FALL...and break something important like a bone or YOUR FACE? Can't you just...jog...if you have an immediate need for sweating and exertion?
Is it like a cult? Is there a drug involved? Why would anyone want to wear shoes that hurt their feet (unless they're pointe shoes)?
Don't get mad for me being a bitch. It's four in the morning...I can't sleep a wink.
I could probably ramble for pages and pages about why I climb, but I'll spare you. In one phrase, yes it's the sense of accomplishment, but it's really much more than that. One other thing I will say is that it's not as dangerous as TV and the movies would have you believe. You can fall, but you have ropes and a metric crapton of gear that keeps you from dying. It is like a cult, many younger climbers do drugs (though I do not), and my shoes hurt because they have to be tight so they don't bend or move when you stand up on tiny edges. I think that's most of your questions...
Thanks for the bday wishes.
Well, be fair DS, in that picture I don't have my ropes on. I'm doing something called bouldering in that picture, which basically means you don't go more than 10' high. In fact, even that makes me uneasy with the ropes, so what you see in the picture, about 2 feet off the ground, was as far as I got.
As for doing something else, like jogging, I can't because of my asthma.
Also, climbing is one of the few sports that gives you bitching forearms.
SG, I'd say a lot of the comfort in the Mythos comes from quality. Those Mad Rocks you have are decent shoes for the money. But those sportivas are just all around good shoes, claimed by many to be the most comfy, best all around shoe out there. I'll back up DS a bit though--the madrocks should break in nicely. What you need is a long day wearing them when it's hot and humid. A little foot sweat will help that leather stretch riiiiiight out. I have a pair of Evolvs that I've been wearing since February and they still aren't comfortable :(
That and to say there's a time and a place for both comfy, loose fitting shoes and for tight ass want to take them off half way up the route shoes. If you can sacrifice performance because you climb easy routes with big foot ledges or like doing long, all day climbing where you can't take your shoes off then wear a comfy, stiff soled lace up.
But if you throw down on hard routes, you need something a little more high performance. I have worn both tight and loose shoes, I can say that a tight fit really makes a difference when the footwork gets dicey. That being said, tight does not necessarily mean uncomfortable.
Maybe I'll devote a whole post to the virtues and safety features of climbing today. Maybe.
Dude! You were in the Cave in the picture! Brah! Sick! Dude! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Hmmm.
I think it's cool that Sleep Goblin is bouldering along, but Jaysus H. Christ! Wear some ropes!
I mean, ten feet is ten feet. That's like, at least a collar bone or something. Ow.
Well, and plus, when ever I go to Dick's (nee Gaylan's) to buy some socks, I see those kids skittling up that rock wall, and I'm like...OH HELL NO...that would so NOT be my kid...
But my kid wouldn't play any sports at all...because I would agonize over every bruise...
HAPPY BDAY DS...thanks for explaining. And SG...you just keep at it.
The blue floor she's bouldering over is pretty soft and squishy, so as long as you don't roll an ankle falls onto it don't hurt at all. I've dropped from nearly 20 ft. onto it with no problems. When one boulders outside, you usually put down what are called crashpads to keep from hurting yourself too bad.
Fritz... I'm a monkey, so I can't answer from the human perspective, hang on while I persuade her to write.
Fritz... Let's not go into the fact that I currently have a split personality. My favorite thing about climbing used to be that it worked my mind and my body at the same time. Once you are into it, it's completely zen. It clears your mind and exhausts you completely.
I should climb again dammit.
Very true Monkey's Human, very true. It's like yoga but better.
And I hate bouldering Fritz, so worry not about me using ropes. I only got two feet off the ground for picture purposes, since DS and I were at the gym alone that day, and we decided picture taking while holding the ropes was not a good idea.
Also, I posted this a while back, explaining why I like to climb.
happy bithday DS!
I always wanted to try climbing, but I AM afraid of heights, would I notice the height much as I got up there?
rowan - It depends on whether or not I notice the height. I, too, am very afraid of heights, and it can really get to me. Before I climbed it was damn near crippling, now I only occassionally notice it. I notice it mostly when I'm on an easier climb where I don't have to focus on the moves quite so much. On a harder route, or if I'm leading, I think about what I'm doing at the moment and how that's going to set up my next move, and that is it. Sometimes I notice the height and get scared, but I make myself tune it out.
I just noticed that Jesse put up a post entitled why I climb, so I'd suggest going and reading that at juliennedcarrots.blogspot.com. I haven't read it yet, but it probably sums things up much better than I could. And what monkey's human said was dead on.
Yeah, I think that prior assessment is spot on. It's mental and physical at the same time. Good stuff.
Oh, and the height is only an issue for me if I'm dangling on the end of the rope looking down at the ground. As long as you're focused on the rock, it's usually okay.
Also, R, that post is more just the evolution of our climbing since we started. A little bit of everything it makes me feel at least.
DS... I left a Happy Birthday message for you on Craptacular. It's a tiny pile of feces. Hope you like them.
Wow, you are having the best day!
Climb away.
what do your shoes smell like?? Just curious, I don't have a weird fetish.
They smell like roses.
awww...you guys
holy crap, you are amazing! you're like spider man, without the fully natural climbing ability! when you say 5.9, you mean ft, or kilometers? ;)
that takes insane stamina.
... just looking at that photo turns my legs to shaky jello.
whew. enough exercise for one day for me!
Hi Kimberlina! Welcome!
Actually, climbs are rated on this scale. I think they say 5.4 is like climbing a ladder or something. I started climbing at 5.7, so I was happy that I cleaned (aka, made it to the top without falling once) a 5.9. I think the highest it goes is maybe 5.18 or something crazy like that. That same day, DS cleaned a 5.12 for the first time. That even impressed most of the people in the climbing gym.
5.15a is the highest grade at the moment. The letters come into play starting at 5.10, where it goes from 5.9, to 5.10a, 5.10b, 5.10c, 5.10d, then 5.11a.
Dr. House is the main character from the Fox TV show House. I doubt you'd watch it, as it's about doctors...
I watched House religiously last season, but missed the begining this year. I hate watching if I miss something.
Me too, but I read the episode synopsis on their website, and felt a little better.
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