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I used to rock climb a bit. I enjoyed it but did not care for messing around with ropes, and also tend to stick better to activities I can do solo.
Yesterday I took a bouldering class at a local climbing gym that rejoices in the name of The Cliffs of Id.
Speaking of excellent names, not to mention a canny sense of their clientele, it had the Huitlacoche Taco Truck parked in the parking lot.
I was in a class with two girls of about 10-12 who just flew up the routes, plus the mom of one of them who had an easier time than me as she had a longer reach. For a while I thought the other girl was also her daughter, while the mom thought she was mine; we eventually discovered that she was a very self-possessed person who had come on her own. I used to climb and scramble a lot at that age, alone and on local easy low cliffs and crags. I could really see the advantage of being extremely flexible, extremely light, and apparently composed almost entirely of muscle.
I made it up one V0 and fell off the next two tries, the second time because it was a different route that I struggled with and the third time on the same route as the first and because my muscles completely gave out halfway up. So this is exactly what I was looking for: something extremely strenuous that I can actually max out my strength on without (too much, hopefully) risk of back injury or repetitive strain, self-directed, something I can do by myself, engrossing, absorbing, and not prohibitively expensive or prohibitively far away.
Also hopefully I will get better at it with practice. I had thought I was pretty physically fit in the sense of "can lift a fair amount of weight, can do very strenuous hikes, etc" but I nearly fell over after completing that one climb. (And today I feel like I got hit by a truck.)
I invite anyone who'd like to geek out in comments with any advice, helpful links, personal experiences, etc. I'd be particularly interested in tips on avoiding joint injuries, which I am extremely prone to no matter how careful I am with form. At the moment my knees, ankles, wrists, and elbows are the problem areas but I have had past trouble with pretty much every joint in my body.
Yesterday I took a bouldering class at a local climbing gym that rejoices in the name of The Cliffs of Id.
Speaking of excellent names, not to mention a canny sense of their clientele, it had the Huitlacoche Taco Truck parked in the parking lot.
I was in a class with two girls of about 10-12 who just flew up the routes, plus the mom of one of them who had an easier time than me as she had a longer reach. For a while I thought the other girl was also her daughter, while the mom thought she was mine; we eventually discovered that she was a very self-possessed person who had come on her own. I used to climb and scramble a lot at that age, alone and on local easy low cliffs and crags. I could really see the advantage of being extremely flexible, extremely light, and apparently composed almost entirely of muscle.
I made it up one V0 and fell off the next two tries, the second time because it was a different route that I struggled with and the third time on the same route as the first and because my muscles completely gave out halfway up. So this is exactly what I was looking for: something extremely strenuous that I can actually max out my strength on without (too much, hopefully) risk of back injury or repetitive strain, self-directed, something I can do by myself, engrossing, absorbing, and not prohibitively expensive or prohibitively far away.
Also hopefully I will get better at it with practice. I had thought I was pretty physically fit in the sense of "can lift a fair amount of weight, can do very strenuous hikes, etc" but I nearly fell over after completing that one climb. (And today I feel like I got hit by a truck.)
I invite anyone who'd like to geek out in comments with any advice, helpful links, personal experiences, etc. I'd be particularly interested in tips on avoiding joint injuries, which I am extremely prone to no matter how careful I am with form. At the moment my knees, ankles, wrists, and elbows are the problem areas but I have had past trouble with pretty much every joint in my body.
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Lynn Hill bouldering in Hueco Tanks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsf6tkST7bI
Dawes on The Rasp (not bouldering, but maybe my favourite bit of climbing footage ever):
https://rydra-wong.dreamwidth.org/333183.html
Thomasina Pidgeon:
https://vimeo.com/32108499
Shauna Coxsey on Nuthin’ But Sunshine
https://vimeo.com/69282694
Mina Leslie Wujastyk on Careless Torque:
https://vimeo.com/60998984
Ondra’s first two 8Cs:
https://vimeo.com/34171412
Nina Williams goes highballing in Bishop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeIAwQfWN-U
Tomorrow I Will Be Gone (assorted British boulderers in Rocklands):
https://vimeo.com/31326082
To be continued ...
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Sacred Lands: A Story of Bouldering in Indian Creek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM7qXBTZgQc
Alex Puccio in Hueco Tanks:
https://vimeo.com/40393149
Puccio on Jade:
https://vimeo.com/118379754
Ashima Shiraishi on Crown of Aragon (v13) at age 10:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07xlubFkjwo
Ashima on Nuclear War (V14)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOH_HNwRjK0
Hazel Findlay on Rainbow of Recalcitrance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxJ8YChiQxE
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Progression -- https://senderfilms.com/productions/details/1244/Progression
Contains some excellent bouldering, but also works like a kind of prequel to The Dawn Wall and Free Solo. It has the first ever film segment on this super futuristic maybe-impossible project Tommy Caldwell has on El Cap! Kevin Jorgeson is an innocent highball boulderer who hasn't met Tommy yet! Kevin and Alex Honnold are two-thirds of "Team America", coming over here to test themselves against the gritstone!
Also introduces you to some important characters you've not met, including 16-year-old Adam Ondra.
Sample, featuring Team America trying to understand E-grades, and Kevin making the best reaction face ever at 1:31:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-OdxfCrXe4
The (extensive) DVD extras can be watched free at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/38737/128647607
Lisa Rands -- the Hit List -- can be found on eBay
One of the first really powerful women boulderers travels round the US crushing tall and burly boulder problems. That's it. It's great.
Life on Hold — https://www.amazon.com/Life-on-Hold/dp/B00H7ATJ30
If you enjoyed Tomorrow I Will Be Gone -- this is by the same people. Same deal (people climb hard things, gorgeous cinematography, decent music choices) but for gritstone and more so. I love it.