Do women like to climb chimneys?

I guess I was never one for face climbing - I was always a crack lover and a generally more thuggy climber - so maybe I am a minority - but I would say in the group of climbers I hang with - there are equal numbers of men that despise the wide.

Kat, you are the ying to my yang, I have a lot to learn from your movement and fearlessness on the rock!

I can tell you what all climbing women don't like - when the men drink more beer than they were alotted while you're out putting up some sweet route in the creek - and you're left short of refreshment when you get back to camp!!!

I love squeeze chimneys.... although flaring squeezes can be scary sometimes. Falling out of chimneys is rare in my experience and they are so cool to just slide up then not go down..... i feel like a human jumar!

Kat and Stef, sounds like you two are on my same wavelength! We should have a climbing day for MP.com Women Who Love Big Gear. It would be awesome.

Was seeing a girl this summer who turned out to be worthless and used me for sex, LOL,

but thats another story

She was a new climber could not climb 5.8 cracks or faces to save her life. But she was an incredibly flexible gymnast and amazing core strength. She was in weeks time, following 5.9 and 5.10 chimneys and offwidths in Veeda woo, Maybe she had a twisted head, but she prefered wide cracks, offwidths and chimneys. Backwards, but she was the rarest example I ever saw, she whimpered and complained on 5.7 5.8 friction routes and said they were too hard, but dove right into the wide stuff and climbed it with techniques I have never seen, Never jamming when available, some of the craziest stemming and opposition I have ever seen.

Different strokes for different folks, I like what Craig Luebben said about offwidths and chimenys , If it's 5.8 and it doesn't feel like 5.8, Your climbing it wrong and he would prove it with the right techniques.

My hubby just pointed me to this post and thought I should chime in. I love chimneys and any crack in general. They make me feel safe and secure. I am short and will echo what someone else said - you can always find a move, just take it inch by inch. Honeymoon chimney was a blast as was north chimney of castleton. I am a big wimp when it comes to traverses or even crimpy exposed stuff, but stuff me in a chimney or offwidth and away we go.

Marc-Andre wrote: i feel like a human jumar!

That is totally me

deniseb wrote:I am short and will echo what someone else said - you can always find a move, just take it inch by inch.

Maybe that's my problem. I'm too impatient, and expect to get up it fast, especially when we have 8 or so more pitches of climbing to go. I end up feeling pretty sloppy, scraped up, and spent in the chimneys, especially if they are sustained, exerting way too much energy. Looking back, I think I prefer leading 5.6, 5.7ish rotten, run-out crack, and face in Red Rock than say, following up a 5.8/5.9 old school Joe Herbst chimney or offwidth pitch on a route. I guess I should do some laps following sustained, single pitch chimney, and offwidth routes (5.8, and above) especially in different areas to practice. I don't seem to have much trouble at the 5.7, and below range of offwidths, and chimneys on the routes we've climbed, at times of the year when I start climbing more consistantly. A lot to think about. : )

That has always been my problem. I rarely have the patience to want to spend 45 minutes on a single miserable pitch.

EMT wrote:Wendy, Epi is the best least chimney intensive chimney you'll ever find.... I climbed it with a sport climber who thought a chicken wing was something you ate not something you did with your body, and we had a blast!

I second this. Epinephrine is actually a fun chimney with no groveling.

Wendy Laakmann wrote: Are there really women out there that enjoy chimneys and don't get their booties stuck in them? Wendy

Embrace the booty jam!!

What a range of responses! I'm feeling not so alone, which is nice.

I've never thought about the fact that I feel rushed on chimney's, usually because they are an unavoidable part of a longer route and I feel the pressure to keep moving. Somehow I always exhaust myself in them.

And unfortunately I've shown many a time that chimney's aren't as secure as everyone thinks, so that doesn't help my mental state.

Gigi, I too sound like a sailor in most chimney's. Don't know where it comes from, or why it comes pouring out of me, but it does!

Which is why, in a nutshell, I'm not too psyched for Epinephrine....smile.

Tomorrow we climb the Mace in Sedonna. I'm NOT psyched and just looked this thread up for support. Sigh.

Wendy Laakmann wrote:Tomorrow we climb the Mace in Sedonna. I'm NOT psyched and just looked this thread up for support. Sigh.

cut HIM off!

Get psyched! It is so fun and the chimney is really just a small bit of it. Also, it is by no means a squeeze chimney! You'll be fine. It's one of the most unique summits with the lean across move.

My partner LOVES the squeeze chimneys and offwidths. Can't get enough. She revels, rocks, and cranks it (squirms it??). I'm OK with it, as long as she's leading (which is 75% of the time), and I'll follow her anywhere. I have to admit, sometimes on the offwidths I pull on her gear.

My fiancee hates them! We bailed off of Epinephrine when I told her "c'mon, just two more pitches of chimney, then beautiful climbing above..."

I love squeeze chimneys and chimneys in general - EXCEPT FLARING BOMBAY! At 5' 0" sometimes I cannot span the chimney and end up
climbing the features on one side or the other. In OW - I generally
become the cam and feel very comfy like on the FOX in Red Rock!

Go climb Epinephrine! It's not squeeze and it's one of my favorite RR routes at the grade. P2 of Black Widow Hollow or P1 of the Warrior, now that's squeeze.

For me it's not the booty that gets stuck it's my um, chest area. Over the past few years I have been seeking out wide climbs to lead, which I admit can be type II fun at times, but are fun none the less. I finally talked someone into doing Honeymoon Chimney a few weekends ago under the condition that I would lead the first pitch. Having a smaller frame helped in that the OW turned into squeeze.

My wonderful lady loves chimney's as they require patience, and full body technique to climb efficient. Appreciate the full experience, and don't get to sucked into the moment when things get tough.

i think the key is to NOT try to climb fast - it just leads to thrashing. it's kind of like doing a really long run or bike ride, you don't want to sprint. pace yourself and try to rest between pieces of effort,.