Worst advice given or heard

You don't need to use lockers...

Instructing his girlfriend on how to belay his next lead using a Gri Gri...

He said - "When the climber falls... you just let go of the rope and see how the Gri Gri locks... it's automatic"

Anyone train their belayer to let go of the rope?

Ryan Williams wrote:But if that's the case, why not teach them how to turn and relax instead of just saying "keep your arms straight."

I'll tell people to keep their arms straight as to "hang on their bones" so to speak. Telling a beginner to only keep a slight bend in their arms is pretty hard as most are death gripping with a 90 degree bend. Hanging on their arms lets their muscles rests and sort of adds a mandatory pause / rest. I think it helps with a little bit better body positioning too.

Just stuff to help get that muscle memory going.

Ryan Williams wrote:I'll get some disagreements on this one. But "keep your arms straight" is about the easiest way to plateau at V3 that I know of, and I hear people giving this advice all the time. There is a time and a place for that type of technique, but even then you should have a tiny bend in your elbows. I think what people are trying to achieve is to get beginners to use their hips, and to stop over gripping. But if that's the case, why not teach them how to turn and relax instead of just saying "keep your arms straight."

Yeah a perfect example of this is to watch Steve Hong climb. I don't think I've ever seen this guy climb with straight arms. Watch him on anything steep and he's always got a slight bend in his elbows and still climbs 14c at 50+ years of age.

Just grab the bolt, nobody is looking (on TR).

"Don't take any wooden pitons"

Save some brah!

Keep your arms straight and "hang on your bones"? Sorry dude, what you're hanging on is the connecting tissue in your shoulder joint, getting the holy bejeezus stretched out of it. If you're lucky, nothing will pop right away... You should always use *some* muscle to keep your shoulder joint together. This is a distant memory of some advice from an MD climber in a climbing magazine I read years ago, and it made sense to me, as someone with shoulder trouble who used to be proud of keeping his arms straight and "hanging on his bones."

Stich wrote:You don't have to get me anything for my birthday honey, really.

lol

jaypg wrote:No need to bring a headlamp. We should be back before it gets dark.

Heard that one this weekend, they returned seven hours later than expected.

Scott McMahon wrote: I'll tell people to keep their arms straight as to "hang on their bones" so to speak. Telling a beginner to only keep a slight bend in their arms is pretty hard as most are death gripping with a 90 degree bend. Hanging on their arms lets their muscles rests and sort of adds a mandatory pause / rest. I think it helps with a little bit better body positioning too. Just stuff to help get that muscle memory going.

That muscle memory that you have going is poor. Ever tried to engage your core muscles with completely straight arms and relaxed shoulders? Doesn't work. As soon as you need to tension your core (i.e. every move) you should automatically know to flex the muscles in your shoulders and arms, even if just a little.

Overhead at Willow Springs in Red Rock Canyon...

"When you hear someone yell 'rock!', look up to see where it's coming from."

this ;) -> rockclimbinglife.wordpress.…

Gini Kramer wrote:"When you hear someone yell 'rock!', look up to see where it's coming from."

My favorite is when people yell the object they dropped instead of just rock. I heard a kid yell 'Draw!' the other day and honestly had no idea what he was yelling about till I heard it hit the ground.

Ryan Williams wrote: That muscle memory that you have going is poor. Ever tried to engage your core muscles with completely straight arms and relaxed shoulders? Doesn't work. As soon as you need to tension your core (i.e. every move) you should automatically know to flex the muscles in your shoulders and arms, even if just a little.

Well this is the problem with trying to explain things on the internet. I don't mean trying to do a climb with completely straight arms. Is that even possible? I guess I should have been more specific. How many new climbers have a slight bend in their arms? Most are at a 90 degree death grip angle while their arms are completely shaking while they are trying to "rest". Kinda hard to explain to a new climber to keep a slight bend in your arm as they are still trying to just learn to climb.

I once heard one of the employees of my local gym tell someone that if he bought one of the cams that they sold that he would file down all the grooves so there was more surface area on the rock similar to the smooth cams on 00 camalots.

Patrick Mulligan wrote:I once heard one of the employees of my local gym tell someone that if he bought one of the cams that they sold that he would file down all the grooves so there was more surface area on the rock similar to the smooth cams on 00 camalots.

When Friends were first on the market, many decades ago, you could contact Ray Jardine (snail mail) if you had questions about them and most often would get a reply. Jardine was the inventor of Friends, the first effective camming device. After I had used my #2 Friend a number of times working on climbs, the surfaces of the cams had become worn down and had a smooth rather than a grooved texture. I wrote Jardine about it. He replied that they actually worked better that way and that the grooves had been added as a feature that made them appear better to the user even though they did not contribute to the holding power.

I do not know enough about the physics involved to have an opinion as to whether grooved or smooth surfaces are more effective.

Rob.calm

Take a week off, then quit altogether.

"When in doubt, go higher"

Size doesn’t matter
.
When in doubt, run it out (good way to become a Quadriplegic)
Just Go For It. (good way to become a Quadriplegic)

Go climb The Modern Times Direct in the Gunks

BEST ADVICE
Go climb The Modern Times Direct in the Gunks
"SHUT UP AND CLIMB" © 2014 Michael Schneider:

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote: Rob, I also believe that they didn't come in half sizes. 1,2,3,4. To get halfs, file the grooves off. This was before my climbing days, as I had pressing matters at hand such as learning to walk and to get out of that diaper, so I may be mistaken.

The Four friend came along 2 years later, I think

As noted some where,
many of us gave up on a life of luxury, so that we could pursue, and pioneerClimbing
so that's how y'all had. safer climbs to follow
That being said......
My Injury Healed.
The Physical Therapy in the rear view mirror,
I am going to take my best advice.
although after 4.5 months of this sites input ... .im scared very very scared,
or scarred ? or both.....ymmv