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climbing tights - are they back?

Original Post
Jacob Smith · · Seattle, WA · Joined Aug 2013 · Points: 230

Saw two other guys at Smith Rock last weekend wearing tights, am I not alone in this anymore?
What do people think about this?

My thoughts on the matter can be found here

Anonymous · · Unknown Hometown · Joined unknown · Points: 0

Wait when did people stop wearing these?

flynn · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2002 · Points: 25

Scariest thing I've read in months, outside of political tales.

eli poss · · Durango, CO · Joined May 2014 · Points: 525

sounds shitty. tights are great for women, though. then again sexy women in sexy clothes cause a fair amount of belay inattentiveness. totally worth it though ;)

Em Cos · · Boulder, CO · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 5

Wow, Eli. Inattentive belayers cause inattentive belays. Not nearby women. I feel like we've had this EXACT conversation before.

Simon W · · Nowhere Land · Joined May 2013 · Points: 55

Yes.

Tim Stich · · Colorado Springs, Colorado · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,520
T.L. Kushner · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined May 2009 · Points: 5

your blog post is fantastic. i've been looking for a pair of really bright, stunning tights to climb in for a while. i've seen a few pairs that come close but i am unwilling to settle for any less than something so bright it looks like it needs to be plugged in to charge at night.

Matt N · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 415

The best tights come from a van in a gas station in Mojave.

Dallas R · · Traveling the USA · Joined May 2013 · Points: 191

I can't do it, public obligation you know. 59 year old guys in tights causes permanent brain damage to all that see it.

Nate KSD · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2014 · Points: 20

my buddy Sam at JTree. I'm telling you, the spandex makes you send!

Crushing in style

KayJ · · Bend, OR · Joined May 2012 · Points: 65

You are so right about Smith...."It can feel like just about everyone is tanner and fitter and climbing harder and having more sex than you are, which is probably true". That line made me laugh so hard when I read it - I thought I was the only one that felt that way.

David Gibbs · · Ottawa, ON · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 2

I just find that spandex/tights rip too easily. They don't stand up to the abuse that I put my climbing pants through.

Sean Foster · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2010 · Points: 2,145

I'm still a fan. (now and then)

HCR on Spandex Saturday

eli poss · · Durango, CO · Joined May 2014 · Points: 525
Em Cos wrote:Wow, Eli. Inattentive belayers cause inattentive belays. Not nearby women. I feel like we've had this EXACT conversation before.
it was a joke. don't take stuff so seriously, especially on the internet. i'm sorry if you don't share my sense of humor. however, if you don't want to ever read something that might possibly offend you, maybe you shouldn't be on the internet
Tim Stich · · Colorado Springs, Colorado · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,520

This thread gave me cancer.

Nkane 1 · · East Bay, CA · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 140
eli poss wrote: it was a joke. don't take stuff so seriously, especially on the internet. i'm sorry if you don't share my sense of humor. however, if you don't want to ever read something that might possibly offend you, maybe you shouldn't be on the internet
It's not clear that you actually have a sense of humor. The joke about women distracting male belayers is so old and tired that you certainly can't claim credit for it. It was stupid and offensive when the first person came up with it back in the 40s, and it's still stupid and offensive now.

Back on topic - tights=wide open stems:

Double-layer tights for cool climes
Rick Blair · · Denver · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 266

Not on me, and you are all better off for it.

My sister tried to start me climbing in Yosemite in the early 90s, fear of heights and spandex were my 2 biggest barriers.

PaulMudd · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Dec 2014 · Points: 5
Em Cos · · Boulder, CO · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 5
eli poss wrote: it was a joke. don't take stuff so seriously, especially on the internet. i'm sorry if you don't share my sense of humor. however, if you don't want to ever read something that might possibly offend you, maybe you shouldn't be on the internet
First of all, if it was a joke, it was an offensive one. Labeling something a "joke" doesn't magically make it not a crappy thing to say. You also didn't really say anything to indicate that you were making a joke, and that in fact your actual beliefs differ from what you are saying. It's something you've said before, almost verbatim - I suspect you make this joke repeatedly because it represents your feelings pretty well. If that's not the case, you need to do a better job of relaying your true message.

And though I thank you for the suggestion that I avoid the entire internet, when I see a problem, I like to confront it and try to find a solution, not ignore and avoid it and pretend it doesn't exist.

And since you don't seem to grasp it, here is the problem with your comment:

You are stating that the way a woman is dressed is the CAUSE of a nearby person's (presumably man, though perhaps not necessarily) behavior; implying that said person, the belayer, is not responsible for their own actions, the woman nearby is because of her dress.

  • This is the same mindset used by rapists to justify their actions.* This attitude is not ok on any level. If you fuck up your belay, you fucked up. A woman who happens to be in your field of vision is not responsible, you are. End of story.
Statements, jokes or not, that promote objectifying women and absolving men of responsibility for their actions based on what a woman is wearing, are not ok. At least in my book, and I will continue to call it like I see it, all over the internet.
Jerry Willis · · Carbondale, CO · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 0

God I hope so

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

General Climbing
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