Vegan Climbing

[violetti]

chriss, I haven't been climbing outdoors lately. Just indoors. Now I'll have a little break because my akilles is sore Waiting for next climbing session - already!

[Dave Noisy]

What happened to the last Jet 7's Dave?
Hope you had a good season on the bike & are feeling refreshed & ready for the climbing season. What are your hopes for this year then or are you aiming for fun,fun,fun?
How is your climbing going violetti any better with the belaying? How are you finding climbing outside?

Heya Chris!

The last Jet7's had a strange tear on the side of the toe, happened after a month..i think it was mainly due to an odd fit and the material folding down and in on itself from the way it fit my food, and that caused a tear.. Got a bigger size, we'll see how that works out (they were REALLY tight, as in no way i could wear them between climbs.)

Mainly fun-focused.. I was just starting to do 11a's, so i'm looking forward to getting back at those.. Last year it took me a month or so to get back most of my form (able to complete a 10c.) So i'm hopeful i'll get back to working 11a's by mid-December, and by the end of Feb....i dunno..be working on 11c's...?? I almost feel like that'd be pushing it! I don't 'train', so it's a lot harder to advance at that level...

[chriss]

Did my fourth font 7b boulder yesterday, but my first in the UK so I'm super chuffed! Not cutting edge, but a personal improvment for me.
Keep up the good work vegan climbers! I fu***ng love this sport!

[remixrobot]

nice chriss..sounds like you have made a good jump!

I haven't been bouldering as much but was doing a lot of sport climbing over the summer. I finished a lot of projects I had going and even had my first 8a flash!! I was stoked on that even though the route was admittedly soft and only 6 bolts long. I was most proud to finish some of the local power endurance testpieces...and finished my first 8b.

I learned that it is actually pretty easy for the 7B/+ boulderer to move up to be a good hard sport climber just by building a little endurance. there have been a ton of 7c+ routes that I have done that had no moves harder than a 7A boulder...they were just 30 meters long! Its all about the endurance for that stuff...

Trying to get back into bouldering shape for the winter. Going to Yosemite next week and Bishop around thanksgiving time...gotta get strong again!

[chriss]

Hi Remix, nice to see you back on the forum & thanks for the compliment. As far as vegan climbers go your certainly the number one crusher! well done on the 8a & 8a is 8a soft or not. I'm heading to the States next year & will be your way at some point so will PM you for some beta at some point. I have just got back from Font, nothing amazing, but bid a few 7a forest classics & had a good time with my freinds.

[revolushuneyz]

So it's official, I' heading out on the road for a bouldering trip. I'll be in Hueco for roughly January 20 to February 6, then Bishop for February 8 to March 13.

If anyone wants to boulder, be in touch. ReMix??

[JP]

cactusnick intro split here:
http://www.veganfitness.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20109

[chriss]

So it's official, I' heading out on the road for a bouldering trip. I'll be in Hueco for roughly January 20 to February 6, then Bishop for February 8 to March 13.

If anyone wants to boulder, be in touch. ReMix??

You lucky swine I wish I could join you! I'm in a hot hot in Australia so looking to get some climbing done out here.

[richbebe]

My GF a newer vegan does a fair amount of climbing and got me into it. I enjoy it a lot but my motorcycle racing gets in the way of outdoor climbing. But I am learning ice climbing and love it, since it doesn't get in the way of riding.
To me ice climbing is easier since you can pretty much dig your crampon in or swing you axe anywhere and don't need to find a hold. That said it seems much more dangerous. Ice falls constantly, and it would be easy to cut your rope with your axe or crampon.
We have also been doing a bit of mountaineering and socks are becoming an issue. Currently I wear a pair of thin liners, then vapor barrier socks, followed by a heavy sock. I need to find a heavy non-wool sock. Anyone have any experience with this?

[chriss]

Hello there, most of the people on here are rock climbers, but hopefully one of them should be able to help you out.
Climbing is great for bike stuff as it will make your forearms strong as without getting heavy!

[Gelert]

We have also been doing a bit of mountaineering and socks are becoming an issue. Currently I wear a pair of thin liners, then vapor barrier socks, followed by a heavy sock. I need to find a heavy non-wool sock. Anyone have any experience with this?

Hi there. I'm afraid I've still got a stock of smartwool socks from before vegan days which I use and haven't worn through them yet so not much use to you. The only suitable synthetic socks I've come across are some of the X-Socks. I've not heard any grumbles about them in the way that 1000 mile socks get grumbled about, for example, but choosing your socks carefully is a must. Embarrassingly, I was nearly medi-evaced from my first expedition to Svalbard with 5x3 cm merged blisters due to using less than suitable socks in combination to the most abominable pair of B2 boots I've ever laid eyes upon. Ah, youth.

The sock combination you describe (thins/vapour barrier and thick over socks) suggests you're going for some fairly sustained and cold endeavours. Keep at it!

[richbebe]

We have also been doing a bit of mountaineering and socks are becoming an issue. Currently I wear a pair of thin liners, then vapor barrier socks, followed by a heavy sock. I need to find a heavy non-wool sock. Anyone have any experience with this?

Hi there. I'm afraid I've still got a stock of smartwool socks from before vegan days which I use and haven't worn through them yet so not much use to you. The only suitable synthetic socks I've come across are some of the X-Socks. I've not heard any grumbles about them in the way that 1000 mile socks get grumbled about, for example, but choosing your socks carefully is a must. Embarrassingly, I was nearly medi-evaced from my first expedition to Svalbard with 5x3 cm merged blisters due to using less than suitable socks in combination to the most abominable pair of B2 boots I've ever laid eyes upon. Ah, youth.

The sock combination you describe (thins/vapour barrier and thick over socks) suggests you're going for some fairly sustained and cold endeavours. Keep at it!

Thanks for the info. Sadly it looks like all of the warmer X-socks have wool in them.
Part of the issue of me using the setup i do is because my feet sweat a lot. But trips are getting tougher as I build some stamina and experience. May try and do the TrapDike in the Adirondacks of NY this weekend. http://alavigne.net/Outdoors/ImageGalle ... ?navpage=1
If I can build up my skills I want to hit the Presidential Trail in NH in February. It is 25.5 miles and crosses seven summits with about 9,000 vertical feet. Not the toughest trail in the world, but it should be a good first multi-day winter trip.

[Gelert]

Good stuff

Actually, I may have found something for you - socks consisting of an inner liner, VB layer and an outer layer all bonded into one. I can't find any mention of wool, seems to be a polyester/polypropylene thing. The company is a small one so they'd likely be happy to answer questions.

http://www.rbhdesigns.com/category/170/footwear.htm

Rave review from Hull's second best climber here

http://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/site/ma ... erm_socks/

I've written quite a bit about looking after feet (including sweaty feet) in the field here, some of which may be less than irrelevant and not incorrect.

http://www.veganfitness.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20432

[The Duke]

Don Whillans (the greatest mountaineer excepting only Bonatti) did not wear socks when climbing at altitude.

He knocked off Annapurna and pushed out most of the route on the SW face of Everest sockless. Narrowly missed either Gasha or Mash brum due to poor supply lines.

He believed that socks cut off the circulation and caused frostbite.

He said "Aye, socks cause frostbite lad. Oh and then we went for 10 pints and I hit him".

[Gelert]

Depends on whether you're planning on going higher than you think or not.

I can see his line of thinking though, not just in constricting circulation if too tight, but also in trapping moisture and compromising insulation. With subsequent technology I'm not sure if the advice would still be relevant.

Problem is, if you do wear socks and do get frostbite, you don't get that proper toe rattling sound.