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So working in a climbing gym is not too bad. I had previously not understood why all of the employees were always wistfully looking at the walls. Now I do - I can go climb, but the times when I most want to are when I am bored out of my mind and the walls are just there. Sort of like being full but still looking at that donut on a plate and being on a diet where someone will yell at you if you pick it up.
I worked my first closing shift the day before yesterday and I ended up spending the last hour reading Rock and Ice Mag. I read about crazy Czech climbers. Apparently in the Czech republic they don't believe in using chalk, cams, nuts, or any of the stuff that makes trad climbing vaguely safe. Instead they tie rope knots which they wedge into cracks in the rock and occasionally hook into rare hand forged iron rings which are placed every 50ft or so in the rock. And then since the formations they are climbing are towers, they have the additional sport of tower jumping, you know, jumping between towers. How high are the towers? Oh, the shortest are 100" or so. And they drink a lot before they climb. Like A LOT. I think it is natural selection at work. There is a pic of the place they were climbing in the article, Adrspach, here:
http://www.stavela.cz/osobni/fotogalerie/priroda/stavela_cz_broumovske_steny_koruna_m021.jpg
Side note, I am doing a bit better with mental climbing stuff after watching people climb all day and building up a great desire to actually be on the wall myself. I hauled myself up two five nines with a bunch of takes, but one was on a really overhangy wall and I made myself do the scary parts that usually make me give up out of irrational fear, even if I had to go through about 5 takes to do it. Maybe next time I can keep from chickening out even that much.
I worked my first closing shift the day before yesterday and I ended up spending the last hour reading Rock and Ice Mag. I read about crazy Czech climbers. Apparently in the Czech republic they don't believe in using chalk, cams, nuts, or any of the stuff that makes trad climbing vaguely safe. Instead they tie rope knots which they wedge into cracks in the rock and occasionally hook into rare hand forged iron rings which are placed every 50ft or so in the rock. And then since the formations they are climbing are towers, they have the additional sport of tower jumping, you know, jumping between towers. How high are the towers? Oh, the shortest are 100" or so. And they drink a lot before they climb. Like A LOT. I think it is natural selection at work. There is a pic of the place they were climbing in the article, Adrspach, here:
http://www.stavela.cz/osobni/fotogalerie/priroda/stavela_cz_broumovske_steny_koruna_m021.jpg
Side note, I am doing a bit better with mental climbing stuff after watching people climb all day and building up a great desire to actually be on the wall myself. I hauled myself up two five nines with a bunch of takes, but one was on a really overhangy wall and I made myself do the scary parts that usually make me give up out of irrational fear, even if I had to go through about 5 takes to do it. Maybe next time I can keep from chickening out even that much.
