NWnNE

Did you meet Yarobys? I had the opportunity to get on a couple one pitch routes there last year over a weekend. i was living in Havana and unfortunately couldn't get any significant climbing in. But Vinales was stunning. Yarobys was really helpful, and let me borrow his rope... great photos by the way! Now i'm missing Cuba.

maybe next time you could post more photos! JK, great TR, i loved it a lot. stay well everyone.

word word. nice TR, congrats!

PS: not sure where you live, but if you live in the "greater seattle area" and boulder inside at the Stonegardens gym, send me a PM, I'd be more than happy to boulder with you, ill be there from the 17th of dec through the 6th of jan. in my experience, it always helps to have a partner to get excited about indoor routes. look forward to hearing from you.

booo ya i may be young, but in my eyes, "being a climber in today's age," means climbing on bolts, cams, nuts, screws, gym beams, and plastics finish holds. keep in mind I'm noting "today's age." yes you can be a sport hater, a comp killer, bolt chopper, but ultimately, participating in this "sport" (and i use those quotation marks carefully and reluctantly btw), means doing it all. to "climb" today, as a youth, means following tape, clipping bolts, leaning about and placing nuts and cams, placing screws, etc. if you can't read a topo you cant send the classic, but if you cant read the tape you cant send the gyn classic... in the end it's about confrontation with challenge, respect that, who gives a fuck in the end... there's a online forum about this now, all to be awash in cyberspace by the time my unborn kid gives any fuck about scaling anything other than the jungle gym.

what jmace says is key. trust me, every gym boulderer wants to to show off the beta they have. BUT, when at a gym V0/V1 level, only one thing is key in terms of improvement.. and that is time. Go to your local climbing gym at as much as possible. 3-5 times a weeks. do basic stretches to begin. then traversing (but don't pump yourself out). then focus on climbing routes that you can already do easily IN THE BEST FORM POSSIBLE. in other words, do the routes you have "down pat" in the best style you can. Perfect body positioning, QUIET footwork, precise power, etc. In some ways it is better is prefect basics (footwork, body movement), before moving towards harder problems that you may be able to do sloppy now. then go after your "projects" (those routes/problems that you can see yourself doing in a month or so). At this point you should be well warmed up, but not pumped (the key to warming up is to push to the thin line between "pumped" and "flash pumped", that is, the line between being "a little bit worked" and "totally pumped out". Like a track runner getting ready for a race, being "warmed up" means having already pushed yourself a little, a little sweat, a little pump, a little out of breath, all without being actually "tired"). Once "warmed up" go ahead and tackle your projects to the best of your ability. Remember that in this V0/V2 realm, your main adversary to success is more likely your technique than it is your power/strength. unless you are a very gifted person in terms of body perception, it is most likely that your failure on a V0-V2 route is due to poor footwork and body positioning. keep this in mind. Pull ups and push ups are key for climbing no doubt, but in the initial stages, they are only secondary to the the ingenuity of the natural movements of the human body. the key now is time. specific strength training, (push ups and pull ups, hangboard) are only actually necessary within the V4 and up/5.12 and up realms. in terms of nutrition, eat lean meats, whole grains, lost of skim milk, and good tasty beers.

first post here on cc, though i gotta say, you all have given me many laughs and much inspiration over the many months i've been a non-posting member (no disrespect but i check CC mostly during my time on the shitter) ... I just had to give my support to stevetimetravlr and Pete_H in regards to brews and climbing. listen, if you're going to send 5.14 sport, so be it, you already know it. if you want to send 5.13 sport, then train a little harder, push it, if you're thinking it then you're on the cusp anyway. if your thinking you might be able to send 5.12, well maybe go for a run or two, crank a few pullups, focus on the feet, its within everyone's reach (really). apart from all this chasing is this: ultimately, if i crank out some RP of a sport route project i might get high on that for a day or two, where as if i go out and climb some alpine 5.4 for a few days with an old high-school friend and drink more than a few brews at night, or on the bumper of the car after, i'll actually remember that with a little fondness. Or like stevetimetravlr, say i drink a couple beers and hit up the rock at UW during a hot summer night? I'll remember that too (and i do fondly). will i climb 5.13 sport? well, not unless i curtail the beer intake, but thats the point exactly... brew is the death of us as much as it is the life of us. I have put a lot of time and energy into my sport projects and when i send, well, I'm psyched for maybe a day or two, when i don't, well, it's ok, because ultimately, what makes me happy is climbing with friends; trad or sport, ice or rock, even plastic, as long as i know that what really matters is that climbing is only fun because i care about the people i climb with, no matter how hard they climb. call me an alcoholic, call me a pussy, call me whatever, but ultimately, i could really care less about some old guy cranking 14's in Europe, i climb with oldies cranking 13's weekly, what makes the difference is that they know what i know: climbing is cool because it's not about being good, its about living well, in every aspect that "well" encompasses. 2cents