Jump to content

Will I get feeling back in my big toes??


maryk

Recommended Posts

Not sure where to post this question....

 

It's been about 15 hours since I came off Dreamer (9 pitches of granite slab if you aren't familiar with it) and my big toes are still numb, tingly and sore. I'm starting to get slightly concerned - mostly b/c I have a 7-day backpacking trip starting Sunday morning. My hands and feet feel burned. This is the first time I've ever felt like this, I should add in case that's not obvious.

 

Will this go away fairly soon - particularly the odd numb/tingly sensition in my toes - or should I be worried, and/or is there anything I can do to help my feet/toes get back to normal??

 

Great climb tho'!

 

Thx -- maryk

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 26
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Apparently I lost some brain cells too.....

 

I should've said it's been about 27 hrs since I came off the face, not 15, hence my slight concern for my feet...seems like they should feel normal by now, rather than prickly and asleep.

 

original email and question still stands....

 

 

confused.gif -- maryk

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd say not to worry about it. I have had toes go numb for a couple of hours after descending a steep trail to a couple of weeks from an alaskan peak. You'll forget it's numb and next thing you know the feeling is back.

 

Now if it is numb and changing color...........that's not so good yellaf.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had major issues with my big toes for years. Usually it's just the toenails each

climbing season but this year a few

multi-pitch slab climbs have put my toes in the numb category as well. Currently, I am at least

half numb in both big toes from slabbing 2 weeks ago. Hiking and climbing still goes down fine, but

it looks to be a while before all the feeling comes back and my toenails would win any "ugly toe"

contest!

tongue.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the comforting advice....and lovely images. Good to know I'll be "normal" again soon, though many friends and several members of my family might debate that description.

 

Oh, and hakioawa, I wasn't bold enough to lead the climb just yet, though most of it really isn't that tough. Neversummer and jshamster jointly lead, switching on each pitch, and I followed. Thanks again guys - that was loads of fun, especially the post climb, pitch dark, tire changing fiasco! It really should be turned into a TR....Nick, you used to be a writer, right? smirk.gif

 

-- mk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thinker. Nice work, but I think I can beat your effort. Will see about pictures over the weekend before

mine heal too much. BTW, you don't get extra credit for the purple second toe nail. This thread is about

BIG TOES only. The main thing is not to let a little toe distess from keeping you of the rock right? thumbs_up.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

maryk said:

Neversummer and jshamster jointly lead, switching on each pitch, and I followed. Thanks again guys - that was loads of fun, especially the post climb, pitch dark, tire changing fiasco! It really should be turned into a TR....Nick, you used to be a writer, right? smirk.gif

 

-- mk

 

Me Writer, hah, barly passed english... Actually failed, had to take yearbook to make up the credit the next year. Although I didnt fail cause I was stupid, or maybe i was stupid because i didnt ever do any of the work smirk.gif.

Jshamster TR'd it a couple hours ago here yellaf.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MaryK,

Are your shoes really tight? If so, maybe you should get a more comfortable/looser pair. I doubt it will make that much difference in your climbing ability/agility.

 

A very interesting book that deals with loss of feeling in body parts is "A Leg To Stand On" by Oliver Sacks (he also wrote, "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat"). It's a great read and has a great description of him "climbing" a mountain and breaking his leg.

 

Anyway, congrats on Dreamer and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fence_Sitter said:

neversummer! get your helmet before you get crowned and your head goes numb... PM me... and lets go climbing soon and take care of this! wave.gif

Yeah I gotta get that soon, somtime before i run off to squamish for who knows how long. I ended up taking my freakin snowboard helmet with me, thankfully i didnt have to wear it though... Borrowed maryk's, thank for that by the way, I was quite greatful and actually tightend the straps on my last lead when i got off route and couldnt find the damn bolt 10 feet away (it was rock colored).
Link to comment
Share on other sites

AlpineFox -- no, I don't think my shoes are really tight... I mean they are tight, normal tight, but not really tight, not anymore at least. ?? I think I'm just still new to all this. I've only been climbing for about 3 months - though lately, I've been climbing 1-3 times a weeks, so maybe my feet are just lashing out at me. confused.gif Or maybe I'm just a big whiner! crazy.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mary,

 

Welcome to alpine climbing! I'm pretty sure that you will need to get a more comfortable pair of shoes for long alpine climbins such as Dreamer. They can't be two sizes too small the way many sport climbers wear them. You need to be comfortable for several hours. The ones you have are fine for cragging where you can slip them off between climbs, but they are going to kill your feet if you keep wearing them in the mountains.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
catbirdseat said:

Mary,

 

Welcome to alpine climbing! I'm pretty sure that you will need to get a more comfortable pair of shoes for long alpine climbins such as Dreamer. They can't be two sizes too small the way many sport climbers wear them. You need to be comfortable for several hours. The ones you have are fine for cragging where you can slip them off between climbs, but they are going to kill your feet if you keep wearing them in the mountains.

 

i dunno man... i sometimes wear cobras for alpine... i take off the heel at belays and dont really have a problem... even climbing a dozen or more pitches isn't too bad... i think sizing is important more than anything else... sizing 2 sizes too small is just dumb... doesn't really help anyways... i find that if you have strong feet, you can wear slippers all day in cracks no prob... though rattly fist cracks will always hurt...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fence_Sitter said:

catbirdseat said:

Mary,

 

Welcome to alpine climbing! I'm pretty sure that you will need to get a more comfortable pair of shoes for long alpine climbins such as Dreamer. They can't be two sizes too small the way many sport climbers wear them. You need to be comfortable for several hours. The ones you have are fine for cragging where you can slip them off between climbs, but they are going to kill your feet if you keep wearing them in the mountains.

 

i dunno man... i sometimes wear cobras for alpine... i take off the heel at belays and dont really have a problem... even climbing a dozen or more pitches isn't too bad... i think sizing is important more than anything else... sizing 2 sizes too small is just dumb... doesn't really help anyways... i find that if you have strong feet, you can wear slippers all day in cracks no prob... though rattly fist cracks will always hurt...

 

Gees, I thought this thread was long dead. Well, since y'all brought it back up... for the record, my big toes got back to normal about a week or 10 days ago. Everyday they felt a little more normal but the tingly sensation lingered for a while. I quickly paid no attention to it tho' and it didn't keep me from backpacking or climbing or anything else.

 

Regarding the shoes, CBS: my shoes are actually quite comfortable now. I don't think any climbing shoe is going to be comfortable for 10 hours, but what do I know. In any case, I'm broke and don't plan on buying a new pair of shoes anytime soon. Thanks for the concern tho'! wink.gif ~~ mk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...