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Blood etiquette


Drederek

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I'm asking this seriously. How much blood should you slather in a crack before you lower off and do something about it? The specifics are a bolted sport climb next to the road. I believe its a bit more disgusting than dangerous but c'mon, other people are going to get on the thing sooner or later. I'm also curious about a boulderer's perspective as every vid I've watched has had a flapper shot or two. I'm thinkin a couple of drips on a climb ought to be enough. I'm thinkin greasing every hold in the first 30 feet of a climb is a bit too much.

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yeah. you get a flapper and you don't climb until you aren't bleeding anymore. Just bad form. I mean if you cut up your knuckle and get a little in a crack, I think thats fine, but if you're getting it all over the place or ganking up every hold on a problem, that is bad for you, bad for the rock, and the people to climb on it in the future as well.

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Maybe that'll work on a boulder problem, where you just hop down when your widdle finger hurts, but who's gonna let a little blood stop them from finishing a route? I sometimes don't notice I'm bleeding until after I've already bled on half the holds.

 

Chalk is worse for you, worse for the rock, and worse for the people who climb on it in the future as well. boxing_smiley.gif

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what do you think chalk is for???? it clogs up whatever is bleeding and then you can move on wink.gif oh ya, superglue works good too, and dries FAST. P.S. if you are seroiusly bleeding that much and this is a project and not a 6 mo long trip in the creek, you need to work on your jamming technique.

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Wash your hands with some of that alcohol no rinse solution after climbing and tape up if you are worried about getting cuts and exposing your skin to microorganisms. If your skin is intact and you don't rub your eyes, pick your nose, or eat with dirty hands you have nothing to worry about.

 

Honestly you should be more concerned about bacteria or insect bites. And I'd be way more worried about catching something from the holds at the gym.

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Chalk is worse for you, worse for the rock, and worse for the people who climb on it in the future as well. boxing_smiley.gif

 

On the contrary I believe blood is lot more corrosive to rock than chalk is. Think of all of the electrochemically active elements, the most abundant of course being iron.

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On the contrary I believe blood is lot more corrosive to rock than chalk is. Think of all of the electrochemically active elements, the most abundant of course being iron.

All the snaffle and vermin will be after the blood for nourishment though boxing_smiley.gif

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This is both a serious and interesting question. I have heard that Hepatitis C will stay infectious in spilled blood for up to a week.

 

Good question. Lots of bad information out there.

 

Exposed to direct sunlight HCV wouldn't last a day. On hot rock w/ sunlight less than an hour. But in a shielded cooler area (like a nice cool crack) ~4 days.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/common_faqs.htm#5

 

Keep in mind the chance of you actually contracting HCV from contact with dried blood on a rock is very, very small. But still possible. I would rather just not climb bloody rocks....

 

Heps are also not easy to kill like HIV. Don't think spraying a few squirts of Windex or Bleach onto a spill will eliminate the virus. Straight bleach exposure for 1 minute is the rule..... Rock could get tricky though with the irregular surfaces... A liberal dosing with MEK(brake cleaner) would do the trick. But the cancer might get ya.....

 

-Fear

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