(Know How to) ♪ Let it Go ❄

I've checked off all of the topics that I wanted to research about rock climbing, so for this final blog post for this semester, I've found this TED Talk by Matthew Child who is an experienced outdoor rock climber. He talks about nine lessons in rock climbing that can also be applied to life.

Matthew Child's 9 Life Lessons from Rock Climbing
1) Don't let go.
2) Hesitation is bad.
3) Have a plan.
4) The move is the end.
5) Know how to rest.
6) Fear sucks.
7) Opposites are good.
8) Strength doesn't always equal success.
9) Know how to let go.

I found that many of these rules apply to my 20% Time project, particularly numbers 1,3,6,8, and 9. It is really important to know what you're going to do ahead of time when you're standing in front of a rock wall or have another task ahead of you. Knowing what I wanted to gain from this project in the beginning was helpful in that it made it simpler and easier to work on the project each week. Fear really does suck. I agree with Matthew Child when he says that fear is causing you to be focused on the consequences of failure rather than focusing on how to not fail; I never realized that most of the stress I've experienced from school is caused by me worrying about what grade I will get and how it will affect the rest of my grades. I now know that focusing on finishing the task in front of me instead of worrying about what happens after I finish can relieve me of stress. It's similar to the initial fear I had when I first went to Stone Summit. There was a part of me that wasn't exactly worried about falling or getting hurt, I was more scared about failing and not making it to top. This brings me to the final rule. Sometimes you can't always make it to the top, not because you are giving up, but because sometimes, you just can't. At some point, you may have to let go (cue music from Frozen ♪), but do it in the right way "...because that's the critical piece in not getting hurt."

I thought this TED Talk was very inspirational. Although this project is over in the classroom, I'm planning on continuing to strive to become a better climber. Rock climbing is not only a sport, but it's a great activity to do with friends. After I properly learn how to belay (with an instructor and not a video), I'd like to invite my friends to try this out and go climbing with my friends that are already experienced. It was a lot of fun spending time on this topic which was completely brand new to me earlier this semester. I'm not at the top yet, but I'm no longer at rock bottom either.

Nocumentum Documentum

The Latin proverb, "nocumentum documentum," translates to "Pain is a lesson" or "A loss, a lesson." We learned this proverb in Latin IV recently, and it serves as the perfect title for this week's post about the downsides in rock climbing. As in every sport, failure tends to dishearten an athlete and either adds to their drive or takes away their confidence. This week I focused on the physical aspects of the disadvantages of rock climbing. I was so interested in learning why I should climb that I forgot that the sport isn't perfect. Falls, accidents, and injuries happen. Rotator cuff injuries, "climber's elbow,"and finger injuries are common for those very involved in climbing. There are many more types of climbing-related injuries that can be read about in the climbing magazine, Rock.

Knowing the possibility of getting injured, climbers continue to push themselves. These injuries are lessons that teach a climber to correct his/her technique or not make the same mistake that caused the injury. Pain and sacrifice creates a successful climber whether you are giving time to do something else to practice or you injure a muscle from practicing too much.

Sadly, this project is beginning to come to a close. With only one more week left to research, I feel like there is still so much that I can learn about rock climbing, yet I also feel like I've learned so much about it. Next week, I'm not quite sure what's left to research. I'm planning on browsing around to see if I can find something that's fitting for the final blog post. 


I don't have any pictures or funny memes for this week, but here are some random quotes: 

"Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing." 
-Barry Finlay, Kilimanjaro and Beyond

"Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory."
-Ed Viesturs, No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks

"A lesson without pain is meaningless. For you cannot gain anything without sacrificing something else in return but once you have overcome it and made it your own....you will gain an irreplaceable fullmetal heart."
-Hiromu Arakawa

All About Those Legs?

When I stepped into Stone Summit, I saw many types of people. Some men had huge muscles, and many of the women looked fit and strong, but not so buff. After my first climbs, I thought that rock climbing was all about strength considering the difficulty I had keeping myself on the wall. I decided that I would research what exercises you could do outside of the gym to improve your strength which would improve your climbing. I found two articles (Training: 10 Exercises for a Complete Core and New Workouts to Refresh You Gym Training) that provided great information on how to strengthen the muscles that will help with climbing. I expected arm strength to be the most needed, but it's actually your legs that power a climb. It is common to think that climbing consists of pulling yourself up with your arms, but climbing is actually pushing up with your legs so that your hand can reach the next hold. This common mistake was one that I made when I went climbing which explained why my arms became exhausted after a short time of climbing. These exercises are helpful for climbers that can't find time to go to an indoor rock climbing gym.

However, I came across another article that offered the question, "why get stronger when you can get better?" Andrew Bisharat argues that technique is more important than strength. A climber needs to understand how to take advantage of their equipment and use their own body in the most efficient way possible. What good would being strong do you if you don't know how to utilize that strength? I realize that no matter how many overly buff men and women there are at the gym, it was mainly their technique that got them to the top. Even children that don't have half the strength of an adult can make it higher than many unskilled adults at the gym. I've found that there should be a balance on the time spent on technique and time spent on building strength in order to become the best climber you can be.

Next week, I'll be looking at the disadvantages of rock climbing.

Cracks

In an earlier blog post, I mentioned that indoor rock climbing was discovered in order for outdoor climbers to stay in shape when the weather made it impossible for outdoor climbing. This week, I learned about trad and sport climbing which are both forms of outdoor rock climbing. While I'm still learning about techniques, I wanted to switch gears and look into what is needed to take climbing outside of the gym where there isn't a ceiling to stop you.

There are many similarities in the two forms of climbing. Artificial holds on a wall are designed to simulate outdoor circumstances, but it's impossible to have the exact same hold or crack a climber can possibly encounter on a mountain. In outdoor climbing, basically the same equipment is used, but there is a piece of equipment that is crucial for survival. In traditional climbing (trad climbing). anchors are jammed into cracks in order to secure ropes. It takes a different kind of mental strength to trust that these little pieces of metal can save you from a fatal fall. Sport climbing is different from traditional climbing in that the wall has anchors that a permanently placed in the wall. Trad climbers must remove their chocks. nuts, and other safety equipment.


While this form of climbing seems to be more difficult, dangerous, and time-consuming, the reward may be worth the extra hard work. Climbers can enjoy views and not feel restricted to being inside a building. I'm certainly not ready right now to attempt outdoor climbing since I'm still practicing with indoor climbing, but I've put outdoor rock climbing on my bucket list so that after I become more experienced with indoor climbing, I can go beyond the ceiling.

There are definitely some things you just can't get from indoor climbing. Climbing does not always require a gym or a rock wall. What can you do to improve climbing without climbing? More to come next week.

General Techniques

To get an overall look into the techniques of rock climbing, I've watched Adam Barczak's series of videos on rock climbing for beginners. I've seen some of his videos about belaying and equipment, and I think his videos are very clear and helpful. He has good demonstrations and understandable demonstrations. He breaks everything down and focuses on one body part at a time. I really liked the video on the different types of holds. The holds are designed to simulate outdoor climbing holds. When I went climbing, I found that some are easier to get a grip on, but I went for the easier ones where I could basically put my entire hand around it. I didn't know that there was a certain technique to grabbing onto different holds. 

I'm hoping to go rock climbing again soon, so that I can practice these techniques, I'm going to look for more sources on climbing techniques such as more videos or articles since Adam Barczak's videos only contain the basics. 

Rock Climbing for the First Time!

Last Sunday, I went rock climbing at Stone Summit for the very first time! My cousin, Danny, came with me since he's an experienced climber. Walking into Stone Summit, the first thing I saw was a huge rock wall that was about 60 ft. high. Since I had no experience at all with rock climbing, we started at the beginner walls which were on the second level of the gym. Each route has a certain difficulty (5.5 being the easiest and 5.14 being the most difficult). I managed to get to the top on the first wall I climbed, but it was one of the easiest walls there. Before I even climbed, though, Danny and a person that worked at Stone Summit taught me how to tie the necessary ropes. I struggled at first with the knots, but after it got a lot easier with practice.


 Just after climbing the first wall, my arms were extremely sore! The muscles used in climbing that I researched a while ago were the ones that were really sore. My forearms and fingers hurt the most. I could only get through 4 or 5 walls until my arms couldn't handle any more climbing. It was certainly scary as I climbed higher, and I slipped and lost my grips many times. It was difficult trusting that the rope would catch me, and it still was hard to trust when I was hanging in midair. The chalk and the shoes helped a lot since it was really easy to slip from the holds.      
        

 I thought it was so much fun, and I can't wait to go again. Since I have a baseline on where I'm at with climbing now, I can start researching techniques on climbing for next week. I've decided that my goal is to climb one of the walls on the downstairs level. Since my arms were too tired, I didn't try out bouldering, but maybe next time I will. Everything that I researched--equipment, physical strength, mental strength, etc--all came together went I went climbing. I knew what to expect when I got there. I'm hoping that I'll get better at my climbing skills so that I can climb harder routes. I'm trying to figure out how to make a page on the blog that shows all the pictures from my visit, but I'm still experimenting with it. For now, here a some pics. (Update: to see more pictures, go to the Gallery)

Physics Rocks!

Last week, I discovered the physical and mental strength a climber needs to be successful. This week, I looked into how physics is both advantageous and disadvantageous in rock climbing. Physics may rock (pun intended) and make climbing easier in some ways, but it can also make things harder for a climber.  It was a little more difficult researching for this topic; some of the articles and websites I've looked at were research papers or school projects by high school students. There is actually an MIT course focused on just the physics of rock climbing, but I could only see the course description. However, I've watched some videos of students' physics projects, and I did get some useful information out of them. This video was done by a group of students, and it was exactly what I was looking for; they included just general information instead of long, hard to understand explanations with dozens of complicated formulas.

Friction, work, and energy in equipment help in rock climbing by making it a easier and safer. It would be difficult to climb with slippery hands and shoes. Many more injuries would occur if the ropes weren't designed to absorb some of the shock from a fall. Belay devices rely on the great amount of friction it creates with the rope to function; A belayer wouldn't be able to slowly bring down a climber from the top or stop a climber's fall. Gravity, however, may not rock as much as friction, work, or energy, though. Climbers have to go against gravity to make it to the top, and not all rock walls go straight up; the more difficult walls are angled, and some even make a climber hang upside down during their climb. The more angled the wall is, the more arm strength is needed to keep the climber from falling which could exhaust the arm muscles more easily. More experienced and stronger climbers can argue that gravity rocks since it makes the sport more exciting and builds up even more strength. 

There is an interesting article, The Physics of Climbing-and Falling, that talks about how physicists turn out to be some of the best rock climbers. Physics is really important in rock climbing, and hopefully, this researching will make my first time rock climbing easier. This weekend, I am going rock climbing at Stone Summit for the first time. My cousin is an experienced climber and will be belaying me and will be helping get started with climbing. Next week's post will be about my first visit to Stone Summit. I'm definitely feeling like I understand rock climbing more, and I can't wait try it out.

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Mind Over Matter

quickmeme.com

There are a lot of physical and mental challenges you need to overcome for rock climbing, the most obvious being a fear of heights. Rock climbing, especially indoor rock climbing, is a popular sport for people of all ages, so why don't more people climb? Fear is often used as an excuse for not wanting to try rock climbing. Trusting your belayer is also critical in rock climbing; it's not easy for some people to trust that they will stop their fall. I want to know what difficulties to expect when I go climbing next week, so I looked at what kind of mental and physical strength I'll need by reading online articles and personal experiences of other people.

Looking at the physical strength aspect of rock climbing, you don't necessarily need to be in shape or strong to climb. The first time climbing will be difficult for everyone because your body isn't used to using those muscles. However, each time you climb, you will tone and strengthen those muscles which will make the next time easier than the last. Climbers' forearms, biceps, and triceps are used as leverage to pull themselves up to the next hold. Lower body muscles such as the thighs and glutes are important for stabilizing the climber. Climbing isn't just about the arms and legs though. The back, shoulder, and chest muscles are just as important as arm and leg muscles in climbing. To be fully engaged in climbing, a climber uses his/his core (abs, obliques, and lower back) to draw more power from. Rock climbing serves as a popular workout since it works your entire body.

The Mental Toughness Error : In this article about mental toughness, I learned that fear can interfere with the ability to determine whether to take the risk or not. Sometimes being fearless can lead to accidents because the human body just isn’t physically capable of doing certain things. It's important to control your fears and your mind which doesn't necessarily mean conquering them. For rock climbing, it is important to stay focused on your goal. Being mentally flexible is the key to taking appropriate risks.

I, myself, am slightly scared of heights, but I am more scared of falling from a great height rather than being at a great height. I don't know how I'm going to react from being up so high in the air with only a rope holding me up, but I'm also excited to start taking risks. I've heard from friends that frequently go rock climbing that I will definitely be sore after my first time climbing, but that it will get easier as I get stronger.  Next week, I'm going look into the physics behind climbing.

History of Rock Climbing in One Blog Post

I don't know why I didn't think to research the history of rock climbing for one of my first blog posts, but better late than never. I was wondering why and how indoor rock climbing became so popular, so I decided look how outdoor and indoor rock climbing evolved over the years.

Nuts
en.wikipedia.org

Pitons
commons.wikimedia.org

The history of rock climbing starts in Great Britain around the 1920s when people began developing new ways to climb instead of just using their own body. It began with just carrying small rocks to cram into cracks to use as holds. Then, the European invention, pitons, were allowed people to climb routes that were impossible to climb without equipment. While pitons were still used to jam into cracks of rock walls, climbing nuts began to become more popular because of the many different sizes and shapes allowed climbing to secure these nuts into all kinds of cracks. Nuts were used more than pitons because they didn't damage the rock walls when they were removed from the rocks. With the discoveries of pitons and nuts, rock climbing itself grew to be more popular especially since people of all ages were able to participate in the sport.

en.wikipedia.org

en.wikepedia.org

So, why would people need to have indoor rock climbing gyms when there are endless places around the world where you could climb? The problem with climbing outdoors was weather. Climbing was a summer sport because it was too dangerous to climb during the winter when the walls are covered in slippery ice and snow. There were many weather-related accidents in outdoor climbing; temperature can cause hypothermia or heat exhaustion, and rain and thunderstorms can cause a climber to loose his/her grip and can lead to fatal falls. Don Robinson's main purpose of creating the first indoor rock wall in 1964 was to allow climbers to stay in shape during their off-seasons so that they were prepared for the summer months. These indoor gyms allowed climbers to climb more difficult outdoor routes and decreased the number of accidents that were caused by being out of practice, and it also contributed to the growth in the popularity of the sport.

I think it's great that these indoor climbing gyms were built because it allows more people to try the sport, especially if you're like me and don't want to have to travel to the popular outdoor climbing spots which are more dangerous. Maybe someday I'll try outdoor rock climbing after I'm comfortable with climbing indoors. Since there is a 3-day weekend coming up, I'm reserving that Sunday to finally go to Stone Summit to go rock climbing. For next week, I'm going to look at the required mental and physical strengths you need to rock climb. 

Who's Got You Back?

Whether it's indoor or outdoor, rock climbing can be dangerous; there's always a risk for falling which can be scary, especially at great heights. While it is possible to climb without another person's help (usually for outdoor climbing), two people are usually needed for indoor rock climbing. A belayer's job is to stop the climber's fall in case the climber looses his of her grip or slips. The belaying rope is connected to the climber's harness, and the same rope goes through the belay device which is connected to the belayer. Friction is the secret to the belay device's power; the friction the belay device creates is what stops the rope from moving, and it allows the belayer to control the rope.

I was searching on YouTube this week for videos that might help me understand belaying better, and I found Adam Barczak. He is a certified rock climbing instructor who has made a series of videos for beginner rock climbers. His earlier videos cover what I've already researched, but he has many more videos that cover techniques which will be helpful later on. His video on belaying shows how important it is for a belayer to know what to do for the sake of the climber. My mentor, Steven, also mentioned to me that you never want to go climbing without someone else who knows how to belay.

In another one of his videos, Adam talks about safety checks (towards end of the video). According to him there are 5 things you need to consider before leaving the ground: 

1) Harness: Make sure your harness is double backed. 

2) Rope: The belaying rope should go through two loops of your harness. 

3) Knot: The knot should be about a fist away from the harness.

4) Clean knot: Make sure the knot is tied properly. 

5) Tail: The tail of the knot should be twice the length of the knot. 

Apart from learning about safety and belaying, this week I made a checklist of everything I want to cover by the end of the semester. I've been able to check off "equipment," "belaying," and "safety." Next week, I'm going to take a step back and research the history and background of rock climbing (indoor and outdoor). I want to know why and how it became to be the popular sport it is today. I'm aiming to go to the gym before I start researching techniques which won't be for some weeks because I have some other topics I want to cover before that. 

Flashback Friday

Just for fun, I paid a visit to the Camp Creek Elementary School gym to get this picture. Anyone who went to Camp Creek probably remembers this wall pretty well. Ms. Palmer, my previous art teacher, had painted this beautiful scene on the wall, making it unforgettable. It was the highlight of the gym, and it was a great achievement to be able to get across the entire wall without falling. Sadly, I can't say that I successfully got across the entire wall without falling. Hopefully, I'll do better at Stone Summit as a 17 year-old than I did as at Camp Creek as a 10 year-old...

It's Knot That Easy

http://commons.wikimedia.org

I spent more time looking into climbing equipment this week and focused on carabiners, harnesses, and climbing rope. Locking carabiners are the huge metal clips that can connect ropes together or connect a climber to a rope. Since they play a huge role in securing the ropes, it's imperative that they are strong and are not prone to accidentally open and cause the climber to fall, so there are two type of carabiners that are commonly used by climbers: a locking carabiner gate and a screw gate type. Both of them have a metal sleeve covering the opening gate of the clip that locks or keeps the clip from opening on its own, and they both can be operated with one hand. For a locking carabiner gate, the climber needs to twist the sleeve in order to open the clip. The screw gate type is thought to be the most secure because it needs to completely unscrewed to open the clip.

http://www.moosejaw.com/

Next up is the harness. Most harnesses are generally the same structure which includes the waistbelt, buckles, leg loops, gear loops, hual loops, belay loop, tie- in points, and elastic straps. The only loop a climber uses to attach himself or herself to the rope is the belay loop. The belay rope is attached to the ceiling of the gym and is controlled by the belayer, someone on the ground that is also attached the the rope. Next week, I'll go more into the role of the belayer in climbing. The shape and size of the harness is adjusted for men and women of different ages and sizes.

The harness is not the only piece of equipment responsible for the protection and safety of the climber. Climbers need to know how to tie various knots to tie gear or attach themselves to their climbing rope. I've looked at rope tying tutorials, and they aren't that easy to learn at first. It's hard to just look at pictures or even just videos to learn how to tie these knots. When I go to the gym, someone will hopefully help me. Below are some common knots used in climbing .

Double Figure 8 Knot
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dvojit%C3%BD_osmi%C4%8Dkov%C3%BD_uzel.jpg

Stopper Knot (AKA Double Overhand Knot)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgeon's_knot

Bowline Knot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowline

It's been a lot of fun researching so far. I'm amazed on all of the things you need to consider when going rock climbing. Also, with the help of a friend, I've found a mentor; his name is Steven, and he's currently a college student. He's been climbing for many years and has a lot of experience with indoor rock climbing, and he is a member at Stone Summit to prove it. Hopefully I'll be able to go to the gym next week and have him help me with the basics. I was planning on going this weekend, but things came up, and, unfortunately, I have to wait another week. I'm still feeling pretty optimistic about climbing, but I'm a little nervous for it because the more I learn about it, the more difficult it seems. For the upcoming week, I'm going to look into belaying and safety precautions.

Shoes are a Climber's Best Friend

This week, I looked up some general information on indoor rock climbing. Rock walls vary by height (20 to 60 ft) and difficulty (5.7 being the easiest and 5.14 being the hardest). For those walls, you need at least two people: one person is the climber and the other is the belayer. A belayer is responsible for controlling the slack of the rope that is attached to the top of the wall/ceiling and the climber. Bouldering is a type of climbing that can be done alone; the height of the bouldering walls are shorter than regular climbing walls, and no harness or belay device is need for it. Many mats and pads surround the walls for comfortable falls and landings.

Some important equipment needed are harnesses, locking cabiners, chalk bags and chalk, and shoes. This week, I focused more on shoes than the other equipment.Similar to running and other sports, shoes are really important to rock climbing. I knew that the type of shoes you wear are important to climbing because you don’t want your feet slipping, but I never knew that there are many parts to climbing shoes to keep in mind when buying them.

http://www.indoorclimbing.com/Rock_Climbing_Shoes.html

There are actually ten important parts to a shoe: the rubber, sole, midsole, heel rand, heel, heel loop, lining, material, lacing, and curvature. Type of rubber corresponds with the type of climbing you will be doing (soft rubber for edging and hard rubber for face climbs). The sole and midsole deal with the flexibility of the shoe. The material and lining are important factors of comfort; your foot should be able to "breathe" and padding is optional but does add weight. Basically, the shoes should be tight, yet comfortable for your feet.

So far, I've learned more about the basics of climbing and more about the equipment. I was not able to visit Stone Summit this weekend, but I'm hoping to be able to go soon. I want to be able to try it out before researching any techniques for climbing so that I can get an idea of where I'm starting from. I haven't decided on a goal yet; it will most likely be to be able to climb a wall of a certain difficulty, but I won't know for sure until I can go to the gym. For the upcoming week, I'm hoping to wrap up researching the purposes of the equipment and get into how to use it, and I'm also going to look at safety. There's a lot of information to take in, but I've been enjoying researching so far, and I'm really excited to start climbing.

http://www.backpack-and-gear.com/stone-mountain.html#.VAJ_RfldU2U

Here's a picture of the rock wall at Stone Mountain Sky Hike. It's not really difficult to climb this wall, not only because of the automatic belaying device, but because the holds are really close together and easy to grab on to. If you look at the pictures of the walls at Stone Summit on the online tour of the gym. you can tell that it will be much more difficult to take on those walls.

Stone Summit Climbing & Fitness Center Online Tour: http://ssclimbing.com/take-a-tour/

Challenge Accepted!

The most experience I have with rock climbing is getting across rock wall in the Camp Creek Elementary School gym and climbing up a rock wall at Stone Mountain’s Sky Hike. However, the Camp Creek was five feet tall and the wall at Sky Hike used an automatic belaying device that aided me to the top. I’m taking things to the next level and am going to the Stone Summit Climbing and Fitness Center. There, you can find walls up to 60 feet high; they have walls for beginners all the up to the challenging bouldering. Stone Summit says their gym is the place to go to “...challenge both your strength and mind…,” and I, having virtually no experience at all and starting from rock bottom, am challenging myself to learn the techniques to indoor rock climbing. Why climbing? I’ve heard from friends and family that climbing is not only a good workout, but that it is extremely fun. I’m really excited to try this out, and I know that it will require a lot of strength and practice to reach my goal. This week, I’ve begun researching basic terms and equipment of climbing. I’ve also found a rock climbing gym, Stone Summit, where I can practice climbing. I’ve only seen what the gym looks like from the online virtual tour, and I’m hoping to visit the gym next week or next weekend. . I’m hoping to find someone experienced in rock climbing to come with me on my first visit to Stone Summit; otherwise, I will try to get help from the staff there. This week, I’m going to try to find a book on indoor climbing and will continue researching how equipment is used in climbing.