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I don't do alpine climbing but I do climb in the UK lots. Climbers here have very strong views about how things should be climbed, it doesn't matter if you got

by tyho 11y ago

I don't do alpine climbing but I do climb in the UK lots. Climbers here have very strong views about how things should be climbed, it doesn't matter if you got to the top if you did it in bad style. For example, if you are climbing and you weight your equipment even for just a second, the whole ascent does not count (there is aid climbing but that is not real climbing). If you can't climb the route in good style, then don't climb it. What good style is varies location to location but the lengths Everest climbers go to in my opinion are laughable. They pay poor people to fix ladders across crevasses? They pay poor people to fix ropes? I am not denying that climbing Everest with these advantages is hard, it is still very hard, but just because it is hard does not make it worthwhile.

jzwinck 11y ago
There is No True Scotsman mountaineer, I suppose.
- avs733 11y ago
  (long time sport climber here from a family of climbers, brother to a serious trad climber and mountaineer) don't even get them started on the discussion of 'booty' and what is effectively claiming gear from the weak who test their limits or try things beyond them. Climber logic is often strange and puzzling thing to me. It is some weird hybrid of libertarianism, anarchism, and statism at the same time. The unspoken rules must be followed, unless I disagree with them in which case they restrict my freedom you fascist....everyone should just climb how they want but hey stop that right now...love my climbing friends but boy do I end up scratching my head sometimes.
  - vacri 11y ago
    A good friend of mine talked of a couple he knew who were big into climbing. You could really enjoy your time with them, as long as the discussion was around some form of climbing. Anything that was not climbing was simply not interesting to them - the example my friend gave was offering to play a board game, and them asking if it was about climbing...
    - lmm 11y ago
      K2 is actually a pretty good board game (I found it a bit dry, but maybe not if you're that into climbing).
    - avs733 11y ago
      what you cannot see if my utterly unsurprised face. I interact with a lot of subcultures, many of which would be considered weird. Climbers are really at the head of that list.
saganus 11y ago
if you are climbing and you weight your equipment even for just a second, the whole ascent does not count What do you mean by that? I read it as if using a scale to know the weigh of your equipment makes the ascent not count. If this is correct, why would that be so? and if not, then what did you mean by that? Also, why is style considered so important? I mean, is there a similar requirement for diving for example? I know that sports with rules have...well, rules. But for something like climbing, why would that be something to take into account except if you are part of a league that certifies ascents in a particular way for example. Could you expand a bit on that? it sounds quite interesting to me.
- tomn 11y ago
  > weight your equipment They mean the act of putting your weight on your equipment. If you're climbing up by pulling on the rock, and resting on ledges, that's fine, but taking a rest by sitting back in your harness, or pulling on the rope to gain height is not. Climbing is an one of the more logical sports, but like all sports, arbitrary rules have to be set if you want to accurately compare achievements between two people. It's just a way to make sure everyone knows what you mean when you say you've 'done' a route. That said, I recommend ignoring this aspect of climbing -- fulfilling personal goals is a lot more rewarding for everyone than trying to compare yourself to others.
  - saganus 11y ago
    Very interesting indeed. I would have never thought that the action of resting your own weigh in different surfaces would mean different things. Also, I'm sure there's a historical reason for that (whatever that may be), since even arbitrary rules as they may be, have to start somewhere, and it would be interesting to see where this one came from I also agree that ignoring those rules and achieve personal fulfillment is more important. Nonetheless it's funny how different sports' rules compare to each other, i.e. "you can't rest your weigh on your equipment" vs "you can't touch the ball with your hands" or "you have to run to this mound first, and then this one, and then this one"
    - 11y ago
1812Overture 11y ago
Is "weight your equipment" a climbing phrase? Your comment if the number one result for 'climbing "weight your equipment"'.
slgeorge 11y ago
Yeah, climbers are quite like FOSS advocates, having endless arguments about minute 'differences' as far as the outside world is concerned! I'd highly recommend you do some alpine mountaineering and then see if your opinions stay the same. Alpine is so much bigger than anything you can climb in the UK, and the Himalayas are at the ultimate end of the scale. Given a choice between pulling on some gear or dying - I'm pulling on the gear [0]. I often think mountaineering to climbing, is like road-biking is to mountain biking - initially they seem comparable, and we use some of the same skills in both, but there are also so many differences that it's practically impossible to make comparison. [0] For a start the "bad style" your talking about is __common practise__ in alpine climbing. Do a google search for "french free".

by tyho 11y ago

jzwinck 11y ago

There is No True Scotsman mountaineer, I suppose.

avs733 11y ago
(long time sport climber here from a family of climbers, brother to a serious trad climber and mountaineer) don't even get them started on the discussion of 'booty' and what is effectively claiming gear from the weak who test their limits or try things beyond them. Climber logic is often strange and puzzling thing to me. It is some weird hybrid of libertarianism, anarchism, and statism at the same time. The unspoken rules must be followed, unless I disagree with them in which case they restrict my freedom you fascist....everyone should just climb how they want but hey stop that right now...love my climbing friends but boy do I end up scratching my head sometimes.
- vacri 11y ago
  A good friend of mine talked of a couple he knew who were big into climbing. You could really enjoy your time with them, as long as the discussion was around some form of climbing. Anything that was not climbing was simply not interesting to them - the example my friend gave was offering to play a board game, and them asking if it was about climbing...
  - lmm 11y ago
    K2 is actually a pretty good board game (I found it a bit dry, but maybe not if you're that into climbing).
  - avs733 11y ago
    what you cannot see if my utterly unsurprised face. I interact with a lot of subcultures, many of which would be considered weird. Climbers are really at the head of that list.

saganus 11y ago

if you are climbing and you weight your equipment even for just a second, the whole ascent does not count What do you mean by that? I read it as if using a scale to know the weigh of your equipment makes the ascent not count. If this is correct, why would that be so? and if not, then what did you mean by that? Also, why is style considered so important? I mean, is there a similar requirement for diving for example? I know that sports with rules have...well, rules. But for something like climbing, why would that be something to take into account except if you are part of a league that certifies ascents in a particular way for example. Could you expand a bit on that? it sounds quite interesting to me.

tomn 11y ago
> weight your equipment They mean the act of putting your weight on your equipment. If you're climbing up by pulling on the rock, and resting on ledges, that's fine, but taking a rest by sitting back in your harness, or pulling on the rope to gain height is not. Climbing is an one of the more logical sports, but like all sports, arbitrary rules have to be set if you want to accurately compare achievements between two people. It's just a way to make sure everyone knows what you mean when you say you've 'done' a route. That said, I recommend ignoring this aspect of climbing -- fulfilling personal goals is a lot more rewarding for everyone than trying to compare yourself to others.
- saganus 11y ago
  Very interesting indeed. I would have never thought that the action of resting your own weigh in different surfaces would mean different things. Also, I'm sure there's a historical reason for that (whatever that may be), since even arbitrary rules as they may be, have to start somewhere, and it would be interesting to see where this one came from I also agree that ignoring those rules and achieve personal fulfillment is more important. Nonetheless it's funny how different sports' rules compare to each other, i.e. "you can't rest your weigh on your equipment" vs "you can't touch the ball with your hands" or "you have to run to this mound first, and then this one, and then this one"
  - 11y ago

1812Overture 11y ago

Is "weight your equipment" a climbing phrase? Your comment if the number one result for 'climbing "weight your equipment"'.

slgeorge 11y ago

Yeah, climbers are quite like FOSS advocates, having endless arguments about minute 'differences' as far as the outside world is concerned! I'd highly recommend you do some alpine mountaineering and then see if your opinions stay the same. Alpine is so much bigger than anything you can climb in the UK, and the Himalayas are at the ultimate end of the scale. Given a choice between pulling on some gear or dying - I'm pulling on the gear [0]. I often think mountaineering to climbing, is like road-biking is to mountain biking - initially they seem comparable, and we use some of the same skills in both, but there are also so many differences that it's practically impossible to make comparison. [0] For a start the "bad style" your talking about is __common practise__ in alpine climbing. Do a google search for "french free".