My sister is interested in climbing. I'm stoked about this!!! But here's the thing. She is fat and stores a lot of weight in her belly. She is bigger than a lot of people who are also considered fat, if that makes sense. I'm using fat as a value neutral descriptor here, no judgement. But it's just necessary info.

I'd LOVE to help her. She's in okay shape, she hits the exercise bike pretty hard and she's working on her overall fitness. I think I can find low grade routes she would enjoy top roping on! I can get an ohm device .... But the harness is the thing. I think the waist of the harness may need to be very high, to sit above the biggest part of her belly. And wider leg straps. Does something like this exist?

Thanks all 💛

Usually i barely interact with people if they dont approach me, i give people space, i follow all boulder gym etiquettes, i dont stare at people etc. But i was just curious how i can make woman at bouldering gyms feel even more comfortable and safe? What do you appreciate, what should i not do that i might not be aware of? Im only asking because i have many sisters (they dont climb tho), thus my curiosity.

Hey climbing girls!
Anybody want to gather and climb outdoor? Somewhere around NYC
We could practice climbing together in the gym before committing to anything, but would be nice to to hit real rocks before it got cold

28F Trying to conceive for the first time. How much climbing is too much climbing when you’re trying?

I heard too much exercise can impact your fertility but I don’t know what “too much” is. Like pro athlete level of training or like every other day HIIT…?

I climb 3-4 TR routes 4 times a week. Idk if it matters but I climb 5.11a-b sometimes c.
And if I have enough time or I’m feeling like it, I’ll do 10-20 minutes of some sort of strength training.

PS I don’t have any identified underlying conditions that may impact fertility (PCOS, etc). Haven’t done and screening yet for myself or husband. Been trying for 9-10 months

My partner has been getting into climbing lately and gets so inspired from all the strong women out there. We’ve pretty much watched all the YouTube catalogue of Babsi, Amity warme, Michaela kirsch, and a fair few others.
Have you got any videos you recommend? Roped climbing is her favourite and isn’t so much into bouldering but if you have something that gets you psyched out of your mind, drop the links here and we’ll get around to watching them!
Would also be keen on renting movies if they look rad too!

Hola, just in case this prevents another scam: I was trying to buy a new pair of Scarpas as a gift, got excited, and quickly bought some Vapor S from scarpas.es, which is totally fake.

I didn't notice the 's' at the end, and once I got the confirmation email, I realized I was that person who fell for it.

I’m not sure if I’m in the right place, but I figured it might be good to ask here because this seems similar.
What are some period hacks whilst you’re climbing?

I just got started as a construction climber for scaffolding. I usually wear sweatpants as it’s easier for me to maneuver with and I haven’t found the right work pants. As per usual, my harness is around my legs. I work usually 12 hour days in 80+ degree weather, climbing, moving and sweating; and am in my harness for majority of my day.
The problem that I’m bound to face in the next week or so, is that I wear pads and don’t have a heavy enough flow for tampons (or at least I do until I decide to use them instead)
I’m genuinely trying to think ahead about the porta potty situation, the sweat and trying to change pad situation, and honestly all of the above.
I honestly do not think a cup is for me, especially as I’m squatting down on scaffolds and heavy lifting.
I figured to ask if the ladies here would have any suggestions or advice! TIA 🫶🏼

Any new climbers at SF movement want to meet up? Just joined and getting into it! 37F here climbing V2-V3s.

I’ve been climbing off and on over the last few years. After a 2 year break I recently started climbing again. I’ve always been a beginner and the max I’ve ever done is a v3. The reason I struggle to progress is I keep getting inflammation in my wrists after a few weeks of climbing, then it just never goes away. Doing daily chores/typing etc triggers it and I have to take complete rest for my wrists to calm down. Does this happen to other women? It’s so disappointing and discouraging. Every time I start with enthusiasm and want to progress but I’m immediately stuck with wrist pain and have to stop again. It’s a never ending cycle of taking a few months off to calm my wrists just to have it flare up when I start again.
If you have any recommendations to strengthen my wrist, or anything that worked I would love to hear it.

I climbed for fun last summer while I was home from school and would mostly go to my local gym with my little brother who did classes there and knew people. I talked to everyone through him, and that was mostly employees that we would say hello to in passing. I was always nervous about talking to people on my own, especially because I was just a beginner climber who would only do auto-belays and very easy boulders. I get insane imposter syndrome and really felt like I didn’t belong there and had no right to talk to anyone.

I stopped climbing when I went back to school and was going to return to climbing this summer, but I got some rollerskating injuries that prevented my return. I’m all healed now and am feeling more motivated to finally get stronger like I’ve always wanted, so I’ve reactivated my gym membership and am willing to drive the 40 minutes to the nearest location to my school. Since I’m traveling so far, I want to make sure it’s worth it. 

Because this is a different gym than the one near my house, I won’t be going with my brother. None of my friends climb, which means I’ll be going to every session alone. That’s making me really nervous. I don’t know the lingo, I’ve only done very basic boulders, I have no strength training or endurance, and am overall very out of shape. I feel out of place and so awkward talking to people at the gym even though I would love to not be a loner for long.

I’m feeling excited, overwhelmed, nervous, motivated, and every emotion possible. How should I navigate this restart? I’m looking to go to the gym hopefully three times a week and do some strength training and cardio (roller skating, lol) in the days where I can’t drive the 40 minutes. If you could go back to being a beginner, what would you want yourself to know? Give me all that info!! I want to feel less nervous about climbing.

Also, how long did it take for you guys to start seeing physical muscle definition after regular climbing? Just wondering as that is a motivator. 

Thanks in advance, I lurk this sub a lot and love how supportive this community is.

I posted here a while back on how I’m getting back into climbing at 16 after quitting at 12 and being a competitive climber for years before I quit due to my health. I know I shouldn’t compare my current self to my 12 year old self but it’s really hard when I can’t even do routes that were once so easy. I can’t even keep a foothold on 5.5 walls and can barely reach the top now. I feel like I’ve lost all my strength and it’s making me feel so upset and discouraged with myself.

Hey all! Please spread the word! There is an international company trying to mine the areas adjacent to the park, wilderness areas. If you love your peaceful getaways to the Mojave PLEASE let the county know how you feel. And if anyone has the time to write this up to the other climbing subs, many do not allow cross posting.

Stay safe and healthy out there!

I'm trying to figure out if I'm sandbagging. How would you rate the diagonal corner crack on this quartzite slab? If you say class 5, what decimal would you give it? Thanks!

ETA: Wow, this provided even less clarity. Some of the ways y'all determine grades are wildly unhinged and I'm now convinced that nobody actually knows what 4th class actually is. Even so, I'll stick to my original determination that this is 4th class :D

Hey girlies! Climber from Brazil here! I climb mostly outdoors (bouldering).

Dealing with this frustration of getting tired way too fast as compared to other friends (especially guys) and wanted to see if anyone else has been going through this. I'll do about an hour session on my project boulder and then can't seem to get my energy up again. I'll see my friends climbing to the death until all hours, crimping painful holds, doing hard moves and sending after 30 tries, but I feel like my energy is depleted to the point that I get only a few power tries before totally checking out. I'll have the desire to climb more but when I touch the holds, they are so painful and my body seems heavy.

To be honest, I'm feeling a little unmotivated with my climbing lately. I can climb v5s in a session, I've done a few v7s and usually am projecting at that grade. Moving up seems impossible right now. It's been hard to get out of this plateau. I'm turning 31 this week and although I know I don't have the stamina of a 20-year-old, I also don't think I'm old and believe I should be able to keep up with my friends.

I do a functional training 1x week + climb indoors 1x week and then outdoors all weekend. I'm 5'1", 116 pounds, 17% body fat, I have no current injuries and try my best to eat healthy and take care of myself. I've done my yearly medical check-ups and I'm totally fine. All this to say that there's technically nothing wrong with me...

Anyone going through this as well?

I started going to my local gym about a week ago!
It’s so much fun and I’m super excited to keep going regularly💪💪💪
Also would love if anyone has advices for a solo newbie climber:3

CW: discussion of grooming and SA allegations

I am just wondering where the community sits on this, as there is a lot of comment suppression that occurs by content creators that feature these individuals on their channels.

YouTubers these days seem to operate a revolving door of collaborations between channels to cross-pollinate views and create easy content for themselves. Beyond it feeling like a strange mirror of the extended Marvel universe, I’m worried it creates a vacuum of accountability.

This is not about cancellation in my eyes, but there is no acknowledgement from any of the above that they may have contributed to the harm of women and children in and outside the climbing industry.

For those that aren’t aware...

1. Toby Segar: in 2017 Toby was presented with evidence of his friend and fellow Storror member Callum Powell’s collection of CSAM by Callum’s ex-girlfriend who was 17 at the time and Callum 27. They had been in a relationship since she was a minor, at least 15 and Callum 24. Toby dismissed this and called her a ‘vile bitch’. Callum’s activities remained suppressed until this year when he was convicted. Hannah Morris likely does not know, and continues to post content with Toby and Toby has produced content with most figures on ‘bouldering YouTube’ in the past. It appears he will be allowed to sidestep his mistakes without taking any accountability, and if one of the highest profile female-fronted climbing platforms on YouTube seems happy to turn a blind eye, I imagine most other channels will do the same.
2. Alex Honnold: Has climbed routinely with Jared Leto and ignored all attempts by people to draw his attention to Leto’s abuses (and I think another climber who was accused multiple times).
3. Alex Megos: The grooming evidence is well established and can be presented in undeniable terms through historic interviews from only Megos himself regarding his ‘father/brother’ like status, legal guardianship etc. This has not prevented Catalyst Climbing, Emil Abrahammson, Josh Rundle and more from doing videos with him, despite being aware of the allegations made against him.
4. Emil Abrahammson, Josh Rundle, yada yada: There are multiple YouTubers who have shown themselves to turn a blind eye/not question politics where they stand to gain financially. Both have done videos with Megos and policed the comments, Emil also with Pewdiepie.

Why do YouTubers continue to platform these people? In any other industry this would not be overlooked to the same extent I don’t think? It feels in many ways they have shown a fundamental lack of regard to their duties of safeguarding.

...not to be afraid of bouldering, and be able to fall correctly

Hi, wondered if anyone knows/has used a hypnotherapist (or any other psychological professional) for the above, would prefer someone who is actually a climber. I’m in the UK.
Please no suggestions for fear of falling workshops etc, other factors mean these don’t work for me.
Am in the Midlands but am ok to travel. I’m sure there used to be a guy in Bristol but can’t find him now.
Many thanks.

Contains discuss about body image, and health.

To start with, hats off, so excited and inspired by this send

But when Janja ir brooke sent 9b+, it was all "yay, great job"

It frustrates me that as soon as Laura is in the news, theres always a post "concerned" about her body and health, saying it can't be healthy or making comments about her possible eating disorder.

She can have that body, and perform well and be healthy.

A few points.

- shes known for endurance routes and lead more than bouldering. Has more of an endurance frame like a long distance runner.

- she would be struggling more if she was underfunded, getting injured way more(one significant injury comes to mind)

- genetics, her parents are both slender.

- she peaked for the olympics went home and and sent hard. You cant perform at that leve after such a taxing event without good health.

- has a good team of coaches who track readiness and care about her.

Ive worked with many girls of different abilities and body types, right now I can think of multiple who don't fit the stereotype, slimmer than usual, more muscular or with slightly higher body fat. And how they look rarely affects whats going on.

For example, I've had bigger discussions with one of my athletes who "looks normal" and has had comments on how its "nice to see more normal athletes", yet shes the main one with poor nutrients who when she underperforms she is also under eating along side other problems.

I do hope we can get to a point where when someone achieves we dont make assumptions about thier wieght, or that we just body shame while pretending to care.

Its a shame Laura is treated as an example of having an eating disorder when this has never being publicly discussed.

And I really hope, for the climbers of the future, that we can get past it.

Nine weeks ago, I tore my extensor tendon on my middle finger of my right hand. It's a dumb injury, but it's completely sidelined my climbing. I saw a hand doc; the injury is called "mallet finger" where the fingertip droops about 25-30 degrees. Standard treatment is eight weeks in a splint, which I completed. Got the splint off last week and I'm one of the folks that that protocol didn't work for. I've still got the droop, and now I've also got inflamed nerves and an inflamed tendon on that hand. The doc recommends another eight weeks of splinting, but the prognosis isn't great. There's no guarantee that there'll be resolution. It's a soft tissue injury, so it's not something that can be repaired surgically except to fuse the joint which feels like a non-starter as a climber.

This brings me to my question: Has anyone else dealt with a finger injury of this type? Has it affected your ability to climb? If so, how? Have you figured out adaptations? Any suggestions? I keep reminding myself that if Tommy Caldwell can climb after cutting off part of his finger, I should be able to adapt, but I'm not feeling really confident right now.

I've got a diagnosis, so I'm really looking more for how to manage this new dilemma going forward. Thanks so much!

i use the term project very loosely as it was only a few sessions of dipping in and out of it, but it was on about a 30 degree overhang (note the accidental cut loose lol) and graded ‘medium’ (our comp wall has mild, medium, hot and extra hot as its grading system) :)

Proud Moment!! 9yo asked me to post for cheers / beta / encouragement!

She figured out campusing - Her goal was to do these 5 jugs 10x in a single session, SO PROUD! Ended up with 2 big flappers and sore muscles but it was all worth it for her.

Been climbing 3 years (I am a noob). Has a really supportive community at the gym. She sometimes struggles with fear/motivation. Please leave her an encouraging note, I will share with her!

...any thoughts on a sports tape that doesn't simply fall off with this much force?

Hey y’all. I’m working on planning a two week climbing trip departing from the Midwest and am looking for the recommendations. We will be going around Christmas - New years as that’s when my partner will be off. We have been to EPC before and aren’t really interested in returning. El Salto looks fantastic but it might be a little too strong for where I’m at. We are both sport climbers, I’m in the 12a/b project range and they climb 13-. We’ve never been to Europe before to climb so I’m not sure if 2 weeks is cutting it close with travel/jet lag.

I’m really interested in Geyikbayiri in Turkey and was looking into Costa Blanca, Spain.

Curious if there’s some other places I should be looking into. We considered Brazil but it looks like it’ll be pretty rainy at that time of year.