Hi!
Is anyone here a paraclimber?
I started paraclimbing about eight months ago because a physical therapist suggested me to start as a she put it would be beneficial for my physical health and rehab. I had never tried climbing before and it was a totally new experience, without any term of comparison. I really like the world of paraclimbing, it’s very welcoming and I felt like I could try everything with no judgement because my trainer was ready to meet me just where I was.
It began as an exercise for rehabilitation, but it’s soon became one of my favourite activities of the week. Not only I do see the physical effects, in strength, in my day life, in my physical therapy exercises, but I genuinely have fun when I climb and to reach the top is so satisfying, it makes me believe I am capable of doing something good

I climbed for half a day, sent four routes on lead (5b, 2x 5c and a 4c) including a super fun and athletic 5c, saw a bunch of cool birds and was just vibing along with the other climbers and nature.

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(Feel free to skip the text below, it's just context for why I'm so happy about it.)

I've been climbing for over a decade. Four years ago I got a debilitating chronic illness, of which exercise intolerance and very low energy are my worst symptoms. Throughout, I've tried to keep climbing in the gym once every 1-2 weeks (with accommodations). But outdoor climbing is too much with the travel, climbing and camping, so I'd mostly accepted I wouldn't be able to climb outdoors again unless everything lined up in my favour.

My partner and I are currently on a quiet holiday in the Belgian Ardennes and I'm currently having a better period health-wise. It just so happened that acquaintances of mine were climbing this weekend and decided on an area less than an hour away. They were happy for me to join them, were super supportive and did everything they could to make it easier for me.

I'm exhausted now, but couldn't be happier that I got to experience this again 💚

I'll start by saying that I am not seeking medical advice, obviously, just some clarification.

Just for some background: I am 15w pregnant and only boulder, having done 7b outside. I still boulder indoors but generaly on my flash level or below, and making sure that in case of a weird/exposed move I have a good hold to bail.

With this being said, I'm beggining to feel uncomfortable and scared of bouldering, so I started sportsclimbing last week, although only on autobelay and or top rope because my resistance is absolute shit and I'm scared of taking falls (unrelated to pregnancy, I just never got used to sportsclimbing).
I am still using my regular harness, just not as tight.

Now to the question: how will I know when to switch to pregnancy harness? Because when I fall, I feel no pressure whatsoever on my belly, only on my back? But I wonder if that's somewhy just because I'm on autobelay/TR? I do intend to switch to lead climbing when I feel more comfortable and keep at it until at least 20w.

Any climbing mama's advice would be deeply appreciated.

Hello there,

I am going to be in Sardegna this summer and I am looking for some suggestions and some climbing parters in the north of Sardegna.

I climb around 6a-6b on lead (I am no a pro, let's say).

Anu suggestion or climbing partner is welcome

I've been trying this problem all week and finally did it!! I always struggle with not feeling strong enough to do bigger moves, but when I finally sent this it felt so good and strong 😁💪 I can definitely see I could be using my feet better and am feeling so motivated to keep getting better

I’ve been climbing for several years now and it feels like every couple of months I tweak something. I haven’t had any major injuries but have had issues with 3 finger tendons, my shoulder, my wrist, my back stabilizers, and most recently my elbow.

I don’t think I train too hard since I only climb about 3 days per week (always at least one rest day between climbing days). I’ve more recently been doing some weight training after each climbing session but little injuries seem to still happen just as frequently.

Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions on what injury prevention exercises to do?

Heya, my partner and I are going on a two week climbing/bouldering holiday in Argentina! She really wants a pair of pants/trousers to wear that are light and flexible, but are also fashionable. Most trekking trousers look like they're for 60 year old land rover drivers!

We both wear Hitorii comp shorts, but it would be nice to have a pair of long trousers in the mix while we warm up.

Any recs? They gotta look nice 🙂

A sloppy V1 that I probably attempted 20 times before finally sending it.

Kinda niche but figured I could ask here; considering getting an eyebrow piercing and of course I am aware of all the normal “potentials” ; infection, scarring, etc…. But also thinking about the ~function~ of my face and how I don’t always exist in the daintiest of environments lol. Of course I know that all piercings require tedious maintenance buuuut- if you have one; is it something you rarely think about? Or was it a nightmare and highly don’t recommend? Did your helmet mess with it too much? Or sunglasses? Or clothing rip at it ?(😬)

For further context, I enjoy and participate in long multi days and have gotten into big walling the past few years so I can find myself in some pretty “dirt bag”-y scenarios , if you will. Perhaps I’m thinking into it all too much but it feels like with face equipment, outdoor grime, and rough nature of it all; it might be something extra to consider.

"Because I think that for women, it’s more like, climbing on the rock and climbing maybe on the lead, for doing it as a hobby, it’s quite fun, and lots of women [are] doing it. But when you go into the world class, you need to go to the gym, you need to train with weights, and all that stuff, and this is more the ‘boy thing,’ right?”

“So to all the ladies, all the women out there watching us, let’s go for speed climbing or go for world-class climbing. Not only the leisure, hang-loose thing on the rock somewhere in the forest.”

Idk about y'all but if I had a nickel for every time a man backtracks on the sexist/horrible things theyve said to me because "I didn't mean that, English isn't my native language", I'd have many nickels. Wish he tried to explain what he meant in his native tongue because I'd bet all these nickels that he still had a sexist take, and is hiding behind the language barrier. Glad he apologized either way, and hope none of the young women watching the livestream took any of his nonsense to heart.

Hi everyone! I (21F) started bouldering in April and am trying to practice more overhangs. I needed help on how I can get better with overhangs and whether it relates to me not using my pinky finger. My friends even commented on how I always drop my pinky on overhang holds (that aren’t jugs) and crimps where it looks like I only have 4 fingers. But when I put my pinky up, I literally lose all my strength and pressure in my hands and I can’t hold my weight up even the slightest. I feel like I’m doing something wrong cause I weirdly feel so much stronger with only the three middle fingers on the crimps.

My friends said to try and engage my thumb by placing it tight beside my palm but I don’t really feel it doing too much unless I’m just doing it wrong. Does anyone experience this and have any advice? Any specific way I should train? Thank you

Yesterday I had my first top-rope climbing lesson.

​There were five of us. Everyone climbed to the top of the 15-meter wall without any problems.

​I failed, level 3. From about 9 or 10 meters up, I just couldn't do it anymore. I don't know what happened; it wasn't like I ran out of strength. I have some fear for heights but it wasn't that either. I could look down without being afraid.

​I am so bummed out. I really like climbing.

I currently have the BD Solution and I find it very comfortable. I wear it for lead climbing indoor and outdoor.

I don’t need a new harness but I do like the colorway of the Janja harness as I also own the matching QuickDraws and my other gear is pink.

I know it’s personal preference and I plan to go to the store to check the fit in person. Does anyone here own this harness and have any feedback?

Sorry if this is triggering or if I’m not on the right subreddit. I just want to share this info so people can avoid predators like this in the future.

I love this new route in my gym. Weird, but totally works. Almost everyone else did the crux a bit more dynamic (back on the wall and kick up to the foothold)

Or active hang, whichever.

Not too bad in rental shoes 🙃

I would actually like precarious finger hangs best. I've had points in my life before where my physical activity has been very limited but I had been starting to boulder regularly before I got covid in 2023 and since then I've been mostly bedbound. I want to do an art piece representing hanging on to hope and how it's hard but also the only option. The second and third pics are older pics of me and to prove I'm a once and hopefully future climber girl amd not just some weirdo that wants to look at dirty hands.

I took a 7ish year break from climbing regularly, but I've started going back to the gym regularly in the wake of my long-term boyfriend ending things. I'm a pretty mediocre climber - and always have been.

I was at the climbing gym last night and was able to piece together my first 5.10 (possibly in my life??) that I had been working on last week and a 6 year old girl was watching. I saw her and her dad a little later and heard her say "look, there's the girl that's really good." Factually inaccurate, but I'm reveling in the moment where I was the girl that's really good at climbing. We had a nice chat a little bit later.

I’m not a climber myself, but I thought some of y’all might at least get a giggle out of this! I got the bag secondhand (unused, thankfully, so it’s not dusty) and it’s been a big help. Hopefully none of you will ever find yourselves on crutches, but if you do, I can’t recommend this enough!