Frank’s Musings

How should climbing shoes Fit

Wed, 4 Apr 2012 20:34:52 -0400

Climbing was tough before the advent of sticky rubber

I’ve worn shoes that would bring tears to the ryes of the toughest hone master.Then I have been put into shoes that Kareem Abdul Jubar would say are huge, How can you get something that fits.

In the first place you need to get accustomed to the word discomfort. Climbing shoes are made for climbing - NOT FOR WALKING! You see when you stand up you have two points of pressure0 The heel and the ball. when you climb 99% of the time you have jut one count when you climb.

Thnk about what kind of shoes you ned. If the shoes have an up turned toe when you stand it will push your hips our away from the the wall. This is great if you are doing a slabby climb.

If you have a shoe that is flat lasted when you step on an overhanging wall then you will stay parallel This type of shoe is great for walls from 75 to 100 degrees

A Downturned shoe is great for overhanging walls, When you weight an overhanging wall then your hips naturally be brought into wall makng it easier for you to get on the nard boulder problems

This is the absolutely basics of shoes. over the next few blogs I will be looking at geting a better fit out of your shoes

See You At The Gym

How to take a required restGracefully

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:46:13 -0400

I can;t stand it, I miss climbing so climb so bad it hurts. Nothing cab be worse than watching a few hours of watching old You Tube videos. I have a kind of strange hobby, I collect ancient Roman Coins. This can keep me occupied for around an hour or two. Reading I am so sick of

Any ideas? I wake up thinking about climbing, I go to sleep thinking about Tissue tiger (5.12b) at Red River Gorge

I hope to climb the Eiger later this years, I can’t wait to be wait to start training hard

See You At The Gym

Better Than A Yeti Sighting

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:46:23 -0500

When you travel to climb there is never any idea of what you may see

In the places I have travel to over the years I have been exposed to so many different things and cultures. I have eaten Llama, Dog, Guinea Pig, and parts of a Bull we can’t even mention in this Blog

Half the fun is the journey to the the climb. If all you look at is the climb then you are looking in all the wrong places

On your next trip keep a diary of what you saw, ate, heard. I think you’ll be very surprised

See you at the gym

Off belay

Frank

P.S. I do all my own stunts

Grip Strength and the art of climbing

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:10:19 -0500

Have strong grip is paramount to success climbing. There are two different ways that strength is measured static and dynamic. A static measurement is done on a static Dynometer. It is a bar that has no perceivable movement when squeezed. A dynamic measurement is performed on a dynometer which has an area that is movable and increases in resistance as the handle travels

A dynometer can only measure strength as power but fails to measure strength in light of endurance. In climbing both are necessary. It’s great to have a fantastic Crush strength but without good endurance that power will fail you as you climber.

A company known as “MindBody” has a program called the “Captains of Crunch”. You can become a “certified CofC” when you are able to close a 280lbs. Wishbone. Of course this needs to be witnessed by a certified CofC.

Until recently I have been able to close the 280lbs er. (Because of an injury i no longer can but i can do multiple closings of a 200 Lbs,er)

Want to be able to develop a super grip strength wit the endurance to go along with it? I did it this way. I bought a low strength rubber donut and put it in my car (28lbs.) as I would dive I would do reps of 30 closures switching hands as I drove. After a couple months of this I moved up to a 40lbs donut. It was almost 8 months before I graduated to a 50lbs donut. Doing this with reps of slow 30 is a key to increasing your strength. It’s important to realize that the strength comes from forearm and not the fingers themselves.

It takes commitment to working your grip strength to see results. To begin with results are slow coming but once they start coming they keep developing

Off belay

Frank

The Ultimate Locking Carabiner

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:17:05 -0500

Since I began climbing back in 1967 I have seen many changes in carabiners. First was the Oval biner by SMC which could hold around 2500 Ilbs. Then I saw an add for the “SMC 4000” which bragged that it had 4000 ibs of strength. Then came the great Chouinard Biner which was the end all biner. a modified Oval design and a nice gate made this the biner of choice.

A couple years later I started racking up with the Bonnatti D Biner, It only took a dozen of these before you needed to break out a second gear loop. They were made with 1/2” barstock

The early 1990’s came with the Helium biner. So thin that it could destroy a rope in just a couple falls

The 90’s also saw the wire gates, some new autolocks and who could forget the genius biner which didn’t even look like a biner.

So I have come up with my own design for a locking carabiner. I believe this is the end all of all end all biners. I haven’t tried to patent it yet but if there are any Venture Capitalists reading this blog give me a call and we’ll talk. First offer of a million bucks can have it.

Off belay

Frank

Thank you for another great year

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:44:25 -0500

When I started writing a business plan for Higher Ground I started with what I thought would be a logical first step. I started with the mission statement for Higher Ground. My Mission Statement “To Build A Place Where All My Friends Can Come And Climb With Me”

Keeping our mission statement in mind we have made many changes over the years and we want to keep the changes coming. We have more ideas of what we want to se Higher Ground become in the future.

So Thank You very much for being with us for another year. We really appreciate climbing with you and we always look forward the next time we share a rope with you. - Have a happy and safe New Year. Climb alot, and be sure to stop and smell the edelweiss.

Off belay

Frank

Nice Shiny New gear

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:17:09 -0500

I haven’t seen any tremendous surges in climbing gear technology for quite a few years. I remember climbing with a hammer and a heavy rack of pitons at the gunks in the early 70’s. I read Doug Scotts “Treatise on Clean Climbing” in the 1972 Chouinard Catalog. I remember when I first started climbing with nuts (Hexes and stoppers) and I really remember my first fall on a Hex and the fear that came over me.

I remember when Friends first hit the scene how revolutionary they were. I also remember some gear that flopped lower than a chinchillas ears. Gear like the “Titons, Tube Chocks, JokerCams (one lobe cams) , IBeam Chocks,

I also remember the first commercially available harnesses - The Whillans and the Forrest Swami and Leg Loops, It’s a surprise that those harnesses were not the end of civilization.

Shoes, We spent a few years climbing in heavy hiking boots, Then a rubberized canvas shoe called the EB. Mine spelled so bad my family made me keep them at my friends farm so they wouldn’t have to smell them.When I got my first shoe with sticky rubber I thought that I had died and went to that big-wall in the sky.

And how about rope. I started with Goldline rope which was a nice twisted rope. If you fell on anything overhanging you spun really fast counter clockwise. After that you then started spinning really fast in the other direction. When Edelrid first started selling their Perlon rope it was the first Kernmantel rope on the market.

Helmets? we started with Bell Shorties which were actually a short motorcycle helmet. They weighed a ton but they protected the melon. The only other option was the Joe Brown helmet. The helmet doubled as a pasta bowl on at least one expedition (We even put Mozzarella in it)

Belay devices? I started off doing Hip belays and shoulder belays, In the mountains the Boot Axe belay was standard fare. I remember a few years later when the Sticht Plate came out. it was a giant leap in climbing technology.It wasn’t until the early 1990’s that the grigri first made the scene.

There are a few things coming out that seem to be innovative. Black Diamonds Gridlock Biner prevents dangerous crossloading while belaying. Shoes are becoming more and more technical every year, New belay devices, Skinnier ropes, thinner harnesses.

We aren’t seeing any really new technology but we are seeing advances from existing technology. I wonder what the future holds

See you at the gym.

New Years Resolutions

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:44:47 -0500

What are your goals for 2012?

I have some big goals for the next two years. One of which is to climb the Eiger North Face, Another is to climb the easy but fun looking Flatirons in Colorado

Whatever your goal it takes preparation, training and commitment.

We have seen so many times before in the past where people have the will to be a champion but not everyone has the will to prepare to be a champion. When you write down your goals this year write underneath them P___T_____C______ think about your goals for a day then check off, do I have the will to Prepare_____Train______Commit_______ . If you can honestly check off all three of these things ten congratulations, you are ready to start to undertake your goal.

We can help. Discuss your goals with us at Higher Ground and we can help you devise a plan to achieve your goals ( sharing your goals with someone else is also a way of cementing your commitment to achieving your goal)

See you at the gym.

Roofies Part Five

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:56:40 -0500

Climbing is much like a video game, You have to conserve your fuel or your ammo or it’s game over.

Think for a moment that your muscles are no more than a group of motors of varying sizes. Your fingers are the smallest motors and as you move up the arm, the forearms, then the biceps the motors keep getting bigger and bigger. It takes more fuel to run a big motor than it does a small one. You need to rest from the core muscles out and start using muscles from the farthest extremity in back toward the core

Lets take another concept for climbing roof. Can you lift a suitcase that is close to your body weight with one arm? Most probably you can. Now lets see if you can do a one arm pull-up? Which requires more strength? I am assuming you find the suitcase easier to lift, why? because you are using a larger muscle group than when you are doing a pull-up. I have found that when climbing a roof anytime I can keep me feet closer to my core It’s a lot easier.

So this is the end of the “Roofies series”. It’s now time to stop reading and head to Higher Ground and climb a roof.

See you at the gym.

Roofies Part Four

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:49:54 -0500

Think of some basic techniques. Keep your arms straight, relax your shoulders, HOLD ON FOR DEAR LIFE!!!

You need to relax when you climb roofs. You need to conserve as much energy as possible. There is nothing worst than pulling the lip of a roof and suddenly realizing that you have flamed out your arms and falloff from fatigue.

Have you ever listened to the Beatles? then I am sure you remember the song “Twist and Shout”. The next time you are on a roof thy this. Keep your arms straight, foot on holds and try to twist back and forth in order to make progress. When you are on a roof you are going to throw a few Drop Knees, try to keep your hands close to chest level, Don’t over-reach, if your arms stay straight in front of you , you’ll be less likely to swing. If you end up with your hands over your head (horizontally) you are in for the big swing and quite frankly that swing willbe a prelude to flight.

Climbing roofs is more than fun, it’s exhilarating, wild, intense.

See you at the gym.

By the way, Phronea is Greek for Mind