tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6200919522697480063.post7634490361706576662..comments2013-10-08T06:44:34.445-07:00Comments on Climb Smart MN: Pulling Plastic: 5 Suggestions for Route SettersAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03295210052802871958noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6200919522697480063.post-35081588523151524802013-09-10T12:24:58.613-07:002013-09-10T12:24:58.613-07:00"A Doctor" makes some good points.
Indo..."A Doctor" makes some good points. <br />Indoor climbing gives the route setter the opportunity to teach us technique. Let's not squander that. We look to route setters to show us nome great moves and combinations. Not just, "it will be really hard to get to this hold"<br />AND<br />Variety is the spice of climbing. Each route setter has a particular style and something to contribute to the gym. But what happens when all of the route setters trend towards the same "reach-y" style? It can get pretty old pretty fast. I have also noticed that simply the increased height of the Minneapolis facility leads to reach-ier routes. The taller the wall, the more holds you have to place to keep it reasonable. That is exhausting work to set on 60 ft walls, especially as you get near the top where all the heat hangs out. With those conditions I would be tempted to stretch out my holds so I can just be done more quickly. I would be interested to see a hold density ratio comparison of "number of holds on a route"/"height of route". I bet it is slightly less dense at Minneapolis not only because of the sheer height but also of the culture of route setting there. <br /><br />I would also like to take time to applaud several route setters on their excellent work on creating technical, feasible, fun and yet still challenging routes. BG, G Tambo, Aleasha, and Nick Smith have really impressed me lately as their routes follow my 5 suggestions listed above. Keep up the great work!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03295210052802871958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6200919522697480063.post-38525423880464521762013-09-10T10:22:16.946-07:002013-09-10T10:22:16.946-07:00I also like variety of different types of climbing...I also like variety of different types of climbing routes, especially as I have been starting to branch out with outdoor climbing. My personal faves are routes that are fluid, balancy and stemmy. That usually means smaller holds slightly closer together. It also happens to work for my body style as I am shorter and don't come by upper body strength naturally. <br />The occasional route with huge holds you have to jump for, or routes that throw your body off center with no feet that you just have to muscle your way through may not be the ones I enjoy the most, but they offer me the opportunity to stretch myself. Unfortunately, it seems like almost all of the gym routes have been falling into one of the later categories lately.<br />Although they can help improve my strength, so can pull-ups, push-ups and a variety of other exercises I can do on my own. What I can't do on my own is work on my technique. I need the gym for that (at least during the winter). Jumping and hauling my way through what are essentially stretched out ladders may look more impressive to the newbie observer than routes that require control and balance. However, it doesn't improve my technique. When you then invariably add the FU move at the end, requiring me to jump 4 ft up and to the right of the rest of the sequence... well lets just say its not making me want to battle rush hour traffic to get to MPLS.<br /><br />I don't have any great ideas for how to fix it aside from the gym ensuring that the route setters get extra technique training, or make sure to hire people whose styles are diverse enough that we can get a variety of quality routes.<br /><br />Regardless, please don't hate on us shorties.A Doctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03402414142367586093noreply@blogger.com