Pulling Plastic to Rock Star: 5 Tips to Taking Gym Strength Outdoors

Having been a gym rat for just about as long as I've been climbing, I know how frustrating it can be trying to get strength on plastic to translate to the outdoor rock world. I know some people who've made the transition look easy going from hard taped boulders indoors to advanced boulders outdoors on their first trips, but they're for sure the exception to the rule. A lot of climbers who exclusively gym climb hit a wall when they try and take their skills outside because although they have the strength, they don't yet have the technique or confidence to climb real boulders or routes. So I thought I'd do what I wish someone had done for me and write an article about a couple ways to transition from the plastic to the rock. Enjoy.

Definition of a gym rat: staging climbing pictures, (picture to the left)

  1. Start Slow

I know I sound like your high school gym coach, but warming up is more important than most of us like to think. This was one of the biggest mistakes I made when I first got into outdoor bouldering. My sights were set so high on the grades I thought I could crush, that not only did I fail to ever fully warm up, but I also missed out on tons of classic climbs because I was too consumed with getting my numbers. I think a good way to introduce yourself to the intricacies of rock climbing is to go for width rather than depth, at least at first. Why not see how many 3 star 5.8s and 9s you can hit before trying that steep 11? I think you might find that you’ll have more fun and those hard grades will come in their own time.

2. Expect Nothing (but fun)

This kind of relates to starting slow. When I first made the jump from gym climbing to outdoor I got really disappointed when I wasn’t able to climb up to what I assumed was my level. I know some people are super competitive and would totally disagree with this, but I know my level of psych is much higher when I go into a day just expecting to have fun and end up crushing. So if you’re new to the crag, maybe go without a tick list for the first few times. Having fun is a very accomplishable goal.

3. Use Locals/Get the Spray

I can’t even count the number of times a route has felt impossible, only to have a local walk past and spray me with crucial beta. So next time you visit the crag or boulder field, take an extra protein bar or bottled water and see if you can’t woo a local into spraying you down on the super cruxy figure 4 pogo move. Be warned, not all locals are willing to drop such killer hints without seeing you work the climb. So give it all you got and just be nice, climbers don’t bite er…. often.



so strong!

 4. Embrace Your Strengths

Being a small guy I’m not ashamed to say that my first hard boulder problem was one that perfectly fit my style. It was a lowball campus and while it’s not exactly classic to a lot of people, I was psyched because it was hard and I sent it. There’s no shame in starting off with what you’re best at. If you’re one of those gym rats who loves nothing more than flying between walls and skipping holds, look for a route or problem with a dyno. If crimps are your thing then crimp away my friend! Of course you’ll want to expand your abilities and strengths, but when you’re building confidence, no worries if that means sticking to things you do well.

5. Go With Friends

Even if it means shelling out more cash for gas, I’ve found climbing with good friends is way more motivating than flying solo or with partners you only sort of like. This is especially the case in bouldering. The more super friendly, similarly strong climbers you can get around you the better. The last thing you want is to only get twenty minutes on your favorite problem because your whole group isn’t ready to work something of that grade yet. And no one wants to have a belayer who could care less about the climber or the route. Belayers who are of similar strength levels will keep interest in the climb and make sure you have more time to work hard sections. The only real essential here is that the people you climb with are positive. Nothing sucks psych like a self-absorbed negative climber, no matter how strong they are.



Photo By Andy Page



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the sweetness

So the past few weeks have been magical for the boys of 1802 Chamberlain. Here's what's been going down: 

First and foremost, ELLIOTT SENT T-THONG!! 

Elliott Brown on Tennessee Thong v7

In case you haven't had the privilege of seeing Elliott work it over the past 3 years, you probably won't ever see him touch it again because his nemesis has finally been sent. It literally got ridiculous how dialed Elliott had the first moves to Tennessee thong, but that last bump has haunted him for years (no really... years). But with some new beta and courage, Elliott decided to hit it up at the end of our session on Friday and he's so glad he did. In the hours after the sun had sent, Elliott dug deep and pulled it out! Gah, I'm so proud of him. Friday was also sweet because Lindsey Kirkland came out with us and got her first v6 (Shotgun), and Zoe Smith flashed her first v3 (totally gonna be climbing v5 is she keeps going outside). 

Lindsey Kirkland on Shotgun v6

On a personal note, we went out to Dayton today for only my second time and I was able to send Torpedo (v7) on my first go of the day and get all the moves of Honeycomb (v10!). Everything felt great and I'm hoping that with a few more days over spring break to work it I might be able to pull out a send which would be a HUGE burst of confidence for me. I know it's late in the bouldering season (like it's basically over) but we're still fighting for these last few weeks of stacking pads. 

Here are some more pictures of recent climbing excursions: 

Me on Tristar v3

Elliott Brown on Celestial Mechanics v7

The Crew

                                             

A Solid Weekend.

So on Friday, in appreciation of beautiful weather, some of us took off for LRC for the day. We were feeling pretty strong and me and Joseph got a lot done. Especially Joseph. First we worked crescent direct and got frustrated so we bailed on that one, then we hit Cast Away (v7 dyno problem) and Jo sent it on his 2nd session of working it! I wasn't too into it at first because I couldn't get the muscle memory down, but after a few goes I started feeling it. On my last attempt I wrapped my fingers around the top but just couldn't stick it. Either way I was stoked because dynos aren't really my thing and I know that problem will go for me. Then we headed to the back 9 to hit deception which is one of the most beautiful boulder problems I've ever seen. We worked it for a while and I got 2 moves from the top on my best go, and once again Jo crushed it. He was feeling it today for sure. I don't have video of him sending because he was really sketched out by the top and Elliott and I had to spot. Elliott also hit some random problem to the right of deception that we had no idea of. We didn't know the beta, if it was a real problem, or anything but it looked sweet so Elliott hopped on and flashed it. We think it's a v5? not too sure but that's what we think the guidebook said. After that we headed on over to the chronic (v7) and worked that for a bit as well. Joseph got it but he's gotten it before. Our buddy Daniel crushed it after a full session of tearing up his hands. I got all the moves dialed in but was just too raw to capitalize. (in the video is a clip of my left hand blowing off the crimp start and shredding my hand) All in all, a great day was had by all. Javier and Rachel also came out with us and we ran into tons of locals so it was good to get to hang with everyone.

Then on Saturday the real stuff went down.

We headed out in the early afternoon and were real bummed when Lacey messed up her ankle on the very first climb of the day. Freakin' crescent boulder and that rock at the bottom of the face proved to be treacherous once again as she fell on it and hurt her ankle. So then I helped her walk/carried her out of the boulder field and took her home. Drew Meyer was also with us on Sunday and he crushed hard when he got T thong (Elliott's nemesis) for the first time. After I got back, I hit The Chronic for the second session and after receiving some crucial beta from Andrew Byrne I was able to get the send, which was an awesome feeling after it tore my hands to bits on Friday. Then we headed over to Cleopatra and to perfectly cap off his weekend of crushing, Jo got the send! It's his first v8 so we're all freaking pumped for him. Videos from Sunday will be soon to come as soon Drew shot the footage on his camera.

As for now, here's some footage of Jo crushing and me getting tore up.

Joseph Ezell climbing Cast Away (v7), the Chronic (v7), and Deception (v7). Jordan White climbing (and failing at) The Chronic.

TBA comp

A good time was had by all at TBA's first in a 3 part series of competitions tonight. Most places, me and the boys would consider ourselves advanced climbers, but TBA continues to keep us humble by setting freakin sweet and freakin hard problems. We all competed Intermediate (which was accurate seeing as how we couldn't send a single advanced problem). Joseph got 1st, Elliott got 2nd, and I got third. The problems were sweet and I snagged a used pair of 5.10 5xs for only $50. So psyched! Once again, we didn't get pictures or videos (i know i know) but we're gonna try and do better (promise). The good news is that my dad is sending me a camera in the mail that I can use for climbing and we found a flip video camera at the library that we can check out. What we really need to do though is get Chris Adams and Josh Ritchie to live in Chattanooga and document all our worthy sends. I'll have more soon. Peace.

-Jordan

Let's get it started

So I recently decided that with all the climbing that me and my housemates have been doing lately, I needed to start a blog to keep track of all our noteworthy sends. I use the term "noteworthy" very loosely knowing full well that I won't be documenting any v13s by myself or my friends anytime soon. That said, this blog is a way for us to motivate ourselves to better document the climbing that we do (that way we can pick up more girls). Just kidding, but really Elliott is single. So for now I thought I'd give a little bio on the boys and what we do.

Jordan White (me)

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 125 lbs

Ape Index: +.25"

High Send: v7

Climbing Since: fall of 2008

Relationship Status: Single

Shoe of Choice: 5.10 5x

Joseph Ezell

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 160 lbs

Ape Index: +.25"

High Send: v8

Climbing Since: 2007

Relationship Status: Taken (by B-rat)

Shoe of Choice: 5.10 Dragon

Elliott Brown

Height: 5' 10"

Weight: 140 lbs

Ape Index: +.1"

High Send: v7

Climbing Since: 2007

Relationship Status: Single (and looking)

Shoe of Choice: Moccasym

Sam Halleen

Height: 5' 10"

Weight: 135 lbs

Ape Index: +.25"

High Send: v6

Climbing Since: 2007

Relationship Status: Taken

Shoe of Choice: 5x

Gabe Glass

Height: 6' 2"

Weight: 205lbs

Ape Index: +1.0"

High Send: v2

Climbing Since: 2009

Relationship Status: Taken

Shoe of Choice: Air Jordan

You can also expect to see guest appearances made by the likes of Drew Meyer, Garret Venable, our dog Grim, and anyone else we see doing something cool. As long as this rain chooses to subside, this blog should be consistently updated with pictures and videos of us climbing cool stuff. So thanks for reading and please check back soon.

-Jordan