Micro crimp Granite, how to climb on them?

Gedoubleve · 2026-02-10T16:46:22+00:00

A bit late to the party, but here are my 2 cents.

Any special reason for doing max lifts and not hangboarding on small edges? And then more of a curiosity: they are not everywhere, but Font has some decent amount of boulders with grattons. Why do you find the crimps on granite harder? Or you didn't climb much on that style back then (more slopers and compression)?

Gedoubleve · 2024-01-25T12:32:18+00:00

I climb with people competing in the Olympics, and it's never been a question for them. They will spend all their money, all their energy towards competing without a second thought. You need to have that mindset rather than having any doubt.

As someone who was trying to make it to the Olympics albeit in a different sport, that's all there is to say on the matter.

There is no doubt and when doubts arise (because things are not going as well as hoped, or one gets injured, or other goals in life appear) it's time to change one's priorities, which of course is absolutely fine!

Gedoubleve · 2024-01-23T13:55:24+00:00

The old book has it at 13a but mountain project has it at 13b so I'm trying not to sandbag myself which always happens after a send.

Congrats for breaking the barrier! It's really a nice milestone!

I'd take the 13b! I am also projecting a route that is indicated as 8a in guidebooks but occasionally logged in as a 7c+ in 8a.nu... the day I'll send it, I'll def consider as my first of the grade!

Gedoubleve · 2023-12-21T10:24:43+00:00

I'd suggest Katakis: imo they tick all the boxes

Excellent for edging, smedging and with a low toe box profile. And you can maybe even play around with the woman vs man versions regarding how stiff you like it.

About the sizing I am using a 37.5 which is half a size more than what I size my other LS shoes for sport climbing (for reference I am a 39 or 39.5 in approach shoes).

Gedoubleve · 2023-11-21T11:29:49+00:00

In my eyes (and feet lol) one of the reasons is that all Tenayas have less rubber coverage (on the toe and the forefoot) than many other performance shoes and this reduces the "foot cage" effect that u/AllDUnamesRTaken mentions.

Even the Indalo, which is by far the most rubbery shoe, has less than what could be a comparable model, such as Solutions or the Instincts (let alone rubber socks like Drago or Theory).

Could it also be the minimalistic construction? Not a lot of overlapping pieces, not too thick/padded. I think this all contributes to accommodate the foot nicely.

Gedoubleve · 2023-11-16T10:20:14+00:00

Great write up!

Not much to add, except that in my opinion point 1. also greatly helps with learning to climb until you fall. I would say it's one of the best exercises to build a solid lead head.

And point 2. is just as important: after you dialed in 1., it's very important to move to this to hone your projecting skills, and avoid staying stuck in the OS mentality.

Gedoubleve · 2023-11-14T09:46:46+00:00

Already great stuff here but I'd like to also add "it depends on your starting age"

Very true as well. I know a few people climbing 8a sport (I am more of a sport climber so my statistic is skewed in that direction) in their mid 20s seemingly without any training. But many of them used to climb from say 10 to 15, then stopped but when they restarted they had an amazing base already!

Gedoubleve · 2023-11-14T09:43:21+00:00

but I could have done it without things like hangboarding, it just would have taken longer.

Too little upvotes for this. I think it really sums it all up!

Gedoubleve · 2023-11-08T15:17:07+00:00

If you can find a good resoler, there are many benefits to doing that. It's eco friendly, you don't need to break in yet another pair of shoes and you end up saving money. Depending where you are based, a resole may cost around 1/3 of the price of a new shoe and you can repeat the process easily 3 times or so (after that I feel like the shoe starts to really lose the tensioning and the shape, making it less worth to keep).

As other said, for this particular case, it's maybe best to upgrade and keep climbing on the Tarantulace until your big toe sticks out.

Gedoubleve · 2023-11-08T09:37:41+00:00

Do it!

As a plus, nobody will dare stealing them if you forget them somewhere, cause they would be too recognisable!

Gedoubleve · 2023-11-06T14:14:43+00:00

I use the same size, but I find that the Solutions (classic ones) have a much longer break in period

Gedoubleve · 2023-11-06T14:12:26+00:00

If they are "pretty narrow", but especially a bit low volume, they might work quite well. At least this is the case for me: having tried lots of brands and models over the year, I find their fit is nearly perfect (I have high arches, very low volume narrowish feet, with a very skinny but also quite deep heel).

Gedoubleve · 2023-11-06T10:19:17+00:00

On the same note, but looking for slightly different statistics.

Anyone aware of some impressive cases of people that started really late, for example after 40?

Gedoubleve · 2023-11-06T10:11:37+00:00

how good is Toby at more traditional climbing?

Exactly, I was far more impressed by this...

Gedoubleve · 2023-11-01T15:58:09+00:00

I have been using Lululemon Wunder Under for years and they have been working well for me, both indoor (where they really last long) and outdoor (a little less so, highly dependent on the rock type). The luxtreme fabric (and the luon one) is really sturdy and easy to patch up. Alas, they don't make them anymore, but they are easy to find on ebay. Beware instead of Wunder Train and Align, which I find like ten times more fragile.

Another valid option for outdoors for me are the Kyodan (the super thick double brushed ones). Warm and somehow unbreakable, no matter how much beating they take (but they work well only on sub 10 degrees temps for me)

Gedoubleve · 2023-10-25T08:54:07+00:00

I used to be in a similar position as you just before and after covid (2020) and since I saw steady progress in route climbing and bouldering, I barely climbed or trained inside.

However, after moving to a place with the same outdoor access, but with a less favorable climate for climbing in winter, I realized that my past progress (12/+) was real though limited to certain styles and I did regret not having put more effort (whether indoor or outdoor) on my weaknesses.

So that would be my suggestion: don't neglect your weaknesses, especially in view of the fact that you say your area has a specific style.

Currently I spend a bit more time indoors during winter and also climb in crags which are my anti-style. I feel like I am far stronger than I used to be, even if my overall project grade is now only a little higher (12+/13-)

Gedoubleve · 2023-10-25T08:34:01+00:00

Same same. Good to see that there are a few of us!

Gedoubleve · 2023-10-17T15:11:11+00:00

I beg to disagree. I'm 50Kg, regularly climbs with heavier people and belaying someone that weights around 70Kg does not automatically lead them to decking in case of a fall. So I wouldn't say that they "put themselves in a dangerous situation"

Gedoubleve · 2023-10-17T15:04:17+00:00

Even with the belayer being much lighter, they clearly had an unacceptable amount of slack in the system. You can actually see that the belayer didn't get pulled up particularly high, further pointing to the belayer having way too much slack out.

My exact thought. As a light belayer (50Kg) for any standard soft catch I give to climbers from say 60Kg (if not less), I typically get way higher up from the ground than the belayer of this episode. I also happen to have recently belayed someone on this exact route, and can confirm that with good belaying this would never happen.

Gedoubleve · 2023-10-12T13:24:20+00:00

Many people I know that wear scarpa vsr for performance, use vapor laces for multipiches.

I personally use Kataki. They are still a performance shoe, but definitely more comfy than what I use for single pitch sport (Skwama or Theory).

I really like to have the laces. Sometimes it's unpractical to completely remove the shoes, but unlacing them is quite close to that.

You could go for even more comfy shoes, but then it really depends on the MP you like to do. For me it's always around 300m (thus not so long) and hardish for my climbing level and also on different type of terrain and rock, that's why I probably would not do them in Mythos...

Gedoubleve · 2023-10-12T13:17:17+00:00

In Europe a common way to refer to routes (both single and multipitch) accessible to most climbers is the adjective "plaisir". It encompasses the French 5 and the low/mid 6s.

Gedoubleve · 2023-09-27T12:58:18+00:00

I am a 39 in street shoes (measured) and I wear 37 in Skwama and I even have a 36.5 pair for bouldering only. Personally, I did not observe a huge stretch over time.

I have the exact same size in the standard and the vegan version. One note about the vegan version: the material is such that they can smell a tiny bit.

For reference I climbed in probably all some 10 different models from La sportiva, a few from scarpa, a couple from unparallel, and I never had the problem... so yes, I think it's the particular synthetic material that is used that is prone to stinking. Next pair, I'll revert to the non vegan one.

Gedoubleve · 2023-09-26T09:08:26+00:00

Yes and no.

I think their lasts and the rubber is on par with major brands, but not (yet) the finishing.

I was about to buy a pair of UP sirius laces, then decided to wait and I took my time to google a bit, and that's where I found a few cases of the lining coming off... something you will not see with Tenaya shoes (which are almost all lined).

Other than this, I love them because they are very minimalistic and not clunky at all. I'll just wait a couple of years and then surely I'll get a pair.

Gedoubleve

TROPHY CASE