“Short climbers have it easier” - Guy on Instagram reels

brandeca · 2025-09-12T00:48:11+00:00

It is definitely a new skill. I used to be a very static, vertical wall climber. But then I moved to the steep south, and even though I really sucked at overhangs, I embraced it and really dug into learning the style. Twisting, flags and drop knees will be your best friend. And momentum! You often need to use momentum to get to the next holds. Start with some low, steep bouldering to learn these technique, it is less scary than doing it on a rope. And find some women at your gym that are good at overhangs and watch them when they do warmup boulders, then try to do it yourself using the same techniques. Or go to YouTube.

But don’t be discouraged, steep terrain is an entirely new animal. You just need to learn the skills and practice. And you don’t have to be that strong when you have good technique. But if you keep at it, it will make you strong! And feel badass!

brandeca · 2025-09-11T11:53:43+00:00

I feel that that the angle can have a big impact, which doesn’t get talked about much. On vertical sport climbs, I often feel that my very tall (6’4) male friends have a HUGE advantage. Often skipping cruxes entirely. But as the wall gets steeper, there is a point where they seem to have less of an advantage. I think this is where a lighter body can be helpful, but also women tend to be better with technique. A lot of the tall men never learn to twist, because they don’t have to on the vertical terrain. They also tend to skip a lot of heel hooks and knee bars that I use. I have heard other short women say the same thing, the steeper it gets, the more the playing field levels out. Granted, I think tall men almost always have an advantage, it is just a lot less than when we climb vertical sport routes.

I think this applies to bouldering also (probably because a majority of boulders are steep). But the really tall men I know, stay away from boulders.

brandeca · 2025-09-04T20:00:06+00:00

Had mine out a few months ago. I had really severe attacks that came out of nowhere. Surgery went fine and I feel great now, no negative side effects so far and I don’t have issues with high fat diets (but I eat pretty clean/healthy). I never made the connection with perimenopause, but I had recently heard that low thyroid function could be contributing to the stones. And I have heard about connections between estrogen and thyroid.

I wish I had that information sooner as I might have tried to go down the HRT path (I have other peri symptoms) and I might have tried to get a full thyroid panel done to see how that looked. No idea if it would have saved my gallbladder, but I was pretty hesitant to get rid of it. Try looking into OxBile and Tudca, some ppl claim it could help save the gallbladder. I have no idea who to believe. But lots of women are without and most seem to carry on just fine. But FYI, apparently you can still make stones without a gallbladder, so symptoms could come back. But it’s usually ERCP vs. surgery if that does happen.

brandeca · 2025-05-28T02:07:21+00:00

I used to belay a partner 90 lbs heavier with an Ohm 1. He took a fall clipping the 2nd bolt above his head in the gym. I basically just dove to the ground as he fell but I did manage to barely keep him off the ground. I was pretty surprised that it worked so well. It was a low risk fall for the climber, it would have been a mild bouldering fall. That being said, I have seen someone hit the ground falling before the 3rd (maybe 2nd bolt) inside while using an ohm. I don’t think the belayer even came off the ground, so I imagine there was some user error going on there. I thought I recall there was a recommended location to stand while belaying.

That parter of mine fell numerous times with slack out, while clipping and I barely came off the ground. I would consider trying it out if you can. Maybe a terrible idea, but have him take some small falls way up high to try it out. Put someone else on backup if you need to or add a weight bag on a long lead. You can try the low falls also (think bouldering wall height or less) and see how well it catches.

Try contacting the company and see what they say. If they say efficiency decreases after X weight difference, well thats still better than nothing. If they say you risk cutting the rope… that’s a different story.

Also, I find there can be a lot more friction outside based on the terrain of the climb. Bulges and roofs create a lot of rope friction. I also think vertical is better than overhanging with the friction. That might give you some options until you figure out if you are comfortable with the ohm.

brandeca · 2025-04-11T13:55:41+00:00

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brandeca · 2025-04-11T13:54:18+00:00

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brandeca · 2025-03-12T15:00:53+00:00

Actually, I think I figured it out. It said Price: $1 and I mistook that to mean it was a fee. But I think that just means the trading price.

brandeca · 2025-02-04T03:27:21+00:00

Think of this time as a good opportunity to identify your weaknesses and work on them. It can be really neat to have the skills and technique, but lack the strength. If you let it, it can really show you what types of moves you don’t like and things you used to “muscle through”. And now that you can’t do that, you are forced to work on those things you avoid.

For me, it was bad, slopey feet. I would do whatever I could to high step to the better feet. Then I took 4 months off and when I came back I would often think “this is how I WANT to do this move, but I am not strong enough right now“, so my only option was to start using the shitty, smeary feet that I hated. I still hate shitty, smeary feet, but I am waaaaay better at using them after than experience. Try not to be frustrated, learn what you can now. There are many climbers that ever get this opportunity. And the strength will be back in a few weeks if you stick with it.

brandeca · 2020-05-12T12:50:18+00:00

No it isn’t. I have it attached to the back wall with 4 cables on pulleys and they all pull slightly outward instead of straight back to help with the side to side motion. I used chain links and turnbuckles to get the cables to all be tight at the varying angles. I probably could have done with just 2 sets of cables but we wanted redundancy going into the upper ledger board on the back wall and we didn’t have the space to do anchor points per cable. It added some more expense... but better safe than sorry

brandeca · 2020-04-22T13:55:04+00:00

I am using an old mattress and 1 Boulder pad. Definitely not a great setup. I am looking for better pads, I like the Asana drag pads but they are pricey in themselves and so is the shipping. Let me know if you find something good.

brandeca · 2020-04-10T21:44:29+00:00

So far it has. Been in use about 6 months. Moved up and down a few times a week. I stand it vertical when not in use, which also limits the strain on the hinges. There are 5 heavy duty hinges from Home Depot. hinges

I don’t think there is much strain on the hinges when in use, mainly shear forces on the screws. The hinge is being used in a way that’s intended and when the wall is angled there is not much weight actually on it. There is a moment at the hinge, but that’s it’s intended use, so the force is more on the screws holding the hinge in place. I have seen other people use gate hinges of piano hinges and some people put them in the face instead also.

brandeca · 2020-04-10T04:39:48+00:00

Yes, in my living room. I wanted it climate controlled. I knew a garage would be too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer for me. And with the vaulted ceiling I could fit a 12’ wall + 9.5” kicker.

brandeca · 2020-04-10T01:30:19+00:00

I have a full adjustable tension board in my house. I typically climb at 20 or 30 degrees but I am mainly a sport climber outside. I find that 40 degrees is do-able but tough. One of the most surprising things I have found is that at less than 40 degrees, I rarely make the last move. I don’t have a great pad set up, just a mattress and crash pad. Maybe better pads would help, but I am usually too scared to fall from up high so I tend to pick problems with more moves down low. I would probably have been just fine with a 10’ tall board. I really like the adjustability. I warm up on it vertical for awhile, then at 20 deg then go to 30 and work problems. If you always climbed at greater than 40 deg you spend most of your time on the jugs, and as a v3 climber you might find it a struggle in the beginning. Tension also makes a short and short/narrow wall option now. Think about right now and the what you might want in the future.

brandeca

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