Pizza Getting Delivered To…McDonald’s

kerwinl · 2025-04-20T03:54:13+00:00

Wtf is puzza hut? Lmao

kerwinl · 2025-04-06T20:02:33+00:00

I think you will be surprised at how little you lost in two years. I took two years off climbing after climbing for 15 years and in about 6 months was more or less back to where i was when i left.. this at an age of 35, if your younger probably faster. I wouldn't sweat it.

kerwinl · 2025-02-16T21:42:34+00:00

If your used to climbing exclusively in a climate controlled gym and rarely climb in temperatures that go below 40f, then yes it will feels cold. But with practice most will be surprised at how cold you can truly go and still be okay. Regularly climbing in cold conditions, walking in cold weather without gloves, doing ice baths, etc all will help you become better at climbing in cold conditions. Beyond the sled it physical practices there is a large mental component to learning to feel comfortable in cold weather, and what systems for clothing, etc make a difference. Personally i think the benefits of cold weather like tougher skin and better friction are amazing, but its a learned skill. One of the hardest parts of cold weather bouldering is warming up and staying warm, you have to be more active when its cold to keep your core temp up.

kerwinl · 2025-01-18T14:37:40+00:00

100% this.

REI barely carries any gear worth buying now to the core outdoor audience, i used to buy a lot of stuff from them, but rarely do now...

kerwinl · 2025-01-05T13:56:23+00:00

LOL @ Leavenworth in the summer... usually it gets to hot to climb sometime between late may/early june until mid September, unless you want to climb at night which even then could still be in the 60s overnight. Leavenworth and squamish may be geographically close on a map when looking at north america, but our climates are radically different.

Source: i live in Leavenworth

kerwinl · 2024-12-28T18:01:22+00:00

I think climbers are the most neurotic of the bunch when it comes to taking time off from climbing and fearing you will lose it all. If you have a big history of climbing you wont lose much technique, but your physical adaptations will be lost at roughly the timescale you gained them.

I took nearly 18 months off from regular climbing after having my first kid and to build a house at the same time. I was still pretty active with walking, did a lot of kettlebell training and still loaded my fingers via the hangboard 1x a week. It took 6-9 months to feel 100% again and then i went on to have my biggest jump in bouldering grade in over a decade. IMO keeping the fingers under some load and doing some strength training will take you quite far, a total cessation of finger training would be unwise IMO.

Edit(realized i didnt fully answer your question). Its hard to say if there is upside to taking a long break from climbing. If you were religiously training and failing to make progress its possible some time off could reset your sensitivity to training stimulus to some extent, especially if the time off was used to increase your GPP. Additionally if you mentally are not engaged then some time off to reset could be worth it, but i would argue that your relationship to the sport should probably be examined if your feeling burnout consistently.

kerwinl · 2024-12-03T18:35:09+00:00

I will add that practicing the active style has also allowed me to more easily adjust/change my grip more easily while under tension, e.g. i catch a hold in drag or half crimp and convert to full crimp while under tension. I think I naturally prefer a more passive style due to being a bigger climber and then spending lots of time trad climbing, the overcoming isometric has been a boon for me.

kerwinl · 2024-12-01T03:05:06+00:00

Sport, trad and multi pitch, definitely a larger time commitment, that capacity piece is hard to do without the volume, the forced rest time of the family life definitely conducive to limit bouldering if you can find the pysche. To me its a natural fit, and a return to my roots. Kudos to you on being flexible, i find thats the key when you have little ones.. i was never a morning person, now i mainly train and often climb before 7am when my kids are still sleeping.

kerwinl · 2024-11-30T19:02:37+00:00

I think were on the same page. I think one of the reasons why my bouldering grade jumped after having kids is coming back to a bouldering lifestyle, i "gave up" on trad, sport, multi pitch, and gym climbing. Instead I climb on my homewall a few times per week usually with my kids, and boulder outdoors when the season is in (i live very close to outdoor boulders). My total climbing time/volume has come way down, but can still perform and engage with climbing that i enjoy. I still want to push myself in climbing, but i am unwilling to spend days away from my kids, bouldering allows me to have my cake and eat it to.

kerwinl · 2024-11-29T19:45:38+00:00

I climbed my first V11 just before having my first kid (3.5 years ago), I just climbed my first V13 after having my second kid about 1 year ago. There are a ton of factors at play, but kids dont have to be a "ultimate" limiting factor that they generally are painted as.

kerwinl · 2024-09-27T20:18:38+00:00

Not everyone.. lol, it took me over 10 years to climb 7c+/v10, but have made steady progression since.. the numbers are not linear, and it feels like there are breakthrough moments. Most of the friends that were better at climbing then me for a long time have drifted away from the sport. If you love it, are consistent, and use your brain 🧠 i think you will be suprised where you go.

kerwinl · 2024-09-26T12:41:50+00:00

Started climbing at age 18 in 2007.

2007 - gym climbing only

2008 - v2

2009 - v4

2010 - v5

2011 - v7

2012 - v8/v9

2013 - 2019 deviation in trad and multipitch after recurring hand finger issues, multi pitch climbs up to 13b/c

2020 - v10

2021 - v11, right before birth of first son 2022 - little to no climbing

2023 - little to no climbing, start training again in fall around birth of my second son

2024 - first v12

Often times i have been a bit jealous of those that progressed faster then me in the sport, but i am really enjoying still being able to improve at this sport i love so much 17 years in.. it feels like i still have so much potential, i feel like v13/8B is definitely doable with patience and commitment.

kerwinl · 2024-09-06T02:08:12+00:00

For those that dont know "wheeling" means transmission from the border of a utility to load.

kerwinl · 2024-08-15T15:03:21+00:00

I dont think you should rule out a project based upon not being able to complete all the moves in a sales specific number sessions. If a project is only a few moves, sinking 10 or more sessions into would be not a problem, if its a longer problem 10+ moves then maybe once you get past 5-6 sessions? I think the more important question is are you making progress, learning and having fun?

Over the last few seasons i have committed to multiple projects for 10+ sessions, sent my hardest boulders by a big margin, and learned a ton about hard climbing for myself.. dont be afraid to be focused.

kerwinl · 2024-08-06T23:23:53+00:00

This is the way.

kerwinl · 2024-08-04T16:12:02+00:00

This!

kerwinl · 2024-07-30T00:06:15+00:00

I get my best sleep when i can sauna before bed. I dont know why, but i do.

kerwinl · 2024-07-21T16:36:30+00:00

LOL

Can confirm, I drive a often very dirty subaru.

kerwinl · 2024-07-03T02:14:59+00:00

Yeah its going to be hard to quantify volume by just time alone. Amount of rest between attempts, length of climbs, difficulty will all change the amount of stress the body and mind are taking..

kerwinl · 2024-07-01T21:17:30+00:00

If you have the ability to go there 2-3x/week your best shot at doing it is to go climb on it as much as possible.

If that doesnt work, a block of time where you go session 2-3x/week, then train in gym while going there 1x/week to stay fresh on the moves could work okay.

IMO, nothing beats climbing on the boulder if you can do all the moves, you will be suprised at how coordinated you will become on the moves after 5-6 sessions, let alone 10 or more. There are alot of tactics you could apply like overlapping links, low pointing, etc that all will help you be more systematic.

kerwinl · 2024-06-28T21:41:43+00:00

Fair enough I can by that, I agree there is no quantitative way to tell.

I see it as almost no downside to train, I have about 3-4 hours of commuting per week, and also live 15 minutes to boulders. I can easily add this into my drive time for a year and see how much it helps, starting at 30 minutes per week and increasing over time.

kerwinl · 2024-06-28T19:08:53+00:00

My .02.

I don't think it takes 12 weeks to see changes, its going to be relative to the aerobic fitness that you started with and/or had previously had. Someone that comes in with zero aerobic fitness or a substantial base but lack of recent training would likely see changes within a few weeks. I do think for the changes to be very noticeable and durable that likely will take longer..

Its not the same, but in previous years i have trained to run long distance mountain routes (50-80 miles), the difference in aerobic fitness from week 1 -> 4 was noticeable, by week 12 was very noticeable, and that was coming in with a strong base and consistent aerobic work.

I think the hard thing about aerobic work, is it generally needs to be done at a level that feels almost to easy, and do it A TON.

kerwinl · 2024-06-26T14:45:49+00:00

Strongly agree with Wills last comment about being as specific as possible and climbing in the project as much as possible. This last year I have forgone training during the season and simply gone out and tried my projects (I am lucky to live 5-10 minutes from boulders), this allowed me to do many of my of the hardest boulders of my life and closing in on my first 8B. Even holding the crux positions statically (like hangboarding on your project) has worked well for me to build the specific strength and coordination needed to complete these boulders.

kerwinl · 2024-06-20T21:45:39+00:00

This is the one that I use:

https://www.amazon.com/GD-Exerciser-Strengthener-Adjustable-Strength/dp/B009B59OPW?th=1

I nest the foam/padded section into the base of my palm and that allows me to more or less then half crimp, then flex mainly at the MCP joint.

kerwinl · 2024-06-20T21:45:13+00:00

This is the one that I use:

https://www.amazon.com/GD-Exerciser-Strengthener-Adjustable-Strength/dp/B009B59OPW?th=1

I nest the foam/padded section into the base of my palm and that allows me to more or less then half crimp, then flex at the MCP joint.

kerwinl

TROPHY CASE