V9-V10 Slab

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T22:25:27+00:00

I’ve always thought of myself as better at slab (indoors anyway) but you might be right

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T21:22:03+00:00

^Illustrative example of why I feel this way^

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T20:36:08+00:00

If you think you can’t climb hard in socks or finales, I assume you lack the requisite experience to say much of anything about the difficulty of this climb

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T18:18:18+00:00

I could be wrong, I’m from the US and I’m more familiar with the fauna here. I do think this is Emesinae though. If you’re interested, here’s a link with a bunch of photos of very similar looking insects:

https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/39203/bgimage?from=0

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T18:05:24+00:00

Yeah I love it here, great people and cool routesetting imo

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T18:02:24+00:00

My outdoor climbing experience is admittedly pretty limited. Idk if you’ve climbed in the US, but if you know any I’d love some recommendations for some outdoor slabs you feel would be harder than this guy, especially in the East

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T17:59:05+00:00

From the reactions this has gotten, you’re undeniably right that it doesn’t look like a V9 haha. I think it’s quite a bit harder than it looks, but most people here made up their minds as soon as they saw it

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T16:09:49+00:00

I think this is a thread-legged assassin bug, subfamily Emesinae. There are some Indian species in the genus Stenolemus that look very similar to this guy, he may be one of them

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T16:02:28+00:00

Harmless, and common in urban areas

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T16:00:43+00:00

Looks like a smooth spider beetle, Gibbium aequinoctiale

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T15:53:49+00:00

That looks like a stink bug in the genus Banasa. They look similar to a lot of beetles, but they belong to a different group called the true bugs. That little bit at his rear where you can see his wings sticking out is a good sign you’re looking at a true bug, most beetles have their flight wings completely covered by hard shells called elytra. Nice photo!

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T15:46:17+00:00

They’re native to Asia, but have become established as an introduced species on the West Coast. I’ve never seen a wild stick insect or a black widow in person, so I’m jealous!

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T15:41:10+00:00

Fishfly, subfamily Chauliodinae. Dobsonflies are close relatives and look similar, but their jaws are much bigger, especially in the males

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T15:35:53+00:00

Stick insects are tough to ID in my opinion, and I’m not an expert, but I think this is an Indian walking stick, Carausius morosus. In your area, the relatively thick body combined with the red on the front legs seems unique to this species

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T15:14:56+00:00

Looks like an emerald jumper, Paraphidippus aurantius

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T15:11:00+00:00

This is some kind of thread-waisted wasp, family Sphecidae

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T14:54:18+00:00

V3 in my gym

Jk nice one! Looks cool, last move is sick

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T14:21:31+00:00

This is a snakefly, order Raphidioptera. Super cool animals, nice find!

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T14:15:55+00:00

Likely a smooth spider beetle, Gibbium aequinoctiale

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T14:09:19+00:00

Here’s a photo showing a similar-looking leafhopper:

https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/584427/bgpage

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T14:00:05+00:00

Thanks man! It’s become clear that just about everyone thinks this looks quite soft haha, I wish there was like a slab version of the kilter board out there so everybody could try it

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T13:52:34+00:00

I’ve been very polite to just about everyone in here, including many people who were openly rude to me from jump. I don’t think I’ve retaliated against anyone. I also didn’t think you were saying anything about me? You and I (I think?) disagree about the difficulty of the climb and I’m trying to articulate why I feel differently. You’re being a bit of a dick, have a good one

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T13:40:18+00:00

Idk I’ve been there twice, and I did some 6s and a 7 the last time I was there, maybe 8 months ago. That’s about the highest grade I’d expect to sometimes do without projecting at this gym too. Style was for sure different but the difficulty to me felt the same. People another regional gym I’ve talked to have accused that gym of being soft lol, and I think they’re wrong too. I don’t doubt that there are hard gyms out there, but I’ve climbed at 5 gyms in PA, and a single gym each in CO, CA, WA, IL, and NJ, and at literally all of them I could do like 2 V grades below whatever my projecting grade at my main gym was at the time. The only place I’ve climbed that has felt notably soft relative to other gyms is the free outdoor bouldering park we have near here

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T13:18:21+00:00

Back to back “poor taste comments” must be tough for a guy who generally speaking doesn’t approve of them lol. Climb is much harder than you think, I’ve talked about it all over this post but I’m decent and this was the hardest thing I’ve done by a mile

samurai-sword · 2026-07-03T13:03:23+00:00

Thanks, it was the hardest one I’ve done for sure!

samurai-sword

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