Hannah: My Climbing Essentials

I just loved Crystal's post on her summer running essentials a few posts back and have been wanting to make a post of my own regarding my essentials for rock climbing and bouldering.

First, and foremost, the shoes.
I have spent over two years searing for the perfect shoe for me. I have a very awkward foot to fit in a climbing shoe. My feet are long but my toe box is wide. In case you haven't worn climbing shoes before, I must warn you: it can be quite uncomfortable. I remember when I first started climbing, my friend told me, "If you can wiggle your toes, the shoes are too big." Climbing shoes actually force your toes to curl down instead of lay flat which sounds (and feels) awful, but trust me, when you're gripping on the rock for dear life and have the tiniest of tiny foot jibs to step on, you'll be thankful for your super-compressed shoes. I am thrilled at the fact that my boyfriend got me a pair of my dream shoes a couple days ago. I haven't even broken them in but I'm in love. They are a little uncomfortable right now, and actually I know I can go at least 1/2 a size small but I just want to get used to the change. These shoes are the most aggressive shoes I've climbed in so I'm easing my way into it. I bring to you La Sportiva's Miura VS for women



 Before my Miuras I had one pair of shoe that consistently stuck with me. They are my 5.10 Rogue's. They are an excellent beginner shoe and I won't be getting rid of my pair for any reason. They are a little too big for me though so I have to wear socks with them but I tell you- these shoes have been everywhere with me. I climbed my first outdoor routes in these shoes, lead my first routes, and sent my first 5.12 in my Rogues. They are a great shoe.


You can tell my Rogues are super old because they are dirty and disgusting.

Next, the second most important, chalk!
There are two things you need in order to climb. Shoes and chalk. That's all you need to boulder, at least. My chalk bag was my very first purchase- before I even got shoes. I sweat like a pig when I'm climbing and there is no way you are getting up that rock with slippery hands.

This is my favorite chalk. I buy it at REI. It's very
soft and sticky. I do prefer the pre-ground
chalk.... I hate doing it myself.



I love my little chalk bag. It is made by Mammut and
has a side pocket with a zipper so I can keep nail clippers
in there! It also has a spot to hold my boulder brush.



And you can't be a sport climber without a harness...

I have only ever used Mammut Ophira harnesses but there is a good reason: I have never had a bad experience with that harness. A harness is something you can't skimp on. Don't ever get a used harness because you don't know its history. Anytime I take a really really big fall on my harness, I get a new one (but always the same one because it's so cute and it matches my chalk bag!) I never want to run the risk of my harness failing on me, or any of my gear for that matter.



Harnesses are SSOOOOO flattering...

These next items are purely for outdoor sport climbing:
Rope <3<3<3
I use Maxim's New-England rope (dynamic of course) 9.9mm Bi-color Milky Way oh my gosh I love my rope. It's probably one of my favorite things ever.
I have only taken one big fall on it so far but that baby is in excellent shape. I have even named him Grond, after the battering ram at Pelennor Fields. Because both are indestructible!


Have I mentioned that I LOVE my rope?

  Quick Draws
I don't do trad climbing for two reasons. 1. I don't know how, and 2. I don't know where to find trad routes. I stick to my sport routes because I feel safest on them. To each his own. My quick draws are wire gates and I like my set I bought made by Black Diamond. They are very very light and I treat them well. I designate one draw to always be against the metal bolt, and one draw to always be clipped to my rope. I almost rhymed there.



It's a small set but I rarely do routes longer than five bolts and if I do, I am always with climbers who have a set of their own so we give and take where it's needed. My blue gear tape tells me which draws are mine so nobody can sneak them from me.... I'm watching you....

My top rope anchors and personal anchors are basically made the same way. I bought my slings and caribeaners from REI. My top rope anchors have screw gate caribeaners for the bolts and then I have one screw gate and one wire gate (non-locking) for the rope. My personal anchors have the same sling (different color) and screw gate caribeaners for the bolts but I don't clip them into my harness, I loop them and tie them in manually.



These are my personals. They keep me alive.



These are my anchors. As you can see the top of them
are made the same way as my personals. What is different
about them are the two caribeaners on the bottom. That's what I feed the rope through to set up top rope on outdoor routes. I love the convenience of having one non locking caribeaner that way if you're really struggling with the finish, you don't have to fumble with anything.





This is a closeup of the bottom of my anchors. The screw gate caribeaner is made by Black Diamond and the wire gate caribeaner on the right is made by Mad Rock.

Rope bag/day pack:
You gotta have something to pack all of your gear in for easy transportation. I love my Beal day pack. It has lots of pockets, gear loops, a tarp for my rope, and plenty of space for my camelback bladder, food, essentials for my dog, you name it. I got mine in lime green.

Miscellaneous toys:

(From left to right) 1. Gri-gri for easy belaying. 2. My Black Diamond ATC for lead belay and my ideal tool for rappelling. 3. Boars hair brush to keep my holds from getting too greasy. Boars hair is just.... better. ;) 4. I keep my figure eight purely as a backup if I'm cleaning a route and I'm getting ready to rappel but for some reason I drop my ATC, I need a backup so I don't die. :) 5. Climbing tape to keep my finger tendons from getting injured and protecting my pads from getting flappers.



Ok so that's essentially what my collection has come down to. I also have a crash pad for when I go bouldering but I don't feel like getting my camera out again. It's your run of the mill inexpensive crash pad. I got it as a prize two years ago. My local climbing gym was having a bouldering competition around Halloween and due to the holiday, there was a costume contest. I did not compete in the bouldering comp but I did compete in the costume contest.... and I won first prize which was a crash pad! Woo!!



I definitely deserved first prize.... hahaha

Well now I just want to go outside and climb....... sorry not sorry for the super long post!!

Hannah: My first climbing trip

I have talked about my first outdoor climbing experience and I'd like to share a little bit more about that day. (Any excuse to jump down memory lane and look through old photos! )
Like I've said before, this was a totally new and freaky experience for me. I've never put my life in the hands of a stranger before! (except for that one time when I was six months old and I had to have intussusception or else I was going to die.)



This is the first moment my hands touched real rock. All those times when I used to throw them don't count. This was feeling rock in a totally different way. The rock was so cold and smooth; very different from what I was used to climbing on at the indoor gym.

If you've ever climbed indoors, you'll know that the routes are marked with tape so if you want to do a specific route you can only touch the hand holds and foot holds that have the same tape. Climbing outdoors is nice because you have no restrictions. All of the rock is free to touch which makes it easier to climb the route, but also easier to escape and free your mind.

Granted, the first time I climbed I was far from at ease. All I could focus on is how high I was and how far I'd fall (I'm not even afraid of heights!) It's very weird trusting your feet to hold you up even when you are standing on the tiniest little ledge (see my right foot in the picture above).

That is me at the top.... realizing there is a small cactus under my butt....

On my way down I was so giddy. I realized there was no reason to get so nervous and worked up over everything. When my feet touched the ground the first thing I wanted to do was climb it again, just like riding an awesome roller coaster. Unfortunately it started to rain as soon as I finished my route so I didn't get to climb more that day but I will never forget that first experience. Looking at the route I can't help but notice how easy it looks even though it was such a challenge for me back then. Just looking at these photos is making me ache to get outside and climb again!