NEWBIE HERE!!!

[excited newbie]

Hey yall, im a newbie rock climber and Ice climber but im sickly addicted!! I went to the festi-glace this year and ice climbed for the first time!! Im definitly hooked for life. Unfortunitly im in a pretty strict student program called Katimavik, travelling across Canada, so i cant just go whenever I want.....plus i have absolutly no equipment or money to buy any, haha. But regardless, Im just looking for climbers to talk to and learn from, possibly get some used gear and stuff, maybe even find some people to climb with. Anyway, I finish this program in June, so if anyones interested ill be itching to climb. So yeah, if anyone wants to take a newbie under his or her wing that would be awesome!!

[excited newbie]

Id just like to thank everyone who replyed to my message. Its nice to know the climbing community looks out for new people who are interested.

[jeremy]

Its hard to get people to take you climbing if you have "no money/no gear". If you get a chance to meet with someone from our cheap bastard club you will find out we are much nicer in person. UNB fredericton has a climbing gym, you can find some cool people there.
jeremy

[excited newbie]

Ok, I`ll take your word for it. See, i never even knew there was a climbing club at UNB, so thats a good start. I dont expect anyone to take me climbing or anything and Im planning on buying my gear in the summer. I just thought it would be cool to meet climbers in my area even though Im not in freddy right now. Thanks Jeremy, how can I find out more about the club? is there a website or anything?

[b-rad]

http://www.unbf.ca/clubs/climb/home.htm

[Guest]

how can I find out more about the club? is there a website or anything?

ever heard of google?

[Fred]

Newbie,

sorry if we didn't reply to your original post. There is alot going on in here and sometimes you just can't reply to all the posts.

Let us know where you are based and we can go from there to help you get started in this wicked sport we are all addicted to.

Sincerely,

fred

[excited newbie]

WOW!! Thanks so much Adam!! Your really proving my point that it seems like you climbers are real (content moderated)

[excited newbie]

Ouch, just as I sent that to adam I got your message Fred. Enter foot in mouth.. Well, at least Fred`s not an (content moderated). Yeah, Im in Quebec right now, about twenty minutes from where Festi Glace took place. (which was fricken amazing by the way) But, in a week Im moving to Alberta, about twenty minutes outside of Calgary. Im hoping to climb a little in the Rockies but who knows. So yeah, thats where Im at right now, thanks Fred, i seriously appreciate that.

[Fred]

Have you checked out the drtopo.com website? It's a site based in Quebec and has very good beta for alot of climbing in Quebec. You'll also find a forum on that site similar to this one which will probably let you hook up with lots of people in your area. If you are ever in NB give us a call or drop in to the UNB climbing gym and you'll hook up with people in no time.

If you want, I also have some pics of limited places where I've climbed in Quebec posted on my personal website. Check out the link below. Or just ask us about some crags in your neck of the woods. Alot of us have visited Quebec often as well as the Eastern seabord and beyond.

http://www.beta-source.com

peace out

[excited newbie]

That sounds great, Yeah, Im definitly planning on joining the club when I get back to Freddy in June. And since I dont really get a chance to climb out here I figure ill just train till I get home which brings me to my next question: How should I train for climbing? Is there any special workouts that climbers do?(other than climbing of course)

[Guest]

WOW!! Thanks so much Adam!! Your really proving my point that it seems like you climbers are real (content moderated)

don't mention it.

[Guest]

my post wasn't intended to piss you off to the point of being moderated... you'll find you'll save yourself lots of time doing searches for stuff before you ask. but then again, maybe you want everyone else to do all your work for you...

but seriously, you'll find that a lot of the info you will be looking for as a noob will be found on one of several sites...

obviously you should only take info off the web at face value, but it can be a good start. the forums on http://www.rockclimbing.com can be a decent resource... but always back up anything you learn there with first-person advice/instruction

[Guest]

Newbie,sorry if we didn't reply to your original post. There is alot going on in here and sometimes you just can't reply to all the posts.

Mr. Fred, i don't think it's necessary to apologize to this snot-nosed kid. There are no laws that dictate that a thread must be responded to. You are doing a great job and don't owe him a thing.
By the way that this child has expressed himself you can bet he's going to have some real troubles securing climbing partners.
I wish him well and hope Katimavik never sends him our way!

[excited newbie]

Wow, this is getting stupid, all I wanted was to meet climbers in my area, I can see that some people are getting pretty offended by all this so I apologize. I seem to have started off with a bad first impression. But just to let you know, I do appreciate that Fred, and I`m sorry to any and all that I`ve offended.

[The Teth]

Exited Newbie:

Best not to take anything said on the forum too seriously. Some people will tell you off simply out of boredom. Newbies are easy targets. Remember, if they are posting on the forum they aren’t climbing, so you got to expect most of them to be a little grumpy. Talk to them when their finger tips are bleeding and you will find they are much more positive.

Nice avatar by the way. What is it? A climbing doll, or a naked circus performer trying to mantle. I wish my joints were that flexible. Anyway, whatever it is it looks cool!

The Teth

[Guest]

Nice avatar by the way. What is it?

looks like an artist's model to me...

[The Teth]

So it is. I thought it might be. It looks more organic though when it is shrunken down in his avatar. I had not seen the original. I still like it.

Hay Adam, when are you going to get an avatar?

The Teth

[mitchleblanc]

That sounds great, Yeah, Im definitly planning on joining the club when I get back to Freddy in June. And since I dont really get a chance to climb out here I figure ill just train till I get home which brings me to my next question: How should I train for climbing? Is there any special workouts that climbers do?(other than climbing of course)

Hey man,

Don't worry about those (content moderated) on the forum, stick with nice guys like me and you'll be allright. (Ha).

Seriously, there's not much you can do if you've never climbed, to train for climbing. Lose weight, I guess? Start running or something. You could do pull ups, I suppose, (palms facing away, not chin-ups, which is palms facing towards you) and that might help, but really your hands/forearms are your weakpoint, and you can't work that without a climbing wall!

Where did you say you were? Calgary? I'm not sure why you would need to wait until June then! You'd be missing out on some great climbing and some great climbing gyms, too. Have a look around. The best way to meet people is definitely NOT via a forum. Usually people aren't that stoked to take people out they've never met... The best way is to head into a gym, go a few nights, and you'll meet people very easily.

You need climbing shoes and chalk! You can have fun without them (I climbed in bare feet for a bunch of months) but I wouldn't climb without them now. Save up your pennies, go to a good gear shop, and buy them small. Guaranteed your idea of "small" is going to still be too big, so find a good gear shop (MEC in Calgary??) and try to get some good advice.

Take 'er easy buddy. See you in the fall at UNB if you're around.

Mitch

[mitchleblanc]

Id just like to thank everyone who replyed to my message. Its nice to know the climbing community looks out for new people who are interested.

Yeah, I'm not sure why I missed that one, sorry buddy.

[excited newbie]

Thanks Mitch, Yeah, Ive been doing finger pull-ups on the trim around doors and stuff and I`ve been running quite a bit. Ive done a bit of climbing before, I was at welsford a few times and I climbed in Montreal.
I wish I could go climbing when I get to Calgary but this stupid program Im in is pretty strict. Katimavik you can check it out if you want. Anyway yeah, Im hoping to go to the MEC in Calgary, possibly get the basic stuff so at least I can go bouldering in my spare time. Actually, I was just talking to a friend whos climbing in Scotland right now, I guess gear there is dirt cheap in some shops so I might be going to climb there for two weeks in the summer.
Well, thanks again to Teth and Mitch.

[mathieu]

Calgary eh?? I could always use a belay slave. Seriously doh tell me when you get here and i'll PM you when i'm on days off and we can maybe get hook up to go gym climbing.

[mitchleblanc]

Don't worry about those (content moderated) on the forum, stick with nice guys like me and you'll be allright. (Ha).

Talk about overzealous moderating!! Swearing doesn't make the "content" offensive, especially in an obvious joke.

[Fred]

Mitch,

your post was edited because it had the same content as the two previous edited posts. Thus, althought the context was different, I had to be fair I guess. I duno. I'm quite frustrated with everyone trying to make this difficult actually. I've said it from the start and will say it again. I don't like swearing in the discussion in here because it degrades the quality of discussion. Capiche? Can you please leave it a rest Mitch? I would ask if you could please respect what I'm asking and it will save me time (which I really don't have any to spare right now) in checking this forum constantly.

To all,

I'm really not in the mood to be critized by anyone about this forum since it is voluntary on my part and anyone who chooses to visit here is a guest. I'm doing this out of my own time and money and just trying to provide a service to the climbing community. Why some feel they need to attack that... I don't know. Lets just say it is a lack of respect and appreciation perhaps.

thank you for your understanding

[mitchleblanc]

Mitch,

your post was edited because it had the same content as the two previous edited posts. Thus, althought the context was different, I had to be fair I guess. I duno. I'm quite frustrated with everyone trying to make this difficult actually. I've said it from the start and will say it again. I don't like swearing in the discussion in here because it degrades the quality of discussion. Capiche? Can you please leave it a rest Mitch? I would ask if you could please respect what I'm asking and it will save me time (which I really don't have any to spare right now) in checking this forum constantly.

To all,

I'm really not in the mood to be critized by anyone about this forum since it is voluntary on my part and anyone who chooses to visit here is a guest. I'm doing this out of my own time and money and just trying to provide a service to the climbing community. Why some feel they need to attack that... I don't know. Lets just say it is a lack of respect and appreciation perhaps.

thank you for your understanding

Sorry man. You are right. I apologize. You're doing a good job, and I (we?) do appreciate it. No more complaining, I promise. It's not a lack of respect, I promise. I love you buddy. You had me at "hello". You complete me... You make me want to be a better man.

Please... let's not break up. It's not you... it's me...

[Fred]

Ok... we'll stay together for now but this is your last chance honey. Next time we are done for good. No more appologies. No more "I'll change and be better". You are full of empty promises to keep me and I'm quite tired of it.

... I love you too.

[excited newbie]

Aww, that just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. You guys arnt (content moderated) at all!! Very good Conflict Resolution skills. Props to you!!

[Guest]

i need to puke.

[The Teth]

Excited Newbie:
- When sizing climbing shoes: if you can get them on and you can walk in them, but walking in them is VERY painful, then they are the right size. They stretch over time and form to your feet, but the first month or so is painful. A trick I have used is to soak them in worm water and then let them dry on your feet (while sitting, as it will take ~ three hours and it will hurt to walk in them). This works for leather shoes. Synthetic shoes do not stretch quite so much. If you want to ease into it, you can get shoes a little bigger (still make sure you toes are curled) and then get a tighter pair when you become more hard core. You first set of shoes will probably ware out quickly due to your foot slipping and scraping along the rough rock. I have a pari of bouldering mocassins a half size smaller than my walking shoe size (I ware my walking shoes tight) for warmups and messing around, and a pair a full size smaller than my walking shoe size for hard boulder problems. I also have a pair of lace-ups with a thick sole for trad climbing. Most people settle for one pair of climbing shoes however.

Mich:

1) “(content modified)” is much better than swearing as it leaves it up to the imagination of the reader. Much funnier in my opinion!

2) Jack Nicholson in “As good as it gets”?

Fred:
Keep up the good work. This forum rocks!

The Teth

[Fred]

A trick I have used is to soak them in worm water

No wonder your shoes stink
Remember that smell after a rain when all the night crawlers are splatted over the asphalt. mmmm yummy