Novice climber in Incheon looking for answers

[littledigits]

Hi,

I've just started climbing at a gym that is asking for 62,000w for climbing shoes. And they are like 2 sizes too small for me. Does that sound right?

I'm also wondering about gloves. They told me not to wear them but after 3 days my hands have gotten so raw and swollen that they are preventing me from climbing. I've seen seasoned climbers' hands and after an hour or so theirs even look like hamburger. Are they just used to the pain? Would wearing gloves hurt me in the long run?

What are some of the good exercises that are good before - to loosen you up - and after - to strengthen you up - climbing?

And lastly, what's the difference b/w sport climbing, traditional climbing and bouldering? What's the name of the type of climbing where it's mostly your legs doing the work - vertical climbing with rope?

Thanx,
Happy climbing

[freesolo]

62k is ok. go to seoul, jongno-5-ga and comparison shop.

your hands will hurt, no real solution to that. dont climb more than 3 times a week.

climb under your limit for a least 6 weeks.

outdoor real rock climbing is easier on your body than gym climbing.

if you can belay, i need partners in seoul. cheers

[curious_j]

I wrote a full-on description of the different forms of climbing heavily loaded with the funniest material you may have read since breakfast... then the computer crashed before I could send it. No more.

Go to www.answers.com and do searches for "bouldering," "free-soloing," "sport climbing," "traditional climbing" (usually called trad), "aid climbing," and "free climbing." That will give you the basics plus a lot of links for more material.

Now my questions: (1) What is busking, Littledigits? (2) What is your anchor revolution, Freesolo?

[Colin T]

don't spose you teach at Kyung Hee do ya curious_j ??

just curious (given your location).

I do believing busking involves entertaining people in a public place (usually with a hat in front of you). Am yet to see a busker in Korea (that was not trying to get me to go into a shop anyway :-)

[climbergrrl]

I can sympathize with your finger pain, littledigits. When I first started, my hands were a bloody pulp for awhile too. But...it will get better as your hands get more calloused.

I know many Korean climbers whose hands are hard as rock, seemingly impervious to flappers (what we call the little flap of skins hanging off your hands). Yet their hands are smooth, not rough and unsightly. Their secret? You will probably see some Korean climbers around the gym scraping their fingers with sandpaper. This helps to get rid of any skin that may be coming loose due to their workout. Loose skin will only continue to tear into a worse wound if you leave it, so if you notice some, neatly trim it away using sandpaper or clippers, whatever works better. Also do this on your rest day after your hands have stopped hurting.

Wash your hands thoroughly after climbing - chalk is not good for your skin. The same reason it helps you to stick those hard holds so well dries out the skin on your poor little fingers and it can't recover as quickly. After washing, use a good moisturizer, as often as possible. Many people think that this will make their hands soft and prone to ripping, but I have found the opposite to be true.

Finally, use climbing tape to protect your fingers at first. You can ask for it at your gym, or most climbing shops. Just wrap it loosely, so your tendons don't come to depend on it for support. Some people wrap all of their fingers at first - I just wrap the parts that get the most wear and tear. After a few weeks, you won't need the tape anymore.

Take good care of those little digits, and your climbing will be the better for your effort!

[climbergrrl]

Also, just a note regarding climbing shoes. They are supposed to be a bit small, but don't buy ones that will make you wince with pain when you stand on them. Climbing won't be as fun, as you will dread the time you actually have to put weight on your feet, which you should be doing a lot in climbing. As a beginner, a really tight size won't really make a difference to your climbing. The main thing that will help you at this point is the shaped sole to put all of your weight on your toe and edges, and the sticky rubber to help you stay on the wall.

Good luck with shoe shopping!

[curious_j]

Colin: Not too far from Kyoung Hee. Actually I'm at Samyook SDA Language School (www.sda36.co.kr). You must know the area.

[Colin T]

Dunno if I'd say I know the area but I have been living and studying at Kyung Hee uni for the past 5 or so months :-)

They have just built a sweet climbing wall here BTW, so if ever you're keen for a climb it's free and 30 seconds from my room.

Drop me a PM if you're keen (anyone else in the area as well ... it really is a cool wall, still waiting for one more row of holds to make it fully operational though).

Colin

[littledigits]

climbergirl: very nice. good advice. I've already succumbed to the pressures of the gym ajuma and bought the too-tiny shoes but I'll ask to exchange. They tell me to suck it up but if I'm going to be dealing with the all consuming body aches and my sweet little hands going thru techno-colour hell, I want my feet to be somewhat painless. I've resorted to wearing tennis gloves but frankly they don't seem to be helping much and i feel a little pathetic especially when there is an ajuma half my size and 10 years my senior doing pull-ups with a 10K weight attached to her pint-sized waist.

freesolo: thanx. also good advice especially on the 3x/week point. i've been going most everyday and doing a little bit everyday but it's not my muscles I'm having to contend with but my hands. i found out real quick that I need to let them heal first. what's belay?

curiousj: busking is what I call what I did before I came to Korea which is work as a radio journalist. technically it's performing in front of people for money usually on the street.