Gym Climbing

This week, I am winding up my climbing in the gym, and getting outdoors. But before I lose the memory of it, let me articulate the experience of gym climbing.

Gym climbing has its advantages.
- You learn to climb in a relatively safer top roped environment,
- Less hassle of logistics like reaching a crag or cliff, setting up ropes for top roping, ensuring your anchor set up is good & then taking them down after the climb,
- You tend to build your strength faster, as most climbs are meant to provide for multiple cruces, in a shorter route than you would get outside.
- You also, can find potential climbing partners in the gym environment than outside.

I climbed in the gym for two seasons, winters of 2005-06 & 2006-07. Two days a week, for 5-6 months each season. The first season I progressed to climbing some 5.8s by the end of the season. The second season I began attempting 5.10s, getting one 5.10a, clean.

For some the psychology of pursuing those rating numbers is Para-normal. But for some it is pursuit of the ratings that allows you to know what you can attempt, comfortably, and also knowing that your body is capable of hitting a higher rating.

Considering my reasonable state of fitness and age, I started rather easily on 5.7s. 5.7 to 5.9s progression was hard in itself. It took me about a year. Improved technique with handholds and footwork, and body balance, allowed me to reach 5.9s. But 5.10s were and are being hard on my tendons. 5.9 onwards, it is more than technique alone. It is requirement for better finger strength, some dyno moves, better thinking, planning, mental strength, and endurance to retain the same holds after making the moves over half the distance.

Probably will go into the techniques some other time. But as I leave the gym environment, I realize that color coded routes of the gym have got me a bit perplexed in the real environment. While climbing inside has helped me with those crimpy holds, and good footwork, applying those techniques implies, first recognizing the route. Minus the color tags of the gym, a route outside sometimes throws you off.

So much for transition outside.