Rock Climbing with Rob Pizem: November 2013

November 23, 2013

Treadwall Training with Piz: The Big One

November 21, 2013

Dominguez Canyon Hiking

Contact Piz at pizem@hotmail.com for Motivational/Instructional/Entertaining Speaking Engagements, Climbing Instruction, Training and Periodization Programs

Until then... Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors:
www.arcteryx.com
www.camp-usa.com
www.scarpa.com
www.sterlingrope.com
www.americanalpineclub.org
www.brewersledge.com
www.windx-treme.com

Leaving the trail head and looking downstream along the Gunnison River. (the trail heads upstream along the tracks for a short while and then crosses the river on a sweet bridge!)

Some of the class enjoying the morning sunshine and great temps.

Crossing into the gnar.

WOW!

Some of the rewards of making this flat and well marked hike.

Is is an alien or a chicken?

A little trail side fun!

Water, yes and its crystal clear and beautiful.

Cool waterfall at the start of the real trail.

yeah it was a good day.

November 19, 2013

Rowan and his Breakfast

Breakfast of champions!

November 14, 2013

100,000 + HITS ON THIS BLOG!!!!

November 13, 2013

Training with Piz: Sidepull Crimp Repeater

Repeaters are when you repeat a given movement. We have come up with tons of repeaters in our training program and they work really well to develop hand and core and finger strength.

The side pull crimp repeater is a great way to work on two different hold sizes and grip positions at a variety of angles.(if you have an adjustable systems board)

If crimps are a weakness, then make one or both of the holds that size (but two different styles) if you are having problems with slopers, you can focus on those types of holds. It works with any combination.

I chose side pulls and small crimps.

I fix my feet in place (that means that I do not move them throughout the set)
Then move my hands to and from the holds in a systematic manner.
If I lead with the right hand, then I come down with the right hand and vice verse.

I always attempt to make sure that I am leading and descending from the holds the same amount of time.

With respect to body position, focus on pushing down hard with your feet, focus on a tight core and adding a small inward dynamic movement to initiate each hand movement. Be as in control as possible (the more your body swings) the less likely you will do lots of them. The more your body swings, the more energy you will use in trying to keep yourself on the board. If you want to send your route/boulder problem you will not want to waste energy on things other than the movements!

Get out there and come up with your own exercises!

Training with Piz: Rock Climbing Helmets

Andrew Burr Photo

Thanks to my amazing sponsors:
www.arcteryx.com
www.camp-usa.com
www.scarpa.com
www.sterlingrope.com
www.americanalpineclub.org
www.brewersledge.com
www.windx-treme.com

http://camp-usa.com/products/helmets/armour-gray-190A.asp

http://camp-usa.com/products/helmets/speed-green-239.asp

This could be considered the same old rant that you have heard in the past, but for whatever reason I am here to write it one more time!

Wear your helmets folks!

The combination of these points:

my high schools crisis team meeting this morning telling the staff about crazy gunman in schools
and the fact that a friend who climbs more than all of us just having a bad climbing accident a day or two ago (still in the hospital)
and that while I was just trying my head point project and having all the gear blow during fall

makes me want to remind everyone that helmets save your life. I have pictures and links to the ones that I wear regularly.

It's simple, wear them and be safer. Choose not to wear them and be a dope.

Accidents are called that for a reason, because you didn't plan on it even thought that you took all the precautions that you needed to.

November 12, 2013

Treadwall Training with Piz: Leaning to Dropknee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyvoDR2PXME&feature=youtu.be

In this video, the climber is learning how to drop knee and when to incorporate it into her movements.

I know when I learned how to drop knee, I needed my main climbing partner at the time Gregg, who knew how to climb overhanging terrain, telling me when and how to do it. It wasn't easy, I normally did it backwards, but I eventually learned and use it appropriately now.

The purpose of the drop knee to to keep your body closer to the wall during a movement (reach), it also allows you to have a longer reach. Combine those two things and you save energy and power while climbing which will allow you to complete the boulder problems or routes that you are trying to send.

Watch her move and see if you can identify where she has success and where she is stumbling.

Treadwall Training with Piz: More Crimping and Fingerboarding

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lki_idpxmfI&feature=youtu.be

This short video demonstrates how you can work a specific skill. Here I just crimp for 22ft at about 55 degrees overhanging. I have a couple crimp routes on my wall and this is a great way to develop your crimping and crimping strength.

I begin by crimping and not twisting to reach, but as I get tired and my fingers begin to give out I start twisting in order to be more efficient.

Separate the holds just one more panel and it begins to work lock off reaches. Skip one more panel and every move is a lock off and a reach and a crimp. You get the picture. The Treadwall is such a powerful tool.

You must forget that people say that it is a great way to train endurance. The fact is that if you only think that the Treadwall is good for endurance then you better find a coach or someone more knowledgeable than you because you are not seeing 99% of what this tool has to offer.

The other thing that I recently added to my Treadwall is a fingerboard. Thanks to Jesse Z for lending me his fingerboard, I can now work on a few other things. Stay tuned for some of the next level ideas and programs that I have come up with.

November 11, 2013

Training with Piz: Knee Raise Push Ups

These push ups are tough. Once your start using the hanging slings or the TRX set up for working out, you will discover a whole new world of specific muscles that you didn't know you had. Additionally, you will never know how overlooked and underdeveloped they have been.

Keeping your low back tight is the key to any exercise like this where you are in a push up or plank position. The way that you do that is by attempting to tightly pinch your butt cheeks together.

Be sure that the rest of your body is tight including your legs and upper back. You do not want a dip in your upper back or to bend it when you are doing the push up. Keep your core tight, always keep you core tight.

So, push up and be sure that your arms are not touching or leaning on the webbing of the sling or TRX. That is cheating and taking away the need for more body tension.
After the push up bring one knee to the opposite elbow. Then do another push up and and bring the other knee to the other elbow.

Remember focus on form and you will see your body tension and core strength and pushing ability increase.

Have fun!

November 6, 2013

Training with Piz: Twerking

Twerking:
Twerking is the name of a style of dance that I have seen in high school gyms with my students.
One student bends over while the other does mini squats very close to the other that is bending over. Sometimes they are so close that they are touching and its disgusting.

Here is a great way to work all of your legs, joints, and back.

Squat with dumb bells or a bench of an appropriate weight resting on your shoulders.
Move quickly up and down with your back straight. Since you are only doing a partial squat, you don't have to worry about not having your knees pass over your toes when going down. This is a concern when you are doing a real squat.

Get after it and have some fun!

November 5, 2013

So I have been Pondering...

Contact Piz at pizem@hotmail.com for Motivational/Instructional/Entertaining Speaking Engagements, Climbing Instruction, Training and Periodization Programs

Until then... Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Thanks to my amazing sponsors:
www.arcteryx.com
www.camp-usa.com
www.scarpa.com
www.sterlingrope.com
www.americanalpineclub.org
www.brewersledge.com
www.windx-treme.com

Over the last fall and winter I began working another crack that was NOT my style. I have the tendency to choose things to climb that are difficult for me because I want to get better as a climber. Climbing things that I am already good at no longer makes me feel like I have accomplished anything, more like, "yeah, well I am good at that and I should be able to do it and as a matter of fact why didn't I climb that thing faster". But I digress.

So at the local crag and at the main wall, I was able to put in anchors and top rope the route that (someone had drilled and placed an old bolt at the very start and apparently never finished.) I cleaned the route, knocked off all the loose edges (just from climbing it), brushed the sand out of it and now it is as good as it will be.

The rock however is good enough to climb on (with minor breaks here and there still occurring) but the inside of the thin seam the rock quality is very poor. The gear that I have to use on the crack are the smallest camming units available and due to the rock quality inside, I was always concerned about what would happen if/when I finally had the courage to lead the route. The climbing is challenging enough where I won't be able to sew it up and there will be a big run out way over the last good piece that will create a fall where I will hit the ground. There is also another place on the top half of the route that will create another fall that will put the leader close to the ground, if not hitting the ground.

So, I worked the route and worked it last year and a cold front stopped me short of ever leading it. This year finally came and I have been able to try it once again and it feels just as challenging as last year. But I was making great links on it and finally was ready for the first official known non aid lead of the crack.

I set up a top rope, spent about 45 minutes preplacing gear, (because just plugging and going will in no way be safe) I made 3 equalized piece anchors in the seam in multiple places on the route with the two smallest cam sizes, and then lead the route on the preplaced gear with the top rope attached to me, so that if/when I fell, it would let me take a huge fall but not hit the ground. This was in order to test to see how all the gear would do under real conditions.

To make a long story short, the gear blew, on falls as short as just 4 feet over the pieces. I broke a 0 metolius cam and the others just ripped right on out due to the soft rock.

So, even though I really don't want to place bolts on the route, I know that the only way that it will be safe to lead is to add two. That way you can still place gear in between and it might or might not fail and you would still not deck. The climber would still take big falls, but it wouldn't mean hospitalization.

I just wanted to illustrate this situation because a lot of people think that folks just throw bolts in mindlessly and without thought and consideration. There are many first ascensionist that work this way. It is often newer route equippers that may have a poorly placed or over bolted a climb. I place bolts when necessary and this situation is certainly the case.

I have asked many climbers what they would do and I have received many similar responses, (put in the bolts) with very few saying to just commit to getting hurt. For every person that I had try the route, the response was 100% put in the bolts. They all learned that the rock just isn't that safe or solid. For those that look at it from the ground they aren't sure. It is one of those cracks that surprises you big time once you start attempting to climb it and then actually look closely at it's innards.

The bottom line is that no bolt is placed without a lot of thought.
I have personally thought and talked about this scenario for about a year now.

piz : )

November 4, 2013

Crack Season has Begun!

We went to Devils Canyon in Grand Junction to check out some the the unknown established cracks. Here Sean is getting his on sight attempt on! After a 5.12+ section of .3inch jamming, it backed off to some moderate 1 inch crack. After that, the route had a few feet of OW and finished with .75 inch flares! What a route!

Sean killing the mid section.

After the send, a little showboating!

I got to try the route next door which had a great opening sequence.

The middle of the climb was moderate and full of variety and the end was .75 finger splitter to .5 fingers to .4 all through a slightly overhanging bulge.SO Good!!!

Mike just about to blow his knee out on the opening roof moves.

Mike taking a few more jams before calling it a day. Both cracks are right next to each other and are a little dusty, but perfect for climbing. 13- on left and 12+ on right.

At the end of the day we found more anchors up canyon and had to climb this 1 inch dihedral and roof! Amazing 11+/12- Surprise holds made this thing a great route to end on!!