[gardinrm]

For work/family/age reasons, over the last few years I've been climbing more and more at the gym and I've noticed a gradual rise in popularity. This is partly why we have such good new bouldering gyms and in general I'm very happy to see the wall full of people.

However, with this increase in new people I now see things I've never seen before. From the hilarious (like the over shoulder chalk bag) to those things less enjoyable. This all came to a head yesterday when two lads with super tiny/tight shorts and tops off were climbing and taking DSLR photos of each other. These guys were definitely not climbers, more weight lifting types and spent the whole trip strutting/posing and looking who was watching. I was content to ignore them at first, but they kept appearing wherever I went. They barely tried anything and they were clearly not there to climb. Perhaps I'm being  snob? But I didn't like the macho strutting. It felt quite aggressive really. Is it just me?

[Wood FT]

You've got to ignore it or it will eat you up inside.

[tomtom]

Fiend May smite me for this (going by one of his recent Hangar rants) but I don’t like the whole tops off thing at a wall.

Fine in relative solitude at a Crag but inside for me non.

Some people definitely do it to show off rather than for comfort. A singlet/vest won’t make you any warmer Shirley?

[Kingy]

I once was joined at the bouldering area of my local wall by two yoofs playing loud tunes on their phones despite background music already playing. The resulting jangle of melodies did little to improve my psyche 

[Fiend]

TT. I am disappointed. Yes a vest definitely makes you a lot warmer if you already have high body heat / sweatiness. If going topless is associated with any posey showy behaviour, that's what should be tackled, not the attire.


Playing Oasis at the wall is totally unacceptable by the wall staff. Instant 50% drop in grade and 100% increase in nausea.

[Fiend]

Well this was mercifully quick to find:

http://fiendophobia.blogspot.com/2016/06/climbers-with-tops-off-at-indoors-wall.html?m=1

[webbo]

If folk stopped calling them climbing gyms and referred to them as climbing walls it might go some way to stop the twattish  behaviour.

[tomtom]

TT. I am disappointed. Yes a vest definitely makes you a lot warmer if you already have high body heat / sweatiness. If going topless is associated with any posey showy behaviour, that's what should be tackled, not the attire.

:D Yes indeed. Probably easier for a wall to have a 'no tops off' rule than a 'no wankers' rule though

How would you feel about Liam Gallagaer bouldering without a top on?

[bigironhorse]

Well this was mercifully quick to find:

http://fiendophobia.blogspot.com/2016/06/climbers-with-tops-off-at-indoors-wall.html?m=1

Brilliant

[teestub]

Fiend May smite me for this (going by one of his recent Hangar rants) but I don’t like the whole tops off thing at a wall.

Do you wear one of those Victorian style all in one numbers when you go to the beach or the swimming pool Tom? 

[tomtom]

Well this was mercifully quick to find:

http://fiendophobia.blogspot.com/2016/06/climbers-with-tops-off-at-indoors-wall.html?m=1

Slack line would have approved of your linking skills there 😃

[Oldmanmatt]

TT. I am disappointed. Yes a vest definitely makes you a lot warmer if you already have high body heat / sweatiness. If going topless is associated with any posey showy behaviour, that's what should be tackled, not the attire.


Playing Oasis at the wall is totally unacceptable by the wall staff. Instant 50% drop in grade and 100% increase in nausea.

My staff are all under 25.
I have had to ban the playing of Queen, ffs!
Another one was biting the friggin dust, every time I walked in.

Then some 13 year old, mini Wad (12.5 kg, in his socks) complained that we don’t play enough “Show tunes”.

I switched the playlist to The Disturbed/Rage Against the Machine combo, changed the password and left.

[Oldmanmatt]

Well this was mercifully quick to find:

http://fiendophobia.blogspot.com/2016/06/climbers-with-tops-off-at-indoors-wall.html?m=1

Actually...

On the girls with tops off thing.

This actually happened (or at least, nearly) to me a couple of weeks back.

My place really is a climbing gym, in as much as fully 30+% of the place is given over to training area, incidentally.

Anyway, went into the training room to chat to a young lass, who’d recently had an awful fall (serious head injuries, shattered pelvis, numerous soft tissue twatting and  absolutely black and blue from head to toe, extended hospital stay and bed rest), who’d come in with boyfriend, to watch him train, while she was still hobbling.
She’d stripped to her (very) skimpy bra and leggings and was cranking out the pull ups.

This was not a sports bra, it would have made an Ann Summers sales girl blush.

I had to catch myself from complaining/pointing out her attire. After all, there were plenty of lads completely topless in the building.
I hadn’t realised I had such a double standard.

But we all do.

No one died, complained or felt compelled to assault her. If there was any leering, it was done very surreptitiously.

 

[kingholmesy]

If there was any leering, it was done very surreptitiously by me.

Fixed that for you Matt.

[gardinrm]

I suppose the 'tops off' thing is part of it and I'm not the biggest fan of this in general. When I'm at the wall I don't really have 'projects' that require optimum conditions, it's not really the reason I'm there. Outside on a slopey gritstone masterpiece, I'll take my tighty whiteys off if it'll help....

It's more the ethos of going climbing because instafacewitter might like it. Whats wrong with an old pair of nylon football shorts and that large t-shirt your gran bought you when you were 15? The one with the wolf on it.

And the music thing... At curbar the other day some younger chaps were in the pit with the phones out playing lame rock (probably nickelback). Took us about an hour to pluck up the energy to join them. We climbed badly and felt angry...

(sigh, sup on some port and wriggle my toes in tartan slippers)

[fatneck]

My personal bugbears;

- Nobheads sitting in clumps on the mats in the fall zone. I try my best to land really close to them and say "that could have been a lot worse" and walk off. I am not a small guy and this usually has the desired effect.


- Nobheads leaving their phones on the mats. Action is as above but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to resist the temptation to actually land on their phone

- Nobheads in general

[SamT]

People inflicting their music upon others in any situation bugs the fuck out of me anyways.

Be it phones/loud headphones on a train, boom box on the beach and god forbid anything at the crag.  There's just such a level of arrogance about it.  The idea that anyone gives a fuck about hearing your favorite band through some tinny shite speakers.

As for tops off, couldn't care less. Young dudes posing innit.  Flexing their stuff to attract the opposite (or not) sex.  I never ever ever check out the tight buns on some young blond twenty something cranking up something I've never had or never will have the power to get up.

Works both ways though.  I was giggling my head off the other day in the works - some ripped dude was farting about on the rings and the slightly older woman sat near me as I was getting changed was soooo checking him out. Little superstitious glances every 5 seconds. Hilarious. I'd love to have been able to tune into her internal dialogue.


Biggie for me a the wall though is when you're having a little session on a problem, perhaps two or three of you, and someone, or even worse, 2 or 3 people just walk up and jump straight on it, no eye contact what so ever, no little comment along the lines of 'you on??' or 'mind if I have a quick go'.. just walk up, straight in front of you and pull on.  Wonder if they're like that in all aspects of their life. 

bah humbug.

[Fiend]

If folk stopped calling them climbing gyms and referred to them as climbing walls it might go some way to stop the twattish  behaviour.

Indoor climbing training facilities! And ban anyone who uses them in their own right, rather than as a means to an end for outdoor climbing.

This is a good topic overall despite the initially perhaps misguided focus

Gardin - the guys you mentioned do sound like laughable nobheads, and I can see where you're coming from (just like there is always some neanderthal twat campussing up a 5+ jugpull for "the bantz"). But on the other hand, were they actually impinging on your climbing and usage / enjoyment of the wall?? For me, that would be the main criteria - behaviour that Kingy and Fatneck mentioned. Or other stuff like hogging problems, jumping in when you're just about to start a well-timed attempt, going on a problem that crosses over something you've started, greasing repeatedly off holds and not brushing them etc etc...

[cheque]

You've got to ignore it or it will eat you up inside.

 

Just wait ‘til the Olympics and the wannabe speed climbers arrive. 

[mrjonathanr]

And the music thing... At curbar the other day some younger chaps were in the pit with the phones out playing lame rock (probably nickelback).

This is always out of order, anywhere.

Cheque: I almost puntered you for that (prescient) contribution. 

[BrutusTheBear]

Jeeeeez... The demise of UKB could be put down to you lot becoming grumpy old men! 

There were other people at Curbar that behave differently to me...  There are other people using the climbing wall for different reasons than I do... 

Do something different, invite the yoots out with you, embrace the banging choons, campus that 5+ with your top off, interact, share your wisdom..  Stop being so bloody miserable, it will indeed eat you up inside..


If you don’t want to deal with other people stay in your cellar and go climbing somewhere other than Curbar.

[Danny]

Excellent post BtB.

Also, I now have a mental image of fatneck's avatar giving an iPhone and/or a group of kids the people's elbow, WWF style. Which is also excellent. 

[SamT]

Jeeeeez... The demise of UKB could be put down to you lot becoming grumpy old men! 

There were other people at Curbar that behave differently to me...  There are other people using the climbing wall for different reasons than I do... 

Do something different, invite the yoots out with you, embrace the banging choons, campus that 5+ with your top off, interact, share your wisdom..  Stop being so bloody miserable, it will indeed eat you up inside..


If you don’t want to deal with other people stay in your cellar and go climbing somewhere other than Curbar.

Nahh - your wrong on the banging choons bit.   

All the rest - yeah, its non intrusive really, but toons at the crag is just being a selfish cunt really.   Vast majority of people escape to the "great outdoors" for some peace, nature and an escape from modern life, soulful shit like that.  It was like that when I was 18 and it still is now.  If you must listen to 'banging choons' to get you up Early doors or whatever then wear some earbuds or stick to the climbing wall/gym/facility and go clubbing on a saturday night.  Dont inflict it on others who might not want to share your taste in music but are given no choice.

[BrutusTheBear]

I reckon the wonderful thing about climbing is the sense of community and the fact that it is inter generational.  I learnt off my elders because they were friends and they came climbing with us. 

Playing banging choons at a busy crag is in no doubt pretty antisocial and inconsiderate.  We’re all more receptive to learning and new ideas if we feel like we’re a part of something.  Excluding  and belittling will not have the desired effect, the opposite in fact.  So come on grumpy old bouldering gits, embrace the new, paste on a smile, take some yoots under your wing, include them and then you can change the world to how you want it to be.

For the record I would struggle to not have fierce words with anyone playing fudging Nickleback anywhere.

[shark]

So come on grumpy old bouldering gits, embrace the new, paste on a smile, take some yoots under your wing, include them and then you can change the world to how you want it to be.

Helps to remind me of what I really am....