[a dense loner]

Yeh, I'm with slackers on this. Now what were you talking about?

[krymson]

just arguing about a paper that looks at influences on adult height.

The paper suggests that epigenetic mechanisms - specifically "chromatin remodeling" have a significant influence on height, or in other words, the environment and situation a person grows up in has influence on their height( which honestly  i think is established if you look at the height of the average European male from the 19th to 20th century.)

The reason i posted this stuff is i think that, especially if started before puberty, growing up regularly climbing and training can lead to epigenetic changes in a persons development, leading to them literally growing into better climbers than they would otherwise be. i.e.  Ashima isn't just skilled, but by climbing since an early age she is sending her body signals to grow into a better climber.

Slackers is saying that this epigenetics malarkey may or may not be true but is less significant than the training effect.

[slackline]

The paper suggests that epigenetic mechanisms - specifically "chromatin remodeling" have a significant influence on height, or in other words, the environment and situation a person grows up in has influence on their height( which honestly  i think is established if you look at the height of the average European male from the 19th to 20th century.)

They can suggest all they want (but they don't actually). Of the six GWAS cohorts they used only one is from a longitudinal study so with that exception they will only have DNA samples from individuals at a fixed time point and they have no way of assessing whether the chromatin has undergone remodelling (since its impossible to say there have been changes to something when you only assess it a single time point) and thus can not assert that there have been epigenetic changes.  This is likely why they don't mention epigenetics in the paper at all.

I reckon improvements in nutrition (i.e. the environment) are more likely the main factor to explain changes in the mean height of Europeans from the 19th to 20th century.

Slackers is saying that this epigenetics malarkey may or may not be true but is vastly less significant than the training effect.

To the extent that it makes the underlying epi/genetic variation negligible.

[tomtom]

I reckon improvements in nutrition (i.e. the environment) are more likely the main factor to explain changes in the mean height of Europeans from the 19th to 20th century.

IIRC this explains the massive changes in height in the Japanese population too...

[JMB]

Ashima has made the 2nd female ascent (after Angie Payne) of The Automator 8B in RMNP.

[Grubes]

thats amazing. Little beast!

the other channel says she is now going to try jade (8b+) .... 

[ian dunn]

Looks like Ashima is back at Red River Gorge with a couple of 8c/ 8c+'s. Pretty impressive more news on the other channel.

[abarro81]

Super impresive. The day she did 24 carats was shitty conditions. I don't think she's anywhere near her limit in these things

[mindfull]

need to click through to this one, won't embed:

[krymson]

It's hard to hear because the sound levels are all messed up but I thought it was cool she paid homage to Yuki. Not yuji hirayama of 90s sport climbing fame but Yuki the Central Park legend.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/nyregion/thecity/07boul.html?_r=0

Yuki was an older skinny Japanese fellow who reputedly started in the 80's. A gardener by trade he lived in New York City for free and would often visit Rat Rock where he started climbing, and would continue to climb for over 20 years. He never climbed anywhere else and said he didn't need to.

I was there in 2010 before he left and I would catch him there many afternoons guiding people up the blank vertical face, pointing out miniscule crimps and tiny feet. Or you'd see him on the rock himself, gliding up impossibly.

He was an influence to many climbers in New York but I always heard he was a mentor to Ashima. It was nice to see her pay homage to that in this video.

Here is another video of Ashima at an early age(8? 7?)

[Muenchener]

Yep, that's 0:41 Guy firmly put in his place

[JackAus]

And she's just done her first 8B+.  Golden Shadow.

2nd woman ever to climb the grade.



http://instagram.com/p/qT3wOXrJWe

[r-man]

Wowzers.

[SA Chris]

2nd woman ever to climb the grade.

2nd female. Still but a girl surely

Either way, holy crap.

[T_B]

FFA of the Swarm (V13/14).

Hopefully Alex Johnson will do it too this season (she had been trying it and getting close all last season according to her Instagram feed).

[a dense loner]

Outrageous behaviour!

[miso soup]

When did The Swarm become a slash grade?  Hopefully not at the moment the first female ascent happened?  I don't remember ever seeing it as anything other than V14 before.

[James Malloch]

Swordfish Trombone, 8A, flash for her as well...

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?n=605950

[fried]

There's a really nice section in NeilH's new film  http://www.outofsightthemovie.com/

Of Ashima doing a few mid-range problems in Apremont. I assume that these are flashes, as they're completely unwired, I love watching unrehearsed stuff. The sequence on Science friction puts me off the whole idea of trying it.

[andy popp]

Instagram quote "OMG!!! I sent my 4 day project"

Is 4 days even a project at all?

[Wood FT]

Instagram quote "OMG!!! I sent my 4 day project"

Is 4 days even a project at all?

yep my thoughts exactly. Then again, when I was that young summer holidays seemed to last forever. . .

[Footwork]

Instagram quote "OMG!!! I sent my 4 day project"

Is 4 days even a project at all?

yep my thoughts exactly. Then again, when I was that young summer holidays seemed to last forever. . .

 

[Oldmanmatt]

Instagram quote "OMG!!! I sent my 4 day project"

Is 4 days even a project at all?

yep my thoughts exactly. Then again, when I was that young summer holidays seemed to last forever. . .

Now I have four children, they do...

[Rocksteady]

Some Spanish input into 8a.nu seems to be questioning the grade/challenging what version of the route Ashima climbed.

http://www.8a.nu/?
"Given the diverse information obtained about the sending of Ashima Shiraishi in Santa Linya, Spain 8a.nu team has been in contact with some of the regulars climbers of the cave. Without any underestimating the incredible activity of the young American, shed some light on the subject and try to be as rigorous as possible.
We start with a little history: Open your mind is a direct path to the right of the cave of Santa Linya equipped by Dani Andrada. The first ascent of its 40 meters corresponds to Ramonet in late 2008, suggesting a degree of 9a +. Quickly the firsts sending arrived: Chris Shrama, Tomáš Mrázek and self Dani Andrada. From the outset he warned of the difficulty scale the same, reaching consensus 9a / +.
Many of next repeaters, according to our information, would not have done the route as the first climbers and as Dani equipped, but would have got off from a fixed draw from 25 meters, in fact, there is no R at that point, as you can see on the 2:03 minute video Mateusz Haladaj into. This would reduce the difficulty of the route, since, as Dani Andrada confirms us, there are still 15 meters of 8b + to the original R. We confirm that Ashima also got down from that point.
José Luis Palao "Primo", whom we thank for the information provided (also Patxi Usobiaga), broke a hold on the route which increased the difficulty of the first pich. However, what is not said is that other 3 or 4 holds also broke apeeraing some better holds, reducing the difficulty of these sequences (all of them before that draw). In his own words, "the difficulty does not vary by the breaking of this hold because of the new holds that appear." Thus, as far as Ashima made, the degree would rather be 9a.
Another point that should be clarified is that she was the first person to send 'Open Your Mind Direct' with a broken hold, but not  that part of the route. Some people, including Gonzalo Larrocha, did that part ot the route when sending "Open Your Mind' (8c +), which shares with its neighbor, but avoids the hard part of its beginning starting from "Trio Ternura'"

I'm not 100% sure what this is saying but it sounds like some locals are challenging whether Ashima actually did the 9a+ version of this route.

[abarro81]

Sounds like she climbed to the large break (the height where things like Fabelita L1 finish, for those who know the cave). This is what quite a few people have done - Bolger, Matteus, Magnus to name a few. To the top of the cave is given 9a/+ I believe. Clearly the hold break seems not to change anything... So, hard 9a for what Ashima did, at a guess that puts it on a par with Punt X from Muriel in difficulty terms.