Posted by mattmassey on 8/21/2007
dear katie brown,
one of the most argued topics in the latest urban climber magazine claimed that there is an insurgence of professional female climbers trying to crack climb these days. some say this is because of the ease of the particular type of climbing due to the small hands, fingers, and long fingernails on all female climbers. others say it is because they are looking for attention from grizzly adams type males in this day and age when all male sport climbers are hardcore, pink scarf-wearing, prancing homosexuals (not that there's anything wrong with that). yet still others attribute it to mad cow disease. your thoughts.
Anykineclimb says:
thats what you get for reading Urban Climber :P
woodchuck07 says:
Your thoughts on this please, Mr. Bueller,,,... Bueller, Bueller,???
gonzobeer says:
Hey matt, have you been put to shame by a female lately or something? Seems to be the topic of you posts.
Licentia Haud Vestigium
woodchuck07 says:
I think he's maybe pledging a frat, and must do these posts to satisfy some geek frat brothers sicko pleasures.
mattmassey says:
you all keep responding to questions that are not directed towards you. that is considered rude where i am from.
Bumluck says:
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captain static says:
Yeah, what Matt said. This isn't RC.com so have some manners, be patient, and wait until our road tripping KTB has a chance to respond with one of her always thoughtful and insightful comments.
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igottagetoutside says:
It was a very rc.com kinda post, and i think it deserves a nice rc.com kinda answer! But, Im sure Katie will be diplomatic. Where I come from it's rude to make stereotypical comments about women and sport climbers. Damn funny! but rude.
woodchuck07 says:
I've learned to just skip these senseless posts by Matt, and get on with a normal life here at Civilized yourclimbing.com web. These raise no quality discussion or comments in my opinion.
katie says:
Matt,
Luckily, females excel at most things, so it is only natural that we would gravitate to something that is so aesthetically pleasing to the female form as crack climbing.
As for the male sport climbers, I happen to know one who wears a pink scarf, looks very stunning in it, and I'm pretty sure is hetero. He does, unfortunately, have a tendency to prance, but has recently taken to putting gear in the rock so I'm hoping the prance will soon be lost underneath the burden of having to carry all my cams to the crag.
And about the mad cow disease -- you need to get out of the south. That's WAY too conspiracy theory.
Bumluck says:
Bravo katie.
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taato says:
Kate,
You doll are amazing, you fit all the criteria of a dream girl.
clever, diplomatic, smart, strong, and pretty .... where did you grow up cause i'm moving to that town! the south is toasted, and such a long drive to the nearest crag.
Matt,
i sport climb, because i havent found anyone ballsie enough to just learn placement on my own. i dont wear pink, i dont prance, and i am not gay, but my gay friends do call me a metro. as to ease .... most of the females i climb with could climb circles around me because of technique not fingersize. and as far as crack climbing i find it easier than any other kind of climbing ... well mostly. On a side note madcow disease is caused by a fungus called ergot, it is often used in the chemical compound for lsd, thats a hallucinagin for those that dont know, and i assure you i have done way more of that than any one posting on here.
as a final note urban climber magazine? ... i havent read it but the name implies people who live in a city and are climbers .... just a thought but i live in the city so during the week i am forced to pull on plastic and thats all sport baby. sounds to me like a bunch of posers getting jealous because they arent as good at trad as a girl. If that is the issue i am quite glad i havent read it. and am equally as glad that kate has the class and sense of propriaty to field a question like that with tact as opposed to ripping into rants of epic magnitude that cause grown men to cry like whiney emotionally undeveloped babies. cause as im sure you can tell i wouldnt be able to hold my veritable tongue.
but take all this with a grain of salt because apparently i am just a male sport climbing, hardcore, pink scarf-wearing, prancing homosexual! and who does look like grizzley adams anyways?
don't knock on deaths door... ring the doorbell and run, he hates that!!!
woodchuck07 says:
Yes, she is amazing in her diplomacy isn't she? I believe Paris,KY is the neighborhood, or basically anywhere outside of Lexington where the influence of clean horse farms and the RRG are a part of life.
As for Urban Climber, I'm not sure anymore why it's called that 'cept for photos and ads which seem to depict dismal city conditions. It's kinda a skateboard/snowboard thrashers sort of magazine of extreme anythings, and some boulders thrown in, but don't expect to find 'trad articles or typical text and stories. It's a jumble of teenprint as you would see in endless magazines of trivial content.
mattmassey says:
yes, that was quite tactful and I have "been serverd" as the pink scarf-wearing prancers would say.
taato, everyone in the south looks quite similar to grizzly adams. we all have animal friends that we talk to, we all have killed said friends and now wear their skins on our bodies, we all have beards, and we all sing the theme song on our long drives to the nearest rock climbing location - rifle, co.
mikitta says:
Just a correction, Taato - Mad Cow disease is caused by a prion. In fact, it is the same kind of disease as Scrapie and Kuru. The prions cause extreme neural damage. As it is a prion disease, if you eat beef tainted with it, you stand a very good chance of contracting it. It takes a few months to die of it, and it's not a pretty death.
As for the OP ...
Women tend to have better overall technique than men in general because we do not have the upper body strength. We have to rely on balance and foot work in what ever style of climbing we do so it comes naturally. Most men have to work on trusting those things rather than their biceps - not that there aren't many very good male climbers who have mastered that - there certainly are.
Cracks are nice - that is what I learned on. They are very secure, you can place bomber pro in them, and the line is just obvious. Sweet climbing any way you cut it. Ed's Crack in Veedauwoo was the second climb I ever did. Most of the climbing I did there was crack climbing. While there were plenty of face routs, I never was a sport climber, so I can't comment concerning that style at all.
However, I do recall that back in the late '80s and early '90s, EVERYone was wearing spandex and sporting funky scarves at the crag. You should have seen Paul Piana in his zebra pants LOL. And to my knowledge, he's not gay at all :)
God Bless,
mik
woodchuck07 says:
Very well put Mikitta, in paragraph 2. I wrote a chapter in my small unsold book published back in 79' that says the same thing. Women use their balance, common sense, and problem solving to avoid the brute strength moves that male biceps might attempt. I think it helps make them better on delicate climbs where finesse' is needed for the ascent.
captain static says:
I never wore lycra but did go through a painter's pants period. I'll have to upload a photo of that. _____________________________________________________________________________
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igottagetoutside says:
Sounds like mattmassey climbs his age :) impressive!
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