Reigniting

Steph,

Thanks for posting all the wonderful information on your website and being an inspiration to all women climbers. I am a former climber and found that when I was actively climbing that I was in one of the happiest places in my life. I started and prefer outdoors, partly because I am in a rural area with no gyms and largely because there are plenty of outdoor opportunities in my area (south central pa).

My love of the sport has never faded, but somewhere along the road my participation in it waned and I also lost the necessary climbers physique. My partners, both men, found wives and left me and I am far too shy to just show up at our local crag solo. In my time away I have grown into a plus sized woman who is worried I may never fit my or any harness again and I’ve had some shoulder injuries which have scared me away for fear of further injury. Have you any thoughts or words of inspiration that might assist me to return to the sport that seems to dominated by young, healthy, lean, hip, and often times in my region wealthy climbers?

Also on a side note, how do I determine if my equipment, i.e. rope, harness, beaners, etc are still safe to use? Do they deteriorate by sheer age? They have been carefully stored out of the influence of sunlight and moisture in my closets for a few year, about 6 to be precise. Barely used when stowed and brand new as of approximately 9 yrs ago.

Danyelle
Keep in touch and God bless!

Dear Danyelle,
Thank you very much for writing to me. I can tell from your letter that the seeds of climbing are sprouting for you–go for it!! First of all, your gear is fine. Especially if you’ve kept it out of the sun and it’s not UV damaged at all, it should be as good as new.

It can be intimidating trying to meet new people to climb with, especially when everyone seems to know each other or be in a different style of group. Remember that climbers inherently like to be with other climbers. You have a few options for meeting new partners, but they are all a little scary. You can show up at the crag and introduce yourself, ask for a belay on someone’s toprope. It’s very rare that someone will refuse. I will be honest: a few times I have done this, and the climbers said yes, but there was a lot of awkward silence, and I quickly said thanks and took off after the climb. Some people just don’t want to climb with a new person, but I think that is generally rare. So if you can muster up some courage to try this, it’s not a hundred percent guaranteed to be a great experience, it’s more like 50/50…still, if you can weather out the uncomfortable attempt(s), you will most likely meet some very nice friends and eventually find new people to climb with.

Of course you want to be able to use your harness and not have to buy a new one, and climbing is going to be much easier on your shoulders and joints if you are at your healthiest weight. What about setting a goal for yourself: cut out sugar and soda and processed foods completely and see if that has an effect on your harness fit. When it fits how you want it to, it’s time to go out to the crag and give it a shot with meeting some new partners and putting your perfectly-cared-for climbing gear back into commission Sometimes it’s good to set goals for yourself, and it’s also good to force yourself out of your comfort zone. I would also recommend doing some internet research about shoulder injuries and physical therapy exercises that you can do at home. I have a lot of friends who’ve injured shoulders, and spending 10 minutes a day doing simple exercises has helped them a lot.
Steph