Monday, March 07, 2005

Once again, into the week

Untimely and extended sunny weather has forced early spring cleaning. Truth to tell, I haven't done anything like that for ages, but in June my mother-in-law will be here, and I couldn't stand to see her cringing and being afraid to sit down. My mom is sworn to extoll my efforts when my dear husband returns from a business trip; otherwise, he might not notice it, or believe it possible.
Ye old climbing gym was fun - I was energetic and there were new routes to be had. Talked a bit with two veteran routesetters, to see if they had any secret formulas for creating good problems. There was a spot of hilarity and irritation over one of the people who uses the gym. This person is well known for having a lousy temper. Seems this bloke - whom I might add has gained quite a bit of weight over the past couple of years - has experienced a few spinning holds lately, and has gotten extremely irate over it, to the point of storming behind the front desk to get tools to tighten the miscreant holds. He even went so far as to tighten every hold on one route, and to gripe about the setter, who has probably put up thousands of gym routes over the years. A further astounding note is that his girlfriend e-mailed the owner of the gym and complained at length over her darling's misadventure. Granted, a spinning hold could cause a fall off a lead climb, or a popping off on a toprope, but one is supposedly prepared to deal with a possible fall at all times, particularly on outdoor routes, where holds can actually break off. I wonder how far this guy will go...there are lots of reasons for loose holds, one of them being huge guys cranking on them. I have even seen holds fracture when people put weight and force on them. Even the playpen of an indoor gym has its dangers.

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