Monday, March 14, 2011

The incredible 'Stone Nudes'



It is a breathtaking - and death-defying feat - which redefines the term extreme sport. Battling both gravity and the elements, the climber claws her way up a granite boulder by just her fingertips.

For most, the lack of ropes and safety equipment would be a perilous step too far. But this woman has gone even further and abandoned her clothes to take part in the new sport of naked rock climbing.


The climber is one of a series of super-fit 'Stone Nudes' captured in action on the cliffs and mountains of America.


Without clothes, specialist shoes or other equipment, participants say the experience captures the 'true essence of the climbing spirit.'


It is the latest extreme sport craze to sweep the US, and is now tipped to become a popular pastime in the UK.


Climbing Accidents


What Causes Most Climbing Accidents?

Lack of proper training is the leading cause of climbing accidents, followed by equipment failure or the lack of proper equipment maintenance. Many people simply drive to a climbing area and try their hand at it with little or nothing in the way of training and almost no equipment—and then they are surprised when they suffer an accident.
Accidents are also caused by simple overconfidence; climbers think they know more than they actually do and suddenly find themselves in a dangerous situation with no idea of what to do.
Carelessness is another cause of climbing accidents. Equipment must be maintained and checked (and re-checked) before each climb. Carelessness ties in with overconfidence many times. New climbers check and re-check knots and the set up of their belayer…but as climbers gain more experience and become too confident in their climbing abilities, these things tend to become less important – and that’s when accidents happen.

Tips for Remaining Accident and Injury Free

An injury can keep you from climbing for an entire season. Even a minor injury can be annoying and painful. Here are a few tips for reducing your chances of being injured while climbing.
Start by warming up your muscles before a climb. Do some stretching exercises to limber your muscles and to get your core body temperature up. Also, when you are finished with your climb take a few minutes to allow your body to cool down.
Don’t overdo it. Many climbers become fanatical and spend every free minute climbing. This is bad for your muscles and bad for your entire body. Pace yourself. Never climb more than 4 times a week – fewer times if you are doing strenuous climbing. Climbing with tired or weak muscles is a prescription for disaster.
Never climb when you are injured. A sprained finger or a stretched or torn tendon or ligament will not be improved by a climbing session. As difficult as it may be to admit that you have an injury and to stay away from climbing, you will do yourself and others a world of good and help to reduce the number and severity of climbing accidents if you will refrain from climbing until your body is in peak shape.

Let Common Sense Be Your Guide

Rock Climbing: A religious practice?

honnold

Chris O’Connel, owner and aficionado of the Boston Rock Gym contacted me a few weeks back. O’Connel is a dedicated and kindly reader of my almost daily epistle and wondered if rock climbing was on my agenda during my year of “elite fitness.” HELL YA! I replied.

As many of you may know, I work in social media consulting. I cut out the PR agency out of a media campaign and take it straight to the web. I create a digital strategy to capture the the trends of the media as it has almost fully jumped ship from newspapers and radio to cloud computing, mobile devices and social networking.

Anyway, I’m on board at the Boston Rock Gym and in turn I get to train and write about my experiences as a novice ( oh so novice) climber who still has more junk in the trunk than she should and a bosom that keeps her from actually getting flush against the wall. I wonder if my Zaftig figure is akin to a bulldog swimming? Are we both destined to drop like a boulder in water? Time will tell.

What I do know is the following:

I humbly bow before the young athletes that do climb, boulder and forge new, breathtaking death defying routes for the immortal to chance their luck.

I say this with out pretense and with complete humility.

I had the pleasure of attending the Reel Rock Film Festival at The Regent in Arlington last Thursday night.

Two words from the Film Festival: Alex Honnold. (PLEASE WATCH VIDEO)

honnold-2

I will plainly admit: I have no words to describe Honnold as a climber. The 23 year-old, featured in Nat Geo’s new series, First Ascent, becomes the first person to free solo Half Dome’s NW face. And, for those not in the climbing community, this means the kid climbed a sheer, flat rock without ropes. Honnold climbed with pluck, a quiet mind and graceful gait.

The California Geological Survey about Half Dome in 1865 stated: “It is a crest of granite… perfectly inaccessible, being probably the only one of the prominent points about the Yosemite which never has been, and never will be, trodden my human foot.” Well, it got trodden, people by a veritable Spiderman.

As I watched this episode of Honnold’s ascent, I felt dizzy, nauseous and quite honestly not believing my eyes. I sought information. How does a person train for such a climb? What is Honnold’s diet? Does Honnold have water with him? How the hell is this being filmed? The only facts I received that were even tangentially related to Honnold were that he reads Dostoyevsky, he possibly has never been kissed, lives in a van and arguably has the empty mind and quiet soul of the Buddha (sans body fat) seeking enlightenment not under a tree but in his embrace of the rock.

Rock Climbing Extrem

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Between a Rock and a Hard Place





Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Emerald Krabi – Rock Climbing

Krabi is situated in Krabi Province of the Southern Thailand, covering an area of 4,708 square kilometers facing the Andaman Sea in the west, has a beautiful term as the Emerald on the Andaman Sea.

Phuket-Krabi-map


Home to many natural marine lives, stretches of virgin coral reefs and numerous islands and caves, Krabi is most famous for their remarkable limestone cliffs and rock formations

And hence one of the main activities in Krabi is – Rock Climbing. Believe it, many extreme adventure seeker come to this place, solely to look for a high challenge on the steep wall of nature.

krabi coastal cliff


It was the second day of my trip in Krabi, the waves were not as choppy that morning. So we went out to sea on a speed boat to see the beautiful coastal cliffs and island landscapes of the Andaman Sea’s jewel.

posing on boat
I like my AirAsia cap


The ride was really really bumpy despite the calm waves. Imagine this, I was standing on the front deck of the boat, and when the boat hit a coming wave, I would be bounced 2 feet into the sky, it was like a trampoline at sea.

island in krabi


I wanted to stay on the boat forever, but we arrived at our destination some 30 minutes later. How time flies when you’re having fun~

The boatman climbed in front to anchor the yacht.

boatman


It’s amazing how these people can steady themselves so well on the edge of the boat. I mean, what if he falls huh? And stepped on a sea urchin or something, don’t think I’m kidding, two guys stepped on few while snorkeling that day.

Well, at least you know you’re pretty close to nature this way, lol. And bet sea urchins do come cheap here.

Apart from meeting many other foreign rock climbers here, the amazing structure of the cliff facing the sea makes climbing on vertical walls seems a lot more fun, and romantic.

rockcclimbing


Better than climbing fake stones pin on flat walls in shopping complexes or indoor theme parks anyway.

rock climbing stone


Fake stone with holes! Ridiculous!!


indoor rock climbing


Boring~~!!


Krabi has the real thing man!

Just look at how high this baby (the wall I mean) can go.

extreme rock climbing 1


Higher

extreme rock climbing 2


And higher


extreme rock climbing 3
Oh look mommy, no hands.


You don’t find shopping complexes built that high do you?

That mini guy on the cliff you see there is the lead climber. It means he’s the first to climb the cliff, without any safety rope. Basically a lead climber climbs up cliff at any height to hook ropes to safety pins that was already fixed into the cliff so climbers can climb safely.

I was sweating just looking at him hanging with his fingers some 30 feet above ground, rope-less....

My challenge…however, is this. The little baby next to the big manly cliff.

junior rock climbing


prepare for rock climbing
Me putting on my safety harness


Honestly I never though I could do it. But rock climbing, as I learned, it not all about using pure arm and finger strength (neither which I have); the most important part is to hook your hands onto the rocks, and push yourself up with your legs.

nicole on rock


The trick however, is focus. Focus really hard on the rocks, find your next curve or point where you can grab onto with your fingers. And before I knew it, I have reached the top with ease (after much screaming and wailing). No sweat.

Once you’re up there, hang around, the view is great!

rock climbing krabi


While I was attempting the small and easy climb, this dude was doing a jump-and-climb stunt.

rock climber

The Deepest Cave




The Most Remote Land