Anyone around like to climb? That's my other passion (cigars and climbing), although I find that having a cigar at the crag does nothing for my grip strength :-)

Whats your poison? I'm a sport climber myself, working on eventually working my way up to trad climbing. Mostly I work gyms during the weeks and head out to Pilot Mountain NC on the weekends.

Climb on!
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My gear is all back in the states right now, but I definitely got into it, and I may have my parents ship my stuff over so I can do some climbs over here (Germany).
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Awesome! Any good crags in your area?
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I spent a couple of summers doing some top roping on some pretty interesting granite in the area. Lots of edging no smearing. Haven't grabbed the gear in 3-4 years. Bad back and knee followed by having a baby kinda of killed it for me for awhile. Never thought about having a smoke mid way up a climb. Could be interesting.
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Interesting is right :-)

Top roping it might be okay for some (certainly not for me), but when you are setting your own clips I would advise against it :-)
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I don't climb anymore, but those were great times. I was an 11- sport climber and 10- alpine rock climber. Here in Oregon, we have Smith Rocks State Park and between Oregon and Washington, many technical routes on peaks over 10,000'. Squamish in BC is some of the best granite in North America.

I doubt I could go back to rock climbing as I probably can't get my size 9 feet into size 6.5 rock shoes anymore
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There's no time to get back in to it like the present! :-)

Sounds like you got some good rock around you anyway :-)
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Theres a few good places nearby. I'm in an area with a lot of bluffs. There's some places nearby that are good for just bouldering, and then nearer the rivers are some bluffs. Also, I can go south towards the mountains...

Lots of good places to climb around here.
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I got into climbing late and never had the time to dedicate to learning how to set my own clips. I think I was 32 when I started and was still actively playing rugby which sucked up at least 3 days a week. You do what you can. Now I would be happy to sit by the cliff and smoke a cigar and watch you climb. :-)
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I find that watching other people climb is both instructive and really enjoyable....strangely enough!
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damnedest thing....the weight of all the gear I USED to drag up attached to my harness is now permanently part of my a$$....

Still have all my toproping gear and jumars/ascenders - sold all my lead climbing gear years ago.

Gravity seems to pull a lot harder these days.....:-)
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Just got back from bouldering all afternoon. Found a great spot on campus called "The Outdoor Theatre" that is made entirely of mortared rock, with good fifteen to twenty foot walls :-)

Hopefully there aren't any productions going up there soon, because the walls are plastered with chalk right about now :-)
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