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clee03m
Apr 7, 2009, 5:27 PM
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After a 100+ hour work week followed by a particularly grueling climbing day, I was looking a bit hagged at work this morning. In the locker room, one of my coworkers looks at my face and at my legs, and said with concern,
"Who....is hurting you?"
I explained that I rock climb, and that sometimes you get bruises on your legs, and she nodded unconvincingly with pity in her eyes.
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tigerlilly
Apr 7, 2009, 5:45 PM
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LOL!
I once had a co-worker suggest I could save myself a lot of time and money by simply throwing myself down a flight of stairs each weekend, as the results would be similar.
Kathy
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gblauer
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Apr 7, 2009, 7:26 PM
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I can remember when I first started climbing (6 months into it) we climbed Devil's Tower. We were there for a couple of days, sumitted twice the first day and 1x the xecond day. Since I was such a noob, my footwork was terrible. My legs were COVERED in bruises from my toes to my thighs.
I am happy to say, that as my footwork improved, my bruising incidents have declined dramatically. That's not to say I don't occasionally bang the hell out of one of my knees!
Truth be told, I am proud of my bumps, bruises and callouses.
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lena_chita
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Apr 7, 2009, 8:11 PM
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At one of my annual check-ups I got seriously grilled about whether I feel safe at home, and whether I am in a violent relationship.
Really, I do it to myself, doctor!
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lvpyne
Apr 7, 2009, 8:17 PM
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Your story made me laugh!
It reminded me of a trip to Mount Lemmon five years ago or so, with more or less the same question. I had taken a huge whipper and looked like hell -- split both my lips, my nose was purple and swollen, abrasions, etc. Truly stunning. My friend (this nice, quiet guy who is an engineer) opted to not point out how bad this looked before we went in to Tucson to grab some dinner. We'd been camping all week and showed up at some restaurant, rather feral looking. I went to wash up while he grabbed a table and this really nice, well-meaning lady followed me to the restroom. She told me that things "didn't need to be like this", "there are places that can help", etc. It took me a minute to figure out what she was talking about. She remained unconvinced when I explained that I had fallen rock climbing -- she even gave me a card for a domestic shelter in Tucson.
I was impressed that someone would offer help, albeit misguided for me and my poor friend who got really dirty looks the entire time we were eating dinner. 
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tigerlilly
Apr 7, 2009, 10:05 PM
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gblauer wrote: I can remember when I first started climbing (6 months into it) we climbed Devil's Tower. We were there for a couple of days, sumitted twice the first day and 1x the xecond day. Since I was such a noob, my footwork was terrible. My legs were COVERED in bruises from my toes to my thighs. I am happy to say, that as my footwork improved, my bruising incidents have declined dramatically. That's not to say I don't occasionally bang the hell out of one of my knees! Truth be told, I am proud of my bumps, bruises and callouses.
Fortunately, my footwork has improved, too. Here's an old photo from after my first multipitch climb. I bruise like a tomato..
http://www.rockclimbing.com/...sed_Shins_82608.html
Kathy
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climbingam
Apr 7, 2009, 10:06 PM
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I've had the same worries about people thinking I abuse my wife. Though it's not usually from climbing. We joke that she gets more bruises getting to the climb than actually climbing. She looks good on the rock, but scrambling skills, well that's an area we are working on.
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wonderwoman
Apr 7, 2009, 11:04 PM
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Well... If only you all would just learn to listen!!!!
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htotsu
Apr 7, 2009, 11:40 PM
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You should've looked behind you, then leaned in to whisper, "El Capitan" before running away.
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gblauer
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Apr 8, 2009, 12:35 AM
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Tigerlilly...Nice photo of the shins. That's just what I looked like after Devils Tower. So crazy that we do this to ourselves and we ENJOY doing it!
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lhwang
Apr 8, 2009, 1:18 AM
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Hee.
On another note...
100+ hours? I can say with almost absolute certitude that I will never, ever do that again.
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clausti
Apr 8, 2009, 1:23 AM
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lena_chita wrote: At one of my annual check-ups I got seriously grilled about whether I feel safe at home, and whether I am in a violent relationship. Really, I do it to myself, doctor!
this thread has cheered me up in a weird way.
like when someone actually asks to see my ID for my credit card, which has "CHECK ID" written in the signature area.
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lena_chita
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Apr 8, 2009, 2:48 PM
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tigerlilly wrote: lena_chita wrote: At one of my annual check-ups I got seriously grilled about whether I feel safe at home, and whether I am in a violent relationship. Really, I do it to myself, doctor!Ya' know, that doesn't neccessarily sound any better.....  Kathy
No, it doesn't if you put it that way. Umm, the rock did it to me...
Not any better, huh?
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lena_chita
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Apr 8, 2009, 2:53 PM
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clausti wrote: lena_chita wrote: At one of my annual check-ups I got seriously grilled about whether I feel safe at home, and whether I am in a violent relationship. Really, I do it to myself, doctor! this thread has cheered me up in a weird way. like when someone actually asks to see my ID for my credit card, which has "CHECK ID" written in the signature area.
Yeah, I know. While I was a little annoyed that my insistence that everything was fine, and no one was beating me and I was not trying to hide anything was not immediately accepted, I appreciated the doctor who took time to ask these questions b/c some woman somewhere might BE the victim who needed this help.
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clee03m
Apr 8, 2009, 4:52 PM
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lhwang wrote: 100+ hours? I can say with almost absolute certitude that I will never, ever do that again.
That was because I worked the whole weekend. If I average out my work week for the whole month, I think it ends up being about 65 a week. But it's OK because I still get a lot of climbing. For example, this week, I have 2 weekdays and the weekend off. Minus the husband, I would be climbing 4 whole days outside, but for conjugal bliss, only 3 days.
I need more than just technique to avoid bruises. I really need to learn to manage my gear better. Being forced to run out at the end of the pitch with a flaring offwidth desperately jamming my legs...I can tell you, it was not a pretty picture.
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clausti
Apr 8, 2009, 5:07 PM
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clee03m wrote: lhwang wrote: 100+ hours? I can say with almost absolute certitude that I will never, ever do that again. That was because I worked the whole weekend. If I average out my work week for the whole month, I think it ends up being about 65 a week. But it's OK because I still get a lot of climbing. For example, this week, I have 2 weekdays and the weekend off. Minus the husband, I would be climbing 4 whole days outside, but for conjugal bliss, only 3 days. I need more than just technique to avoid bruises. I really need to learn to manage my gear better. Being forced to run out at the end of the pitch with a flaring offwidth desperately jamming my legs...I can tell you, it was not a pretty picture.
i nicknamed my #2 "leapfrog" this weekend. 
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happiegrrrl
Apr 8, 2009, 9:55 PM
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I had a climbing partner for a while who had to wear knee pads, she bruised so easily.
It WASN'T that she was using knees/shins to get up the route. She honestly had extremely sensitive skin that bruised if she so much as brushed the rock face.
I don't get bruised skin, but by my second day at Jtree, I look at the front of my shins and see bloody scabs along the bone. I certainly don't rub my poor legs along that grit! But even just the same - a slight touch and the skin seems to get scraped off.
But for the OP - I hope that coworker isn't going to be the type who might start unfounded rumors in the workplace. They don't sound very sensitive in the way they broached what could be a truly traumatic situation. Putting a victim of abuse on the defensive(posing that question in such a demanding way) is far from an effective way to assist a person who really is being beaten.
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grampacharlie
Apr 9, 2009, 12:17 AM
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lvpyne wrote: Your story made me laugh! It reminded me of a trip to Mount Lemmon five years ago or so, with more or less the same question. I had taken a huge whipper and looked like hell -- split both my lips, my nose was purple and swollen, abrasions, etc. Truly stunning. My friend (this nice, quiet guy who is an engineer) opted to not point out how bad this looked before we went in to Tucson to grab some dinner. We'd been camping all week and showed up at some restaurant, rather feral looking. I went to wash up while he grabbed a table and this really nice, well-meaning lady followed me to the restroom. She told me that things "didn't need to be like this", "there are places that can help", etc. It took me a minute to figure out what she was talking about. She remained unconvinced when I explained that I had fallen rock climbing -- she even gave me a card for a domestic shelter in Tucson. I was impressed that someone would offer help, albeit misguided for me and my poor friend who got really dirty looks the entire time we were eating dinner.
This is awesome... kinda
If everyone looked out for each other like that, the world might have a few less troubles...
and a few more good stories.
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aerili
Apr 9, 2009, 6:06 AM
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happiegrrrl wrote: I had a climbing partner for a while who had to wear knee pads, she bruised so easily. It WASN'T that she was using knees/shins to get up the route. She honestly had extremely sensitive skin that bruised if she so much as brushed the rock face.
This is me. I wear my self-made kneepads most of the time. Although they are not huge or bulky, so they do not get all the abuse and I end up with bruises on some parts of my knee anyway.
I also get small bruises up and down other parts of my lower legs which most climbers don't experience. I think my connective tissue disorder has a lot to do with this phenomenon.....$#%$#&*(^
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granite_grrl
Apr 9, 2009, 11:10 AM
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aerili wrote: happiegrrrl wrote: I had a climbing partner for a while who had to wear knee pads, she bruised so easily. It WASN'T that she was using knees/shins to get up the route. She honestly had extremely sensitive skin that bruised if she so much as brushed the rock face. This is me. I wear my self-made kneepads most of the time. Although they are not huge or bulky, so they do not get all the abuse and I end up with bruises on some parts of my knee anyway. I also get small bruises up and down other parts of my lower legs which most climbers don't experience. I think my connective tissue disorder has a lot to do with this phenomenon.....$#%$#&*(^
I used to think I brusied easily (and I probobly do more easily than someone like my husband), but after my last surgery where I barely bruised at all I'm thinking it's not as bad as I thought.
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reno
Apr 9, 2009, 12:59 PM
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granite_grrl wrote: What makes it so that some people bruise more easily than others?
Several things can lead to this. Everything from clotting disorders (thrombocytopenia comes to mind,) to simply having very little subcutaneous tissue to "pad" the impact.
Another dynamic is skin pigment... those with very fair skin will show even the slightest bruise. Those with darker pigmented skin won't.
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petsfed
Apr 9, 2009, 5:45 PM
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lena_chita wrote: At one of my annual check-ups I got seriously grilled about whether I feel safe at home, and whether I am in a violent relationship. Really, I do it to myself, doctor!
My girlfriend got asked that exact question at her annual checkup a few weeks back.
We'd been climbing offwidths all weekend.
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aerili
Apr 9, 2009, 8:23 PM
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granite_grrl wrote: What makes it so that some people bruise more easily than others?
Also dermal thickness. Hence why men bruise less than women--they have thicker dermises. (Also why you are less likely to see cellulite on them--the thickness of the dermis prevents the fat cells that push against it and the basement membrane from showing through.)
Also why older people bruise more easily than younger people--the dermis gets thinner as we age. Also, fat often increases as well, making cellulite worse.
I think my extraordinary propensity to bruise is because my skin's basement membrane has a problem with its fibrillin content due to my connective tissue disorder. I don't know if this could explain the bruising for sure, but nothing else seems to make sense when compared to other women my age.
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clee03m
Apr 10, 2009, 4:28 PM
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wonderwoman wrote: Also, do any of you get the 'trad rack' bruises? I always get bruises on my upper thigh on my right side where my rack is hanging.
That's what they were. I don't get them always, but I certainly got them this Monday. I was wondering how I got them. Mystry solved.
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wonderwoman
Apr 10, 2009, 4:35 PM
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clee03m wrote: wonderwoman wrote: Also, do any of you get the 'trad rack' bruises? I always get bruises on my upper thigh on my right side where my rack is hanging. That's what they were. I don't get them always, but I certainly got them this Monday. I was wondering how I got them. Mystry solved.
Isn't it funny how the bruises line up how you organize your rack? Smaller gear bruises on the front of my thigh, larger gear bruises on the back! Very sexy!
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tavs
Apr 10, 2009, 6:41 PM
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Rack bruises--oh yeah! Always. After an Indian Creek trip, my legs are just awful. I'm not especially pale so I guess I must have thinner skin, because I bruise very easily. I always tell my husband to be on his best behavior after a weekend or more of trad climbing, because I've certainly got something to show people. [Disclaimer: no, I do not think domestic violence is funny nor would I actually do this.]
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rockie
Apr 14, 2009, 8:53 PM
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omg, well it does remind me of one time I climbed with a hard core highly aggressive climber (and driver too I noticed), who thought he could get me leading 5.10's that day bearing in mind I'd not long passed my lead course!
Anyway, I proved him wrong of course but I still pushed hard and seconded him up most of his, and on one upper level 5.8 route which a very tricky wide crack start I managed to cut my arms and hands with the arm and fist camming and my own determination to not quit.
Well I went back to work the following day and everyone kept asking me what I'd done to my arms and hands, or what had happened to me??!
I knew what it must have looked like and I was quick to point out it was due to rock climbing.
But honestly, for the week of pain and aggro, was that really worth it?
No was my answer to that. I'd rather climb and enjoy it with natural progression, than push or be pushed that way to try and get to the next grade.
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LunaClimbs
Apr 15, 2009, 9:46 PM
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I like reading that I'm not the only one who gets questioned at work ...
A few weeks ago I was training for crack climbing in the gym which resulted in scrapes on my hands and wrists. After some important meetings the next day, my boss pulled me aside and asked, "How did you do that to your hands!? People were looking at them."
My reply ... "Fist fight."
His ... "Right...so you were climbing. I don't understand why you do that."
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klopik
May 18, 2009, 8:32 PM
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I also have a funny story to share :)
After a long weekend of climbing, which resulted in my legs being bruised horribly, a rope burn on my shoulder and both forearms being sliced up :) I was quietly doing laundery at home. Silly me, ended up with my foot between a washer and a dryer, twisted funny and ended up breaking 2 toes :)
After my scream, my then boyfriend and climing partner took me to the urgent care clinic to check and see if I indeed broke them.
Good doctor took the xray, took a good look at me, asked Mike to step outside and very nicely started telling me things like "you know, if you don't want to come back home, you don't have it. there are a lot more people who are just like you, you can get help". Took me a few minutes to figure out what he was talking about :)))
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