Summer Sends

Maybe we don’t want to admit it, but it’s time to face the facts. This summer is hot. SCORCHING. But how can you still get summer sends with this heat? theDIHEDRAL team is here to help you send through the fire.

Carrot

It feels hot everywhere right now.  Swamp crotch is an inevitability, and that leads to irritability, but I am here to offer some outdoor summer tips with reliability!!!

I have been tent camping my whole life, and I currently live in a place where the humidity is off the charts and the heat just slaps you in the face, like Laurel and Hardy tossing pies baked in Satan’s asscrack.  It’s hard to get motivated to “enjoy” the summer when the summer seemingly just wants to destroy you.  But, here are 5 tips to get anyone through the sweltering fever of a greenhouse summer.

1. Leave – just go somewhere else, anywhere else.
2. Water – Deep Water Soloing is fun!  Not an option for everyone, but if you can climb hard, and cool off quickly, then you are doing something right.
3. Water – If you are outside, you gotta hydrate.  8 oz. every 15-20 minutes whenever you are in the summer sun.
4. Water – Wet cloth on the back of your neck is a total game changer.  Heat induced migraines are so bad, this is like a little defense system for your overheated and overworked brain!
5. Sunnies – If you don’t own a pair of polarized sunglasses, you are missing out.  Sunglasses protect your eyelid, cornea, lens and retina.  Also they cover those bags under your eyes so people can’t tell that you weren’t able to fall asleep until 3 AM and had to wake up at 7 AM, because your tent was hotter than the asscrack oven used to bake Laurel and Hardy’s metaphorical hot pies.  

Don’t let the heat stop your adventure, just make adjustments so that the adventure can be remembered for the right reasons!

Chubbygirlclimbing

So you fools want to brave the heat and get to the crag, eh? And you’re looking for some advice on how to do so? Well, you’ve come to the right place. I am a woman genetically built to live as an Irish peasant in a dark and gloomy village, but currently reside in a sauna. So, this is how I survive.

1. SPF 1000 – I will find the highest SPF possible, and still reapply every hour, even if I haven’t been swimming. Bonus if you can find one that rolls on, so you don’t get your hands all slick before you climb.

2. Astral projection – Why are you bothering with this nonsense? Get out of here. Astral project to some beautiful west coast wall that has perfect weather all the time. I’m sure there’s a YouTube video on how to do this.

3. Coverage – SPF is great but is not 100%. Having clothes that cover your skin but are breathable is key. If you look at any desert society, they aren’t in shorts and tank tops. They cover their skin. Just in the right kind of lightweight fabric.

    4. Sell your soul for cool relief – Listen, this may not be ideal but it might be worth it?

High-Clip

I know you have to send. Sure, the gym has A/C, but is the gym send sufficient? No. So let’s get out there.

1. Learn how to say no – You know your limits. If the temperature/air quality/humidity/UV index/etc. Is not for you, own it and don’t try to brave it. You can’t send passed out. 
2. Loose the fly – Unless it’s going to rain, keep the fly off your tent. It’s an intuitive move, but it makes a huge difference.
3. Cover your gear – I don’t care if it’s a t-shirt, a tree, or whatever else provides shade make sure your gear is out of the sun. Grabbing searing hot draws and carabiners does not do wonders for the skin. Your non-metallic gear doesn’t need the extra heat and UV rays, either.
4. Cover yourself – Drop whatever you need to in order to send, but keep the hat and the shades. This way you can see the rock.
5. Consider the PM – Night climbing adds extra technicality, and is not allowed everywhere, but it’s worth a thought. If you’re comfortable climbing at night, the sun can’t burn you, there’s no waiting for routes, the rock won’t sear your hands, and the temps should be ever-so-slightly lower…just sayin’.

Be safe out there, send hard, and comment anything we left out!