Friday Feat: Downward Dyno Gone Wrong
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Here’s a precautionary tale and testament to Murphy’s law: if it can go wrong, it will. As Jake Scharfman experienced four years ago at Planet Granite Belmont, holds can, in fact, break off gym walls.
“I remember being really confused,” he wrote to Gym Climber. “I was thinking, I grabbed the hold? Why am I on the ground? I was somehow totally fine, which was pure luck on my part. I have not gone around attempting downward dynos since. The hold was actually fine, too; it was the T-nut that had ripped out of the wall.”
Scharfman, 21, is a climber and photographer based out of Squamish, British Columbia, Canada. He’s currently in school, on his way to earning a bachelors of arts and sciences degree. Scharfman found climbing through his uncle, a Yosemite big wall climber throughout the 80’s and 90’s. At first, climbing was just for fun for Scharfman, but the sport stuck after he participated in a climbing camp between seventh and eighth grade.
“I joined the team at the gym immediately after, and haven’t lost the passion since,” he wrote.
Climbing gyms, as was the case with Scharman, offer an easy entry-point for everyone, from those getting their feet wet, to the gung ho enthusiasts looking to train or refine skills. But gyms shouldn’t be taken for granted. True, falling holds is not a normal worry within the safety of the indoors, but it can happen, so remember to always be vigilant.
Happy Friday!
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