by jeremy benjamin » Thu Sep 11, 2008 10:37 pm
Hoofmaker is intended for strengthening horse’s hooves. You can buy it at stores that cater to horse people, they are sometimes called tack shops but I don't know why. Tack shops sell saddles and cowboy apparel, like boots and hats and big belt buckles. You can also find it online at both horse and climbing related sites. I used it while on a 3 week trip to Squamish. I found that it helped with skin growth and toughening of my tips, but I also found that the skin layer that seemed to grow faster and be tougher would sometimes peel off when climbing. It would probably be beneficial to use it in advance of a big trip, which I did not do.
As for the Nova Scotian beta on climbing hard, like really hard, on rocks that are sharp, like really sharp, in the day light and also during (whisper voice) 'night sessions' when it is dark, like really dark. Here is the NS low down. Start by living in your car. You can upgrade to a truck eventually, but first you have to pay your dues in the car to earn the right to live in a truck. Eat a diet consisting mainly of dried oats, but subsidise your diet with opportunistic protein from sources like fertilized chicken eggs meant for scientific research or troublesome squirrels. Train hard but take good rest days. A good schedule is to climb two days and then rest for two days. On your off days your time should be mainly spent climbing. Remember, sending temps are good at night, so climb at the gym during the day to wait out the heat and then head out to the boulders for your session. It is beneficial (for some reason) to wear shoes that do not match, and to keep spare shoes scattered around the city at various climbing destinations, but I think that is more of a placebo than anything else. Those are just a few simple guidelines to climbing hard in Nova Scotia. Most of them should translate well to limestone I think.
Good Luck. Let us know how it works out.
. From experiance a 4 day weekend to the Red leaves my tips sore and raw. Last year I went down for a full week, I was crying by the end, I sat there on rest days willing my skin to grow back.
