I am looking to get started within the next year or so.What are the first steps, what do l need to do to prepare myself, what are the risks and how can l become a very skilled climber?

Tips For Rock Climbing



Climbing is rarely about actual strength. Of course strength helps but the better & more experienced u get u will find that balance & technique r FAR more important. Climbing well does not always mean getting to the top. Climbing is about being in control, moving decisively & fluidly up the rock & not thrashing & scrambling.

Work on balance & overall strength & not on building large muscle groups. Build ur heart rate & work on finger strength.

There r three types of climbing. Trad (traditional) climbing is identified as routes where u must place u own safety gear. You r free climbing & using combinations of stoppers, cams, hexes & even pitons as protection. Sport climbing is usually short face climbs (though they can be milti pitch) using all bolts. Bouldering is done without ropes & done on free standing boulders. These routes r between 3 & maybe 20 moves; they r practice for sport climbing & often involve gymnastic or dynamic moves. The rating system in the US is called the Yosemite System & goes from 5.0 to 5.14. Ratings at 5.10 & above also include letters 5.10a, 5.10b, 5.10c, 5.10d, & 5.11. Boulders r rated with V1-5 based on difficulty.

Question on leading a trad route - say u start a route placing gear as u go. You get halfway up & can not get past a crux, so u drop down. Now, how would u get the gear out that on the in the wall? (i.e. the top piece that u came down on.)? You don't. Unless, u can walk to the top & rappel down to retrieve ur gear. Be careful when lowering off climbs on one piece of equipment, that fails, u die! Better to lead trad routes several grades below ur ability level.

Why does most mountaineering guides require u to have plastic boots instead of leather? Simply, the warmth, plastic boots have several layers & r quite a bit warmer. Most guide services do not want to deal with any frostbite problems while guiding. As a beginner/recreational climber.find a size that is snug.but comfortable. If u could not wear the shoes for one hour without discomfort..then the shoes r too tight.

l have been climbing 5.10/11 since 1977. In my experience, a little bit of tightness may give u a slight advantage..you get up a 5.11a when normallly ur limit is 5.10d.but l would much rather enjoy my recreation than climb at my ultimate limit.

RP is r a brand name for artificial chock stones. Like Stoppers, Rocks, Walnuts, Offsets, etc, it is the name given by the manufacturer; Pacific Crossing. Typically RP is were small to micro sized brass alloy nuts, similar to the Black Diamond copper/steel nut made today.

RP is were used, almost to the exclusion of any other micro nut, in Yosemite to push the frontier of what was possible with clean aid climbing in the late '70s, '80s, & early '90s. With the huge growth of the sport of climbing in the 1990's, many other companies began producing micro nuts similar to the RP

the best steps would be vertical ones

No body is gonna beat answer 1. She was just to thourough. l will put my answer in points so u can just glance at it & get an idea.

-Start going to an indoor climbing wall
-Join a club if u can, & try & meet some climbers
-If after a month u still like it, read up or ask here about buying a pair of rock shoes & buy some
-You do not even need to go getting a chalk bag at first, get a chalk ball
-Do as many courses on things like, learning to lead climb, setting up anchors, rope techniques, knots & so on. Think about doing a course on Rescue Emergency Care, it is always handy if someone takes a fall going for their second gear placement on a lead climb
-Good climbing is about
A) Good route planning, just comes from practice & experience
B) Skill & technique, this gives u confidence too & u climb better, kind of circular
C) Confidence, from knowledge that u r a strong climber, that you're with another good climber, & just that you're not going to fall & if u do the belayer will be doing their job & will arrest ur fall
D ) Fitness, stamina, ballance, & flexibility. Start jogging or skipping rope, do yoga, & always warm up & stretch before a session at the wall. Good ways to improve these
E ) Strength.

Join a climbing club (best option), or join an indoor gym & meet people there who will take u outside. To get started u need a harness, shoes & chalkbag.

Do not worry about the risks, climbing is very safe if done properly. You should read a technical manual such as Freedom of the Hills, for starters the sections on anchors, belaying & top-roping. Climbing becomes more dangerous when u begin leading & doing long routes where u end up pushing ur limits. As long as u kow the ''rules'' & always respect them u will be fine.

To become skilled, practice a lot. Build grip strenght by hanging on things (anythings) for as long as u can. When climbing, learn to use ur legs primarily, & the hands & arms mostly for balance. Staying close to the wall often helps to stay on ur feet.

Just have fun!

And if u live somwhere cold & u get the chance, try some ice climbing!

Some gear can be rented, but u will want to start by buying the following:

1. A good pair of rock shoes. If u want to climb outdoor, make sure they r very snug & u r able to stand in them for a couple hours without them getting painful. If u r going to climb indoors, they can be tighter as they can be removed between routes.

2. A harness. Basically this comes down to fit & cost. Most will do the job but u may want to consider adjustable leg loops if u will be climbing outside with different amounts of clothing.

3. A belay device & biner. You can borrow one from a friend if u really need to, but it would be better to have ur own - l recommend the Black Diamond XP & a big locking biner.

Then either find a friend to climb with (at the indoor gym or climbing club) or take a class - u will have a great time.

Once u get some basic skills, read ''How to Climb'' by John Long. He also wrote books about setting anchors & tying knots - all good skills. Climb with someone u trust who will teach u the safe way to climb & u will be fine & have fun.

Good Luck

There r many things to learn when first starting climbing, & most of them u have to learn yourself. Climbing is a huge world, bigger than u would expect, with so many different aspects & confusing terms.

However, some tips would be: watch ur feet! The worst thing amateurs do is to kick the wall while trying to put their feet on a hold. Keep ur feet high & use them to push yourself up (or along) the wall rather than pulling on ur arms. Many muscle-bound men have been awed by the feminine grace of a skilled climber dancing up the walls. Strength is a part of climbing when u get into steeply overhanging routes, but until then u should be relying on a good technique & footwork.

Footwork:

Good footwork is one of a climbers most important assets. Except on overhanging rock, u will climb basically on ur feet, ur arms acting only as a support mechanism to maintain balance as u step up from one foot hold to the next. It is magical how well sticky rubber soles adhere, but even so, a beginner may need some time before she learns to trust her feet. With practise u will find that even the tiniest footholds can provide good support.

There r many, almost infinite, types of footholds, but aside from the pure friction of simply pasting the foot flush with the wall there r two types of ways to use footholds: smearing & edging.

In the gym, smearing is likely to be the same as friction; pasting ur soles flush with the wall. This is handy in the absence of footholds & should not be underestimated. This will work well on the under hanging walls & the easy slabs.

Edging is, obviously, using the edge of ur shoe to gain support. This can be done using ur toe or the edge of ur foot near the big toe or little toe. Do not use the arch part of ur shoe for standing on as it does not provide the feeling & strength of the ball.

Heel hooking is a further way to gain an advantage. This is where u use ur heel as a 'third hand', raising it above ur waist in a hooking motion

Once ur foot is on a hold, do not move it till u take it off, as in don’t change the angle it is on in relation to the wall, as this will ruin both the friction & the rubber properties of the shoes.



A common problem with beginners is they rush their moves. They hug the rock, their feet r kicked towards, but not onto, the holds, and, as they do not trust their feet, they r quaking in their shoes with their feet skedadling all over the wall.

Handholds r obviously also important, but r only used for balanced except on overhanging routes & dynamic moves, or dynos, which r mostly for show.
Finger strength & core tension r needed, but they will come with time. Just make sure u r having fun.

“The best climber in the world is the one having they most fun”


The Risks

Climbing is a dangerous sport. Do not underestimate the chance of death. In a climbing gym the chance of gear failure & human error is low as the variables r removed. However, u always have to rely on someone else, the person belaying you. Your life is literally in their hands. Make sure u have a trustworthy person down below.

About 12 people die each year through climbing accidents, & most r preventable, such as people lowering off the end of their ropes 200 metres up in the sky.

To become a skilled climber is not only about ur climbing ability. It is also about being able to think on ur feet. For instance, u r at the end of a climb, & u double ur rope over the anchors so u can rappel down. You look down to see the rope does not reach the ground. What now? There r at least three ways to get out of this situation alive, u just have to think about it.

And what happens if u drop u belay device?

There r so many things to learn, a text on anchor setting could easily outweigh all of the Harry potter books combined.

Make sure u get expert instruction!

Hope this helps.