Rock Climbing questions

[Toe Cozy]

Hi,

What can anyone tell me about learning to climb? Does one take lessons? Any recommendations for good places to get instruction? I don't know anything about the logistics of climbing, I just know that I'm really intrigued to try it out. Don't hear much about climbing on this site but thought I'd ask anyway. Thanks for any iand all info!

Toe Cozy

 

[percious]

Learning to climb is a pretty easy thing to do. I have been learning along side my wife for the past 6 months and it has been a great experience.

The best recommendation I can give you is to find a local climbing gym, and ask them what to do. I frequent www.stoneagerockgym.com in manchester. The first time you go there, you pay about 55 dollars, and you can borrow all the gear, and they will show you the ropes. After that it is much cheaper to use the gym, especially if you get your own shoes/harness.

The people there are really great, especially Mike, and I have worked on my technique with him a few times.

After that, there are various other places teaching the outside stuff. Stone Age does offer it, but it is expensive. EMS has a 105 dollar top rope anchor course which I am going to take next weekend. I will let you know if it is any good.

-percious

 

[MEB]

I agree with Precious that learning to climb is easy...that is at the rock gym. Climbing out on the real stuff was a totally different experience for me though. I gave rock climbing a stab a few years back with a friend of mine who had been doing it for years and my first time out was exhausting. Ater a few tries my arms were spent as my technique was not very efficient. I would suggest maybe looking into a lesson with EMS climbing school. I was suprised at how much there is to learn about the sport.

Good Luck!

-MEB

 

[Mad Townie]

You gotta climb with your legs, MEB, climb with your legs!

I used to volunteer at the Maine Rock Gym, teaching first timers how to use the gear. I'm not a good climber, but one thing I've learned is that, generally speaking, you use your hands to keep you on the rock and your legs to push you up the wall.

Toe Cozy, learning at a gym is a great way to start. When you switch to outdoors, it's very important to start with a good, safe, qualified instructor. Then climb with good, safe partners. You can start outside with top roping, which is very much like gym climbing. Regular ("trad") climbing requires a fairly good level of knowledge and skill from both leader and second, but especially from the leader. With top roping you can't fall very far, so the likelihood of injury is very low--unless the person who set up the top rope is an idiot.

Go for it. I started learning to climb at 48, and I'm NOT an athlete. It's great fun, though.

 

[jfb]

I learned to climb by joining a club at college. Some of the older members knew just enough about rock climbing to teach the younger ones, but we basically all learned together. I think the AMC Boston Chapter runs rock climbing classes that start in the spring and continue through the summer and fall. Unfortunately, it's probably too late to join this year.

 

[GregC]

The easiest way to get started in climbing is to climb indoors first. Build strength/technique and get comfortable with belaying/top rope systems. To really make progress you'll need to climb at least once a week. You could take a class on climbing technique, but it's not something that can totally be taught..you just have to climb a lot and learn from experience. If you decide you really enjoy it, your going to want to move to the outdoors (because that's where all of us here like to be). When people start climbing outdoors, they usually start with top-roping. Read everything you can get your hands on about climbing, my favorites are Mountaineering:Freedom of the Hills and John Long's anchor book. They even have books just on top-roping. If you have money to spend, you could take a class on top roping, but it's not necessary. Top-roping isn't that complicated, you can learn from a book and/or find somebody in the gym to take you out. The next step after top-roping for most people is sport climbing, then after that trad climbing. You'll learn a lot about this stuff (and what you do/don't like) as you progress, read about it and talk to other climbers.
Also check out www.rockclimbing.com www.adackclimbs.com
Whoops, almost forgot about bouldering! For those of you who don't know, bouldering is climbing boulders that typically are 10-20ft high. The only equipment you need are shoes and a crashpad (mat to fall on, it's done un-roped) This form of climbing focuses on the difficulty of the moves. So if you've never climbed before, you'll get spanked..but you could find easier stuff to play around on.
Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about climbing

 

[MEB]

I know, I know Mad Townie! But these spaghetti arms of mine just arn't quite as tough as I'd like them to be!!!

 

[Warren]

If you've picked up technique from a book or a class it can be practiced and experimented with when you are hiking- choose scrambly routes and apply your technique there.

 

[Quack]

rock on

I would also suggest bouldering as a way to learn. You can pick up guide books for almost any area in New England at REI or EMS or Amazon or any place you'd think to find climbing gear. It's a great way to get started without committing too much money. All you really need is shoes and a chalk bag.

 

[Toe Cozy]

Thanks for the info. I looked on the web today for climbing gyms in VT. There is one in Rutland VT, which is pretty close to where I live. Anyone have experience with the Rutland place? Or recommendations for what I should be looking for in an indoor climbing experience? Thanks again.

 

[Skyclimber]

You are to keep all your weight on your toes. Using only your arm strength and hands to climb.
Learn the hand and toe jams for the cracks in the rocks when there are no nubbles to grab onto.
Your suppose to keep your weight off the rope but tight at all times.
The rock climbing shoe should be a little snug as for them not to slip off your feet when climbing up the rock.
Don't look down as your climbing the rocks as not to panic of the heights.
We always, securely double anchored our ropes on top.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Don't look down as your climbing the rocks as not to panic of the heights.

Yeah. I'll second that.

Climbing walls, indoors, just isn't the same. In some ways, more difficult, in some ways eaiser. The exposure just isn't there inside. It is, however, MUCH less expensive to get a taste.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

The first time you go there, you pay about 55 dollars,.... After that it is much cheaper to use the gym, especially if you get your own shoes/harness.

Wow! I pay only $5.00 up here, at Vertical Reality...yeah, I have my own gear.

 

[Halite]

Indoor climbing gyms make learning so much easier and safer. You can knock off a whole variety of routes in a very short time. Over time, you can also learn a lot by watching more experienced climbers on a route. Their movement looks amazingly relaxed versus that of a beginner on the same route. It's reasonably easy to pick up the basics. Learning to really move efficiently on rock can take a lot of practice and can be accelerated by working with a good instructor--much like learning to ski.

Moving outdoors, it definitely makes sense to seek out an experienced guide. Never underestimate the importance of having a safe climbing partner/belayer!

 

[TMax]

yet another opinion

In my experience, gym climbing is a completely different beast. I think it's easy to learn bad habits that you then need to unlearn when you go outdoors. Look for a local climbing climb and see if they offer anything. I recently did a couple of weekends with a club that works with folks on the basics (with a focus on safety). When you complete the classes successfully you are then invited to join the club. This gives you a large group of like-trained and safety conscious individuals to climb with. I think it's a great way to go in terms of gaining the education and experience to be a good and safe climber. Have fun!

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Know what's good exersize for strengthening the wrists?

Kneading Bread.

 

[Toe Cozy]

Hey Pete,

Yeah, but then I'll eat all my handiwork and have to lift all those extra calories up the rock with me! i think it would be a wash in the end!! One of these weekends I'll get over to the climbing gym in Rutland, VT and check it out. See how I feel about it and go from there.

Thanks to everyone for all the beginner advice. It sure is great to have a place to ask such basic questions.

 

[Mad Townie]

So if anyone wants to do a little top rope climbing about 50 yards from my avatar, shoot me a PM. It's a bit chilly right now, since the belayer is 10' from the nice, cool North Atlantic, but not too cold to climb for a bit.

Oh, and don't worry about the spaghetti, MEB! The nice thing about climbing is that if there's an easy way, you don't have to take the hard way.

Hey, HarryK, this might just be the way to get your feet wet (so to speak)!

 

[sierra]

down with gyms

I do not agree that climbing in a gym is a good start at all. You learn very little that can be allpied to the outdoors, yet you can pick up alot of dangerous habitts. I would buy a few books to learn what you can, then hire a guide to teach you one on one, that is the safest and most efficient way to learn.
I taught myself, actually read books and even took them to the base of cliffs to set protection and anchors while looking at the descriptions. While this was in itself very rewarding, my first leads where dicey at best, luckley I survived the learning curve.
P.S. I wanted to add, while I think gyms are awfull to learn in, they are really good for training and developing stamina on the rock.

 

[bobandgeri]

We started by climbing indoors at Vertical Dreams before taking an excellant 2 day outdoor class in North Conway by Chauvin Guides


Hey MadTownie - where exactly do you live? We may be up for it if you don't mind experienced beginners - the key word being beginner