How much fun is that!?! I’ve got the bug. Only been 5 times (including three lessons) and i love it.

Quick question, are my hands supposed to be throbbing like they are right now? Some holds are physical contradictions in terms.

Is this on rock or at the wall?

It’s frigging scary.

Depends on the holds you are attempting, they will hurt till your fingers get used to the holds. Watch you don’t tweak a finger by attempting a problem above your skill set too soon. Its all about small steps (no pun intended)

Yes. It’s ace.

Yes. Muscle groups you’ve not used before. But if it persists you might want to start a little slower.

Where are you climbing?

Molly > I’ve been given the all clear to climb by my physio, fancy a trip to West View at some point?

Glad you are enjoying it. The more you go the less pumped your arms will be. If you don’t go for a while you almost end up back at square one.

DO NOT push it in terms of fingery holds early on – too many pals cannot climb any more because they pushed it early on and knackered their tendons. Strengthen up slowly for a few months before beasting yourself.

It is great, belaying on a sunny evening after scaring the sh’t out of yourself leading is the best feeling in the world. Well, top 3.

^^ that.

Pinchy moves can be evil. Choose your battles.

Cheers for the advice. It’s indoor, DD, at Northumbria Uni, Cougar. We’re climbing grade 5s at the moment. Yesterday’s session included non-jug type holds which i why i guess my fingers are sore – not crimps, just big stuff you use your whole hand on.

I also broke my first hold traversing! The bloke on duty was well impressed. Fortunately it was very low.

Didnt realise they had a wall there, I climb at Climb Newcastle. They guys that run it are great

at Northumbria Uni, Cougar. We’re climbing grade 5s at the moment.

Interesting. I’ve not been there.

With respect, I’d suggest considering dropping back a grade. IMHO you’re better learning good skills, practices and techniques on easier grades when you’re starting out, rather than killing yourself climbing at the edge of your ability. You won’t learn anything that way, it’s demotivating, and you risk injury. </2p>

I’ve never climbed anywhere else so i can’t judge how good it is, but it is literally across the road from my office and i get staff discount. The wall(s) is 12m, with textures stuff with natural features, as well as flat stuff. It doesn’t get used much at the moment because the students are away.

Molly > I’ve been given the all clear to climb by my physio, fancy a trip to West View at some point?

Sadly I’m going back down south for the remainder of the year…

scaring the sh’t out of yourself leading is the best feeling in the world.

I love to climb but this ^^^ I absolutely hate. I do not like to be in genuine danger of death.

Cougar – Member
at Northumbria Uni, Cougar. We’re climbing grade 5s at the moment.
Interesting. I’ve not been there.

With respect, I’d suggest considering dropping back a grade. IMHO you’re better learning good skills, practices and techniques on easier grades when you’re starting out, rather than killing yourself climbing at the edge of your ability. You won’t learn anything that way, it’s demotivating, and you risk injury. </2p>

That’s where the instructor left us, as he said we picked it up pretty quickly and he seemed to know what he was talking about – if you’re familiar with climbing people in the NE its a guy called James who used to work at the wall in Sunderland.

I climb at craggy in Guildford mainly. I’ve been going for a year or so and have done a few climbs in the peak district. In my (limited)experience,by the end of the session you should ache like hell but not be in real pain. (unless your shoes have been on too long) 😆

I’ve been a regular at Craggy (both G’ford and Sutton) for 3 years and yes, throbbing anything is gonna become normal straight after the climb. Don’t you remember the feeling you had in your legs when you first started hillclimbing with intent???
Best I can suggest is get yourself a finger board ASAP (about £50 online) and exercise, but be xtra super careful not to strain your finger tendons. They take ages to recover.

Good stuff CJ. Tbh, everything will hurt a bit at first. Your hands are doing stuff that they’re not used to (not sure if maybe you have office hands, with respect 🙂 ) You can enjoy climbing 5s without getting too crimpy. Two things I’d advise you at this stage are (though your instructor will probably have told you): rest on a locked straight arm and before each move, see if you can get your feet a little higher. You can push a lot more with your leg than you can pull with your arm. Enjoy, it’s great fun.

I love to climb but this ^^^ I absolutely hate. I do not like to be in genuine danger of death.

Most of the time it is/should be a calculated risk though. Although I concede that even when considered, things sometimes feel more scary than they should.

With regards to trying too hard too soon, as long as it is sore skin rather than sore tendons, that’s no drama. Try and open hand as much as you can as opposed to crimping (google for pictures if needs be), as open handing things is much more tendon friendly. Remember that footwork often holds the key over brute strength too…

I love climbing. Would spend pretty much a whole day there during a winter weekend. Never had any pain from my hands, other than my skin being a bit rubbed from the rope. No time to climb due to racing once a week but can’t wait to get back into it.

@DD I didn’t know you climbed. #manofmanytalents 🙂

deadlydarcy – Member
Good stuff CJ. Tbh, everything will hurt a bit at first. Your hands are doing stuff that they’re not used to (not sure if maybe you have office hands, with respect ) You can enjoy climbing 5s without getting too crimpy. Two things I’d advise you at this stage are (though your instructor will probably have told you): rest on a locked straight arm and before each move, see if you can get your feet a little higher. You can push a lot more with your leg than you can pull with your arm. Enjoy, it’s great fun.

I might be an academic, but i’m a geography so i leave the office for the field every now and then 😉

I’ve looked at finger boards – naturally, being a cyclist i’m used to the temptation to buy new kit – but a rented flat means there is nowhere to put one. I do have some big door frames, however…

I would add that on 5s the footholds should be plain to see – the idea is to get yourself into the habit of looking for them now and getting a feel for how easy the route becomes when you’ve got your feet right. As olii says, later, it’ll be ALL about the feet.

EDIT: crossed posts. Was only teasing about the office hands. 😉 As for finger boards, I don’t think they’re necessary right now. Just get used to body and feet technique. Honestly, fingery stuff is a while off yet.

olii – Member

With regards to trying too hard too soon, as long as it is sore skin rather than sore tendons, that’s no drama. Try and open hand as much as you can as opposed to crimping (google for pictures if needs be), as open handing things is much more tendon friendly. Remember that footwork often holds the key over brute strength too…

Yeah. I keep forgetting to use my legs more!

There are three of us who learnt together and we’ve all got different strnegths and weaknesses. I’m a relative weakling but with great reach, Stuart is strong but with poor reach, and Vanessa has footwork like a dancer.

If in the north east, get yourself out to Bowden Doors and Back Bowden.
Real rock is much better.

Sadly I’m going back down south for the remainder of the year…

Bother. Ah well. Whereabouts?

if you’re familiar with climbing people in the NE

Unfortunately not. I’ve climbed all over the place but never made it over there.

As for finger boards, I don’t think they’re necessary right now. Just get used to body and feet technique. Honestly, fingery stuff is a while off yet.

+1, absolutely.

Yeah. I keep forgetting to use my legs more!

Remember, legs are for power, arms are for balance. When in doubt, feet first. If you’re constantly stretching, you’re going to fall off.

You can run on upper-body power for short runs (eg, bouldering) but it’s not sustainable until you’re really good.

In related news,

Any NW climbers want a couple of years rusty climbing partner one evening?

I’ve looked at finger boards – naturally, being a cyclist i’m used to the temptation to buy new kit – but a rented flat means there is nowhere to put one. I do have some big door frames, however…

This is my fingerboard solution in a rented house:

IMAG0097

There are three of us who learnt together and we’ve all got different strnegths and weaknesses. I’m a relative weakling but with great reach, Stuart is strong but with poor reach, and Vanessa has footwork like a dancer.

This for me is one of the beauties of climbing. Three people will approach a problem in three different ways. Reach, power, flexibility, balance all have very separate advantages.

There’s no bigger complement IMHO than “you climb like a girl.”

I haven’t done indoor climbing for years. However, one just opened a few hundred yrds away from my house, so tempted to return. I used to go to Huddersfield and Leeds regularly and both were a great crowd and friendly.
As cougar alludes, the best climber in our gang was a girl, by a country mile, incredible to watch her on a wall or crag, inspiring, yet she was physically week and girly pathetic off the wall, it was difficult to compare her as a person/girly to her climber altar ego.

There’s no bigger complement IMHO than “you climb like a girl.”

Aye, I remember getting properly pwned by a French girl at one of the Glasgow Climbing Centre winter bouldering league nights. They always set one or two “novelty” problems. In this case, one going right up a pillar, with fairly juggy, horizontal holds. Rule was you had to climb it one-handed.

I did the Captain Caveman thing, took a big grip on each hold, heaved on it and jumped my way up to the next one. Missed a hold, fell-off, lost points.

French girl ballet-ed her way up using the one hand in all kinds of contorted positions + cunning footwork to stay in balance the whole time. Poetry in motion!

Also used to watch a teenage girl (whose name escapes me now) who was doing European-level competitions cruising her way up massively overhanging 7b or higher stuff. Depressing!

Fairly new to climbing (a couple of years seriously, i.e. not stopping and starting every few months!), but absolutely love it.

Spent a winter leading indoors working on basic skills etc, then straight on to trad as soon as things started drying out (then learning that 90% of what you have been practising in the gym isn’t very relevant to multipitch trad!).

It’s awesome how methodical and procedural many aspects of climbing a multi pitch trad route are (buliding belays, rope work, gear placements, communication etc), yet it is still completely unpredictable – every move is totally up to you, just moving on rock. The problem solving aspect is amazing, that’s what really has me hooked.

I only started leading trad fairly recently. Out of everything I’ve ever done, leading trad is probably the thing that has scared and excited me the most (in equal measures!). It’s impossible to begin to explain how different it feels being on the sharp end of even a fairly straight forward route compared to seconding it – everything changes, welcome to the biggest head game of your life.

But when you top out at the end of a long multi-pitch route and start building the final belay…it’s just unreal. I’m often shaking with adrenalin for quite a while!

Anyway, I’m rambling 🙂

I only started leading trad fairly recently. Out of everything I’ve ever done, leading trad is probably the thing that has scared and excited me the most (in equal measures!). It’s impossible to begin to explain how different it feels being on the sharp end of even a fairly straight forward route compared to seconding it – everything changes, welcome to the biggest head game of your life.

But when you top out at the end of a long multi-pitch route and start building the final belay…it’s just unreal. I’m often shaking with adrenalin for quite a while!

Cracking description. Its an entirely different emotion to anything that you’ll ever get from biking. I need to get back out on the rock…

Cracking description. Its an entirely different emotion to anything that you’ll ever get from biking.

Yes, because you might well die.

Yes, because you might well die.

I get what you’re saying Molgrips, but provided you check and double check the basics, the risk of serious injury isn’t any higher than thundering down a trail with trees on either side.

Most of the “death” risk aspect of climbing is psychological, and I would imagine that a large number of the serious injuries and deaths are down to basic human error rather than gear failures or unavoidable things (loads of experienced climbers are injured/die abbing off stuff for example).

I watch someone belay off a gear loop in June. The guy leading was about 10ft above his last piece of gear when his belayer realised and shouted up “aw ****, i’ve not got you on belay mate!” Bad move, the leader nearly decked it immediately as he panicked in what was otherwise quite a comfortable position.

Both were at fault. Simple error that should have been spotted before he even put hand to rock. Provided you’ve got an attentive belayer and a couple of good bits of gear – you’ll be fine 99% of the time.

yeah it is great….

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aguilette by passtherizla, on Flickr[/img]

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aiguilette 2 by passtherizla, on Flickr[/img]

Aiguilette D’argentierre not difficult but so much fun!

Provided you’ve got an attentive belayer and a couple of good bits of gear – you’ll be fine 99% of the time.

On good rock. I like a bit of excitement though, so ice and big mountain stuff is where it’s at.

That said, I’ve hurt myself way more on (off) a mountain bike.

Cougar, have a look at the Karabiner Mountaineering Club website, kmc.co.uk, loads of weekday & weekend meets, nice people.

the risk of serious injury isn’t any higher than thundering down a trail with trees on either side.

I don’t agree.

Gear has a habit of wiggling out when I do it, leaving me one slip away from certain death often.

I don’t like those odds.

The other thing that bothers me is that most belay devices are not fail safe. All it takes is for my belayer not to be paying attention and it’s curtians. I don’t like those odds either.

Gear has a habit of wiggling out when I do it

You’re not doing it right then 😛

Gear has a habit of wiggling out when I do it, leaving me one slip away from certain death often.

I don’t like those odds.

The other thing that bothers me is that most belay devices are not fail safe. All it takes is for my belayer not to be paying attention and it’s curtians. I don’t like those odds either.

If there is only poor gear sitting between you and a death fall then you’re definitely doing something wrong (unless you happen to be climbing at the top end of the sport)

Belay devices are just a bit of metal which add friction to the system – they are pretty fail safe (not talking about Gri-Gris etc, just the regular ATC syle).

Your belayer is the most important part of the system, and yes, they can fail. But if you’re climbing with a belayer who isn’t paying attention when you are on lead, then you need a new climbing partner. I know the old school guys tend to pour themselves a cup of tea while belaying for a leader who “never falls”, but I tend to be 100% focused when belaying, even more so than when leading, since I never take a rest.

Capt – I know what you mean in the OP. I returned to climbing a couple of years ago after a long break and also went to Craggy Island that others mentioned. Had a real blast until after an hour or so, my arms realised that it had been a long time since I had climbed. I was near the top of one route (and top-roped obviously) when the muscles (?) simple stopped working!! Weird feeling and strange to fall off as a result!!

But is takes time to develop the muscles properly and I would agree with others about being careful with strains/tendinitis. Slow and steady! Have fun and stay safe.