going climbing on friday for the first time…

any tips?

thanks 🙂

Smooth movements, use your feet, relax your hands.

3 points of contact at all times – i,e, only one hand or foot moving at a time

hands are to keep you close to the wall, legs move you up – your legs are far strong than your arms so use them to push you up, not your arms to drag you up

Yep, it’s all about the feet.

And a bit of Gnar 🙂

Take it easy. If its indoors try and climb on slabs most of the night. That way you’ll put majority of the weight bearing through your legs and avoid hammering your arms.

have a go on something straight up (Not overhanging at all) towards the end of the night but your arms will be pumped after a while on these climbs so you’ll be fit for nothing afterwards.

Beware the shaky knee

It’s really difficult and scary too so a stiff sherry beforehand might be an idea.

legs being more important than arms is sounding good, my arms are shadows of their former selves but my legs still work alright 8)

as we’re beginners we’ve booked a private instructor for an hour (3 of us) instead of joining a larger group for a ‘beginners session’ thats only 30 minutes longer but works out the same price… figured the lower instructor-to-noob ratio would benefit us and we got to pick a time that suits us 😀

any advice on clothing choice? we’re hiring climbing shoes there instead of going for tight trainers.

Yup, use your feet. Get some chalk too. Have good communication with your climbing partner too.

Enjoy. I’m off climbing tonight 🙂

What nbt said. Plus try and think about sideways movement, the best move isn’t always the one directly above you.

If you’re going for the first time then just enjoy it don’t try anything too hard there’s plenty of time for that.

Are you going indoors or outdoors?

any advice on clothing choice?

Just some trackies – you’ve got loads of those haven’t you?

Mrs consequence should wear something very tight – like running leggings – the other climbers will appreciate that. If you have any comfortable, not too loose shorts or leggings, they’ll be fine.

Talcum Powder.

indoors:

http://www.craggy-island.com/guildford-info.php

i’ll get mrsconsequence to dig out the skin coloured dancing tight thingies she had from when she used to dance all professional like. ‘danskins’ or ‘dance tights/ballet tights’ or summin?

i’m sure i’ll look great in them 😉

Your instructor should cover everything you need to know – we had a 3 hour course covering how to climb, knots, belaying, stretching, communication, the works. Was really good for building confidence.

Hired climbing shoes are minging, if you get into it, buy your own asap! I usually wear lyrca three quarter running tights and a vest top as i get really hot indoors climbing, my bf wears a tshirt and shorts/combat type trousers.

Some of that disinfectant spray for the shoos. Ewww…pong!

(or a pair of mrs consequences shoe-tights-slipper things she may have for wearing flat shoes)

Craggy Island is a great indoor wall, plenty there for beginners. Tight fitting footwear and cut your nails! You’ll have a great time

In an hour you’ll not get much done other than get a feel for it. Best advice would be wear the climbing shoes and listen to the instructor. Indoor I tend to wear shorts and a t-shirt.

i’m pretty sure becca will wear what she does for pilates – lycra 3/4 thingies and strappy top type thing.

i might use my new endura riding shorts… they’re kinda stretchy and a lighter fabric than every pair of shorts i own.

thanks for the advice everyone, good old STW!

EDIT – yeah not expecting to be racing up walls in an hour… probably strapped in and going sideways on the warm up wall thingy, but its a friends birthday so it’ll be good to push him out his comfort zone and do something new 😀 if we walk away wanting more than its a successful evening!

You’ll probably be surprised at what you can do – but the instructor will go through everything with you. Remember check your knot – then check your partner’s – then check yours again 🙂

Leave chocolate buttons on top of the hard to reach holds as a treat for people who reach them.

is climbing a bit like mtb in that you dont realise how expensive it is until you’re well and truly hooked?

Where on earth did you get the stupid idea of climbing from?
&
What size feet have you got?

is climbing a bit like mtb in that you dont realise how expensive it is until you’re well and truly hooked?

It can be. My mate emptied his gear out of a very modest rucksack the other day worked out it was over a grands worth of metalwork.

my foot size has changed recently, used to be size 11-12 in skate shoes, 11 in normal shoes. now i’m a 10.5 (annoyingly i seem to lose weight from my feet instead of my belly)

not sure where i got the idea from, pretty sure it was someone who promised to sell me their new bike once they’ve finished in the alps 😛

Hmmmm… yeah I’m pretty sure they promised me their bike too, the devilishly handsome git that they are.

If you enjoy the climbing I’ve got a pair of boots that are hardly worn that you can have. They’re a size 9 I think which will be perfect for bouldering. I squeeze my plates of meat into a size 7… I just love the tiny feet look.

Sorry, I forgot to add handsome and charming… did he also make you do 😯 in the woods?

is climbing a bit like mtb in that you dont realise how expensive it is until you’re well and truly hooked?

Depends. Indoors you don’t really need much more than shoes, harness, chalk bag, belay device and a karabiner. Buying that lot brand new is probably in the region of £150 – £200.

Outdoors things ramp up a bit. Obviously you’ll need rope(s), slings, lots of karabiners, quickdraws, and a variety of protection then it’s probably around a £800 – £1,000. That sort of money would cover you for most things initially. Course if you were bouldering you’re back to just buying shoes, chalk bag and maybe a crash mat.

Take a look at needlesports for an idea of what this might cost you.

cheers sexyface 🙂 did you pack your bike today for a mess around after work?

Sadly not… flying to Germany at 7am, it’s my neices B’day and I’m having a bit of a domestic too… should be about on Thursday… hopefully..

Don’t plaster yourself to the wall. You get more traction if you keep away from the rock a bit. The angles are better, and you can see too 🙂

Beginner style:

Good style:

Don’t look down and keep moving upwards.

Trust the rope.

Use your feet and legs more than your arms and hands +1

Beginner style:

Hmmm…that guy looks like he’s leading and the taped fingers make him look like a gnarly dude – so hardly a beginner – also, your advice is quite wrong.

I said beginner style, not beginner 🙂

It’s something I learned that really helped – not to try and hug the rock cos it doesn’t help you stay on. However it clearly isn’t as cut and dried as all that, because it depends massively on the route and type of rock. Which is why I had such trouble finding decent pics of it 🙂

If you find the routes at the wall too easy, use 2 different colours at the same time to double the difficulty.

For example, if the red is 6a and the green is 7b, if you use red and green holds to climb up that makes it a 13c, which is really quite a high standard. I once climbed a 20a, and I’m a fat knacker.

It’s not as hard as people make out.

Remember. The only way is up.

If you find yourself heading downwards rapidly, something has gone awry.

Yes, but the climb he’s on is obviously necessitating that he “hugs the rock”. There will be plenty of climbs in the climbing centre where you’re chest is up against the slab for pretty much the whole climb…hanging your arse out like the guy in the second pic will just put a lot of strain on your flexors (the muscles most commonly aching in a beginner…anyway, the ones in the lower arm, that get pumped quite quickly).

Try not to do this…..

Yes, but the climb he’s on is obviously necessitating that he “hugs the rock”

That’s what I meant by ‘depending on the route’ in my second post.

That’s what I meant by ‘depending on the route’ in my second post.

Well, yes, but that’s a pretty massive qualification of “don’t plaster yourself to the wall”.

Positive mental attitude, and more so than in any other sport I’ve done. If you think you cant do it, you probably wont. If you think, or are worried about falling, you probably will.
Its a great sport for playing mind games with yourself.