[Closed] going climbing on friday for the first time...

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 [i]and[/i] 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 [url= http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Rock-Climbing-Equipment ]needlesports[/url] 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:

[img] [/img]

Good style:

[img] [/img]

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.....

[img] [/img]

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.

Just go and have fun. 🙄

Edit: not sure if it was useful!

What TSY said but without the eye rolling!

Brilliant fun, mental and physical, there's the mental games with yourself - push yourself, confidence in the fact that you CAN do it, mentioned earlier, but also lots of problem solving.

How do I need to organise my body to use [i]that[/i] hold to get over [i]there[/i]?

Its a great sport for playing mind games with yourself

That is true.

Oh, and move your feet before your arms!

Not on the first move though, you'll fall over.

Given that three people are sharing an hour's worth of instruction I think TSY's last piece of advice is probably the most useful.

Not on the first move though, you'll fall over.

Not necessarily - I can think of plenty of routes where the first thing I've had to do is put my foot up in order to get to the first hold 🙂

(I don't think the OP will have to worry about this)

Not necessarily - I can think of plenty of routes where the first thing I've had to do is put my foot up in order to get to the first hold

Can someone post those vids of Johnny Dawes climbing no-handed and one handed?

Just for fun, like. Not necessarily tips for 1st lesson! Always inspiring to see people to do things differently though, that's one of the things I like most about climbing.

will my belly be an issue if i'm meant to be hugging the wall? i dont want to fall off everytime i breath out and relax my belly 🙁

The bigger the belly, the easier it should be. This is due to a larger area of mass being in contact with the wall, thus allowing friction to glue you to the wall like a limpet. Just suck your gut in to break the seal and then move up again.

That's science.

Just make sure you belly flop onto the mat if you fall...

Oh, and you're not actually fat. There's a dude that climbs at the wall I go to that would put the midrifs of all us STWers to shame and he nails some proper hard routes.

should i prepare my belly with something tasty like golden syrup, increased stickyness and it leaves a treat on the wall for other climbers like the chocolate buttons idea? might mean breaking out the boobtube though

No. That would just be silly.

Maybe wrap yourself in flypaper?

Climbing is a funny business, you get people who are tremendous at bouldering and have incredible talent and technique, and yet you place them on a traditional route of a decent grade and they go to pieces and want nothing to do with it. This is apparent all the time at our wall where we have some incredible climbers who easily outclimb me but wont do anything outside that doesn't have a mat at the bottom or bolted clips up the wall.
Personally I find climbing gets really fun...or terrifying depending on how you view it when you start leading routes outside.

here's johnny - maintaining 3 points of contact,not

well that was awesome 🙂

in the words of the instructor we all "smashed it"... 1 hours session, about 45 minutes actual climbing including having to do the beginners warm up wall thingy and we still managed to clear about 7-8 climbs each including 3 with overhangs.

mrsconsequence and Jo (friend who's birthday it was) got stuck on one wall but cleared everything else, i managed to clear all of them apart from being one hold from the top on one where i lost my grip due to sweaty fingers and swung against the wall... arm locked up and couldnt pull myself straight again to do the last hold.

can't believe how much we got done in an hour from being complete beginners 😀

feeling it in my back today and a definite reminder to lose the love handles, all the stupidly well build 0%body-fat people there last night made me super aware 😳

Just got to learn the lingo now.

[img] [/img]

that's me right there 😀

think i might need to throw some iDiet into my life again

That cat looks like he's about to "smash" the Lightswitch 7a+

just quoting the instructor DD 😳

made us feel good and was pretty encouraging, nice guy

just quoting the instructor DD

made us feel good and was pretty encouraging, nice guy

Oh Lordy, before I get ripped apart...I was only teasing philly. I'm super stoked that you enjoyed the lesson though - sounds like you all had a good time. If you're ever down Brizzle way, we've got a super indoor wall here - I'll be at your service for a session. The girlies do very well at climbing - as they often have a better strength to weight ratio than us chubbies. The locked-arm thing is absolutely fine - still happens to me occasionally years later - just shows you've been putting the effort in. Learning to use your feet comes naturally with time served.

🙂

I phillybuster

also realise that climbing indoors in no way bears any similarity whatsoever to climbing outdoors. no more useful than the gym just a littlemore fun. don't be put off by indoor climbing because you cant pull on match heads and don't have arms like Twizzle. get outside at the first possible opportunity even if just to scramble or boulder.

I've not long done a 4 week course at the wall in Stockport. Really enjoyed it. I'm well aware though that it really was just a taster, but at least I know how to tie on and belay. For me I think it might be a winter thing indoors, but defiantly want to give outdoor climbing a crack. I do need shoes though.. the hire ones STINK

also realise that climbing indoors in no way bears any similarity whatsoever to climbing outdoors.

No-one said it was...

I've not long done a 4 week course at the wall in Stockport.

Wall session coming on then methinks!

Nice one PC, you'll get extra points for saying "crush" instead of smash.

Reckon you'd do it again? Craggy's a great centre; the bouldering's excellent and the panels are wonderfully varied. It can get a bit macho/regulars territory at times but it's typically harmless.

Check out the Castle in London for a super duper centre, it's my favourite in the South East. It's near Manor House Tube in North London.

Oh, and don't attach a chalk bag to yourself with a karibiner; it's classic climb n00b behaviour (unnecessary weight, unusable when bouldering and sits just a little too low).

CRU$H IT!

I always find that having the rest of the party sing 'Send in the clowns' and make sheep like baaing noises helps enormously when I'm gripped with fear and about to lob off.

Great thread btw, really glad you enjoyed it.

Decathlon do some decent rock shoes for not much cash btw.