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I used to rock climb in school and now, after nearly ten years out of the sport,
I'm getting back into it. The following page details some of the useful bits of
information I have gathered along the way. Most of it relates to climbing in Belfast
but there's probably something here for everyone who wants to get into one of the
coolest sports around.
To get started in rock climbing the best idea is to find out if you have
a local climbing wall or climbing club. This is the best way to find other climbers,
who are a great source of information about your local climbing scene and how to
get into the sport. Here are a couple of handy links for anyone in the UK:
If you find your local area has a climbing wall then, more likely than not, they will
run courses for beginners, which is an excellent way to get into climbing and to meet
other climbers of your level.
If there is a club in your area then this might be even better. Joining a good club
will mean you get the chance to go on organised climbing trips and to learn from
climbers of different skill levels. One thing to find out before you join is whether
or not they are just a social club for climbers. Some clubs do not offer active
tuition for their members and act only as a social club for members to meet up and
discuss their trips etc.
If you are from Belfast then the wall you want to check out is at the
O-Zone Leisure Complex.
Apart from being an excellent wall, they also run courses for both
beginner and intermediate level climbers. I am currently taking the beginners course, run
by a very experienced climber called Eddie, which costs £45 for six lessons.
Click here
for a map showing the location of the O-Zone Leisure Complex. It's
the large orange building marked as a recreation centre. To get there leave Belfast City Centre via
the Ormeau Road, towards Carryduff, until you cross the Ormeau Bridge (first bridge you cross).
As soon as you have crossed the bridge take a left and follow the river until you see
the centre on your right hand side. You can't miss it.
Unfortunately there isn't a climbing club in Belfast, apart from the
QUB Mountaineering Club,
which is a university run club aimed primarily at students. I think they do accept
non-students as members but I know very little about the club. Some of the climbers in
Belfast have talked about forming a club but as far as I know nothing has been
done yet. Hopefully this will happen soon though.
If you are planning to take up climbing then there is some gear you will need.
However, don't go rushing out and buy every bit of hardware you can find.
If you are planning to take a course or join a club then for your first lesson or
outing you will not need anything, apart from a set of trainers, a set of loose-fitting
& comfortable clothing and some energy. You should be able to lend all the
climbing gear you need from the guys running the course or from other members in
the club.
If you decide after your first lesson that you want to keep at it then you will
want to fork out some cash for the bare necessities. These are:
A set of climbing shoes : between £40 and £50
Buy your first set of shoes from a local climbing
shop because you will definitely want to try them on. The wrong size of shoes
can be the difference between staying on a hold and slipping off.
Tell the guy in the shop your shoe size and he should be able to get you the right
size of climbing shoe. A good fit shoe will feel strange at first. It will feel
tight and your toes will be hitting the end of the shoe. This is good, believe me.
The more you climb, the tighter you will find yourself tying the shoes.
A climbing harness : between £30 and £40
You also want to buy your first harness from a local climbing shop. A good
fitting harness can be the difference between comfort and pain when dangling
off the end of a rope or taking a fall. All of the good climbing shops will
have a rope suspended from the ceiling that will allow you to try the harness
out. If they don't then go elsewhere.
A good harness will feel comfortable around your thighs and waist when you
are hanging from a rope. Make sure to get a harness that has a bit of play
in the straps. Thanks to the glorious weather in our country you will sometimes
have to put on an extra layer or two when you climb outdoors. (Thanks Mark!)
A karabiner : between £6 and £10
You will need a karabiner for when you are belaying (controlling the rope
that is attached to the ascending climber, catching them if they fall).
A karabiner is used to connect the belay device (see below) and the rope
to your harness.
There are a variety of different karabiners, each with their own uses and
each variety also has a number of different designs.
To get the right one ask the guy at the shop or a fellow climber. The one
bit of advice I do give is to get a twist lock karabiner rather than
a screwgate one. When you start climbing there will be a lot of things to
learn and the twist lock karabiner removes one thing you have to remember
when climbing. The twist lock karabiner locks itself when you hook it up, while
the screwgate karabiner needs tightened before use.
A belay device : between £10 and £15
To belay you will also need a belay device. As with the karabiner they come
in a variety of types and styles. A belay device is used to apply friction
to the rope and allow you to stop the rope moving if the climber falls.
Again, I would recommend talking to the guy in the shop or a fellow climber
before buying one. A very common type is called an ATC (Air Traffic Controller),
which is easy to operate and hook up. Great for a beginner!
A chalk bag and chalk balls : between £10 and £15 for bag, between £1 and £2 for ball
When you climb it is guaranteed that you will work up a bit of a sweat and
sweat is the climbers enemy when it comes to keeping a good grip on a hold.
The way most climbers get around this is to carry a bag containing chalk balls
that they can dip their hands in to get rid of the sweat.
There is not much advice I can give here as most bags and balls are pretty
much the same at the beginner level. Persuade the guy in the shop to give
you a length of cord so that you can tie on the bag to your waist. A lot of
people clip their bag to the back of their harness but I find having it on
a piece of cord allows me to slide it around for easier access.
A small rucksack to put your gear in : between £10 and £15
Another handy bit of kit is a small rucksack to store your gear in.
It makes it easier to grab all your gear on the way out the door when
you are late.
The things that you will definitely need will be the shoes and the harness, as it's
important to get ones that fit you. If you don't want to spend too much cash to
begin with then see if you can borrow the other bits and pieces.
Make sure to shop around. Go to different shops in your area and play them off
against each other to get a good bargain. Tell one shop that the other is selling
that bit of gear for a few quid less to get the best prices. Below is
the gear I bought that cost £117.50 in total:
Scarpa Helix
climbing shoes
£50.00
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Singing Rock Zenith
climbing harness
£35.00
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Black Diamond ATC
£13
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Dragon HMS
Screwgate 12mm
£6.50
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Red Chilli
chalk bag
£13
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Small Rucksack
and chalk balls
Thrown in free
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As I said, above I've been taking a beginners climbing course at my local wall.
I highly recommend that any beginner try out a course to get them going. Apart
from meeting with other beginner climbers it also allows you to pick up good
information about the equipment you will use and the techniques you will need.
Here's a rough outline of the course that I took:
Week 1
In the first lesson we started off by doing a bit of bouldering. We weren't
expected to be learning anything, just getting used to a bit of climbing.
We were then taught how to tie a Figure Eight knot and a
Figure Eight Follow-Through knot.
These are the two main knots you will use in climbing.
We were then kitted out with harnesses and shoes, and shown how to put them
on correctly. As soon as we had our harnesses on we were shown how to belay
using an ATC and within minutes we were climbing one of the easier routes
and belaying for each other.
Week 2
At the start of this lesson we had a quick refresher course on the equipment
and then we were back climbing again. This lesson was pretty much free form,
with not too much emphasis on technique. However, we were told about positioning
yourself as close to the wall as possible and about moving your body over holds
before going for moves.
The lesson ended on the bouldering section, trying moves that we knew we
wouldn't get but that we could try again each week so see how we were
progressing.
Week 3
We were asked to concentrate more on positioning ourselves correctly. Rather
than using any holds, as we had done up until this point, we were asked to
use only the same colour holds that made up the routes.
We climbed a couple of routes that had inclines and a couple where we had
to use both the front and side walls. Again, we finished up at the bouldering
section to see how we were getting on.
Week 4
This week we concentrated much more on technique and were given a couple
of challenges that showed us how much technique can help you climb.
The first challenge was to climb a route using only one hand, which showed
us the importance of balance and positioning before making a move.
The second challenge was to climb one of the routes, using only the features
of the wall and none of the holds for our feet, which showed us the
importance of good foot work.
Week 5
Coming soon.
Week 6
Coming soon.
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