I often find myself in awkward situations when I’m out helping people learn to climb, or climbing for my own pleasure.
As a Mountaineering Instructor I have a duty of care to ensure the safety of others as well as my own clients and myself. It is difficult to ignore a member of the public who is on the verge of making a fatal mistake, and yet I have often been rebuffed and insulted when I have stepped forward to offer advice. People have been less than polite on occasion.
Not everyone is like this, thank goodness, and the majority welcome the offer of well intended advice.. In an ideal world climbers would take courses to ensure their safety and do refreshers from time to time to keep their skills current, but even in the climate is it so difficult to justify spending money on climbing instruction – bearing in mind that learning to climb could save your life.
The next best thing is to buy a good instructional book or video or spend a few minutes every now and again reading through my Learn to Climb Series ‘From the Ground up’.
This course takes you from the very basics to some advanced climbing techniques. The individual posts are listed below. I would urge you to read through them in order, but you are of course free to jump about to fill gaps in your knowledge.
As good as my course is, there is no substitute for face-to-face instruction. My advice would be to gather some friends and arrange a group session so that you can learn to climb in a safe, friendly environment.
Learn to Climb
From the Ground Up: Learn to Climb in 14 weeks
This is what the series will cover Week 1 Correct fit of shoes – choice of shoes Correct fit of harness - choice of harness Week 2 Tying in - Figure of 8 knot and retied figure of 8 … [Read More...]
Part 1 – Choosing Climbing Shoes & Harness
If you think of climbing shoes as an essential piece of equipment and probably THE most important piece you are more likely to choose the right shoe for you. The correct fit of climbing shoes will … [Read More...]
Part 2 – The Figure of 8 Knot & Belay Devices
The retied Figure of 8 knot The figure of 8 is easy to tie and easy to recognise if you have tied it wrong. Here's a quick explanation (and a couple of … [Read More...]
Part 3 – Top Rope Belaying
Climbing Indoors - Communication. Top rope belaying - taking in and lowering It is good to get in the habit of good communication indoors, especially when top roping as it becomes an essential part … [Read More...]
Part 4 – Footwork & Weight Transference
Most new climbers have the misconception that climbing is about pulling yourself up the wall using mainly your arms, which is why they often get tired quickly and have poor technique. Where and how … [Read More...]
Part 5 – How to Use Holds; Jugs, Side Pulls, Crimps & Slopers
Climbing as we have already established is about reading the route and the holds you are going to use. If you overreach, you are less likely to be ale to use the hold, but if you work your feet … [Read More...]
Part 6 – Climbing Outdoors: Helmets, Top Rope Anchors & Communication
Climbing Helmets Once you decide you are ready to move outdoors, the first piece of equipment to consider is a helmet, as you are more likely to be struck on the head from something falling from … [Read More...]
Part 7 – Guide Books & Rock Types
Turning up at a crag you've never been to before and expect to find something suitable to climb would be very difficult indeed. If you are new to an area and/or new to climbing you need to find out … [Read More...]
Part 8 – Learning to Sport Lead Climb: Ropes, Karabiners & Clipping
Once you have decided you want to learn to sport climb, as well as the kit you already have; harness, helmet, shoes, chalk bag and belay device you will need a rope, quickdraws, two long slings and … [Read More...]
Part 9 – Learning to Sport Lead Climb: Mock Leading, Leading & Lead Belaying
The safest way to learn to lead climb is to mock lead. Mock leading is best done with 3 people; one to lead climb, tied into both a lead rope and a top rope, one to lead belay and one to top rope … [Read More...]
Part 10 – Learning to Sport Lead Climb: Belaying & Taking Lead Falls, The Lower Off
Taking a fall can be very intimidating, and it is best to practice on a steep, overhanging wall, when 5 or 6 clips up, where you can just fall into space. Often when a climber gets into difficulty, … [Read More...]
Part 11 – Learning to Trad Lead Climb: Gear & Building Belays
Once you have been tempted outdoors and begin leading sport routes, you soon realise that this type of climbing is quite restrictive. You can only climb where there are routes with bolts. In order to … [Read More...]
Part 12: Using fixed gear
Placing gear on lead can seem daunting, but if you start off with easier climbs and build up you will make natural progress. One of the key elements of this is to feel solid and comfortable whilst … [Read More...]
Part 13 – Abseiling & Recovering Ropes
If you climb on a single 60m rope and you wish to abseil back down the route you have just climbed, you can only abseil in 30m pitches in order to recover your rope. If, however, you have been using … [Read More...]
