The process of become a competent indoor roped or bouldering climber.
Indoor rope climbing gyms have been around since the 1980's and spread all over Europe and North America by the mid 1990's. Today most towns and cities in the UK have their own roped or bouldering climbing centres, sometimes if you're lucky your town will have both.
So how do we go about taking the first steps in to indoor climbing, to enjoy these bright and bustling centres with their artistic splattering of ropes and brightly coloured plastic holds?
Most climbing gyms in the UK will allow you to become bouldering only members, after you have read their safety rules and maybe have a video to watch. After which you would complete a membership/consent form to state that you are fully aware of the risks of climbing and that you agree to the centre's safety rules. Some bouldering centres may ask you to go through their induction process and I would highly recommend that you do. Not only will they give you a lovely tour of their facility, but they will recap the safety rules and also point out and areas of risk and any potential hazards within the centre i.e. aretes, overhangs and spinning holds.
Some of you eagle eyed novices will notice the British Mountaineering Council's Participation Statement displayed somewhere in the centre and as part of the forms you have to fill out;
"The BMC recognises that climbing and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions."
For those who read that statement and think "how dangerous can it be? It's just an indoor wall!". Well roped climbing walls in the UK range from 8 metres to 25 metres tall and indoor bouldering walls from 3 metres to 4.5 metres. If you fall from those heights, it's going to do more than just bruise your ego. Now it is worth noting bouldering centres do have safety matting at the base of their walls, but the matting is merely there to reduce the amount of injury you do to yourself.
This may sound doom and gloom, but if you follow the safety rules it's actually a relatively safe sport to enjoy. Bouldering is one of the more sociable aspects of indoor climbing and doesn't require you to be supervised directly by an instructor or coach and the equipment needs of the sport are also low. All you need are some climbing shoes and chalk!
But what about roped climbing?
To go indoor rope climbing in the UK you have 3 options:
go with a friend who is ropes competent
book on to a session with an centre instructor
book on to a session with an external provider.
Now while option 1 sounds cheaper and easier, you must consider that your supposedly competent friend may not be operating at best practice and considering that they're the only thing stopping you from hitting the deck, I would think twice if you have any concerns.
Option 2 is a great way of getting a safe and fun introduction to indoor climbing, with most centres offering tasters sessions as a cheap and easy way for novices to get to grips with the sport.
Option 3 is another fantastic way of getting an introduction to the sport. Most external providers, like ourselves www.upandunderadventures.com, run Introduction to Climbing sessions and Learn to Climb courses at several different climbing centres in our area. Just make sure that your instructor is suitably qualified to run those sessions. I.E. a hold of the Climbing Wall Instructor award (CWI), Climbing Wall Development Instructor award (CWDI), Rock Climbing Instructor award (RCI), Rock Climbing Development Instructor award (RCDI) or Mountain Climbing Instructor award (MCI).
So what session course options are there?
Well that depends on whether you're just dipping your toe in the water or committing yourself on the journey to becoming a competent ropes climber.
For those just dipping their toes in, there are taster sessions or Introduction to Climbing sessions. These sessions typically last 75 to 90 minutes and you will experience the different aspects of indoor climbing i.e. bouldering, roped climbing and maybe how to use the auto belays. All of course under the watchful eye of an experienced instructor.
Then you have the Learn to Climb courses. These vary in duration from centre to centre, but all are essentially a ropes safety course, teaching you all the necessary knots and safe belaying techniques to keep you and others safe. These are invaluable courses and will ensure that you are using the best industry practices. You could of course learn from a friend, but if they have any bad habits; you will also pick them up. I would highly recommend that all novices looking to get into indoor roped climbing do one of these courses and we ourselves, www.upandunderadventures.com run these courses at a number of centres in Chippenham (Wiltshire), Bristol, Gloucester and Worcester.
What equipment do I need?
To be perfectly honest; None to begin with. Most climbing centres will allow you to hire everything from shoes to harnesses and belay devices, meaning that the initial cost of indoor climbing are relatively low.
However as you start climbing more and more, then it makes financial sense to invest in your own equipment. Chalk, chalk bag and shoes are the main essentials for bouldering and can make roped climbing cheaper by only needing to hire out harnesses and a belay device. Now chalk is basically magnesium carbonate and comes in balls, loose or in liquid form. Which to use comes down to your personal preference. We would recommend using chalk balls at first as they are cheap, easy to use and not so messy.
Rock shoes are a lot more personal. Make sure you take your time in picking the right shoes and try on every pair you can get your hands on. GoOutdoors and Bananafingers are our go to stores! Make sure they are snug, with your toes at the end of the shoe. But not painful! A starter pair of shoes will generally be flat and stiff and will be ideal for most the climbing you will encounter as a novice. Leave the more aggressive down turned shoes for when you actually need them.
Harnesses can be quite personal, however as long as it fits and is an actual climbing harness, then you're usually good to go and as far as belay devices go, I would always recommend starting with a tube style device like the ATC.
Always make sure you get your equipment from a reputable supplier. This is so important that we have actually written an article just for this. You can find it here: https://www.upandunderadventures.com/post/tips-for-buying-climbing-equipment
So now you're set! Enjoy your new found sport and we hope to see you all at your local walls sending all your lovely projects.
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