For the majority of people who start out climbing increasingly do so through the indoor route. The safe and easily accessible nature of indoor climbing means that many people start out using a climbing wall as an alternative to a Gym, and before long find themselves hooked on the sport and wanting to take it further.
This is the first of a series of articles that will appear here that will show you how to progress from indoors climbing through to climbing outside on real rock. It will look at the different equipment, skills and even courses that are on offer to help you get the most out of your climbing, whilst at the same time help minimising the risk to you and those around you.
This first article is starting from the very basics and looks at the equipment and skills you will need to master in order to climb in the majority of indoor climbing wall independent of an instructor or friend. Most climbing walls requiring you to be able to put on your harness correctly, tie into that harness and belay someone up a top rope and safely return them to the ground. There are a few more basic pieces of kit you’ll need, as well as some skills but they will all be covered below.
Equipment
For indoor climbing most walls can hire out the equipment, eventually you are going to need your own harness, rock boots, chalk bag, HMS carabiner and belay plate. There are so many of these items on the market, the most taxing decision is which is best for you. Here we look at some of the pro’s and con’s and help you become a more discerning shopper.
Harnesses
So many companies make so many types of harnesses the choice can be a little bewildering. If you buy a harness from an outdoor shop they will all be UIAA and EU rated to the appropriate safety standard. As such any harness you buy will do the job you require. However a little forward thinking means that the harness you buy now will help serve you for a few years to come, depending on wear and tear.
When and if you make the transition to the outdoors, you will need 4 or more gear loops on your harness, as well as adjustable leg loops, not only to help cope with those seasonal weight increases but the thicker clothing you might wear outdoors.
Harnesses do come in different sizes, many of which overlap, so unless you feel like your about to turn into a anorexic then it is better to have a harness that will allow some ‘growth’. Always try a harness on before you buy them, not just the waist loop but leg loops as well. Check they all fit, are comfortable to move around in and most shops will have a hanging loop, so you can feel how the harness feels when you are hanging in it.
Some manufactures make male and female harnesses that cater for the different proportions of either sex. Metolius even make a Safetech harness where every single point you could possibly clip into is rated to 10kN. Most climbers rely on common sense not belay off there gear loop that is only design to hold 5 kg’s, however it is a reasonably common error when starting out, something which I have seen in at indoor walls numerous times.
The final consideration with a harness is the type of buckle that is used to fasten them. Essentially there are two types the first A) requires the buckle to be double backed by the climber. B) When tighten the buckle locks of automatically.
Rock Boots
If there are a lot of harness to choose from then there is even more rock boots. The number of manufacturers is vast, all producing a variety of boots, that have a variety of specialisation’s within climbing, as well as the ‘Lasts’ or foot shapes that they are built around.
In an ideal world you will be able to go into a shop and say that you are looking for your first pair of rock boots, and be recommended a few pairs to try on. Unfortunately not all outdoor stores are staffed with experienced climbers or for that matter stock a large range of rock boots. So your best bet is often to shop around and try on different models, makes and sizes until you feel you have a boot that fits your foot. Just because your mate uses a certain brands model doesn’t mean that your foot will fit that boot.
In terms of fit you need your rock boot to be snug, with your toes touching the end of the boots but not totally scrunched up so they are to painful to wear for more than five minutes. If the sales assistant tells you that you need to buy rock shoes two sizes too small, walk out, you’ll only end up buying a another pair down the line having crippled your feet for a few months.
Having gone through a variety of boots and decided on a pair, try walking around the shop for 10 minutes and see how your feet feel. Remember that sometimes you might be wearing your rock boots for a couple of hours, especially when you make the transition to climbing multi-pitched routes.
Chalk Bags
Whilst a simple item, there use is often far from ideal. It is a personal choice, but aim for a size of bag that easily allows access to your whole hand. Some climber choose to clip theirs via a carabiner to the back of there harness. Whilst this may seem a good way to carry the bag it is often too low to easily get your hands into.
Instead use a short length of cord around 1.5 metres will be adequate, by tying the bag round you waist it is held higher and more secure, and in the confines of a corner or chimney, it is often possible and far easier to pull the bag round the front for easier access.
Screwgate Carabiners
Climbing inside you will need at least one screwgate carabiner that to securely fasten a belay plate to. Again the choice is immense, all will be rated and stamped with a CE number (European safety standard) so in reality any will do. However the main use of the carabiner will be for use in conjunction with a belay plate so a HMS type will be preferable.
With this in mind the two main types of screwgate carabiners are, A) Micro HMS carabiner and B) Large HMS or Pear Shaped carabiner or C) D-Shaped carabiner. Whilst either would work with a belay plate the best to use is a HMS carabiner, as it helps the rope run more freely.
Belay Plates
Like all things climbing the range and variety is massive, and goes from the most basic and effective A) sprung stitch plate, more elaborate tubular belay devices like (B) DMM bug, (C) ATC or (D) Metolius BRD. Then of course there is the more complex auto-locking device like the (E) petzl Gri-Gri.
All can do the job you want them to, and all have various pro’s and con’s associated with them, with some being slicker or less grabby than others. All need proper training and vigilance when belaying.
The Essential Skills
There are several skills that are fundamental in climbing, and whether you are a beginner or a total expert there are very few variations to doing this safely. Whilst this is not a complete this of all the variations, it has been kept basic and simple to avoid confusion. Also many of these early principles and habits that you get into will follow you through your climbing from starting out indoors to climbing multi-pitched routes in the mountains.
Fitting a harness
Hopefully you would have brought a harness that fits and is comfortable, more than likely you will have tried it on at home and read all the instructions. Quite important because some harness have multiple adjustment point.
To start of with loosen the waist belt and if a fully adjustable harness the leg loops as well. After this you will probably have to untangle the harness, the trick here is to start with the waist loop, remember any logo’s will have been stitched onto you harness so they read the right way up. Then move the leg loops around waist belt until there are no tangles or twists in any part of the harness.
Put the harness on, make sure the waist belt is around your waist, and not your hips, and tighten till you can just get a flat hand down the front of the harness, but not a clenched fist. If the buckle needs doubling back to lock the harness closed do it as soon as you have the harness tight enough. Avoid any distractions or questions until you have locked the buckle off, this will prevent you from ‘forgetting’ about it, which is another common near miss you see in climbing walls all the time.
When you have finished the waist belt, adjust the leg loops, they need to be comfortably tight, but not restrict movement yet not hanging loose half way down your leg. Again, as soon as they are adjusted, double back the buckles to lock them closed.
The last point is to visually check that yours and your climbing partner(s) harness are on correctly and that all the buckles are locked off. This last step has saved numerous climbers both expert and novice over the years. I have pointed out this to numerous people before when climbing, and you can expect a mixed response, some people will thank you, whilst more insecure people can bite your head off, whatever the reaction it is better than seeing someone hit the deck next to you.
When you have finished, you will hopefully not have to adjust the leg loops again for a while, and by simply loosening the waist belt you will be able to step out of the harness, leaving it ready to use the next time you go climbing.
Tying into a harness
Having got your harness on you now need to tie into that harness correctly, whilst other climbers or your friends may choose to use bowlines, double bowlines or other knot. To start with it is better to keep things nice and simple and use only the fig 8 knot.
Whilst it may seem easier to tie a fig 8 on the bight, and clip in with a screwgate carabiner (see Diagram), now is a good time to start developing your knot tying skills, so by the time you are moving outside, or have to tie the knot in anger for the first time alone you have it dialled.
The vast majority of climber use a re-threaded fig 8 to tie directly into there harness. This requires you to tie a fig 8 with about 1.5 metres or from an outstretched hand to the opposite shoulder. This tail then needs to be threaded down through the waist belt and then continue through the leg loops. This is a good habit to get into, because if you progress outside and you are in a driving blizzard and wearing gloves, you can occasionally miss thread the second point, and it is better to miss the leg loops than the waist belt.
You then need to pull all the tail through so the loop of rope you are making is nice and small, like the webbing loop that links the leg loops to the waist belt. Then follow the rope back through the knot ‘re-threading’ it (see diagram). For the knot to be secure you have to dress it or tidy it up so it looks nice and neat, this also helps when it comes to undoing the knot after it has been loaded with your body weight.
The end of rope that protrudes from the knot needs to be at least two good handfuls, and for the belts and braces approach tie into a stopper knot.
Again when you are tying into the rope don’t let anything distract you and when finished tying into the rope, it is a good habit to check the knot again. As a belayer check the knot of the climber. This double checking your partner is one of the most fundamental fail safes in climbing, we are only human after all and total possible of making silly mistakes.
Belaying
Belaying safely is one of the skills that changes very little from beginner to expert. Whilst the more experienced people might look sloppy when they belay their friends. It is not excuse to copy there bad practice. When you are starting out the more disciplined you become the better your belaying will become. The old adage practice makes perfect is wrong, practice makes permanent. Only perfect practice makes perfect.
It is therefore essential that you develop a correct pattern for belaying (see diagram), as these first moves will be the platform you work off throughout your climbing, so it is important that you start off being as vigilant as possible. In short it is a four step pattern:
1. Take the rope in
2. Lock the rope off
3. Swap your hands over.
4. Return to the beginning, ready to take in
Common accidents are novices belayers dropping climbers, by letting go of the wrong rope for sometimes less than a second. This can be prevented by having a third person backing the belayer up by holding onto the ‘dead rope’ for the first few times, and then just during the lowering for a few times after that until both the climber and belayer are confident the belayers ability. Whilst this might seem a little over the top and at times condescending, would you prefer to be responsible for someone’s serious injury if you momentarily ‘get it wrong’.
The next thing to master is the process of lowering someone off the wall, once they have reached the top. Whilst it may seem like experts simply throw themselves off the top, have a good look at what they do, the odds are on that they will communicate both verbally and visually, as well as feel if the rope is tight as a way to checking the belayer has them tight and locked off before committing to the rope.
This is where climbing calls come in, calls that a few years down the line might require your instant reaction. So starting to use them correctly in a climbing wall will help ingrain them until they become also subconscious.
So picture yourself having just reached the top of the wall, you want to be lowered off so you look down and shout ‘Take!’ whilst at the same time trying to get eye contact with the belayer, and watch and feel them take the rope in tight and lock off the rope. When the rope is tight the climber responds by saying ‘That’s Me’, and slowly eases their weight onto the rope, you can keep your hand on the rope going to the belayer as a back-up. When you have committed your weight to the rope, the belayer should look look to visually check, as well as feel the added tension in the system. This is the signal to the belayer that you are now ready to be lowered. The belayer should respond by saying ‘OK’, before they start to lower in a SLOW and CONTROLLED manner.
Trying to lower someone as quickly as possible might seem like fun but it can end in tears. Really rapid lowering will produce a glazed on the rope as the friction heats up the top carabiner, and effectively melts the rope.
Basic Movement
When starting out climbing there is a tendency for novices to be overly dependant on their arms. Where in truth easy routes can be climbed with the majority of effort on your feet. I order to promote good technique there are a few exercises that will help you.
Sideways Climbing
In this exercise you can either face left or right, meaning that your left or right shoulder will be almost touching the wall. As you climb up you will from time to time need to pivot round on your feet to face the opposite direction. This techniques really helps on slabs and vertical walls.
Silent Climbing
The aim is to climb up as silently as possible, the reason for this is most novices have poor footwork, and tend to stab holds a few times before they eventually get there foot on a hold. By trying to make silent foot movement it forces you to look down and place the foot accurately on the holds.
Slow Climbing
Like silent climbing this slows down the climbing process and makes you more accurate with your foot placements. It also helps you feel how the weight transfers from one foot to the other.
One Handed Climbing
Try climbing a slab with only one or if it is very slabby, no handed. This really helps you find positions of balance, between the movements.
Introduction to Indoor Climbing Courses
Most dedicated climbing walls offer this kind of course and are a very good way to start out if you don’t have any friends willing to offer you an indoor apprenticeship. The courses often comes with a training element for somewhere in the region of 6 to 8 hours of instructed time followed by a short assessment.
The assessment is the climbing walls way to assess that you can fulfil there criteria for signing in as an independent climber. Typically this is Putting on a harness correctly, Tying into the harness and belaying correctly. The courses also tend to cover the basic risk and control of those risks both in roped climbing as well as on a bouldering wall.
If you book a course through an independent instructor, then look for someone who is either SPA (Single Pitch Award – Able to offer indoor and outdoor climbing on single pitch venues) or an MIA/MIC (Mountaineering Instructor – Able to offer a full spectrum of indoor and outdoor climbing including teaching lead climbing and instructing/guiding on multi-pitched rock routes). Ask if they are insured, and if in doubt about there qualifications you can approach the MLTUK the awarding body about a particular instructors qualifications.