I'm looking for tips for first outdoor climb
|
I'm relatively new to climbing - I've been doing a lot of indoors stuff in the past two months and I'm seeing myself progress quickly - inside I'm very confident on 5.10's. But my ultimate goal is to get outside, and I'm concerned the translation from inside to outside is going to be a whole new animal for me. What are some good indoor training techniques you can use to get ready for your first ever outdoor climb? |
|
Depends, are you planning on leading outdoors or top roping? |
|
well, I've been practicing lead climbing in a gym, clipped into an auto belay so I can climb alone (I have the opposite work schedule as my one friend who also climbs). I know top-roping is easier so I've been told, but I'm personally more interested in lead climbing - I'm a person who likes a challenge :) |
|
I think the best thing you can do to make the transition to outdoor climbing is to find an experienced partner. Someone that can "show you the ropes" on outdoor climbing. Don't lead your first time outdoors. |
|
FrankPS wrote:I think the best thing you can do to make the transition to outdoor climbing is to find an experienced partner. Someone that can "show you the ropes" on outdoor climbing. Don't lead your first time outdoors.------------------ +1 Find someone experienced to climb with. Follow till you feel you want to lead.... An experienced climber can help you pick a safe doable line to lead for your ability. It is so important your first leading experience be successful |
|
Make sure you tick the shit out of everything, its like outdoor tape |
|
In the gym, practice clipping and leading. Leading and TR are astoundingly different for most newer folks. On TR, you can yell "take" and rest whenever you want. |
|
If your goal is to lead outside; practice leading inside. Leading on an auto belay is not the same. You and your climbing partner need to learn to communicate, feed slack, take in slack, fall and catch falls. You can not learn to do this without doing it. I assume that you took a lead class at your gym, now you need to practice it. |
|
Megan, good to see you contributing. Sorry if some of this is redundant. Lot's of good advice above. But forget the ticks. Spraypaint on the holds is much more gym like. |
|
This has been a ton of great advice! I'm out of town at a wedding this weekend, but when I get back I'll set up a cocktail hour date with my climbing partner (who has much more experience than I) and I'll talk to her about all these suggestions and make a plan with her for my first time outdoors! I can't believe how much feedback I got so quickly - thank you all for the help! |
|
I don't think I'm saying anything new here, but just to reiterate: climbing outside is way different than inside. Don't expect safe falls from every location in an outdoor climb. Inside everything is bolted so you don't hurt yourself, outside that may not be the case. Don't get in over your head. There's a difference between knowing what sort of challenge you're getting yourself into and walking blindly into an epic. Start slow and easy and you'll have many good years of climbing ahead of you. Also, grades inside generally feel way easier than outside. My advice would be to find some nice 7s and 8s, do a dozen easy climbs before you start to push the grades. And make sure your friend has enough experience to see if a route is safe for you, knows how to clean a sport route, and knows some basic self-rescue techniques. Hope this helps! Have fun and be safe! |
|
No one yet, really? Ok... |
|
Have a great time on your first climbing trip outdoors, Megan! |
|
Real rock requires dozens of different techniques, moves and strategies than what you are used to in a gym. Footholds especially; you will eventually learn to trust tiny chips and irregularities that cannot be duplicated in a gym; and also simply make minor advances to eventually make the big reach. Same goes for in-cut sinker pockets. At first, you will miss some of the most important holds and moves because they are not obvious. Don't let this frustrate you, real rock takes time to get a sense for how to position yourself. You need to build a quiver of techniques, a process that never ends. |
|
Do not climb with rings on your fingers, bad idea. |
|
+1 find an experienced partner. |
|
The purists might bash me for this, but if you're new and your partner is new, and you are going to lead sport--I'd invest in a stick clip for the first bolt. |
|
The above are all good tips. Climbing outside is definitely different than indoors. In my opinion scouting the routes is the biggest difference. Even with a guide book it can present a challenge. You have to feel the areas out. Very helpful to keep going to the same crag with a good variety of easy to moderate routes you can expand from. Ask lots of questions like all the time ....ask everybody ...passer by's , people hiking the approach trail or parties at the crags. Do not be shy. You need to learn to process the beta and info even if your partner states he knows the crag. Another thing is to familiarize yourself with different textures of rock...unlike the gym there are many many of those. |