The positive influence of experience on the beginner

I thought I'd share a little story with you guys about my recent experience at the gym. More so as a thank you to the experienced climbers out there who help beginners learn, but also to encourage those with the knowledge and experience who may not have helped any noobs yet to consider doing so.

So I went to the rock gym yesterday but as I have no regular roping partner yet (partly due to my inconsistent work schedule) I intended to do some bouldering. However the bouldering walls were pretty packed (likely because of the bad weather) and so I decided to work the first 10-12 feet or so of the climbing wall routes whilst trying to stay out of the way of those actually climbing them. One of the staff who was working that day knows that I'm happy to climb with anyone who's also not partnered up, and there just so happened to be one of the route-setter there who was doing the same thing I was. The staff member introduced us and we began climbing. This experienced gym member and route-setter not only talked me through the routes I was doing (some of them his own) and helped adjust my technique, but when I fell, did not simply lower me down as I'd thought he would, but encouraged and almost insisted that I get back on the wall and continue with the section I was having trouble with. His advice and encouragement allowed me to continue and complete every route I started. Despite being very pumped and at some points not even being able to get back on the wall due to failing grip strength, I was able, with his help, to figure out better balance and technique that required much less strength (which I didn't have at that point) to enable me to do what I had not been able to do previously.

I don't know whether this climber or the staff member frequent this site, but if you do, thank you both again. It was extremely beneficial and I greatly appreciate it. To those who have the ability and knowledge to pass on to other, I urge you to do so when you can. Even if it doesn't seem appreciated at the time by the individual you are helping, I'm sure that it really is. To those who already do this or have done it in the past, thank you for helping us newbies improve our climbing.

It's a great ego boost for the "veteran", too. My regular partner (a much stronger sport climber than me, though we trad perfectly together, and a guy who challenged me to climb harder and shared some tricks with me, improving my overall climbing and confidence on the rock) recently moved away to the mountains, leaving me scrambling for a belayer a few times a week. I have found myself at our local beginner crag (an area that also has some difficult routes and a couple of my own projects) trying to climb in with three man teams. This often puts me with beginners, who love to have a rope gun for the day, and whose bag of tricks is limited by their inexpereience, though not by their desire to climb. They appreciate my beta spewing -- which I honestly try to keep to myself, and any tips with technique, and they seem most to appreciate trying lines that may be at or above their technical peak and that they don't feel comfortable leading. I get to feel like a hotshot for a half a day, meet some new climbers and enter them in my belayer database, and, best of all, I get to climb myself.

I always watch them for a bit first though to make sure their belay is sound. So my advice to the new kids is to study belaying and safety systems thoroughly until you make a good partner. Then hit up the local crag and get on some rock.

For us "veterans": remember, we all started somewhere; we climbed a lot; we got better, but somewhere along the line we have gotten advice or experience off of those of us who knew more. Hell, if we're into it, we still do.

Whatever. If you're ever in Austin, Texas and want to hit up some of our local limestone. shoot me a PM and we'll go.

Eric, that's good advice about the belaying. I've been trying hard to pay attention to my technique in the gym because I realize its importance. My assumption is that for experienced climbers the biggest concern of climbing with beginners is not being safely belayed or even being endangered by bad belaying that could actually cause a fall.

That's so great to hear about how someone was able to come alongside you. The ought my travels, I've definitely appreciated seeing how enthusiastic the climbing community is to help newer climbers. Best wishes on your future climbs!

One of my favorite things about climbing is that it really is something that you can enjoy with other people regardless of their abilities. We went up to Lander a couple weekends ago and had one guy working a 13, a few others working 12s, a few working 11s, and then one guy that led his first 10s. Heck, we ran into Honnold climbing beside us, too. When you have a good group of people it shouldn't matter what grade you're working on, and the guy climbing his first 10s got just as much encouragement as the guy working the 13. Everybody is there for the same reason, everybody wants to improve, and there's no reason to treat anybody differently just because they don't have the ability that you do. If you come across somebody that belittles you because you can't pull as hard as them, I'd look for a different partner. I'm glad that you've encountered the more positive side of climbing though, as I'd like to think that that really is the majority.

We've all been newbies at some point, and to some degree we'll always be newbies.