Looking to climb for my 1st time, anyone want to help?

Hi my name is Tim, I'm from LaCrosse, WI. and I'm looking to climb for my 1st time. I don't want to go purchase a bunch of gear because I don't even know if I'll enjoy it? But if you have gear and would be my guide I would greatly appreciate it and if I like it I'll get my own gear and explore many more adventures.
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amga.com/hire-a-guide/

doligo wrote:https://amga.com/hire-a-guide/

Bouzektimothy - Doligo has a great point.

I've been lucky enough to find mentors, trusted partners and hired guides throughout my climbing journey. I met my best climbing partner out when I was bouldering around a local Boston crag.

+1 for guide help, but if your not up for that, get out a lot and meet other folks interested in climbing, and/or taking you under their wing.

If you're not willing to pay $, what are you going to bring to the table?

Have fun.

J

FYI Tim, if you're interested. The Twin Cities Rock Climbing group is hosting a meetup next Sunday, May 3rd, at Taylors Falls, MN. Park entrance fee is $5. Free climbing. Meet other climbers. Bring and helmet, harness, and shoes. Hope to see you there. We also go to Devil's Lake several times during the summer, feel free to come and join us.

My wife and me started climbing in the gym for a few months before going outdoors. We are completely self taught with the help of some books. After the first few times climbing at a nearby crag with other climbers around we couldn't believe some of the dangerous crap some people do. Some beginners seem to act like they're the shit and know what they're doing but have no clue.

Climbing is the only thing I've ever done where a single mistake can get you killed and it doesn't even need to be your mistake. Paying for a certified guide who knows what they're doing is better than paying with your life if you find a random bonehead to climb with. If you can get to know someone first and gauge their experience you'd probably be pretty safe.

Come and check out the sweet new indoor climbing facility up in Winona, mn (25 min from Lacrosse). Its a great way to learn some of the basic skills such as knots and belay technique. There is also an anchor wall where you can learn to place traditional protection and a belay ledge to learn proper rappelling technique.
www.winona.edu/outdoor

bouzektimothy wrote:Hi my name is Tim, I'm from LaCrosse, WI. and I'm looking to climb for my 1st time. I don't want to go purchase a bunch of gear because I don't even know if I'll enjoy it? But if you have gear and would be my guide I would greatly appreciate it and if I like it I'll get my own gear and explore many more adventures.

Let's try this. Swap "climb" for scuba or skydive throughout this thread for a chuckle.

All are sports that require one to have special equipment, skills, experience and each can have painful or deadly consequences. Probably best learned by taking lessons from a professional instructor.
Nah, I think I'll head over to the drop zone, watch a few times then use my judge of character to find someone to teach me to jump.

Tim,
one other opportunity for you guys to get into climbing outside is the open climbing program offered all fall( I know it doesn't start until august, but its something to look for) in Winona at the sugarloaf. It begins the last tuesday of august and goes every tuesday until the end of october. All equipment is provided and the staff handles all the knots and tying in if your new. Its free and open to anyone. We routinely have anywhere from 20 folks to 70 folks up climbing each tuesday in the fall. Its a great way to meet folks, gain skills and we also offer anchor clinics sometimes also. I would definitely advocate for hiring a climbing instructor for a day to two to teach you proper techniques. One near you which is awesome is Midwest Mountain Guides located there in Lacrosse. the owner Steve Johnston is a fantastic instructor and is very highly trained. $100-$200 will get you the knowledge in a weekend that may take you months or longer to learn on your own or from just a recreational climber… money well spent.

You may be a good judge of character, but that doesn't necessarily correlate into a good judge of the technicalities of climbing. If someone is completely confident in their technique, but is doing everything wrong (back clipping, not extending anchors on sharp edges, leaving locking biners unlocked etc.) they can appear to you to be doing everything correct if you don't have the technical know how to spot it. The gym mentioned above may be able to help, as I assume they might teach gym to rock classes. Meetup groups are great too, since there's usually a larger group of people, which tends to weed out the poor practices by enough people watching for unsafe technique. Being humble is great, as people who know what they are doing will take their time to really explain the intricacies. Is someone shows you a technique, ask them why they did that. If they can't explain the logic of it, you should probably find someone else to climb with.

Benjamin Chapman wrote: I remember going through a very similar process when I begin climbing 30+ years ago. It can be frustrating and tough getting your foot in the door and knowing who to trust.

Benjamin, it is not 30+ years ago - there are climbing gyms on every corner. At the very least, the OP could go and take a basic lesson - learn to put his harness on, tie in, belay, basic movement.

What OP saying is "I'll just show up at the crag and waste poor weekend warriors' time (after they spent two hours walking around the crag looking for an unoccupied route and building a five-point top rope anchor) by having them show me how to tie in, and belay me while I hopelessly flail on a climb way above my ability and hate every minute of it... Oh, and I hope they have extra shoes and harness for me"...

A reputable guide will provide gear, set top ropes in safe and efficient manner, show you how to climb and make sure you get to climb as many pitches as possible and ensure you have a great time - all in the safest most efficient manner. If you value your time and gas money (if not your safety), spending even half a day with a guide doesn't sound that expensive.

Come on guys, he posted a hiking selfie! Obviously you should teach him to climb.

bouzektimothy wrote:my goal is to climb Half Dome at Yosemite and BASE jump when I get to the top.

And here we go...

bouzektimothy wrote:Here's is my thoughts folks, I want to learn to climb here in Wisconsin/Minnesota, my goal is to climb Half Dome at Yosemite and BASE jump when I get to the top.

Are you under the impression that you need to know how to climb in order to get to the top of Half Dome?

Steven Groetken wrote: And here we go...

Let's see...
According to his profile, the OP registered here on 25 Apr 2015.
In the space of 2 days at least 2 of the subsequent posts are obvious trolls.
In his profile he claims:
Trad: Leads 5.7 Follows 5.9
Sport: Leads 5.7 Follows 5.9
Boulders: V0
Aid: Leads C0 Follows C1
Ice: Leads WI1 Follows WI2
Mixed: Leads M1 Follows M2

I call bullshit. This is yet another Elanor troll thread.

bouzektimothy wrote:Sorry I watched Valley Uprising last night and I found it very interesting. I have jumped out of planes but never BASE jumped. I feel like it's something I want to do in my life! Can y'all blame me? I want something new to do with this wonderful life I've been given.

Maybe he/she is a troll, or even worse Elanor. Regardless, I heard discovery channel had Valley Uprising on, so be prepared for an influx of people flailing around in the gym or crag. Kind of like when Top Gun came out in the 80s, everyone decided to be a pilot. Welp, I'm out the door heading to the gym to flail around.

Wow! Ok, looking for a new experience, are you going to make it akward? I will attend some training classes, ty.

bouzektimothy wrote:Wow! Ok, looking for a new experience, are you going to make it akward? I will attend some training classes, ty.

Hey you have been offered several options to give climbing a go. EB in particular is well known and has stellar skills and reputation. I have climbed with him many times over the years and he has always been an advocate for the sport and a friend to new climbers.

There really is no way to just try climbing using your neophyte skills and judgement to assess the skills of climbers at a given crag. Climbing is a complex activity and requires all participants to accept responsibility for their own safety and wellbeing.

bouzektimothy wrote:Wow! Ok, looking for a new experience, are you going to make it akward?

umm, you're the one making it awkward. You've gotten some good advice so far, not sure what else you are expecting.

bouzektimothy wrote:Wow! Ok, looking for a new experience, are you going to make it akward? I will attend some training classes, ty.

Belayer's neck already, bro? Yes it's gonna be awkward.

Why troll MP.com when you could troll Minecraft or GTA and have your very own Yewtewb channel?

Think bigger Trollenor. There's a whole wurld of Trollololz out there to explore.

Pfffttt. That's for the birds! And so is the wingsuit.