Rock Climbing

S

SkiGoldPeak

Member
I would like to start climbing and progress in the sport. I want to do sport style, and some bouldering and trad. I would love to know what Im looking at, so EVERYTHING I need. Im willing to spend at to $550 for starters. I have a Nitro T1 snowboard, MSRP is $400. Willing to trade for gear!! Any advice is GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks
 
Doesn't work like that dude. It's one of the most dangerous sports if you don't know what your doing. Start by buying a pair of shoes and chalk bag, get a membership at your local gym and climb in there. Meet people get a feel for it and what you like the most. Get certified on belaying, repelling, anchor setting, and anything else you can there so that you know what you're doing.

It's not one of the things you can buy gear for and go out and do, that only works in the gym. But climbing outside takes a lot of time to learn how to do safely. And then to be able to progress takes twice the time.

I've climbed my entire life, and my Dad has for about 30 years so I can answer any question you have about the sport.
 
I learned on the real thing. I was never certified at anything but I knew what I was doing.

I mean you shouldn't rush head first into anything but I mean damn, you're over complicating things.
 
I'd be so scared to do that.

Oh and forgot to answer for price. It depends on what all you want.

rope: 100-200

harness: 50-150

rack (camming devices): 100-300 & beyond, depending on amount and quality

shoes: 50-150

carabiners/quick draws/ slings: 50-100

belay device: 50

chalk bag: 15-30

 
I'd stray away from used because its all holding you from death. but if you choose that path check all strands and stitching for wear. if it looks sketchy it is sketchy, but that doesn't mean something that looks good isn't also sketchy.
 
ive been climbing for about 4 years now. you dont want to start getting trad gear. its a waste of your time and money, i am still a novice at trad. all you need is a solid harness. mad rocks makes some cheap starting ones at like 50 bucks. some good shoes, evolve has good starting shoes, make sure to have someone fit you for them. most likely you will get to large of a pair because you have pussy ass feet to begin with. then get a chalk bag and start going to a gym. befriend someone that knows what the fuck they are doing before go climbing. if you boulder stay less than 10 ft off the ground, most likely you will roll an ankle or something. learn everything and i mean everything. from knot tieing to safety standards to terminonlogy. this isnt a just want to start sport. it takes commitment, its not a fun sport its a ass breaking sport
 
steps if you don't know anyone that climbs:

1. shoes and chalk (then harness, then rope, belay device, quickdraws, trad pro, etc.)

2. find a core gym (core in the sense that it has a really welcoming community of educated climbers, NOT a super-commercial birthday party gym)

3. befriend everyone (especially the old dudes, the gurus, the guys with the local beta)

4. work your ass off in the gym (your new home for multiple days a week,

upper body vest weight finger strength workouts and shit, challenge

yourself every day, work up the ratings)

5. be a sponge (listen to everything, learn your shit, practice practice practice, live it)

6. con your new climbing buddies into bringing you outdoor (they know the good spots, you don't)

boulder>boulder>boulder>gym top rope>outdoor boulder>gym

lead>outdoor top rope>outdoor lead sport>>>outdoor lead

trad>>>>>multi

pitch>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>big

wall.

find a good friend to go through this process with you. can't do it yourself.

takes a commitment. big one. not willing to put the days in at the

gym? don't even bother trying. follow these steps and you're on your

way to becoming a competent physical climber. the mental game is a

different thing entirely.

or you could just do what rusty did and crush it with your friends. can

get sketch, and that's how shit goes bad quick, but it's more exciting

for sure. sharper learning curve=harder consequences.

since it's winter it's a perfect time to get in the gym on weekdays when you aren't skiing.
 
I rock climb. A lot. Over 100 days a year for the past several years. This is all outside either on rock or ice, not in the gym, all over North America. You want to start off with some solid basics. Buy the following:
Black Diamond Momentum AL Harness. You will find this for under $50. It is a great harness. I have bought several of these, and it is still my go-to harness.
Black Diamond ATC Guide. Buy the Guide over the regular model, in case you ever get into trad climbing.
A locking carabiner. The larger the better for a belay biner.
Pair of shoes. Do not order these online. You need to go in and try them on. If you're really cheap, go try them on and then order them online. Every brand fits differently. 5.10 and La Sportiva are the two big brands. Most people have either a 5.10 foot or a La Sportiva foot. I wear 5.10 personally. You can go with Mad Rock or Evolv and get very cheap shoes. Do not buy something super aggressive that will hurt your foot. Just go to a store and buy something that they suggest.
Chalk Bag - this does not matter at all. Just get any one. They are all the same.
This is all you need to get going. Rock climbing is probably the hardest sport to get into. People don't want to take out beginners because they can't climb well enough to make it fun, and the trust element isn't there. In general I do enjoy taking out beginners and showing them the basics. I saw you're in SD. If you were in NY we could make something happen.
It is finally ice season now, or at least almost. I went out yesterday and played around on some early season ice. Very thin and scary, but a sign of good things to come. Definitely go to a gym. You need to be social and get to know people. They are your portal into real climbing, unless you have thousands of dollars to hire a guide again and again. Hell, if you have thousands of dollars fly me out to SD and we'll go climb the Needles and Spearfish Canyon.
Also, BE GENEROUS. When someone finally does take you out, you will be using thousands of dollars of their gear if you are trad climbing. You will be putting wear on their rope. They will be guiding you the first few times. Pay the gas money. Buy the beer. Pick up the dinner tab. Bring a nice snack to share. Basically, be their bitch.
To give you some idea of the money commitment down the road, a basic sport climbing setup will run you about $250. A trad setup will run upward of 2K. Climbing is a perpetual money pit, but the gear lasts forever (other than the rope and shoes). I have amassed a shit ton of gear. 40+ cams (all C4s and aliens), sooo many ropes (most retired now sadly), 40+ draws, webbing, GriGri 1, GriGri 2, 2 mini-traxions, Cinch, pulleys, hundreds of carabiners, jugs, croll, three sets of stoppers, set of offset stoppers, double set of RPs, gear sling, 17 ice screws (all BD express), Petzl Nomic ice tools, La Sportiva Nepal ice boots, Grivel G14 crampons, ice clippers, 5 harnesses, countless backpacks, a tag line, 6 pairs of shoes, many different jackets and other outerwear, Black Diamond Spectre, ice clippers, two chalkbags, several nut tools, three ATCs, two cordalettes, two helmets, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot. I can finally walk into the gear store and not want anything on the shelf...mostly. Of course a veritable library of guidebooks for all the different areas. It' a lifestyle, and a damned good one.
 
Come to Stelly's School, we just got a huge indoor wall 60 feet high and it's free for the students there.
 
Haven't read yet, but if you want to get in to sport climbing, it is fairly inexpensive.

Harness - cheap, and they last a long, long time. $30-$50 is easy

Chalk bag - cheap

shoes - $40-$90

Rope - the killer, $150-$300. Usually if you're starting out, you will probably use somebody else's rope, but then again, it is nice to actually have one at your disposal.

Quickdraws - figure $10-$15/each. You almost never need more than a dozen (sometimes 6 is sufficient), but this is highly dependent on where you are and which route you're on.

Belay device - bd atc is fine. $16 new?

Couple lockers. $10 each

6mm for a purcell - $2

If you want to just dabble in gym climbing - shoes, chalk bag for bare minimum. Harness if you want to toprope.

Bouldering - shoes, chalk, lots of pads and lots of patience.

Trad - if you are worried about cost, just go with somebody who already has a rack or just do sport. Shit is mighty expensive (for good reason, though).

 
Pretty much middle of nowhere on Vancouver Island, I don't even know why we have a wall, hardly anyone climbs.
 
I have climbed outside since I was 7. Dont buy a used rope. You have no idea how much the rope was beat up. Dont trust your life with a used rope.

Learn to ice climb. Its way harder, ten times more dangerous, but alot more fun.
 
join a club, get to know people, find out about courses and clinics, do those, get mad experience and progress...

in the mean time for indoor climbing and bouldering, get the following gear:

*climbing shoes, easily the most important part, they should fit snug but shouldn't hurt your feet....

*a harness, go for one with decent padding and easy adjustability ....

*a belay device+hms carabiner, i personally would suggest a manual belay device such as the black diamond ATC guide, this is a good device that will also serve you well as you progress and start climbing outdoor or doing alpine stuff.... the automatic devices such as a grigri are cool and all, but i feel as if they give you a wrong feeling of safety and they're a bit more difficult to handle properly (giving and taking rope can be much more difficult with these devices..

*a chalkbag (optional, i almost never use mine, except for indoor)

*a crashpad, this is basically a foldable mattress to absorb your impact when bouldering outdoor

now i suggest you join a climbing club and have those people help you out further, they will teach you how to do sportclimbs as a follow and as a lead climber ...

additional gear once you've got some experience and start to go outside...

*quickdraws (+- 7), but totally depends on your region, in belgium we usually have enough with 7 quickdraws for each route, but this can vary from place to place

*prussik cords

*additional hms carabiners

*a belay sling

*your own rope, (i prefer 75m , but it depends on your home region)

*a good ropebag, decent rope bags have a built in tarp you lay on the ground that has 2 loops, 1 loop has the end of the rope, the other the beginning, so you basically belay on top of the tarp, when you're done climbing the rope lies on the tarp, you simply tie the end to the free loop, fold the tarp with the rope on it together and put it in the bag. next time you need it you simply unpack and unfold the tarp and you're ready to go! no more coiling trouble :)

^^this is about most of what you need for sportsclimbing on equiped routes

if you want to progress and start climbing unequiped routes you're going to need trad gear, but i'm not going to school you on that, if you have to ask what trad gear you need, you're not yet ready for it ...
 
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