UKC

Hi I was wondering if anyone could help me with how to they got into alpine climbing,

I'm currently 19 and do a bit of climbing outside and at the wall. But I was wondering how people progress from climbing at their local crag to doing alpine climbing I know it takes a long time to build up the required skill and ability but any pointers would be great

Thanks,
Max

In reply to HarmM:

Join your nearest climbing club, for starters.

In reply to HarmM:

your fitness is key so when your not climbing, run,cycle,swim,lift weights and anything else you can think of as hard and as far as you can as often as you can stand it - alpinist

In reply to HarmM:

A course might be a good start. You're the right age bracket for the Jonathan Colville Memorial Trust as well which you might be interested in:

http://www.jcmt.org.uk/courses/

Applications close in October.

In reply to HarmM: even if you're planning to focus on pure rock routes, you'll need alpine skills (e.g. glacier travel, nav, moving together, avalanche awareness etc). Given your age, you could look at the courses run by the Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust. Intro to Alpinsim courses are also run by a number of mountaineering companies and guides. As per previous post, joining a climbing club is also a good option - most will run trips to the Alps each summer (although won't provide tuition).

In reply to HarmM:
As Gordon says, joining a climbing club would be useful. It's how I got started in alpine climbing. Obviously you need to have some idea of the experience and competence of those you might be climbing with - their interesting tales of alpine climbing might be due to constant epics!

Long days in the hills are better training for the alps than bouldering or climbing on grit edges. Something like walking up to Pillar Rock and doing three or four of the longer routes at VDiff or Severe then the following day walking up to Scafell and doing the same again.

Edit: speed (not the drug) helps in the alps not rushing around but doing everything quickly and efficiently. So, at a belay, you don't spend ten minutes get the UKC regulation three pieces of gear in, it's loop the rope over a spike; shout "safe"; tie yourself in to the belay loop; start taking in the ropes. It should only take as long as it's taken me to type it.

In reply to HarmM:

Lots of good advice here. A further option is to find a like-minded friend, read a book and just go and try. Possibly slightly riskier and with lower chance of getting up things initially but lots of fun (and cheaper). Also, assuming you are thinking of mountaineering rather than pure rock climbing, be aware most of your time will be spent walking, either on paths, rough ground or glaciers. Make sure you enjoy and are good at this.

In reply to HarmM:

you go and do it. Its useful to do some Scottish winter first and lots of multipitch cragging to get rope work dialed. On easier routes dangers are mostly due to the environment and the climbing easy. The book 'Alpine Climbing: Techniques to Take You Higher' is useful.

In reply to HarmM:

I'll second the John Conville Trust option. You can't do much better than having someone like Stu McAleese teaching you what you need to know in person at Plas.

In reply to HarmM: as above, apply for the jonathan conville trust courses. I did a three-day intro course in Scotland in January and then the three-day alpine course in Chamonix in June. Really worthwhile, and the guides were fantastic...enjoy

In reply to HarmM:

I got into Alpinism through my university's climbing club, did a fortnight with some experienced folks and then just went for it on my lonesome. The Conville courses come highly recommended and will give you the skills you need to look after yourself.

I'd say there are two sides to Alpinism; the technical (rope work, crevasse rescue, etc etc which the Conville course, or heading out with experienced people will teach you) and the subjective (reading routes, reading mountains, reading weather patterns, etc) which comes from experience. The first is key, then you can build on the second by getting out there and doing it, progressing as you feel comfortable.

It's a long investment, but so so worth it.

In reply to nclarey:

I've just had a look at those and I'm going to apply for one come September when they are advertised

In reply to HarmM:

This is a great book for starting off in alpinism:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alpine-Mountaineering-Essential-Knowledge-Alpinists...

In reply to HarmM:

Can't recommend the Conville/PYB course enough. I got on this year and it was ace.

In reply to HarmM:

Do some alpine WALKING to get yourself acquainted with the different scale.