UKC

Seen a few beginners at crags getting on the harsh end of the learning curve and wondered if you had any good tips to share casually amongst the crag banter?

Mine would probably be, before you start climbing just take a minute to look at the route, have an idea of what and where the holds are, and don't worry, you generally end up using holds that you cant see from the ground- Except on Grit. There are no hand holds on grit.

In reply to zimpara:
Try not to get your nuts stuck.

In reply to zimpara:
Ignore people telling you there are no holds on grit, especially if their logbook reveals a grand total of 7 logged climbs on the stuff. There are, and if they are not obvious you might need to use more imagination and skill.

Keep your arse in, so the toe-tip hypotenuse of your body profile triangle is maximised, and on a slab when body weight over the feet is helpful.

Let your legs do the hard work not your arms, good footwork will pay dividends.

In reply to zimpara:

If u find you are stuck. Look down. It's all in the feet...

In reply to zimpara:

Stop panicking and relax its meant to be fun

In reply to DerwentDiluted:

Oh, don't be such a Grit bitch.

In reply to zimpara:
look at your feet, every single move, use your feet, don't be hand hold obsessed, if you stay balanced on your feet you don't need much to hold onto at all.

ps. all grit routes have holds, they are just a different shapes, to some other rock types, but often no different to sandstone or granite.

In reply to zimpara:
Well,


Creaking sound as cliche storage doors are opened....






It's coming......







Nearly....






















What have you ever done on grit then?

In reply to DerwentDiluted:

Really good!

So basically, the more you do on grit, the more of a tw*t you become?

In reply to zimpara:

Think feet!!

Most beginners go straight for handholds and forget about their feet

In reply to zimpara:



No its not a direct correlation, but it does help correct ridiculous assertions about grit.

In reply to Trangia:

Totally agree - and taking beginners climbing in trainers virtually guarantees mindless peddling (and more polish), especially on limestone. Very bad practice by instructors. The poor beginners just learn crap technique. If they're going to progress later, they'll have to unlearn it and relearn better stuff.

Mick

In reply to zimpara:


Don't shout advice at someone lead climbing, especially if they're struggling. It's invariably useless and just adds stress to an already stressful situation.

In reply to DerwentDiluted:


As JD said, 'Stanage is just one big hold'

In reply to zimpara:

If you fall off - protect your skull.

In reply to zimpara:

I would tell them to ignore people that spend 99% of their time on the forums borderline trolling for comments =)

In reply to zimpara:

Be careful who you take advice from on the Internet.

In reply to zimpara:

Push, don't pull,

Chris

In reply to Trangia:

I have found that comments like 'look at your feet' etc. aren't that helpful- beginners might not know what they are meant to be looking at. So my tip is to make each foot movement silent, that way the climber will have to look where to put their foot, and watch as it goes on to make sure it is on as well as it can be.

In reply to zimpara:

99% of climbers who say "its all about the footwork!" when on a route at or near their limit will flail and flounder manically and forget their feet even exist, get scared, pumped and most likely shout "TAKE!" and fall off . wheather they care to admit it or not.

my advice for beginners would simply be to choose your crag carefully, and not over reach yourself. guidebooks are wonderful things; they tend to tell you which routes are friendly for the grade, well protected and suitable for beginners. start off by choosing to try these routes, which tend to follow big, obvious features, before getting on harder/more run out or intimidating routes.

In reply to zimpara:

Find someone who knows what they are doing to take you out a few times. Listen to their wisdom. Many instructors either are not good climbers, or are so good they can't relate to a beginner. Listen to the experienced climber. Ask questions if you are not sure. Accept constructive criticism. I have been climbing for many years and am still learning.
Remember; your feet are used to supporting your weight, your arms are not!

In reply to Cheese Monkey:


^^^^This!

In reply to zimpara:

If you want good tips just climb regularly on smallish holds and eventually your tips will toughen up and be more resistant to abrasion.

In reply to zimpara:

My honest advice for most of the people I know starting to climb outside and wanting to improve is 'go climbing!'

It is surprisingly difficult, if you are a new climber, to actually find partners, know how to read guidebooks and how to avoid spending most of your time wandering around crags looking for climbs instead of finding them, and just organize a trip. The only way to learn these ancillary skills is to get out and get climbing - eventually you spend more time climbing than not!

Conveniently, my honest answer is the same as my suggestion for zimpara :P

In reply to andrewmcleod:

I do try to get out climbing!

Yeah a good tip would be to buy the guidebook! Always.

The amount of times I've met fences, dead end roads, and big drops trying to approach crags yolo is annoying! I now follow guidebooks walk ins to the T.

In reply to Mick Ward:


..... or bad policy from outdoor pursuits companies, perhaps. The instructors themselves may have little/no choice.

In reply to zimpara:



My top tip would be that the default method of gaining height is to transfer the weight to the higher foot and stand up. Which means getting the body weight off the lower foot as much as possible, so that it can move freely. I'd then point out a few implications of this:
Unless the higher foot happens to be directly above the lower foot, the transfer of weight to it will involve a lateral movement of the centre of gravity - pushing the hips sideways. This leads one to realise that the centre of gravity normally traces a snaking path up the cliff, rather than directly upwards. This in turn leads one to appreciate the usefulness of side holds, layaways, and palming.

In reply to bpmclimb:

Hi Brian,

I don't think of myself as a particularly bolshie bastard but, if I was an instructor and the practice was this bad, then I'd take a hike. But err, that's what I did (three times!) in management consultancy and I'm now reaping the reward. Je ne regrette rien. OK, I've haven't got kids to feed.

So agree - valid point. Though given that you can go into Decathlon, pay £30 and get a pair of climbing shoes better than anything Jerry had in his prime, it can't add much to the cost structure to have people reasonably properly shod.

I suppose I so value the primacy of experience. Maybe you take 10 people out. For nine of them, it's a bit of fun, a lark, a jolly. But the 10th one - maybe something happens, a spark is lit. Maybe s/he goes on to do 10,000 routes. Maybe it adds so much to so many lives.

Or maybe I'm just an old romantic.

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

Hi Mick.

Couldn't agree more; it's the primary frustration with doing SPA-style group work. Sadly, for one reason or another, it's not practical for me to set up my own company, and, short of discontinuing my part-time freelance work completely, I am rather stuck with the status quo.

In reply to zimpara:

As annoying as it is, improved footwork makes a huge difference. Your fingers and arms may get a bit stronger over time, but more often than not it's improving footwork that takes a load off your hands I'd be willing to bet. That gives you Moore time before you get tired

I found that slowing things down and thinking about the next movement only to be very helpful. Purposefully trying to see where my right foot should go next, then where my left foot, right hand and then the left hand. Always trying to move up a few cm's and or trying to get more comfortable. Splitting it up really took a lot of the panick out of it for me because you only try to do one very little thing at a time.