Whilst there are many similarities between climbing indoors and outdoors, there are a lot of differences too, and it’s worth being aware of these before you head out onto real rock for the first time.

There’s a whole myriad of things to take into account such as route reading, safety, spotting and ethics. This doesn’t have to be overwhelming though, and our handy guide will show you what to expect when you get out of the gym.

The first in a collaborative series of guides from UK Climbing and Mammut UK.