

The whole point of placing gear on a route is to stop you from injuring yourself if and when you fall. At least, those are the main things that can go wrong. Rock climbing is as safe as your gear placement, your trust in your partner and your surety in the rock. How safe is rock climbing?Ī lead climber tackling a rock climbing route, with belayer below (Image credit: Getty) Whatever you decide to take with you – and it’ll be different for each climb – is called your rack. You’ll also want a selection of slings, carabiners and a nut key to get the gear back out. Each has its own name, like cams, nuts and hexes.
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Basically, if there’s a groove or a crack in the rock that someone’s wanted to place protection in, there’s a tool to fit in that hole. Simple.įor trad climbing there are all sorts of weird and wonderful pieces of gear to help protect your climb. That way you can clip one side into the bolt and the other onto your rope. You just need pairs of carabiners, attached by a short fabric sling. Luckily it’s pretty simple for sport climbing. For sport climbing, you’ll have to start venturing into the world of “gear”, also called “protection”. You can even get started without a rope (there are plenty of set up top ropes at climbing walls). If you’re climbing indoors that’s all you’ll need. They rubbery and fit a little too tightly to your feet, which helps you feel the holds and stick to them a bit better. Unless you’re doing some very hardy trad climbing, you’ll also want to bring rock climbing shoes – which look like a combination of plimsolls and ballet shoes, and are more specialized than the best approach shoes. You’ll also need a climbing rope per pair of people. It’s also worth bringing an extra warm layer for while you’re sitting still belaying.Īs for a specific rock climbing for beginners kit list, your three key items are: a climbing helmet, a harness and a belay device on a carabiner. But you also need to make sure you’re not so tightly wrapped up that you can’t stretch for the holds. For outdoor climbing, all the normal considerations you’d take for going hiking come into play.


In terms of what to wear, the key thing is to wear clothing appropriate for wherever you are, and that is easy to move in. What should I wear and what kit do I need?Ī woman belaying for her climbing partner. Otherwise, if they’ve reached the top of the climb, they can fist bump and return to the bottom. If there’s more climbing to do, they can start all over again for a second pitch or more. In the original situation, when the second climber reaches the top of the route they have both climbed a pitch. That person is called the belayer, and the act of keeping the rope taut is called belaying. It’s just the same setup, except the person keeping the rope taught is on the floor instead. Seconding is not too different from something called top roping, where the rope is put through something at the top of the rock climb and run back down to the floor. That second person is doing something called “seconding” (unsurprisingly). The person at the top keeps the rope taught as the second person climbs. Once the first person has reached the top, they sit down and the roles are reversed. That way, if the leader falls off the route, they shouldn’t hit the floor. As they get higher, it’s the person on the ground’s job to keep the rope between them taught. Here’s how it works: imagine two people tied to opposite ends of a rope. Most people would take a rope and a friend to hold on to the end of the rope, in case you fall.
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If you’re Alex Honnold (opens in new tab) (star of climbing movie Free Solo (opens in new tab)) you just go straight up the thing like a gecko. There are many different ways to do a rock climb itself. The less there is to hold onto – and the harder it is to reach those holds – the higher the grade. There are too many different grading systems to go into what exactly counts as “hard” here, but it’ll look pretty obvious from the bottom.

Others involve getting your hands and feet into tiny dimples on an otherwise completely smooth rock face. Very easy rock climbs are only a smidge harder than a scramble. In simple terms, rock climbing is about ascending something far too difficult to walk up, without breaking yourself in the process. A climber leading while their partner belays.
