Anyone here rockclimb?

[AUMM]

I've been wanting to get into rock climbing, thinking about signing up here: http://rockreation.com/cmclasses.htm
and taking the beginner class (Fight Gravity Series)...

I'm planning on taking a tour of the gym sometime this week, but was wondering if anyone had any advice on the best way to get into rockclimbing. Also, is it worth 50/mo to sign up for a gym like this? Or should I just take the class then find places to climb on my own?

 

[SketchMaster]

Unless you know some people that you trust with your life it's good to take classes at a gym, they will teach you all the basic safety like commands, knots tying and how to check your gear. It's also nice to know that if you do get hurt an ambulance can come and get you whereas if you are out in the woods you may have to be airlifted out by S&R which can take precious time.

And you can just show up at the gym whenever you want and find someone to climb with, and if they have a bouldering set up you can just mess around on that and not worry about a climbing partner. Also you can rent gear for the first month so if you decide you're not into the sport you won't have to try and pawn off your gear.

 

[dainthomas]

I saw a show about guys that climb El Capitan in Yosemite. No way in friggin' hell would you ever get me to sleep in a hammock hanging off a thousand foot cliff.

 

[xanis]

Rock climbing can be a lot of fun, but you need to know what you're doing. Start out on that wall with a trained instructor who knows how to belay and everything. After you've done that, you can look and see if they have a bouldering area (low walls with no lines and crash pads on the ground).

 

[oog]

rockreation is decent. i wouldn't commit to the $50/month until you get other people to climb with. the class is definitely worth taking to learn the basics.

 

[AUMM]

so i take it you pretty much always need someone to climb with even at the gym unless you are bouldering?

 

[HN]

Originally posted by: AUMM
so i take it you pretty much always need someone to climb with even at the gym unless you are bouldering?

yes. you do not want to climb up 40-50ft, realize you don't have enough energy / grip strength to come back down, and have no one to lower you. your belayer is your only safety net.

 

[911paramedic]

Originally posted by: dainthomas
I saw a show about guys that climb El Capitan in Yosemite. No way in friggin' hell would you ever get me to sleep in a hammock hanging off a thousand foot cliff.

It's more like three thousand feet. I got to spend the night on top of it after rescuing an injured climber that was 600' below the summit. By the time we got him back to the top it was too dark for an airlift. (Injuries weren't bad enough to risk a night landing with the helo.)

Take the classes and learn the basics at the very least. Climbing can be great fun but quite dangerous if you have no training. If you want to solo climb do it in the gym for a while and stay near the well padded floor, it's called "bouldering" and it's great for building skills and strength.

Have fun, it's a great sport and quite addicting. (It's like golf, you can always get better so you keep going back.)

 

[oog]

Originally posted by: HN

Originally posted by: AUMM
so i take it you pretty much always need someone to climb with even at the gym unless you are bouldering?

yes. you do not want to climb up 40-50ft, realize you don't have enough energy / grip strength to come back down, and have no one to lower you. your belayer is your only safety net.

generally true, but some gyms (beach city rocks in manhattan beach) has auto-belays which slow your descent without needing a person to belay you.