Learning to Rock Climb - Tips for Beginners

Hit The Gym!
Don't spend a dime. That's right. Buy nothing for now. Don't worry if you're the kind who has the disposable income and loves
to burn it, there's plenty of equipment out there and if you decide this sport is for you there will be plenty of wallet draining items
to pick up down the road. Getting any of it now, however, would be putting the buggy ahead of the horse. Your first objective
is to try this sport on for size and see if it fits your likes and lifestyle and to do that you don't need any equipment. You need a
climbing gym or, at the very least, any place with a climbing wall.

Both are facsimiles of the real thing and neither truly does the real thing justice. But if you try out a gym wall and determine that
you absolutely loathe the experience, odds are you'll find the real thing only a moderate improvement. Far better to learn that in
advance of buying the essentials for your outdoor experience. Unlike the postage stamp, however, you can learn a great deal
about climbing and hone your skills in a gym and it can be loads of fun! It's the experience, we want you to get outdoors later
that can potentially turn this from hobby to life-long obsession.

We recommend an indoor climbing gym over a wall at the mall or local sporting center for four main reasons - equipment, staff,
experience and safety. Most gyms rent all the equipment you'll need to start. The staff, often passionate about the sport and
hoping to land you as a member, is going to be eager to make the experience positive rather than leaving you to flail (and fail) on
routes that are simply outside your ability. You will be surrounded by other beginners who will share your initial insecurity but
will also be exposed to talented individuals climbing at levels that would shame a chimp. Because of that range of experience
levels, you'll fit right in and have the opportunity to see what you can hopefully someday accomplish if you are devoted to the
sport.

The fourth element, safety, is something we hope we've already hammered home as
essential. A dedicated climbing gym should do a good job of providing a safe initial
environment in which you can try out the sport. They will also discuss the beginning
safety procedures you will carry with you for the duration of your climbing career.

An alternative is their Quick Start program - a three session experience that covers the Basic Skills package and Intro to
Climbing for a meager $69. Your mileage may vary so make some use of the Inter-Web (yes that was intentional) and do some
research. Visiting Google and typing <city> climbing gyms in the search field will usually yield good results. Also check our
Links section.

We want to emphasize again that the gym is just the beginning. It's your introduction to the climbing world but isn't a substitute
for climbing outside. This is where you'll judge your interest, develop fundamental skills, train in the off-season, meet
like-minded individuals and maintain fitness with climbing-specific training. Until you've gone outside and logged a couple
vertical miles on real rock, though, you haven't climbed. See this for what it is - a portal into the exciting world of rock climbing.

And that's it for part one. No fancy gear, just the advice to try the sport out in a controlled environment and see if you like it.
The sooner the better, we say. Stop reading this and do a search on Google for a gym near you or check our Links for some
good resources. Call your wife, friend, coworker, whomever, and beg and plead with them to come along because sharing the
experience is half the fun and it's always better to form that belayer/climber bond with somebody you know and like! We'll be
here when you get back with more information next as we start covering basic equipment which will all make more sense to you
after you've tried it out at the gym. Don't forget to come back and read more!

The cost for your first session will vary from gym to gym. We recommend you do
some research first to get an idea of what you can expect. Our favorite Northern
Virginia gym, Sportrock in Alexandria Virginia offers what they call a Basic Skills
package that will have you up and climbing (and belaying your pals) in an hour
without any further instructor intervention for $25. That includes all equipment
rentals for the session!

Still with us?
Well we've spun quite a story so far. We've set some facts straight,
discussed different kinds of climbing, health and fitness, phobias,
common injuries and rated this sport as family friendly. With all that
ground covered and you still reading, it's fair to assume you're at least
somewhat interested. It is, therefore, time to go over what you'll need to
get going. We're going to break this into two parts - your introduction
to the climbing world and what you'll need if you decide to continue
beyond the gym experience. The good news is that getting started is
fairly inexpensive. The air just isn't as fresh because to start with, you
need to...