Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Climbing, But Were Afraid To Ask

[rydra_wong]

This is a post where you can ask all the questions you're always wanted to ask about climbing, whether you've already started or are just beginning to think about maybe possibly kind of giving this a try.

Or maybe you've been climbing for decades, and have always wondered about that one thing, and by now it would be OMG TOO EMBARASSING to admit you don't know.

No topics are off-limit, no questions too clueless, so let rip and get answers from demi-n00bs experienced climbers.

Comments

[hivesofactivity]

Thank you for this thread: I've always thought climbing SO BEAUTIFUL (a thought I have never had about any other sport), but probably beyond me.

My daft questions are:

1) How might being fat (which I am) substantially affect one's potential, or not?

2) How much does hand/finger strength matter? (I am UTTERLY ENTRANCED by the teeny-tininess of the fingerholds the women in those vids can hang their whole bodyweight on. Oh, amazing.)

3) Do you need good knees, even if you can learn to fall in a way which doesn't hurt the bad-ish knees you currently possess?

[rydra_wong]

1) To some extent. Strength-to-weight ratio is inevitably a big element with climbing, so being relatively heavy (whether it's fat or muscle or both) does put you at a disadvantage to begin with.

But then so does being extremely weak (which I am), and I've found that as a weak climber, I can often out-sneaky people with much more strength than me. Technique rules.

So -- it is a factor, yeah. But it's not inherently going to stop you from climbing well and having a lot of fun. One of Britain's best trad climbers is a fairly hefty guy by the name of John Dunne.

2) HUGELY. But it develops naturally as you climb; the tricky bit is pacing yourself and making sure you don't tweak your finger and elbow tendons (muscles get stronger a lot faster than tendons do).

Some of my happiest moments have come when I realize that my fingers have upgraded themselves and I can suddenly use even tinier holds; it's like magic!

3) Nope. I've got recurrent knee problems, and have found climbing (and jumping from the top of the wall) fine at times when it hurt me to walk. If my knees are playing up, I have to avoid pivoting round on a foothold in a way which creates torque on the knee, but otherwise I'm good.

Obviously it depends on your particular knee problems, but it's not necessarily a barrier at all.

You might need to experiment and see whether your knees are happier with bouldering or roped climbing, but either way you don't get the sheer number of repeated impacts that you do with something like running (or walking).

[hivesofactivity]

Thank you! I think the knee thing is the best news out of this lot, because (sans knee replacements) that's the main thing out of my eventual control

[pellucid]

I'll bite on this one!

1) Because climbing is a matter of every individual's strength to weight ratio, there's no ideal climbing body (nor is there any body type that would prevent someone from being able to climb). The most elite climbers do tend to be very lean, but let's face it: most of us will never be elite climbers. And there are plenty of overweight people who climb well and more importantly, enjoy it. As [Unknown site tag] said in her recent post, you really only need to be able to climb a ladder to start climbing: can you use your feet to step up while also holding on, balancing, and pulling with your hands?

Heavier people need to develop more muscle than lighter people as they improve on the climbing: you have to be able to move your own body weight up the wall, and it takes more strength to move 250 pounds than 150, for instance. But heavier people DO develop that muscle more quickly because they ARE moving more weight up the wall. I've got around 40-50 pounds on my climbing partner. We climb at about the same level. In order to do that, I've got more muscle than she does because there's more of me to haul up the wall, but I've developed that muscle from climbing, and it's effective.

2) It depends. If you're climbing at a level where you're hanging your whole body weight on a single finger or two, then hand/finger strength matters a lot. If you're just starting out, though, you'll mostly be using big jug holds that are easy to grab with your whole hand--that requires a lot less hand/finger strength. As with all the other kinds of strength needed for climbing, hand and finger strength develops with practice. As you move from easier routes to more difficult ones that require more/different kinds of strength, you'll start to develop that strength.

3) If you have knee problems, I'd recommend mostly doing toprope rather than bouldering. Bouldering is climbing without ropes on short walls: you don't go very high, but if you fall off you fall to the ground, and if you get to the top of a problem that you can't downclimb (if you're too tired, for instance) or climb over the top of the wall (not all bouldering walls allow this), you have to jump. You're jumping/falling onto thick pads, but there's still room to tweak a knee, especially if they're already weak.

Toprope, on the other hand, is climbing a taller route with a rope and a harness and a belayer. The rope is secured at the top of the route (hence the name), and if your belayer is doing his/her job, you'll never fall: if you let go of the wall, the rope will hold you right where you are. Then the belayer will let you down gently when you're done. I can't think of any way that toproping would strain your knees.

I hope you decide to give climbing a try! It's great fun, and like Rydra says, it really is possible for almost anyone. No, not everyone is going to be able to do the hard stuff (not immediately and for most of us not ever), but there's great fun to be had at all levels.

[hivesofactivity]

Thank you. I really like the thought that there is pleasure and achievement to be had, even when you are at the very early stages.

[rydra_wong]

Very much so! I started off as the Worst Climber Ever (I struggled hideously on the routes that they keep for the induction course and 8-year-olds having birthday parties), and still fell hopelessly in love with it and had a great time teaching myself to climb.

It does help if you find somewhere with good route-setters, who put imagination into the problems at all levels.

[ilanarama]

Trad outdoor climbing actually depends a lot less on finger strength than on body positioning and balance. Indoor climbing tends to be face climbing, in which hand/finger strength is important, although the better you get the LESS you actually use your arms, as you learn how to use your whole body (for example, flagging a foot to one side to counterbalance your arm on the other makes it easier to hold on without hand/arm strength).

On the other hand, technique-y climbing does depend a lot on your knees, as you need to be able to (for example) place a foot high and then shift your weight over it and straighten your leg to stand.

Being fat will make climbing more work for you. I have climbing friends who are not sylph-thin, though, who are plenty decent climbers.

[hivesofactivity]

Thank you - I kind of was expecting to be totally put off by this whole thread, but it hasn't worked out like that, and I'm really grateful!