Seeking advice!

[allochthonous]

I've been reading this community with envy for a while and finally decided to take the climbing plunge (hopefully not literally) this weekend.

I've tried climbing a couple of times before and loved it but for various didn't take it any further; now I have a bit of time I'd like to try indoor (and eventually outoor, although this may not be the time of year for it...) properly. I am effectively a complete beginner and wondering where to start.

I've been looking at beginners classes and I am a bit confused with the variety of introductory sessions available for indoor climbing. Some walls offer six-hour beginners sessions while some are happy with an hour-long induction session before they let you start climbing. Would you recommend doing a short induction first, or going straight for the longer sessions (given that I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy it)?

Also, if anyone has experience with climbing walls in London, and recommendations which to go for and which to avoid, I'd love to hear about it!

Comments

[wpadmirer]

It may be that the places offering the longer classes are furnishing you not only with lessons, but some additional climbing time with a belayer (if it's roped).

If you don't have someone to belay you, then roped climbs can't be done. You can boulder.

Bouldering can be done alone, and requires more upper body strength. Bouldering you don't go as high, and the routes are often horizontal or going up and over (either across a ceiling or topping out on top of a "wall/boulder").

Top roping is more about your legs, requires a partner/belayer, and is more vertical.

Both can involve overhangs (walls that come out toward you).

It really depends on what the gym has to offer and what you want to try.

[allochthonous]

Thank you, this really helps clarify a lot of the terminology. I would definitely like to try top roping and bouldering, so will look around for a wall which has both!

[rydra_wong]

Just a quibble:

Bouldering can be done alone, and requires more upper body strength.

I wouldn't say so, necessarily.

Often when there's only a small bouldering area as part of a roped climbing wall, it does tend to be mostly very overhanging, and oriented towards people who want to use it for training or really strong young guys who just want to Tarzan around because they think it looks cool.

But you can have vertical and slabby bouldering too, and the London walls which are bouldering-only (or which have a lot of bouldering, like Mile End) generally have a wide selection of angles.

As a slab-lover, I am happy to say that the Biscuit Factory has many slabs, including an awesome/hideous hanging slab to top out onto, which is at just the right angle that you can (very cautiously) creep across it or up it on friction alone.

And whatever form of climbing you're doing, you want to get your legs doing as much of the work as possible.

[wpadmirer]

Good quibble. It does vary by gym design. You're right.

[rydra_wong]

Glad that was cool with you. :)

I just don't want anyone thinking that they have to have loads of upper body strength before they can consider bouldering -- I didn't -- or that it's all power and throwing yourself around.