Your Climbing Hobby
Whether it’s rock climbing, mountain climbing or wall climbing – it’s a great way to challenge yourself and provides the body with both physical and mental exercise, combined with a huge sense of satisfaction.
Like any sport or hobby, you need to make sure you have the right tools for the job and a high level of skill for using those tools. We built this site in an effort to try and keep you informed about the latest climbing equipment and tools of the trade.
The best way to start climbing is to visit an indoor climbing centre where you can become familiar with some of the terminology and climbing equipment used. You can also take lessons on climbing techniques so that you improve your ability as you improve your strength and physical fitness.
Once you have mastered some climbing techniques, then it’s a good idea to find some more experienced climbers to join up with and go climbing. There are many great outdoor clubs available so you can visit them to see which is the best fit for you.
We recommend that you put in time and effort to master the basics before you tackle climbs that are more difficult. Time spent becoming familiar with techniques and equipment will definitely pay off in the long run and ensure that your climbing experiences are both safe and enjoyable.
Like any sport, it’s a good idea to start when you’re young and fearless, but you can still enjoy a moderate level of climbing ability if you do start when a little older.
The main consideration is to make sure that you have the required level of fitness and ability to be able to climb safely. Don’t “bite off more than you can chew” as the saying goes because this will adversly affect your confidence and could also be dangerous to your health. The good news is that once you have mastered good climbing technique, you can apply those same skills to different types of climbing and grow your “portfolio” of locations and environments that you are able to climb. Just remember that very few climbers will ever climb K2 so best focus on what is truely achievable and have a great deal of fun while doing it.
Mountain climbing is arguably the most demanding and yet, most rewarding of all climbing experiences. A very high level of fitness is required as well as a number of additional survival skills due to the sometimes extreme weather conditions. It is essential that you have the correct climbing equipment on the mountain and high quality clothing and footware. You need to also understand weather patterns for the area where you intend to climb and make your climbing decisions based on sound weather information. It is no good starting out on a 12 hour climb and having to turn back because the weather suddenly closed in or a storm “appeared from nowhere” – be prepared and do your homework first.
