Northern California

Rock climbers in Northern California will be hard pressed to find a better climbing area than Lassen National Park near Redding. This park features a 10,000-foot volcanic dome, hot springs and a variety of crags that are excellent for climbing. The largest crag in the park is known as Bellybutton, and it has cracks for good footing up to 165 feet. Eagle Peak is a great cold weather climbing area because it is often sun drenched, which makes climbing in cooler weather quite comfortable.

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If you’ve never climbed before or have only climbed outdoors, the equipment used for tackling real rock can seem mysterious, exciting and expensive. You don’t need to melt your credit card just yet, though.

It’s always best to start climbing outdoors in the company of an experienced climber. You could join a club, book a course, hire an instructor/guide or go with a suitable friend.

This means your first climb will likely be on a top rope or seconding an experienced leader and you’ll need the same basic equipment as you would to climb indoors: a climbing harness, a belay device and suitable climbing shoes.

In addition, you’ll need the following:

• A well-fitting climbing helmet. Some climbers make a personal choice not to wear a helmet, but when starting out it’s better to play it safe until you become better at judging risk.

• Outdoors clothing and walking shoes or boots. Getting to an outdoors crag can involve muddy paths and rocky terrain, and once you’re there it can be windy or even wet, so take shoes and clothing to keep you warm and dry.

If going on a course, some of the above items may be provided for you. Other things which may be useful include:

• A nut tool. Useful for removing protective gear placed by your lead climber

• A guidebook. Real crags don’t have coloured holds to show you the route, so a good guidebook helps keep you on track.

• Water, food and a thermos of tea. Time passes very quickly outside and elevenses will be upon you before you know it!

There will be many more things you will need as you progress in your climbing career. Once you take up lead climbing, you’ll want your own rope and a rack of protective gear.

If climbing on bolted routes (known as sport climbing) this will mean lots of quickdraws, one or two slings and a few screwgate carabiners.

For traditional climbing (where there is no fixed protection and the leader places protective gear as they go) you’ll need to add some nuts and hexes, more slings, and possibly some camming devices as well.

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Rock climbing is an activity in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a previously defined route without falling. Rock climbing competitions have objectives of completing the route in the quickest possible time or the farthest along an increasingly difficult route.

• A wide range of equipment is used during rock climbing.
• The article on protecting a climb describes equipment commonly used to protect a climber against the consequences of a fall.

Ropes used for climbing can be divided into two classes: dynamic ropes and low elongation ropes. Dynamic ropes are designed to absorb the energy of a falling climber and are usually used as belaying ropes. Low elongation ropes stretch much less and are usually used in anchoring systems. Some tips for safe climbing:

• Always check harnesses – After you’ve geared up, always check that the climber’s harness buckles are doubled back.
• Always check knots – before you start climbing, always double check that leader’s tie- in knot is tied right and finished with a back up knot.
• Always wear a helmet – Always wear one when climbing or belaying. Helmets protect your head from falling rocks and from the impact of falling.
• Always check the rope and the belay device – Before you lead a route, always double check that the rope is properly threaded through the belay device.
• Always use a long rope – Make sure your climbing rope is long enough to reach the anchors.
• Always pay attention – Never take the leader off belay unless you are absolutely certain he is tied in and safe and he communicates that to you.
• Always bring enough gear – Before you climb a route, always eyeball it from the ground and determine what you need to bring. Don’t rely strictly on a guidebook to tell you what to bring.
• Always climb with the rope over your leg – always make sure the rope is over your leg rather than between them or behind one.
• Always properly clip the rope – Make sure you always clip your rope through carabineers on quick draws correctly.
• Always use safe anchors – At the top of a pitch or route, always use at least two anchors. Three is better.

Safety is and should be one of the important concerns in Rock Climbing. It is usually done in areas where medical assistance is not readily available. The sport presents a physical and mental challenge with minimal danger. Because of the potential for serious injury, much specialized safety equipment has been devised, making it a very safe sport in most cases. Finding a place to climb is easily done with one of the many available guidebooks. Some safety equipment techniques:

• Top-roping, a rope from the top of the climb always holds the climber, making most slips harmless.
• Lead climbing; the climber attaches the rope to the rock at points along the climb. This is not as safe, it allows more routes to be climbed.

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If you are searching for great places to rock climb for beginners, we have found a local place that might be perfect for you. Now let’s break down the greatness of one of our favorite indoor gyms, Top Out Climbing located in Santa Clarita, CA. Top Out thrives at making their location, not just a gym but a community. There is no better place for a beginner to practice climbing technique, than an indoor gym that requires no belay partner or testing. It mostly consists of bouldering areas, but it offers a great variety of top rope routes. They have 7 “auto-belay” machines that make it easy for those who do not have a partner. Each auto-belay machine offers a variety of routes that range in all levels from beginner to advance. If you still don’t know your knots or how to belay, not a problem – it is not required for you to know them, because they have machines that allow you to clip-and-go, which makes them the great place for beginners to start learning technique. You can also rent a harness, shoes and chalk bag for a small fee.

When it comes to climbing outdoors for beginners there are two options; (1) Find a climbing friend (and if he/she is not your friend – MAKE them your friend) that has extra gear (if you don’t have any), experience, knowledge, skills, and can take you with them to local places that offer easy routes. (2) Hire a company (like us heehee) to take you out for a guided tour, or better yet – a beginner’s class, so you can learn how to tie in to a rope, how to belay a partner, and all the other information that you would need to pass an indoor gym test with confidence. Rock Climb Every Day thrives at making beginners feel welcome and become part of the climbing community. All gear and equipment rentals (shoes, harness, and helmets) are included in the different packages offered.

Where ever you decide to go, indoor or outdoor, make sure that your local facility or company provides the community environment that helps promote learning, making new friends, and being a safe climber. Most places will have the walls, machines and equipment you need, but having that personal friendly atmosphere makes all the difference in finding great places to rock climb for beginners.

Climb on and stay safe!

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Most try rock climbing and once they like the sport enough to invest in it, they start shopping for gear around town or online. Like I mentioned on a previous post, “Spending a little, saves you a lot…”, it is in the best practices to purchase your own equipment.

Beginner Rock Climbers

The first few items a beginner rock climber often buys are a rock climbing shoes, a harness, a belay device and a locking carabiner. For some reason, beginners stop here, because they do not feel confident enough to have sufficient information regarding what rope length, rope diameter, or even rope brand to get. Most beginner rock climbers go indoors to practice their technique. While they develop their skill, they find time to do research or ask around others who own ropes (if you haven’t started this process, you should start now). Others go outside with friends that already have equipment to test the different ropes and make a more educated decision based on feel, look, or others’ opinions of ropes. As a beginner, it is your responsibility to find that rope that works best for your needs.

Intermediate Rock Climbers

Intermediate rock climbers are those who move on building natural anchors, pro anchors, and fixed anchors. Also know sport lead, trad lead, and lead belay. At this point, we hear the same question once again: What gear will I need to rock climb? Move on to reviewing and purchasing anchoring gear such as; locking carabiners, slings, cordelettes, webbing, static rope, cords, etc. All you will need, will depend on the specific areas you want to climb. Then move on to purchasing sport lead gear such as 10-15 quick draws (depending on the routes you are going to climb). For Trad Lead the bills start rolling out of control with things such as; cams, tri-cams, more slings, a sling to carry all your Trad gear, a good pack, etc.

Advanced Rock Climbers

Advanced Rock Climbers train hard to keep themselves fit enough and study to be educated on the overall sport of rock climbing. Pulling a hard or difficult climb does not put you in this category. Advanced rock climbers spend good amount of time educating themselves on more than just how to move your feet or pull a crimpy 5.12b. Becoming an advance rock climber requires patience and dedication, reading and hands on training of wilderness awareness and first aid, self-rescue and rescue techniques. In this category, just like at the intermediate level, advanced rock climbers spend time and money on training, certifications, and even more equipment such as; first aid kits, extra ropes, and anything else you can possibly need during an emergency.

No matter what level of climber you are, the information on what equipment you need, is always going to be available to you – all you have to do is ask or search online. This all goes hand in hand with another previous blog post’ “Rock Climbing…Educate yourself”. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Stay safe.

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From beginning to end… there is a lot of information to be learned and practiced with each step you take in your climbing routine and preference. You can choose to stay at a certain level, or choose to move on to learning more things. If you choose to stay in the middle, that is ok too – climbing is an individual choice and every person needs to follow their level and preference, but even if it is not your preference to move forward in your climbing routine, it is best to know as much information as possible so that you can be well prepared to help someone else in case of an emergency. Take an even bigger step and learn rescue, or how to rescue yourself. With limits, you will still be able to climb many routes, at many different locations. When you choose to move up on the learning curve, what you will gain is a higher amount of options and an even safer environment for you and everyone else around you. So when you ask yourself ,”What rock climbing class should I take?” take all that matters into consideration.

The post What rock climbing class should I take? – Advanced (Part 3 of 3) appeared first on Rock Climb Every Day.

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We encourage you to do the same with your climbing routine. Educate yourself in the rock climbing field. Get into the habit of educating yourself in the physical, mental and technical aspects of the sport. It is important, if not vital, to be as knowledgeable as it is possible when your life is dangling on a rope or on someone else’s hands.

Get out and learn, take a class (indoors or outdoors), make it a habit to continue learning as much as you can handle at one, then do it again, and improve yourself in, not just one, but all aspects of your rock climbing skills.

Someone once told me, “I was nearly killed due to an inexperienced person volunteering to belay me . . .” There are many articles written on injuries and deaths, due to negligence and inexperience. So, if you value your life and others around you, educate yourself in rock climbing, furthermore on how to keep you and those around you safe. Is always fun to climb, until someone gets hurt. Don’t let that next person be you.

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