Regardless Of The Type Of Climbing You Pursue It Requires Conditioning
Climbing is a hobby that is also good for your health
Both climbing and rock climbing can be as safe as any other outdoor sport, but they do require conditioning.
You need to start Conditioning training BEFORE you start climbing training.
Get in Condition first:
Any sport or hobby requires conditioning. Once you get your body in shape and conditioned, then you can learn to climb. Then and then only are you ready to learn 'how.' After you know the basics of climbing, THEN its time to break down what gear is necessary for:
ONE: Your individual skill set at this stage of your basic climbing level.
TWO: Buy only the specific type of gear for the climbing you intend to pursue.
THREE: Purchase gear that is necessary for your skill level and/or climbing choice. Yes, climbing of any kind takes not only conditioning and the right equipment, but training.
Finally: Never buy climbing gear based upon what is trendy or that you are not ready to use.
Buy 'Adventure Specific' Gear such as shoes, ropes, harnesses, etc, ie: knowing which to chose and why? Well, that's the game now isn't it?
Before you start, here's some books you need to buy and read on conditioning. Yes the required conditioning. You could even take these along on your climbs, to read at night.
Climbing Books - Learning the skills
There's more to climbing than a climbing harness, a tricked out backpack and a cool pair of climbing boots or shoes. It takes knowledge of the fundamentals along with the equipment you will use. why. Before anything, you need to be in condition. Read these books to learn, you won't be sorry. 'Nuff said, let's get on with it.
Why does anyone go Rock Climbing?
Not all hobbies are planned
That's a great question, "Why does anyone go climbing rock? Have you ever thought seriously about rock climbing? Rock climbing often starts as a weekend hobby, but can become a lifelong obsession. Like anything, there are many skills to master and techniques to learn. Learning the proper techniques from an expert, is the only way to start.
Here's a question....
Have you ever watched children climb a rock wall at a shopping center? If it wasn't for the safety rope, handled by the operator, many of those children would fall. Why is that important to tell you about you ask? The climb is fairly easy but yet many fall (only to be saved by the safety harness) for a variety of reasons. First, the wrong footwear, secondly, not knowing the right way to climb, third, not having the skill to do so smoothly and fourth...no real confidence in themselves.
The start of rock climbing can come from some pretty strange places. To coin a phrase from the movie "We bought a Zoo?" This story today, is "The story before the story." My own story of how I became interested in rock climbing at a young age, was during a two week summer camp one summer at Diamond Lake, Oregon. Click below to read that story: http://campingmannw.hubpages.com/hub/mountain_climbing-2
Now let's now get to some of the basics
Climbing Basics - Where to start
Get in condition first:
Here's where you learn the conditioning I spoke of. I don't care if you are a beginner or an old hand at it, you can always learn something new. I take to heart, any endeavor I become involved in and I study up on every part of it that I can. I practiced on small hills to start and worked my way up. I bought equipment I needed, only as I learned. I bought Equipment matching my skill set. No sense tying up money in items I don't need at that stage of my learning.
As an example:
Try this simple strength test at home. Go to the nearest doorway, reach up with your fingertips (get a chair if you need help reaching) and then hang all of your body weight off of just your finger tips for as long as you can. If you cannot hang by your fingers for 2 or 3 minutes at a time to start? Your fingers and hands need strengthening. Not much of a test really, but something that anyone can do in the relative safety of their own home. There will come a time when you are literally going to be hanging by your finger tips for extended periods of time, over and over and over again, as you climb. Your hands must strong enough to do just that.
Buy these, books. Study and do the exercises and you will be amazed at the changes in you, your mind and your body.
The Journey of Climbing
From simple beginnings, a seed is planted
Mount Thielsen was that mountain where the climbing-rock climbing journey began for me. A journey that at the time, I didn't even know I was on. A journey that turned into a life long passion. The mountain itself is located on the east side of Diamond Lake in Oregon. In fact, the lake separates two distinct mountains, extinct volcanoes actually.
One being Mount Thielsen and the other is Mount Bailey. (sometimes referred to as Mount Baldy, due to it's "bald" topped appearance). The latter is much smaller (just under 3,000 feet) as opposed to the the 9,000 plus foot tall Mount Thielsen. Mount Thielsen, is also called "Big Cowhorn" because of it's "spire like" shape.
Diamond Lake, the lake that separates the two mountains is a natural lake, whose waters flow out of it's northern end. These waters eventually flow into the Umpqua river which in turn empties into the Pacific, Ocean. The Lake itself is in central to southwest Oregon.
Now, since the mountain hasn't erupted in nearly a quarter of a million years, glaciers, weather, (snow, rain, and wind) etc, have eroded the slopes, and peak to form it's distinctive horn like shape That shape draws lightning strikes like a lightning rod. These strikes leave behind fulgurite, (from the Latin word fulgar, meaning "Thunderbolt") Fulgarite is formed when lightning strikes a conductive surface and fuses the silica (sand) grains underneath, forming a tube of sorts. A process that takes just under a second to occur.
These samples of Fulgarite are highly prized by hobbyists and sought after as souvenirs by the climber's.
Climbing Skills - Advanced lessons
Yep....that's right. More books. For those of you who choose not to read, it will be your loss. Great skills are not only learned, but passed along from one successful climber to another. Plus....consider using a hydration backpack The worst thing you can do, is go without water, or at least adequate water. Besides, who wants to try to grab and drink from a water battle when you are suspended from a rock face. Get one, they are worth the small expense.
Climbing as a Hobby
The "Seed" sprouts.
Our climb that day, involved about a dozen of us and two camp counselor's. Not a life defining moment for sure, but I do remember how tired I was after climbing through pumice stone near the top. It seemed like we took three steps forward and slid back two, but all of us eventually made it through it using teamwork. What that single climb did, was instill in me, the thrill of climbing.
To climb to the top of a mountain and look down on the world below? Well, it was breathtaking to a 10 year old boy. Up to that point in my life I had never been in an airplane or even a building taller than a two story. It seemed as if I was on top of the world. However, as life often is, another opportunity did not present itself for several years. (about 20 years to be exact)
But present itself, it did.
Rock Climbing
Lesson learned and realized
One memory was triggered while elk hunting in south western Idaho. My Father and I had trailed a herd of elk, about 3,500 feet up the side of a ridge. Realizing that we were losing the battle to catch up with them, we decided to flank them. Being the 'smart' hunter's that we thought we were, the easy way to do that, was by climbing straight up the mountain via a small rock face. Doing so, would allow us to outflank the herd that continued wandering sideways and up. After all, how hard could it be to climb a simple little sloped rock face, right? The picture at the right depicts a similar rock face. How hard could it be?
It sounds far more adventurous than it really was, and that rock face was no more than 100 feet or so high and sloped back and up. Not too exacting of a climb right? It also was giving us the opportunity to reach the top unseen by the elk. Sounds simple, climbing a small rock face? A rock wall, with admittedly, a slight "lean in" towards the mountain did aid our climb, but without the benefit of ropes, pitons, any safety gear or basic knowledge? We were lucky. To have fallen would mean falling on a pile of jagged rocks at the cliff base.
Looking back now, it was downright silly to attempt that climb that day. In spite of that, our tactic worked, we made the climb safely and both of us got our elk that day. Needless to say, we came back down the far slope as opposed to climbing back down that rock face. That single climb however, rekindled the journey begun all those years earlier at summer camp on Diamond lake.
Today, it's something that has became an enjoyable hobby.
Rock Climbing Without Training
Lessons learned
The fact that we attempted climbing in normal hunting boots as opposed to proper climbing boots was nuts in itself. It proved that we were not prepared for climbing or even this eventuality on a hunting trip. It was one of the first lessons I learned that day about being prepared, a lesson from long ago that seemed to creep back into my consciousness.
Now, in our favor, we did use teamwork to climb. We took turns leading and we passed our backpacks and back boards to the guy above as we climbed using all of the cracks and crevices in the cliff face we could find. That way, the climb was somewhat easier without all of the weight on our backs.
The second lesson, is that even though we knew the terrain, we had no idea how to rock climb. With that in mind, my Father and I probably made that climb harder than it actually was. All I can tell you is, after climbing that cliff face of probably no more than 100 feet? We were both exhausted.
We finally rolled out on the top of that ridge and lay on our backs for a good five minutes. As I lay there, looking up at the sky, I flashed back to that day on Mount Thielsen all those years ago . It's funny what triggers memory. But, I digress.
After catching our breath we realized we were both, completely out of shape for this kind of a climb. That's not saying we were not in shape. Just not in shape for climbing a rock face with loaded backpacks, meat rack, canteens and a long rifle each.
Third lesson learned. From that day forward, my overriding philosophy born all those years ago, on Mount Thielsen, was set in motion:: "Plan my trip, plan my gear, and plan my exit. Since then, I have spent a lifetime of doing just that and trying to pass my experiences along to help others.
Let's talk conditioning
Climbing Preparation
Training and Conditioning
What kind of training and conditioning is required to become a good climber? Mostly, it depends upon you. How hard are you willing to train and what kind of climbing do you intend to pursue? To be good, takes years of climbing, starting simple and working more and more towards the complex. This sport does not require you to spend a ton of money to be able to enjoy it, but it does require good conditioning and depending upon what you plan to climb, good training.
Body conditioning is probably the most important aspect, so start simple and build. Running is great exercise to start off with. It builds your wind capacity and your stamina. Legs, arms, heart and lungs all get a workout. Any local Junior High or High school track is an excellent place to start.
A normal High School track is a 1/4 mile around, so four times around is a mile. Start by running a half lap and walking a half lap (or whatever you are capable of in the beginning). Once you feel comfortable with running/walking, slowly increase the distance you run, until you can run a full lap, then two laps, three and so forth.
As you improve, begin timing your laps for a mile. A great "mile" time to shoot for is an 8 to an 8 1/2 minute mile average. Not fast, just steady. Remember, you are looking for stamina, not speed. Once you find you can run at least two miles without stopping, look for small hills to run, and start building those leg, lung and heart muscles further.
Try wearing a pack with a light load and as your stamina increase, add to that load. This will build your back muscles as well as your legs. Pick up some books on conditioning for climbing and create a schedule of training and then stick to it.
Plan at least 90 days of conditioning, before you ever start trying to climb. (unless all you plan to do is a day hike at your local parks) After you have mastered the basics, (good body conditioning as well as some rudimentary climbing skills), start climbing hills around where you live. Places you can go up and back in the same day, until you feel comfortable and can do the hikes with little or no rest.
More books for your knowledge...grab 'em and read 'em.
Regardless of What Type of Climbing, Get In Condition - Be ready, because it takes work to get in shape
Condition, condition, condition. Not just the body but the mind also. It takes more than just brute strength to climb a rock face. These two books will ramp your thinking and give you even more insight into body and mind conditioning.
In Closing Today
You can gain climbing knowledge by using the Internet
The Internet is a rich source of information to find anything about climbing-rock climbing, so if you have the access? Use it.
Try exchanging information with other climber's, asking questions, while learning all the while. Climbing is not tough once you learn how, so take the time to learn the right way. Another thought to keep in mind, always try to go climbing with someone more experienced than yourself. I find you always learn something, no matter how much you think you know. Keep to the basics until you learn proper techniques and pick up the necessary safety skills.
Climbing is fun, but (I've said this before) you need to learn the right way. Even experienced climbers have gotten hurt now and then, remember that. Finally, as I suggested, talk to people in the sport, there also a ton of blogs to follow. Read books, get videos on the subject. Your public library is another source of informational material. While climbing does require good conditioning and training?
Getting there does not have to be expensive. Thanks for reading today, stay safe and I'll see you on the mountain--CampingmanNW