Indoor Gym Climbing

Indoor climbing gyms, which are found in almost every city in America, are the best place to learn how to climb. At a gym you can learn essential climbing skills like belaying and lowering, as well as learn the basics of climbing techniques, how to use handholds and footholds, train for improved climbing, and have a lot of fun.

Your First Time Climbing
You're ready to go rock climbing. Here's what you need to know to start climbing at your local indoor climbing gym

Basics of Indoor Gym Climbing
If you want to learn how to rock climb there is no better place to start than at an indoor climbing gym. Find out about types of gyms, what to expect when you climb indoors, some safety tips, and how to avoid injury when you climb in the great indoors.

Practice Climbing Footwork at Indoor Gyms
It's easy to lose your footwork when climbing at indoor gyms. All the holds are usually big or positive so you can get by with sloppy feet. Follow these 8 tips to improve your climbing footwork by practicing in your local indoor gym so you can keep your best foot forward out on the rocks.

3 Climbing Movement Drills for Balance
Rock climbing is all about balance and equilibrium. Find and move from your body's core and use your arms and legs to keep in balance. To improve your climbing, practice these 3 climbing movement drills and you'll be climbing harder and higher after a few weeks of training.

Climb Better by Identifying Your Weaknesses
To improve your climbing ability and techniques, you need to identify your weaknesses and strengths. It's easiest to do that by training in an indoor climbing gym. Read more about understanding your weaknesses and creating a program to achieve your climbing goals.

Do a Buddy Check When Climbing - 5 Safety Tips Before Climbing

By Stewart Green

It’s best to remember that your climbing partner and you are buddies so follow the “buddy system,” just like the buddy system you use when diving and swimming. Buddies look out for each other and keep each other safe. Buddies offer another pair of eyes and ears to help keep you safe. They check and double check all the climbing systems so that any mistakes you might make are corrected. Climbing is dangerous. Being buddies lessens the dangers and keeps the fun in climbing.

Before you start climbing, run through this short checklist with your buddy to make sure you’re both safe and tied-in properly.

1. Check your harness. Is the buckle doubled back and threaded back correctly? Are the leg loops and tie-in loop not twisted?

2. Check the rope and your harness. Is the rope properly passed through both the leg loops and waist belt on your harness?

3. Check your tie-in knot. Is it secured with a back-up knot? Remember that the figure-8 follow-through knot, the best tie-in knot, is easy to check since each side of the knot is a clone of the other. Also remember that there should be at least six inches of tail or extra rope at the end of the rope after you’ve tied the knot. This keeps the knot from accidently untying and coming apart if you fall on it.

4. Check your harness buckle and tie-in knot as you climb. If you’re doing a long climb, your partner and you should double check both the buckle and tie-in knot before you start the next pitch. Both can loosen up as you climb. Cinch them down again and continue upward.

5. Don’t get annoyed. Okay, it can seem unnecessary and annoying if your buddy is always checking you and the safety system out. Don’t let it get to you. She’s only trying to make sure that you’re both safe. Mistakes happen. People get careless. Look out for each other and be best buddies and come back alive.

The Art of Falling - Taking a Safe Climbing Fall

By Stewart Green

Taking falls is part of sport climbing.

You Know You’re Falling

Usually you know that you’re going to fall. Your arms are pumping out, losing strength, and your fingers are unwrapping from a big handhold. Or maybe your feet tremble on sketchy holds and the next clip looks so far away. In those situations, you’re going to fall and you know it.

Pick a Landing Zone

Before falling, think about the consequences. Look down and pick a landing zone. How far will you fall? Is there anything you might hit like a ledge or block? Is the quickdraw below properly clipped into the rope?

Falling Tips

Know where you are in relation to the bolt below you. If you’re directly above the bolt, your fall should be straight down and straight forward, as long as you don’t hit anything, if the bolt holds, and you keep an up-right body position. If you’re off to the side above the bolt after traversing, then a fall can cause injury. Make sure the rope is over your leg so you don’t flip upside down or get jerked sideways and slam into the wall. Also, wear a helmetand don’t grab the rope. You can burn your hands.

Take Practice Falls

If you’re afraid of falling or never have fallen climbing, take some practice falls. Climb a sport route with no ledges or shelves. Above a blank section or on a roof, let go and fall. A short fall onto a bolt is harmless and after falling, you know it’s not too bad to fall which frees your mind and fear to let your body climb.