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Hey guys, My name is Willian and I’m a completely noob. I’m a really beginner (did climbing just once but it was great enough to make me fall in love for this sport) who wanna diving in this awesome world of climbing.
I already did some research but I’d like to hear from you guys with experience what should I do to avoid big mistakes.
I like to do things on my own so my plan is buy those gears find a partner and go out for climbing.
I’d like some advices and recommendations from you guys.Which rope should I buy? dry one vs not treated one? 10mm? 50m vs 60m? which brand?…
How many quickdraws should I purchase?
which type of belay?
…..I’m leaving in Perth right now. I know it is not the best weather to practice outdoor climbing but if some is interested we can manage a weekend on the next weekends…
have fun guys
Willian,
As a total beginner I’d recommend starting in a gym or with someone that can setup a toprope for you to climb on so that you can learn the basics.
Find someone experienced to climb with but don’t put 100% faith in info people dish out, read books about technique and anchor setting so that you can better judge what is good and what is not, learn first aid if something goes wrong a little knowledge in this department is priceless.
Rope – depends what you want to do with it, thicker ropes are work horses they handle abuse better but can be harder to handle and create more drag. Length depends on what climbs your doing.
Draws – Again depends on climbs your doing, what type of climbing (toprope/lead), different lengths and material too.
Belay devices – All do the same thing but some have bonus features like autoblock (handy for belaying from the top of a climb or multipitching) added groves for breaking power (useful if your climber is heavier than you) Then there are also a lot of GriGri type devices that allow you to be a lazy belayer.
What about carabiners, slings, webbing, cordalette, bolt plates, nuts, cams, runners ……..
Honestly, either find an experienced climber and learn what gear is needed based off what they use/recommend for different setups or talk to a climbing gym.
thanks a lot my friend…
it was helpfull
thanks a lot my friend…
it was helpfull
Hi Willian.
I’d suggest NOT starting in a gym if you want to climb mainly outdoors on rock. Gyms are great for building up strength and for meeting people, but not good if you want to learn how to climb rock as many people pick up bad habits that just don’t suit outdoors and rock.
You could join CAWA to meet people and go climbing. Also a number of companies provide day or weekend climbing courses, so I’d strongly recommend doing one of those.
Rope – I have a 50 m 11 mm, which is very heavy but great for quarries where you don’t have to carry it far. Also a couple of 60 m 9.2 mm which are very light and good for places where you have to carry them a long way, like Peak Head or in the Stirlings. Also a shorter (about 35 m) 9.8 mm, which is good for places like Llama Rock or Darlington. It’s only 35 m as it was damaged and I cut about 15 m off. A good all-round rope would probably be something like a 60 m 9.5 – 10 mm. Brands – most are pretty good. A dry rope usually has a nicer ‘feel’ to it than a non-treated rope, but in WA if it’s raining, you just do something else instead of going climbing. Untreated ropes are fine in WA.
Quickdraws – 8 to 10 x.
Locking carabineers – 4x
Belay device – whatever you prefer. Gri Gris are good, but heavy. I’ve got a Black Diamond ATC and a Petzl reverso. Both are very light.
Other stuff – Helmet, chalk bag, decent harness (if you don’t already have one), shoes (ditto), a set of nuts and a set of cams, some tape and long slings for setting up belays.
Buy stuff in Perth when it’s on special or order it from somewhere like http://www.rockhardware.com.au or http://www.climbinganchors.com.au/ or from the USA.
Hope this helps!
mate! you did great
thanks Numbat, your recommendations are really helpfull. Number of quickdraws and carabineers ( I was planning buy just 5 quickdraws and 2 carabins.. hahahah) and I was confused about the treatment of the rope as well… and the website.. that second one has many cheap stuffs
take care brow
your post is a good start, I would strongly advice doing an educational course with a qualified experienced instructor. it is important that the information you receive in the early days of your climbing experience are accurate and represent best practice. it is my view that it is important that novice climbers acquire some capacity to determine the relative safety of the varying practices they will encounter while developing their climbing and roping skills. be warned qualified climbing instructor does not mean experienced instructor. there are a number of organisations offering climbing instructor qualifications in Australia the difference between them is enormous, do your research.
are you a bot?
WHAT’S A BOT?
A ‘BOT’ in the bit at the end of a numbat, just where the tail starts…
Aside from that, yes, I agree with Milky. Some ‘qualified’ instructors are not really climbers themselves and are just passing on what they have been taught and don’t really know what they are on about as they haven’t got the experience. On the other hand, some instructors are very good and do have a lot of climbing experience.
I think the thing is to keep an open mind and question what is being taught.
Have fun!
