7 Rock Climbing Tips for New Climbers from a Beginner
Written by Zoe Gould
When you start climbing you are often bombarded with advice and it’s hard to sort through what you need to know first. This list is the absolute basics that will help you at the start of your climbing journey and stop you developing any bad habits. I’m mostly focused on indoor bouldering, but it applies to other types of climbing too.
1. Learn to route read
The lower grades are easy to just walk up to and climb, the method doesn't require much if any thought but the harder grades do so it’s a good skill to develop early on.
2. Trust your feet
This is about efficient climbing, by putting your weight on your feet you have less going through your arms so you will get tired slower. Rental shoes are not ideal because they tend to have less grip so I recommend getting a pair of your own shoes. The goal is to always have as much of your shoe in contact with the hold as possible, especially on volumes, don't just use your toes, try to put your heel down too.
3. Don't stop a session when your calluses hurt
My hands would often burn too much to hold on way before my muscles were too tired. Climbing using different holds like crimps, pinches or even slopers, will burn less than jugs and they will help build finger strength. The best way is to push through the pain, convince yourself to hold on. There have been times where I've been half way up the wall and talking to myself out loud to make myself hold on and go to the next hold even though my hands burn.
4. Don't avoid steep overhangs
Steep overhangs aren't as bad as they seem, yes you need a lot of strength to do them but not as much as you think. Keep your arms straight and your core tight and you should be able to do a few moves at least, it will help build your muscles up quicker than normal climbing too.
5. Don't only do slab because it's easy at first
Slab trains your balance, but it doesn't help you with many techniques or build muscles so just doing slab won't help you get better at overhangs. I also found that slab becomes very scary even in the middle grades because you often have no hand holds.
6. Try hard grades if it looks fun
Just because you think you can't do it doesn't mean you can't try, you might surprise yourself. Trying grades harder than what you can project will give you a chance to try new holds and it gives you a chance to use new techniques.
7. Don't quit because you have a fear of heights
I had and to be honest still have a fear of heights which has made me want to quit many times but after sticking with it for a few weeks more I was always able to top my current project. The best way to get over it is to make sure you know the way down before you start a climb, so you don't panic on the way up or at the top.
Happy climbing!