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korrigan
Jun 7, 2005, 11:47 AM
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I've only just started rock climbing, ie less than a month, but am enjoying it a lot. I've had the good fortune to be able to climb with two very experienced people, who I'm going to be able to learn a lot from and respect immensely. I find the whole process very psychologically interesting, and it seems capable of inducing some pretty intense mind states, and it's clear that the focus needed when things get a bit tricky can be both good for you and very addictive.
I, for one, am very happy with my very nOOb status, and the whole prospect of learning something new is possibly the most enjoyable thing about this. I am fairly clueless, but very eager. The small increases in confidence and ability that appear with each attempt (successful or not) are a very cool experience. 8^)
I'd be very interested in hearing about what lead others to start climbing and what their first few climbing experiences were like, especially how they dealt with any initial trepidation or the process of learning how to move about on rock.
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mgoodro
Jun 7, 2005, 4:46 PM
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Before I got into actual rock climbing I was an avid scrambler, into climbing on big rocks (before I knew what "bouldering" was) and also what could be called "buildering," climbing the brick and stone of public edifices.
My first actual climbing was with some good friends on a trip to Yosemite. For me, climbing with grippy shoes and a rope removed much of the fear of climbing, I felt like I was able to do what I had always wanted to, but now I could do it with some measure of safety. This opened up a whole new world for me.
I still had a fear of falling, but it was rooted more in a fear of failure than a fear of injury. My second day climbing I clawed my way up a 5.10a, fueled by this deep fear of failure. In spite of this "success," this was a handicap I had to overcome to learn to enjoy climbing. The advice to "take an intentional fall" is useful not only in the fear of falling, but in the fear of failure as well. In a way, my first fall was like my first "B" in college; it actually afforded me a sense of freedom and removed some of the self-imposed pressure.
It sounds like you already have one of the best things possible for learning, experienced friends and a support group. Easy advice that you've probably already heard: Climb a lot, and take some controlled falls to get over the trepidation and learn how your body needs to move in a fall.
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korntera
Jun 7, 2005, 5:36 PM
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I got started in climbing because a friend who I worked with wanted to get back into climbing but had nobody to climb with. He asked me if I wanted to go because I shared some interest in his stories. At the time I was very very affraid of heights(and still am a little bit) so I decided to give it a try.
The first time i went, i just bouldered in my running shoes. It was ok but about two months later he said I should try a roped climb that was a bit higher. So I went with him to the local crag and climbed a 5.4 that was super scary but also super easy and from then on I was hooked and signed up for a gym membership as he taught me what i needed to know for outdoors.
-Travis
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cloudbreak
Jun 7, 2005, 6:22 PM
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My first time was when I was 14. She was 18.
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crackrn
Jun 7, 2005, 6:33 PM
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I started climbing a year ago because of my boyfriend...I know, I know. He's been climbing for >15 years and was getting ready for an IC trip. Most likely, he needed a belay slave and took me to the gym. Before he knew it, all his climbing mags were at my house and I was bugging him to take me outside! My first trip was to Tuolumne Meadows and my first climb was Hobbit Book. Next day we did Regular Route on Fairview Dome. We've been climbing ever since...I'm hooked! Looking back, not that I'm this wealth of experience, I was completely unprepared for those climbs...had anything bad happened to Mike I would have been screwed so many ways!
I've spent this last year doing the same thing you are...enjoying my nOOb status and just being outside and on the rock; not really pushing myself. I'm leading sport climbs and have started leading trad but I'm very cautious there. Now I'm getting to the point where I want to start doing harder stuff...I know grades aren't everything but I don't want to be a career 5.7-5.8 climber. The littlest successes are still so sweet. When I get to the top of a climb...especially if I struggled with it, I feel like a rock star!
It has helped that most of my climbing is with very experienced people who are always willing to share different tips on techniques. They are also very patient which has been so helpful.
My fear comes and goes. Sometimes I'll be on a 2nd or 3rd pitch and I just don't look down...too scared. Other times it's not an issue. I'm trying to develop a "lead head" so I can take some acceptable risks...it's slow but coming. Mostly time on the rock has been the biggest help.
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micronut
Jun 7, 2005, 6:50 PM
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I almost had more fun when I was less experienced. Focusing on sport climbing this spring has definitely taken away some of the joy. I'm all about getting pumped and sending something hard(for me). It used to be about the joy of moving over stone........ time to get back to the mountains.
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korrigan
Jun 7, 2005, 8:26 PM
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In reply to: It sounds like you already have one of the best things possible for learning, experienced friends and a support group. Easy advice that you've probably already heard: Climb a lot, and take some controlled falls to get over the trepidation and learn how your body needs to move in a fall.
One of the people I went out with for the first time has been a climber for 27 years (longer than I've been alive! :) ), and was a very traditional type of guy, and very laid back. There is, obviously no way at all that I could bullshit him, and I'm very happy to just be humble and learn. Not that I have a choice. ;)
Climbing seems to involve learning, among other things, a whole new way of moving. I used to do a lot of martial arts, and often it was really hard to just get used to your body, which only becomes an issue when you have to do something very out of the ordinary, such as throw someone about or climb a cliff. I don't think many people are that kinesthetically aware. I'm not. I want to focus on overcoming this.
The fear issue is also very interesting, and I think that the deliberate falling is a very good idea. In my experience, the fear of something is almost always worse than the thing itself.
As for climbing a lot - I'm going as often as possible, and I'm taking tomorrow afternoon off since the weather here's so damn nice. Plus I'll be going at the weekend, and maybe a few evenings in the week after...
Damn. I appear to be hooked.
In reply to: I've spent this last year doing the same thing you are...enjoying my nOOb status and just being outside and on the rock; not really pushing myself.
For me, simply being a nOOb trying to climb a cliff is pushing myself. :lol:
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pylonhead
Jun 7, 2005, 9:10 PM
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In reply to: I almost had more fun when I was less experienced. Focusing on sport climbing this spring has definitely taken away some of the joy. I'm all about getting pumped and sending something hard(for me). It used to be about the joy of moving over stone........ time to get back to the mountains.
I have a friend that leads hard 11s and 12s when he's pushing himself. Somedays, though, we'll go climbing, and he'll just help me work on the 10's that are challenging for me. He'll let me lead them all, shouting hints and encouragement from the ground. After I get them, sometimes he'll just top rope them.
At the end of the day, he usually has a kind of glow about him. I think it's something to do with what you're talking about. He gets to just relax and move over rock, without any of the pressure to perform.
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caughtinside
Jun 7, 2005, 9:15 PM
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The first times? I was a virgin, she, a little more experienced. I learned much that summer that I was 17...
Oh, you meant climbing. 8^)
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accorddude
Jun 10, 2005, 2:48 AM
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I got start climbing on a date. At my school we have a real nice climbing wall and I decided to ask my girlfriend to go get certified to climb with me and we made it in to a nice date with dinner before hand and a walk in the park afterwards. On this first climibing adventure at school I enjoyed it as did my girlfriend but both of us were a little overwhelmed with the volume of information that was thrown at us. So after that I got certified to climb the wall at school the next day and climbed once or twice over the remaineder of teh school year.
Then at the start of last school year my roommate got me to go climbing with him and I absolutley loved it. My roommate is a good bit better at climbing than I am and has given me great tips. After getting to the top of some courses I loved it. The aderlenine of the last two mins of a close soccer game and the mental work out of getting to the top is great. I actually gave up weight lifting for climbing.
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cerikpete
Jun 10, 2005, 8:56 PM
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In reply to: I'm very happy to just be humble and learn
That's a good way to be.
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brutusofwyde
Jun 10, 2005, 10:35 PM
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Depending on who you talk to, I have always been a climber. But as for technical, roped climbing, I started when I was a teenager, my interest piqued by a book my mother brought home from the library: The Climb up to Hell.
Read everything I could get my hands on, and started climbing with other beginners like myself. In those days we didn't have texts like "Freedom of the Hills" or John Long's excellent How to Rockclimb series.
When I graduated high school, my parents sent me to RMI's 5-day snow and ice seminar on Mt. Rainier.
Seven years later, I climbed my first Grade VI in Yosemite.
Now in an advanced stage of senility, I can no longer expect to constantly improve in the numbers game, climbing consistently harder and harder routes -- Blown-out joints and a heart condition have limited my physical capabilities for years now.
But improvement can travel along many pathways -- visiting new areas, adding climate and approach problems, glacier travel, routefinding, watercraft, putting up first ascents, technical and mixed ice climbs all have provided roads to growth of which I never conceived when I first entered the game. And of course, learning to be a good partner is a never ending- pursuit which differs with each person I tie in with.
Brutus, still a n00b
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reno
Jun 10, 2005, 10:54 PM
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In reply to: I'd be very interested in hearing about ... how they dealt with any initial trepidation or the process of learning how....
Ah, yes. I remember my first time with clarity. Jenny Wilson, and quite a woman she was for 17 years old. Her voice so silky smooth, it'd hypnotize you if you weren't careful, and they gentle, yet firm way she'd take control, telling me which way to move, and what to do next...
Wait a sec. Damn. Wrong forum. My mistake.
Biggest thing for a new climber to remember when getting over the trepidation (this is what helped me, and it's what I tell every person I introduce to the sport): "This is supposed to be fun... so enjoy the moment."
The rest... smooth technique, efficiency, etc. will come with time and practice.
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saxfiend
Jun 10, 2005, 11:08 PM
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Registered: Dec 31, 2004
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I've been climbing about seven months now, and am pretty well addicted. The best thing that's happened for me during this learning time has been the experienced climbers I've met and been mentored by. I can't think of any activity I've ever been involved in where I've met so many people happy to give me tips and take me climbing with them.
I hope I never get so experienced (or jaded) that I'm bored with anything but a stiff route. I love the challenges of harder and harder climbs (did my first 5.10b on toprope recently), but I still get a kick out of just going up the rock even if it's an easy climb.
Keep having fun!
JL
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bandidopeco
Jun 10, 2005, 11:08 PM
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Registered: Mar 17, 2004
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The first time I climbed roped up was when I was about 12 or 13 years old. My uncle took us to School Rock at Donner Summit, set up a top rope, tied the rope around my cousin and my waists, wrapped the rope around his butt and said go. I don't remember being scared because we asked him to lower us quicker, for the rush, although you're probably not as scared of stuff like that when your 12. Anyway I didn't really get into climbing until college and didn't start leading until after.
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slackman
Jun 13, 2005, 3:01 AM
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Registered: Jun 5, 2005
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Hmmmm.. my first rock climbing experience.. was.. oh.. yeah.. the moaning caverns about 6 years ago. (east of stockton, ca for those of you who don't know where it is) I scared the poop out of myself by volunteering to show my fellow boyscouts that it really wasn't that bad.. 200ft later I was kissing the dirt in relief. I guess you couldn't really call that climbing.. for accuracy's sake.. but still.. the experience in being in control of myself at such heights and enjoying the freedom from level ground stuck with me over the years.. through the military, through flying lessons, through girlfriends.. it's still the favorite experience I can give myself.
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slackman
Jun 13, 2005, 3:04 AM
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Registered: Jun 5, 2005
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Hmmmm.. my first rock climbing experience.. was.. oh.. yeah.. the moaning caverns about 6 years ago. (east of stockton, ca for those of you who don't know where it is) I scared the poop out of myself by volunteering to show my fellow boyscouts that it really wasn't that bad.. 200ft later I was kissing the dirt in relief. I guess you couldn't really call that climbing.. for accuracy's sake.. but still.. the experience in being in control of myself at such heights and enjoying the freedom from level ground stuck with me over the years.. through the military, through flying lessons, through girlfriends.. it's still the favorite experience I can give myself.http://www.caverntours.com/...es/images/bbAT19.jpg
http://www.caverntours.com/MoCavRt.htm
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