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climber49er
May 10, 2011, 2:41 PM
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Hello All,
I've been wondering... where do you get your information about climbing?
* Books
* RockClimbing.com
* TV
* Instructional videos/youtube
What other sources do you look to in your quest for understanding our sport?
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rnevius
May 10, 2011, 3:08 PM
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Climbing with more experienced PEOPLE. I would say books on anchor building (such as Craig Luebben's), useful forum posts on rc.com and mountainproject, Mike Barter's youtube videos, and a couple of random online blogs are a good supplement to an actual person. Surprisingly, I didn't find FOTH to be all that useful of a book after all of the above.
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MarcelS
May 10, 2011, 3:10 PM
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Well with only 1.5 year experience I consider myself a n00b still, so my answer:
My main source was first an indoor toprope course for the basics. After some experience I got private training in lead climbing, still indoor (and the gyms outdoor wall when weather allows). Rock leading I simply started doing, while my (non-climbing) girlfriend belayed, so only single pitches.
Furthermore I do a lot of reading, where rockclimbing.com is certainly a great source. Youtube I use as well, though I watch it with a critics view. Every moron can put up a video about how to make an anchor for example, or how to solo lead, I rather use my common sense ;)
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StuMsg
May 10, 2011, 3:30 PM
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Hi,
Firstly from a course at my local gym, then internet (rc.com and ukc.com), then people in my uni climbing club and books.
At the moment I mostly use books or videos (from ukc.com) that seems to cover almost everything I need. Also common sense solves most problems before I need to research.
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blueeyedclimber
May 10, 2011, 4:29 PM
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climber49er wrote: Hello All, I've been wondering... where do you get your information about climbing? * Books * RockClimbing.com * TV * Instructional videos/youtube What other sources do you look to in your quest for understanding our sport?
It should be in this order:
PEOPLE - As many as possible. No other source comes close to hands on learning or observation. Even the idiots, gumbies, and n00bs have something to teach (what NOT to do?)
Books - There are many good books on the market. I spent my first couple years reading John Long, Craig Leuben, Heidi Pesterfield, et al. cover to cover.
A distant third (at least in the beginning) are websites. RC can be a source of info, but for it to be really useful, rather than just entertainment you have to have the experience and patience to weed through the choss.
TV? Really?
Josh
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ENARE
May 10, 2011, 5:58 PM
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When I arrive at the P2 belay station as a second and have my lead tell me what to do.
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psecody
May 10, 2011, 6:33 PM
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I'll go ahead and say how I did it, I still consider myself a noob because I haven't ever climbed any trad or multipitch sport. But I've been doing TR, sport, and bouldering here in Texas for about 5 years.
First I just read every website I could find on climbing and compared what they all said and looked for similarities and picked out the ones that didn't seem sketchy and agreed with all the other sites. Then bought the gear and practiced tying knots and went over the setup in my mind and in my house till I was sure I could set it up in my sleep. Then I did more reading, browsed the books at REI and stuff, talked to a few people working at gyms etc. Then when I finally had all the gear and me and my friend thought we knew enough about the setup we went to mineral wells (which has bolted top anchors, I haven't had to worry about anchor creation yet) and set up a toprope on a route we thought we wanted to try that was well within our climbing range so that we could be a little safer and focus more on the setup. And finally once we had it set up we asked a couple of guys that were climbing there to check it out before we climbed on it and make sure it was all done properly.
For lead we did it a little more haphazardly, me and my friend got bored at the gym one day and wanted to try lead climbing but you had to take a course to lead climb there so with nothing else to do that day we took the class. It didn't really teach us that much but helped us on the belay end of things. Then we just went outside and picked a couple easy routes to climb and just figured the rest out as we went, though I had learned about how to safely lower off rap rings while leading from a book I bought, though it didn't have much more content in it that would be helpful to anyone haha.
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cornstateclimber
May 10, 2011, 10:11 PM
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i learned by reading books. read every thing i could get my hands on. my guys at gearexpress in utica,il recomended i take gym 101. then went straight outdoors and toproped everything icould. setting up toprope anchors is a great way to learn gear placements. then jumped into lead trad. and every time is a learning experience still.
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ddooddodo
May 10, 2011, 10:40 PM
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1. Books
2. people (I learned all the super important things (like belaying, knots, etc from people but books are more readily available)
3. RC.com never know when something useful wll show up
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chadnsc
May 10, 2011, 11:45 PM
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Classes (local university has a world class outdoor rec program)
People
Books
Personal experience
Internet
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StuckNut
May 11, 2011, 12:49 AM
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Books and then experienced people.
I find that reading a couple of books on anchors and rope work, and practicing in a safe environment(I'd practice rigging furniture in my lounge room of an evening) gave me the understanding of anchor mechanics. Then seconding experienced climbers demonstrated the application and helped with gear placements.
I get annoyed at my less experienced friends who refuse to read any books, they come out to climb with me and expect me to explain every basic detail, from how to tie basic knots, why I am equalizing a 3 point anchor or why a certain gear placement is not ideal. They would prefer to pay $$$ for a guide to spoon feed them, than to read a $20 book, practice some rigging in their spare time and then come climb. Having the basics covered by doing a bit of homework then makes learning from an experienced partner a much quicker and faster ordeal for both of you!
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climber49er
May 11, 2011, 1:09 AM
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blueeyedclimber wrote: TV? Really?
LOL, just wanted to get the conversation rolling, that's all. I guess it's not TV, but what about Cliffhanger?
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Kartessa
May 11, 2011, 3:15 AM
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climber49er wrote: blueeyedclimber wrote: TV? Really? LOL, just wanted to get the conversation rolling, that's all. I guess it's not TV, but what about Cliffhanger?
Stalone is legit dood...
Just watched Vertical Limit last night, I'm all pro now.
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Crankenstein_
May 11, 2011, 5:45 AM
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Two of my friends who are more experienced than me.
The odd experienced climber who strikes up a conversation with me and or points out something I could do better.
Rockclimbing.com
Youtube - more for entertainment than technique/tips but I learn something occasionally.
A friend is going to lend me a book called "The self coached climber" and that should help me out too.
I would pay for instruction at the place I go to but I can't afford it on top of my membership T_T
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blueeyedclimber
May 11, 2011, 12:23 PM
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drector wrote: blueeyedclimber wrote: PEOPLE - As many as possible. No other source comes close to hands on learning or observation. Even the idiots, gumbies, and n00bs have something to teach (what NOT to do?) PEOPLE - No other source has the potential to kill you without your even knowing it's happening. There is no certification process so how is a noob going to know if their impromptu teacher is just an idiot about to get them killed? There is certainly no way for a noob to learn what not to do from someone who does all of the wrong things. I would substitute that "PEOPLE" with "PEOPLE WHO ARE KNOWN TO BE QUALIFIED". Maybe if a few people are around at the same time, the odds of them all failing int he same way is low enough to make total strangers fairly safe. If they disagree on something, just run away. Dave
I think the "ALL n00bs are dangerous and are out to kill you and you should hire a guide so you don't die a hideous death" is WAY overblown. n00bs do silly things. It's all part of the learning process. Common sense, thirst for knowledge , observation, and lots of questions are how n00bs survive the learning years.
Like I said in my first post, PEOPLE, including the one's that you learn what NOT to do from.
Josh
(This post was edited by blueeyedclimber on May 11, 2011, 12:24 PM)
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Danx
May 11, 2011, 5:08 PM
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majid_sabet
May 11, 2011, 5:19 PM
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you can read tons of book, climbing with a lot of people and take many rope courses but it take one little mistake to get you killed so stop at the local wrecking yard and read some of the accident reports.
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ceebo
May 11, 2011, 5:23 PM
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How else can you make balanced training decisions with ought taking on board all forms of ideas for training. Allows you to better shape a plan for your own individual circumstance.
Still makes me lol when people think scc has it all covered.
(This post was edited by ceebo on May 11, 2011, 5:25 PM)
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LostinMaine
May 11, 2011, 10:43 PM
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climber49er wrote: Hello All, I've been wondering... where do you get your information about climbing? * Books * RockClimbing.com * TV * Instructional videos/youtube What other sources do you look to in your quest for understanding our sport?
For me it was:
Don Mellor's Rock climbing
Then John Long's original Anchors book
Then I went out and started climbing. Yes, there were some close times, but overall it was the best way for me to learn. I just found another kindred spirit and went at it. I think people get too wrapped in trying to be experts before they start climbing.
Disclaimer - if you have to ask others about learning to rock climb, this method is most certainly not for you. You will require an actual person there to hold your hand and get you started.
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Toast_in_the_Machine
May 12, 2011, 12:49 AM
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climber49er wrote: Hello All, I've been wondering... where do you get your information about climbing? * Books * RockClimbing.com * TV * Instructional videos/youtube What other sources do you look to in your quest for understanding our sport?
RC.n00b all the way baby! Sure, I've got books, videos, and have hit pornyoutube, but three best source of climbing knowledge is right here.
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cacalderon
May 18, 2011, 1:03 AM
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other people.. guides for example....
you can also ask around at the local crag and get consensus on your question (i've tried this approach and it has worked well in the past)
(This post was edited by cacalderon on May 18, 2011, 1:04 AM)
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Gmburns2000
May 18, 2011, 1:11 AM
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climber49er wrote: blueeyedclimber wrote: TV? Really? LOL, just wanted to get the conversation rolling, that's all. I guess it's not TV, but what about Cliffhanger?
Actually, when I first started my friend, who had just started with me, bought a DanO instructional video and we both learned a fair amount from it.
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happiegrrrl
May 18, 2011, 9:19 PM
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I started in the gym. First outside was a guided beginner workshop.
I was on rc.com before going outside. I was reading books/magazine probably the same as when I started online.
I was older than a lot of people were when staring to climb, so I knew I was mortal and had enough common sense to understand the various ways one can get the chop. I didn't climb with "just anyone" just to go climbing. I figured out how to vet partners early on, and quickly - before committing to a day of climbing.
I spent many days with no partner because the prospects weren't acceptable. I used those days to walk the cliffs of my home crag and orient myself.
I hired a guide to teach me gear placements and anchors and then bought gear and went to work on ground school training.
I seconded for a lot of people, and never once bought one of them a beer or dinner.
Most importantly, I took full responsibility for my actions, which was actually VERY helpful in learning, since I didn't just rely on others.
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jughead
May 18, 2011, 9:53 PM
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For an anti social misfit who can't make friends very easily with the bigger boys.
For where I started to where I am right now, in this order...
Beginners indoor course at gym (undercover rock) (age 14)
Step up to leading
2yrs indoors and weekend trips away with the instructors
John Long's book on anchors, The Climbers Handbook, rock climbers manual, Craig Leubben.
Sport leading course. (17)
more books
Useful RC.com threads with cited facts from verifiable sources
Chatting to folk around The climbing academy and far more experienced people
On site specific single pitch instructors course
First Aid Course
More books
More chatting
Mike Barters youtube videos (with a pinch of salt added)
Self rescue course
Trad and multipitch course
more books
Chatting
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