There's a point where life goes from the horizontal to the vertical and the progression from 'ordinary mortal' to 'Rock Climber' is complete....and however you get to ths point it is vitally important that you get through it. So whether you started at the climbing wall or simply decided to 'give it a go' it is very important that the gear you first buy is suitable to set you off on the right track.
For most people this involves some degree of 'Top Roping' before they lead so in this introductory section Ian has tried to cover both options...
Introductory Trad Rack UK - From Top Roping to Leading VS - by Ian Parnell.
Ian is one of the Uk's top Alpinists, and an experienced rock climbing all-rounder. Ian is also gear corresondent for Trail Magazine and tests new gear for Wild Country.
"Even though its almost 20 years ago I can still remember the day I bought my first rack as though it was yesterday. I’d spent the whole summer working 12 hour night shifts at the local yoghurt factory scraping together the pennies. It was only on Sundays that I could escape the stink of the dairy and together with my Sister head down the M from Swindon to our climbing nirvana Symonds Yat.
Ian showing a lack of rack on a sea cliff somewhere...a while ago!! Remember do as he says not what he does!!!
OK I now realise that the mud spattered 30ft lumps of polished limestone wouldn’t make it into many folk’s top ten crags but for us three the Yat was our escape into the vertical world. Through those summer Sundays uncluttered by gear we’d scramble up the descent gullies and occasionally solo our way up the easiest v diffs. One day we managed to fight our way up a mild severe.
It was a breakthrough and from then on our ambitions began to spiral a little out of control. It was only when I spent all afternoon bridging up and down a thin groove unable to commit to an overhang 60ft above the ground did a passing "real climber" inform us that I was on a route called The Russian apparently graded Hard Very Severe and notorious as the area’s biggest accident spot. It seemed time to invest in a rack!"
Important Note: Most climbing accidents feature beginners as they are the least sure of what they are doing. So even once you've got the gear it is vital you take some time to find out the safest way to use it. Getting an experienced friend to help, joining a local climbing club, hiring a certified guide or going on a recognised course is highly recommended.
