I previously discussed and hopefully dispelled some of the rumors about climbing, along with briefly touching on the topics of equipment, belay devices, and the different types of climbing. In this blog, I will delve more into the literal part of climbing, so you can see what suits your needs the best. Please be sure the read my last article: Is Climbing for Me?- Part 1 beforehand. I also suggest that, if you want to make the most out of climbing, that you take an introductory climbing course before going climbing, especially if you’re doing it on a high wall.

Types of climbing:

As far as I know, there are two main types of climbing: bouldering and rock climbing.

Bouldering is climbing without the use of a harness and a rope and can be done alone or with friends, you do NOT need a belayer, yay! Trust me, as a climber, it’s really hard to find someone who will belay for you over and over again before getting tired. Consequently, bouldering walls are shorter and can be harder because if you fall, you have to start all over again. Most climbers start on the bouldering wall to warm up and then move on to the high walls. Bouldering is also a great solution if you’re scared of heights, because there is padding on the ground to break your fall, and the highest bouldering walls I have seen were about 4-5 meters tall, but they were a mini version of the high walls. One of my all time favorite places to boulder is at the Stronghold Climbing Center, one of the three Calgary Climbing Center locations. Here’s a picture to give you an idea:

(Image Source)

I know it looks pretty scary, but trust me, it is super fun and a great warm-up. Bonus point, the people on bouldering walls are mostly very warm and kind, so don’t be afraid to ask for a few tips or just joke around with them about one certain part of the course. I’ve made some great bouldering friends on this wall. You also might have noticed that there are colored pieces of tape on the wall. Each color is a route; in order to ‘send off’ a route, you have to start on a specific piece and end on one specific one, while only climbing on the same color. Some routes are easier than others, and it can take months to send off a route. (Sending off routes isn’t really serious, you don’t have to send off a route when you start bouldering and there won’t be any ‘route police’ to see if you sent the route off or not) I know at the UofC, that when you create a route, you can or have to put your initials on a route, i.e) K.B. So if someone goes on my route and says: “K.B is really nice and easy, it was really my style.”, they can go around the wall and see if there any other routes with K.B on them. But if someone said: “K.B must be a really short person, my legs are so cramped!” they’ll try to steer clear of K.B and look for another route.

Top Rope:

Now this is more the stereotypical climbing that people expect to see when they go climbing. Top rope is in total, safer. High walls also have routes on them, in the same way, the colored tape etc. etc. etc. The walls are much higher, so you need to wear a harness and have a friend belay you.

(Image Source)

As far as my knowledge extends to, there aren’t any ‘types’ of harnesses, only the sizes vary. If you go to rent a harness, the person behind the desk will help you find one that suits you, and they usually get it the first time. You will also need a belay device. There are two different types of belay devices: a gri-gri, and an ATC. A gri-gri is an auto-locking device and can catch most of your falls, there have been times where it hasn’t, but in total, a gri-gri is a good start for beginning belayers. That being said, that also means that gri-gris take a little longer to set up and if set up incorrectly, will be very dangerous. 

(Image Source) 

Then, there’s the ATC, which stands for air traffic controller, for whatever reason I don’t know. The ATC will not catch any of your falls, so your belayer needs to be more careful and likewise yourself. Climbing is all about communicating. If you need a hold  or a break on a route, make sure your belayer knows before you transfer your weight to your harness, which is scary for both climber and belayer when the latter isn’t paying attention, as I know from painful experience. There are also two types of ATCs, yes I know, I’m getting tired too. The first ATC, called an ATC Guide and a more advanced version, must be used in a certain way because, if you don’t, like the gri-gri, it can be very dangerous. If you notice, the Guide has small bumps in it, which we literary climbers call ‘teeth’ :

(Image Source) 

This second ATC is the original ATC, and it doesn’t have to have the rope on a certain side.

(Image Source) 

Alright! Where were we? Of course, there are different ways to put a rope into a device and to save both of us the trouble of describing the process, I’ll leave it to my wonderful companion Youtube to do it:

I don’t like the way he belayed in the video, and you probably won’t be taught to belay like that. This next video shows you had to use an ATC.

As you can see, the ATC is much easier to load. In both videos, they talked about carabiners. They looked like giant clips that can lock. They basically connect you to the belay device, if that makes sense. In order to be able to belay, you need to complete a belay test, and successfully pass. These tests can cost around $15, so I would learn how to belay first then take a test. The test will vary from each gym you go to.

The second type of climbing is lead climbing, which is mainly done in the mountains, with and without friends, and can be done in gyms as well. Lead climbing is more dangerous, and as well, more complicated. There are lead climbing courses in Calgary, but I suggest that you try both bouldering and top rope and be confident in both skills before you start lead climbing. For the sake of this article, I won’t delve into lead climbing. To tell you the truth, I like bouldering and top rope much more than lead climbing. Here’s a nice photo to show you the difference between lead and top rope: 

(Image Source)

Last time, I briefly touched base with climbing shoes. This is another broad topic, so I’ll sum it quickly. For the easier routes, you don’t need climbing shoes, but they are a good thing to have if you’re serious about climbing. Climbing shoes become narrower, tighter, and more uncomfortable as your skill improves. Here is my pair of climbing shoes:

These are around beginner shoes and they are quite comfortable to be in. But as you advance, you’ll see that your foot has to be shaped in a certain form. In order for climbers to achieve the perfect shape, some go three to four sizes smaller in the footwear. Of course, they only use them when climbing, otherwise, I’m sure, they’d paralyze themselves. Here’s a better picture of beginner climbing shoes: 

(Image Source) 

And here’s a picture of advanced:

(Image Source)

I hope you liked this small pre-introductory course to climbing. Please don’t think that you are now ready to go climbing. This is a very vague intro, so you can go into your class with some prior knowledge. I hope that you will enjoy climbing if you decide to do it, and that you enjoyed my mini-series. Happy climbing!

(Featured Image Source)