Indoor climbing

Went to RedGoat in York on sat. Epic little bouldering centre, almost brand new. Great variety of routes, nice little cave and family run by really lovely people. Whole place is matted out making it feel like TumbleTots for grown ups. Could be due to the weather or cos people were doing easter holiday things but it was empty in there, us, 2-3 other couples and a kids group of about 8 or so. Made for a really relaxing and friendly time. Lovely woodburning stove in the coffee area complete with slightly bonkers but lovely dog.
Came away with at least 15 blisters, a shiny new Snap chalkbag painted by a local graffiti/climbing dude which is kinda rad and a big smile. Huge contrast to the often oppressively cliquey, holier-than-thou attitude I've experienced at the Castle.

As I've just bought a new chalk bag, would anyone like this?

Handmade chalkbag, brown pinstripe material with red fleece interior, drawcord and toothbrush loop. Has got a cheapy keyring crab included but got a 15mm webbing belt that came with the new one I can chuck in if you want?
£5 +postage(can collect from Muswell Hill) or a pint+crisps at Norfs.

If this should be in classified I'll delete and move, but made sense to put it here where it'd be more relevant.

Also, I want to start climbing outside in earnest. First time I went climbing was outside at Millstone on grit. I went with people who knew the score who I was working with at the time. Does anyone on here go regularly? I understand theres basically fuck all to climb in the south east but has car/tent etc so up for a trip at some point if someone is up for teaching me? Has harness/rope etc but no quickdraws or stuff to make anchors with(aside from my tree-climbing kit which i don't want to use for this purpose).
Obviously the thing to do would be join a climbing forum or sign up for one of the Castle's outdoor trips but though I'd ask here first.

Also, I want to start climbing outside in earnest. First time I went climbing was outside at Millstone on grit..
That's an intimidating venue with some tough lines, not ideal for a first time...
I understand theres basically fuck all to climb in the south east
Not true, many of us cut our teeth at outcrops like Harrisons, Bowles and High Rocks
Obviously the thing to do would be join a climbing forum or sign up for one of the Castle's outdoor trips..
Not a bad idea

Ta for that Rive, was unaware of the sandstone available down here.
Millstone was a great day out. As I had nothing to compare it to I couldn't comment on how tough it felt at the time! The people I was with were very experienced but happy to set up topropes for me on some of the easier routes, had a blast. Watching them tackle the more serious stuff was ace too.

Harrisons sounds great, especially as it's all bolted for toprope so just need some slings etc for anchors to prevent sawing(according to wiki). Will order Southern Sandstone guidebook when I get paid along with some slings(any tips on lengths I'd need Rive?).
If anyone fancies a trip down one weekend when spring settles properly and the rock dries out I'm down.

Will join a climbing forum in the end I'm sure but this is the only forum I use and getting to know this place was enough of a hassle to begin with..

Or is the Jingo Wobbly guide for Sandstone better?

rope > http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Rock-Climbing-Equipment/Ropes/Single-Ropes/Statement-10mm-Rope < a good sturdy single rope, if you want to top rope, use for walls and general cragging. i'd say get 40 or 50M. 30M is just too short, 60,70 etc start to weigh too much (and a pair of half ropes is more suitable to longer lines)

jingo wobbly is quite popular, and well regarded. guide books don't change much.

nice thing about southern sandstone is that a fair whack of it is doable with a stack of pads.

Thanks again Rive!
Actually treated myself to a 50m Mammut Vertex rope a few weeks ago that was on offer when I decided I wanted to get back into climbing regularly. Used other peoples rope in the past on the few occasions I've climbed outside but other peoples safety gear can >>>>>
Couldn't believe how cheap rock climbing rope is compared to the tree climbing rope I have to buy for work.
Think all I need now is some nylon slings for anchors but apparently the jingo guide lists the ones you need for each route which is handy. Have more locking karabiners than you can shake a stick at in my work kit which are all up to date loler inspected so can put a few of those over to rock duty methinks. Annoyingly I sold my boulder mat when we moved and don't have the money or space to store a new one.

Jingo wobbly ordered, I got their introduction to climbing book when I started out and it seemed pretty clear and so forth, it's also supposedly more up to date than the climbers guide book according to reviews.

Anything else I've forgotton? (has harness, belay etc...)

Reading that back i got the wrong end of the stick, apols! 2M tubular slings (which are a 4M length sewn together) are always a good bet. However, learn how to use the end of the rope for extending from belay points, this skill will be especially useful when you have to find anchors back from the edge.
As regards other stuff, bar towels are very useful for wiping off your shoes, a stiff toothbrush on a lanyard, plus a nut/friend retrieval key, similarly attached. These two lanyards can also be pressed into service as emergency prussiks if you find yourself in a pickle.

learn how to use the end of the rope for extending from belay points, this skill will be especially useful when you have to find anchors back from the edge.

Not quite sure what you mean by this, lent my intro to climbing book to someone a while ago and not got it back, sure it's in there and sure I've probably done something similar in work but can't quite visualize it at the moment.

Got 7mm Beal cord on the reel at work so will knock up some spare prussiks to keep with the rock kit.
Got a toothbrush with my new chalkbag, will cord it up. Hadn't thought about getting a nut key as assumed they were only used for trad climbing, how is it useful for sport stuff? Will get a bar towel too, shame, I used to have a few knocking around.
Quite excited about having a complete basic kit ready for spring. Liz is keen to learn outside too so will have someone to climb with once I've learnt how to set tings up outside.
Your advice is much appreciated Rive, ta.

That extra length on a rope is dead handy for when you have to use an anchor that's distant from the edge. Ideally you should find two anchors and form a triangle between them with the trailing rope going down. The length of rope, when used with slings makes up an integral part of this. Where the nasty rough abrading edge is, substitute a sling, and then have a locking device placed at a free running point.

7mm for prussiks, don't need it, 3mm or even paracord is adequate (there's no dynamic loading)

Even sports climbers can't always rely on a nice large st/st bolt conveniently situated, and so have to resort to placing nuts/cams. I've been on some spanish limestone where the spacing of bolts was so 'sporting' as to be terminal in event of a fall; a bit of trad pro just made the route's do-able (in my head at least).
Plus, you'll soon want to be getting out on the grit and mountain crags, where trad gear is required.

• tldr? nut key very useful!
  

Had the day off today, couldn't afford it but went on a little shopping trip. It may be the Halfords of the outdoor world but GoOutdoors is pretty damn cheap for some things!

Picked up Craig Luebben's Mastering Basic Skills; has an excelllent section on anchor building. It's all starting to make sense now - make it redundant, keep it away from pointy things and keep it over the edge if possible. Then pad where it goes over the edge.
Luckily I can acquire shortish lengths of static and semi-static rope from work which will help with keeping the rope over the cliff so I don't wear it out too quickly with it running all the way back to the tree/boulder/fattie etc.
Also picked up 2 of each of 120cm and 240cm 16mm slings and a pair of 15cm quickdraws(remember one route I climbed simply being anchored with 2 parallel bolts next to eachother with opposing quickdraws) so almost have the basis of an anchor kit. Hopefully this should be enough to get me started on sandstone(not looking to climb outside without someone who knows better than me any time soon so hopefully they can fill in any gaps in my kit) before I start having to invest in trad protection in the near future.
Didn't buy a nut key today as I like the look of the DMM one which has cutouts for tightening bolts which was out of stock where I went but will be sure to pick one up.

Are you in London Rive? If so and you ever fancy a trip to Harrisons etc I'd love to know.

Sounds like you're right into it, excellento!

With anchors, the more you practice (at home, stairs, garden, garage, walls, windows) the quicker and better and safer you'll become. There is no standard 'pat' solution (as spoon fed on the SPA course), and sometimes you'll have to make quick judgements as to which is the lesser of two evils.

Get a nut key that has 'ears' for retreiving stuck friend sliders.

Sorry chap, no longer in London, and sadly given up climbing as the tendons can't take it any more :( I think if I wandered into mile-end and mentioned Richard and the NLRC all of them would think I came from another planet!

I climb trees for work, so make snap decisions as to what kinda anchor points are suitable many times a day, just need to transfer that thinking to rock once I've learnt the basics for each situation/available anchor. Looking forward to the Sandstone book arriving which details the achors for each route so I can start practicing what I need.
Tree work is also the reason I find it easy to justify spending what little money I have on shiny, clippy, slidey things....
This is the key I'm looking at right now, look suitable?

Shame on the buggered tendons, sounds pretty lame :(

nut key, thinking more this > http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Rock-Climbing-Equipment/Nutkeys/Nutter-DMM-NUTTER

buggered tendons, back, ankle, hip, ears..... it's called being the wrong side of 45!

ageing >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

also, i think the thread content will be moving more towards indoor climbing, re-name?

Gotcha, dmm nutter added to shopping spreadsheet. Decided I don't really want to mix my kits so put a 5 pack of hms screwgates on the list as well, they'll have to wait for a month or so though. Most of my 'biners are odd sizes and shapes so may make equalising tings more of a hassle than it should be than if I just get a set of identical ones.

Thread name change may be in order, but that's mostly my fault for spamming it with my inane outdoor questions over the last couple of days.
Could be merged with Mashton's 'Anyone for Climbing' thread which hasn't seen any action since 2009...

krabs, magnets get everywhere > http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Rock-Climbing-Equipment/Karabiners/HMS-Karabiners/Magnetron-Rocklock-Karabiner-BDI-RLMAG !!

as regards climbing forums, ukclimbing is the biggest, has some great info, but has a lot of irritating know-fuck-all 'personalities' (bit like this place on a bad day)

whereas ukbouldering is a much smaller 'clique', but with genuine hard earned knowledge and camaraderie (bit like this place on a good day)

Fucking magnets! 22gn for 1 krab can fuck right off though when a 5 pack of DMM screwgates is £30...
I use 3 and 4 way autolocking ISC and DMM krabs at work but will prob get screwgates as that way I won't try and steal rock ones for work or visa-versa.

Have just emailed Laurence at mountain-trips.co.uk to book me and LadyLiz onto the Sandstone improvers and ropework course as soon as possible. Sure I can work it out for myself but for her peace of mind some tuition is preferable!
Anyone on here care to join us? Cost goes down the more we book in one block(max 8).

Will start lurking on the forums when I get a chance(had a look previously when I was looking for info on the Kong Robot).
We have a few local friends who've recently started indoor climbing so would be nice to learn together and eventually head out into the big wide world but certainly need a guru or two to get us started so I don't do something terminally stupid...

if you're trained in tree access then rock climbing is imho a lot safer, hope you get a good group for your sandstone course

Ha, my thoughts exactly. I often have no backup(except when cutting), an anchor thinner than my wrist and a chainsaw running way too close for comfort. That said, I like learning about this sorta thing and would like to eventually get into stage rigging(have done a little) and industrial access so learning about setting different anchors sounds like a great day out. /csb

I worry about other people on group learning, especially with stuff like this, hopefully will manage to get a couple of our friends in on it to cut down the potential for numpties wasting the instructors time. Had some epic morons when I did my intro course at The Castle who spent a whole day failing to learn how to tie a fig8 or pay attention while belaying. At least this course isn't open to total noobs...

Had a fun day out down at Harrisons Rocks this morning. Locals were super friendly and was happy that all of my belays were safe, secure and not rubbing where they shouldn't(it's all pretty obvious when you're there and have all the right kit).
A lot of the routes were still soaking wet and only a handful of the easier routes were doable. I had a whale of a time, Liz struggled a little(indoor is so much easier when the holds are luminous colours!) and found it a little daunting but we'll certainly be back for more.
Still waiting for the guy who runs Mountain-trips.co.uk to reply to my email re: course but more for tips on technique than anything else.
/csb

good stuff edmundro! if you can climb on slopey sandstone then easing into grit is a doddle.

It's crazy to see how much damage climbing(well, rope burn mainly) has done to the place. For the most part the first step off the floor was the hardest part as the footholds appear to be polished/rounded into oblivion(presumably people just having a go while walking the dog etc).
Some of the little chimenys looked fun but were dank, slime-filled and stinky today with the only dry bits being where the trees had been cleared(and some of the serious looking boulders). Hopefully it'll stay dry all week and next weekend it'll be a little better.
Didn't manage anything harder than a 4a which I'd probably stroll up one-handed indoors but still felt like a good achievement for a first outing. There's a handful of routes I want to try next time but will need to be a bit drier before attempting...

Thanks again for your advice Rive, prob would have sat on my arse(or possibly gone for a ride:) without it!

good stuff edmundro! if you can climb on slopey sandstone then easing into grit is a doddle.

The stuff I've done on Portland and up at Millstone certainly felt grippier and more positive to hang on to so yeah!

Portland's a set of nice sport crags, all south facing too, can have a good weekend down there.

Also on SS, take a trip to Bowles, you have to pay but the routes are good.

Millstone is one of the greatest, so many lines to aspire to!