The Benefits
Apart from the obvious - climbing on rocks - this is one of the best sports out there for your physical and mental health.
I'll tell you a little story of how I first got into rock climbing. It was several decades ago and I'd moved to a new area for my work as a software engineer. I'd been in Berkshire, UK for a few months and didn't know anyone locally so I thought that being a long time mountain bike enthusiast I would see if there was a club to join nearby.
So I did a search (the internet just about existed then - but barely) and one of the results I found was for Newbury Mountain Club. This caught my eye given that I knew full well that Newbury does not have any mountains. So I had a look. And then I went along to a meeting. And then I started climbing with them.
Now, wind the clock back a few months and I'd also started a training programme in the gym. I was making good progress. Once I started climbing though I was totally hooked on it so stopped going to the gym. I made more progress in my fitness over the course of my first couple of months climbing than I did in the gym so I cancelled my membership there and stuck with the climbing. A year later I was a climbing instructor and my career had taken a turn back to health, fitness and adventure.
So climbing is great for your health and fitness. No doubts about that. The club also did loads of other things so I was also heading up more mountains than I had before, going horse riding, canoeing and kayaking and they also had a crowd who were into their biking so I still got that part sorted with them anyway.
Why Climb?
If you've read about my climbing story above (which has taken me all over the world) you'll know what it did for me. Why would you want to book onto a climbing course yourself? Well, obviously there's the health and fitness side.
There's also the new community of people you open yourself up to. It's another sport that has something for everyone.
Then there's the personal challenge of it. Many people take on this sport to push themselves out of their comfort zone. The learning of new skills keeps your brain active and building. Overcoming fears helps you feel alive and overlaps into the rest of your life.
It gets you access to places that most people never get to visit, even to see from a distance. It's another part of this whole wide natural world and it gives you so much more than you'd think (see the sections on Shinrin-Yoku in Control-Alt-Delete and water benefits in the Canoe Trips pages).
What Happens On This Intro Course?
You'll likely feel that the whole concept of climbing is a little scary and overwhelming. Well, my job is to make sure you don't feel that way by the end of the day. To be fair, you'll likely stop feeling that way within a very short amount of time - I am good at what I do...
We'll cover all of the basics of how to:
- make proper use of the safety equipment
- tie the most important knots (there's only one you need to begin with)
- move effectively on the rock
- handle the rope for another climber
- descend from a climb safely and comfortably