Rock Climbing Shoes

Try the Urban Rock shop at the Westway climbing centre - a specialist climbing shop. I got my lovely Red Chilis from the branch within the Castle Climbing Centre - far more specialist advice, will let you try stuff and order things in quickly if you need them. They fit perfectly and I had a good chat with the guy in the shop as they were my first pair and I don't know what to look for. Went back there for my harness.

I tried both Snow & Rock and Ellis Brigham before I bought mine - both were useless, disinterested and had limited stock.

here you go...

http://www.urbanrock.com/

I second Snow and Rock.

As someone else says, they will ask you what you want them for and will sort you the correct pair accordingly ... the people that work at my local one all seem to be climbers themselves, so know their stuff and won't just fob you off with the most expensive pair

One thing I will say is that after you have done a bit of indoor, you owe it to yourself to try outdoor ... I never do indoor any more, only outdoor Depends what floats your boat I suppose, but like I said, you ought to give it a bash at some point!!

I've been meaning to start climbing. Did a big phase of hiking last year but after Snowdon, the Surrey Hills were a bit of an anticlimax. Got loads of lovely pics though. Must get going again soon- when I can have a Sunday off the bike...er...Oh. Summer's coming!!!

Thinking of doing the beginners bit at Craggy Island and also considering the weekend intro to climbing at PYB- my Company are giving us a personal developement budget this year and that'd be an ideal place to start (and start to deal with heights...!).

Originally Posted by thedonal

I've been meaning to start climbing. Did a big phase of hiking last year but after Snowdon, the Surrey Hills were a bit of an anticlimax. Got loads of lovely pics though. Must get going again soon- when I can have a Sunday off the bike...er...Oh. Summer's coming!!!

Thinking of doing the beginners bit at Craggy Island and also considering the weekend intro to climbing at PYB- my Company are giving us a personal developement budget this year and that'd be an ideal place to start (and start to deal with heights...!).

For indoor, yeah Craggy in Guildford is pretty good, you can hire all teh equipment too, so its not like you need to buy all the gear first to have a crack The walls are tall enough to need ropes; they make you do a quick training thing with the ropes before they let you at it, but its free to do and only takes about 10-15 mins which is cool.

Only problem is you do need at least one mate to go rope climbing ... that's where I have always struggled!!

LOL! I've got people around I can pay to be friends for the day....!

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

For indoor, yeah Craggy in Guildford is pretty good, you can hire all teh equipment too, so its not like you need to buy all the gear first to have a crack The walls are tall enough to need ropes; they make you do a quick training thing with the ropes before they let you at it, but its free to do and only takes about 10-15 mins which is cool.

Only problem is you do need at least one mate to go rope climbing ... that's where I have always struggled!!

Erm, this doesn't sound like a good idea to me unless you're not going to be belaying and are just shown how to tie in and get on the wall. It really is a dangerous pastime.

If you're going to get a real feel for it, I'd recommend either a taster session or a beginners crash course (about 5 hours, but well paced and about fifty quid). A bit like taking your CBT before you're allowed out to play on the road properly.

I say this because I had a nasty accident about 2 weeks ago, where I could have dropped my climber and killed him. All down to an inexperienced person, who had been signed in by their mate, buggering about unsupervised right behind me. It could have been avoided if they'd undertaken basic safety awareness and known not to get under my feet whilst I was belaying. I ended up with a bashed up hand (still limited use), but if I hadn't had my wits about me it could have been a lot worse. Fortunately the climber came to no harm (in fact, I lay fair claim to having saved his life ). The person concerned had a stiff talking to from the centre staff, as did the chap who signed them in. Probably got themselves a ban for it.

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

Only problem is you do need at least one mate to go rope climbing ... that's where I have always struggled!!

Not true, you can always self belay with a top rope

I vaguely remember using a device called a Petzl Stop, which we also used for abseiling. One day in the alps when the temp dropped and it got a bit icy, we quickly renamed this thing "The Petzl for f**ks sake Stop"

[Quiff Wichard]

pm fizzwheel or e.d - they are a couple..

e.d used to work in retail selling htis very stuff- she is knowledgeable.

green scarpas with velcro are excellent starting/mid range boots. You want them to be tight and uncomfortable - without cuttting off all the blood supply! secret i learnt is to not take them off between climbs - it means your feet swell, so that 2 minutes relief only makes it worse. You'll soon find out how different sizes your feet are! good luck