Daily Climbing

A couple of climbing enthusiasts spill the beans about all the best practices in rock climbing and bouldering.

Climbing Q&A

What Should I Wear for Indoor Climbing?

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That’s an easy one if you’ve already got gym gear or sport gear: just wear that. It’ll be loose enough and comfortable enough to go bouldering or rock climbing in.

However, if you don’t already have a decent set of gym clothes, then your best bet will be to do as follows:

  1. Get a comfortable t-shirt or tank top. Any will do, as long as it doesn’t restrict your arm and shoulder movement.
  2. Get some pants that are comfortable to move around in.

The pants are the most important part to get right. You can’t really go wrong with a standard t-shirt or any other casual top, but most pants aren’t particularly suitable for climbing.

Unlike gyms, you’re allowed to wear jeans when you go climbing. Outdoor climbers do this more often than indoor climbers do, because jeans offer a bit better protection from scrapes and bumps against the rock than flimsy sport pants do.

However, the vast majority of climbers you see are going to be wearing some kind of comfortable pants. For examples, check this Amazon search page for men, and this page for women.

As for recommendations, pants like the Silver Ridge Cargo Sun Pants are a perfect example for men’s climbing pants. They’re loose without being baggy, they’re comfortable without being flimsy, and they’re also moisture wicking, which means you can stay cool and dry on intense climbing sessions.

Remember, you will sweat when climbing, so moisture wicking clothing is pretty nice to have. Make sure to order one size up from what your usual size is with these pants in particular.

For women, the Outdoor Research Ferrosi Pants have everything you’re looking for. They’re abrasion resistant, wind resistant and moisture resistant; not that there’ll be much wind with indoor climbing.

The only thing is that they might be a little long for some, so if you always need shorter pants when you buy them in clothes stores then there’s Black Diamond’s Notion Pants, which are specifically designed for climbing. Black Diamond is also a top brand for climbing safety gear, so they know what they’re doing.

What About Shoes?

UPDATE: We reviewed the best climbing shoes for beginners and the best budget climbing shoes in our guide to the best climbing shoes of 2019.

You’ll need some climbing shoes. No other shoes will do.

Well, you’ll need a normal pair of shoes to get to the climbing place with, but once you’re there you’re going to need to slip into a pair of climbing shoes.

On a budget? The Evolv Royale climbing shoes are the cheapest ones that you can get which are actually good. The design is also super beginner friendly, with the thicker sole and symmetrical toebox. I wrote more about them in my post about climbing for as little money as possible.

However, for anyone who wants to get the climbing shoes that the pros wear, then your best choice would be the La Sportiva TC Pro. They’re super comfortable, unlike some of the more aggressively down-curved shoes out there. I’d actually say they are the most comfortable climbing shoes. I wrote more about them in this article about the most durable pro shoes out there.

Everything You Need To Know About Adam Ondra Before The 2020 Tokyo Olympics

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Photo by Simon Legner [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

So, you may have heard that Adam is the favorite to win the Olympics but what you might not realize is why.

I think the best way to understand is to learn a little more about Adam, the things he has done and the legend he is making.

Born on February the 4th 1993 in Brno a beautiful Czech city Adam arrived in the world already harnessed up ready to climb.  Born to two climbers, the big walls never stood a chance.

By age 8 he had already conquered an onsight 7b+(5.12c) to put that in perspective for you, most average adults only climb between 6c – 7a.

This means by the age of 8, Adam had already surpassed a majority of climbers and he was just getting started. Over the next decade, Ondra proceeds to hone and sharpen his climbing skills.

By age 9 he was redpointing 8c and at 11 he onsighted 8a+ and redpointed 8c. This kid was just eating grades that took most climbers years to move through.

There is even a rumor floating around that his parents built him a climbing wall in his bedroom to try and cut down on the gym trips and to allow him to climb during his rest days.

With the perfect background for climbing, it’s no wonder Adam took no prisoners and placed top 3 in most of the competitions he entered from ages 11-16.

Then to top it all off in 2009 at age 16, Ondra won the lead climbing world cup, however, he didn’t stop there and the next year he set his sights on the bouldering world cup.

After a battle with Austrian climber Kilian Fischhuber and Japanese climber Tsukuru Hori, Ondra managed to secure first place and become the first climber to win Gold in both Lead Climbing and Bouldering and remain’s the only climber to do so today.

It’s crazy to think that during this time Ondra was still splitting his time between school and climbing.

However, 2012 changed all this, Adam finished school and wanted to leave his own mark in the climbing world. He wanted to give something back to the sport that had given him so much.

At the time the hardest grade in the world was 9b which already seemed to be pushing the physical limits of the human body. Adam, however, seemed to have a little more push in him than the rest of us and set out to change that.

Adam had his sights on a beautiful cave in Norway called Hanshelleren. This is where he would leave his mark. Over the space of 4 months, Ondra scouted the cave finding a path through the endless sea of granite.

After months of grueling hard work, Adam finally reached his goal and climbed this beast and left the start of his legacy in the climbing world.

He decided to name the climb ‘Change’ to signify what it meant to him. Not only was this a change for Adam, as he no longer had to split his time between school and climbing, it was also a change for the climbing world. A message that climbing still hadn’t hit its limit and there were harder climbs to be found.

The next step in Adams climbing journey was a rendezvous with Chris Sharma, the undisputed king of sport climbing. Chris had been struggling to climb a route he set called ‘La Dura Dura’ (The hard hard). He invited Adam to join him, hoping to spark some friendly competition which might help Chris send the route.

This meet up is also seen in the eyes of a lot of climbers as Chris passing over the mantle of “worlds best rock climber” to Ondra and the next generation of climbers.

Photo By Pavel Blazek
[CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

After weeks of grueling hard work and difficult climbing, Adam became the first person to climb La Dura Dura. This must have sparked something in Chris as he also managed the route a month later, something he didn’t think himself capable of.

If you are still not impressed yet, don’t worry it gets better. Ever heard of the dawn wall? Its the part of El Cap that lights up at dawn as first sun touches the wall. 

While photogenic, this beautiful piece of rock also offers some of the hardest big wall climbing in the world. A lot of people thought it couldn’t be done, but two famous climbers called Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson spent 6 years finding a route up 3000ft are razor blade rock and difficult climbing and proved them wrong.

Adam, inspired by their 18-day assault to free climb the whole route in one run, just had to fly out to Yosemite and try it for himself. What happened next surprised a lot of people!

Adam managed the clear out the dawn wall in just a couple of weeks and made the second ascent. I forgot to mention that this was also Adams first time in Yosemite, crazy right?

Adam was running out of challenges fast and needed something new and challenging. He ended up creating his own challenge out of necessity.

He dubbed this ‘Project Hard’.

The project was a climb out in Flatanger Norway and back in Hanshelleren where Adam created ‘Change’ his 9b+ route so many years ago.

Adam had been trying this route on and off for 4 years! This dude managed to send the dawn wall in a couple of weeks. Imagine how hard this climb has to be for him to struggle for 4 years!

However, his lifetime of training, hard work and dedication paid off, as on September the third 2017 Adam managed to finish the route and successfully climb the worlds first 9c.

If you wonder what shoes Adam used to do it then check out this post.

Photo by Simon Legner [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

What makes Adam such an amazing climber?

There is something that I have avoided talking about so far. And that’s Adams visualization and simulation training techniques that I think are the key to what puts him ahead of other climbers. 

While bizarre, intense, and awkward to watch the technique really helps him nail down certain move sets and allows him to pull harder, grip stronger and move faster while on routes.

Adam usually grabs his physical therapist to help him simulate climbs (Taking the term physical therapist to a new level). 

You can watch an example of it here. As you can see it’s pretty weird to watch. But hey, the best are the best for a reason right? 

His sights are set!

With Adam being only 26 he is in an amazing place to get gold at the Olympics. He’s old enough to have gained the experience needed to win across three disciplines and also young enough to be in his peak physical condition. 

But I think most importantly he has set his sights on the Olympics as his next challenge. Once Adam sets his mind on something, it usually happens.

Just look at Change, The Dawn Wall, La Dura Dura, Silence and 100’s of other insane climbs that have fallen to this man’s pure willpower and climbing prowess. 

I mean it’s no wonder people are backing him as the Olympic favorite.

How to Get Twists and Kinks Out of Climbing Rope

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So, you’ve either been belaying with a munter, lowering off through a stiff anchor like rings without a chain , or you’ve tried to untangle it and got it all twisted up.

Either way, you’re not going to have to go and manually untwist your rope, you’ll be glad to know.

Ropes are long. Getting twists and kinks out manually would take forever, so I’ll show you how to get the job done as quickly and easily as possible.

The Fastest Way

All you’ll need is your locking carabiner, a belay device and some cord to tie a friction hitch with.

Oh, and you’ll need your partner. If they’re not around, you can use a sling around a rock or a tree to put it “on belay” while you do this.

For clarity’s sake, let’s assume you’re doing this with your partner. Start by setting up your belay like usual, except have your partner hold the rope rather than tying themselves in.

As much of the rope as possible will be your dead rope.

Set a prussik, or whatever friction hitch you find easiest to tie, on that dead rope side, and hold it somewhat tight.

Now you’re all set.

Get your partner to pull the entire length of the rope hard through your belay device, and all of the kinks and twists will be evened out.

“How Does This Work?”

Simply put, the prussik straightens up your rope enough to pass through the belay device, which will iron out all the rest of those kinksin the rope.

Without the prussik, you’d have to do this more than once, so it’s easily the fastest way if you use one.

Of course, go ahead and do it without one if you don’t have any spare cord. Just don’t use your hands unless you like the the smell of burning flesh. That friction will just melt them, which is why we use belay devices in climbing in the first place, no matter how strong we might get.

“What if My Friend is Busy?”

If your friend is busy, you’ll just have to hold the prussik with one hand and pull the rope through with the other. You can do this more easily if you’ve tied the carabiner and belay device around a tree, like I mentioned before.

If you don’t have any slings around, then you could do it on your own harness, but it’s going to be pretty tiring on your rope-pulling arm with all that friction because of the angle you’ll be pulling at.

In that case, you might be better off going without the prussik and just pulling the full length of rope through your belay device a couple of times.

It’ll still do the trick, but it’s much better when you use a bit of teamwork and do it properly – just like climbing.

Are Climbers Scared of Falling?

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All climbers are scared of falling in a way.

It’s natural, because falling always feels dangerous, even if it isn’t.

It’s like when you’re on a roller coaster. You know those parts where it slowly climbs to the top? Those are the parts where you feel the fear of rushing down the other side, but just like every climber out there, you’re not actually scared of something bad happening when that happens.

“Why is that?” you ask.

It’s because your safety is already taken care of in advance. It’s the same with climbing as it is with a roller coaster. The only difference is that with climbing, it’ll be your buddy that’s got your back. They’ll be holding your rope, loosening it or tightening it whenever you need, but always ready to catch you when you fall.

That’s what belay devices are for. The rope runs through them in a U-shape so that you can lock it in place if the climber falls. That’s how you catch them.

Without a belay device, you’d burn your hands trying to catch the rope manually. Besides, you’d never get even close to enough grip to hold someone’s entire body weight – and that’s still true even if they weren’t falling.

So, anyway, the point is that falling shouldn’t be dangerous if you’re doing everything right. Falls can happen at any time, but you’ll always be ready for them whenever they do happen.

What Should a Beginner Do if They’re Scared of Falling?

What I’d recommend is that you try indoor bouldering first, before you go on to any sort of climbing that has ropes, harnesses and all that.

“What? You mean there’s a kind of climbing that doesn’t use ropes? Surely that’d make it worse.”

Well, here’s the thing. Indoor bouldering has a limited height to it. You can never get high enough for falling to be dangerous if you land on your feet and bend your legs.

Of course, if it weren’t for the bouldering mats that line the floor wall-to-wall, it’d be pretty boring since the height would be too limited. As it stands, you can get a height in bouldering that feels really high up, but is actually safe to fall from.

Over the course of several sessions, falling now and then, you get used to it. Suddenly, falling isn’t quite so scary anymore.

You still get that roller coaster-like adrenaline rush that I was talking about earlier. However, the important thing is that you can now take a fall when you need to. It’s something you don’t worry about anymore, because you know what to expect, and you know everything will be alright if you land properly.

My top tip for dealing with falls while you’re getting started with bouldering is to look at the floor and be mindful of your legs as soon as you feel yourself slipping off the wall.

If you stayed looking up, you’d get caught off guard and land on the ground before you’re ready. That means landing unevenly or not even landing on your feet. Ouch.

As long as you’re ready for the fall, you’ll be able to take it just fine. Looking down and being aware of your legs as soon as you slip off lets you prepare for landing on your feet properly and bending your knees as you land.

Outdoor bouldering requires a little bit more finesse since you can only bring so many mats with you. However, if you’re looking to get some crash mats to have a go at outdoor bouldering, then everything you need to know is in this article here.

Should I Invest in Climbing Shoes?

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Here’s the thing. You’re going to be saving money if you climb for at least 10 sessions or so with them.

You can use that knowledge to roughly judge whether investing in climbing shoes is going to be worth it for you.

If you’re a hobbyist, then yes, it’s easily going to be worth it. However, if you’re a rookie and you’re still unsure whether you’re going to take up climbing as even a semi-regular thing, then I’d say wait a while and see.

The truth is, rental shoes aren’t all that bad.

Sure, you can save money by buying your own pair, but there’s one thing that you can’t do without rentals: try a new type of climbing shoe each time, until you find which is the right kind for you.

Alternatively, you could just pick a good starting pair that isn’t going to be causing you any pain. Aggressively shaped shoes are notorious for that, but flatter ones are going to easily be fine if you size them right.

UPDATE: We reviewed the best climbing shoes for beginners and the best budget climbing shoes in our guide to the best climbing shoes of 2019.

I recommended some excellent, “lowest-possible budget” climbing shoes in this article about how to climb on the cheap. I also talk about some of the other gear you might want to invest in.

As for an actual guide to the different types of climbing shoes and what to look for, Jamie has that covered.

As for the whole “laces vs. Velcro” thing, it’s pretty simple. Laces are more adjustable, while Velcro is easy to slip off if you’re resting between climbs.

If you’re not looking for some budget shoes like I’ve been talking about, want to invest in some quality laced climbing shoes instead, you’ll want to check out Jamie’s post here where he reviews a selection of the best laced climbing shoes out there.

Do I Really Need a Stick Clip for Climbing?

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Here’s the rule of thumb for you:

If you’re looking at the first bolt of a climb, and you think, “If I fell from there I’d definitely break my ankles,” then you need a stick clip.

Now, here’s the thing. Yes, you’re probably not going to break your ankles if you went without one… this time. It’s more that you will fall from that kind of height eventually if you keep taking that risk.

Your only two options are:

  1. To climb within a safety margin so that getting to the first bolt isn’t ever going to be a challenge to you.
  2. To get a stick clip and never worry about taking a ground fall.

So, yeah, while it might seems like stick clipping is “lame,” climbing within a bigger safety margin is definitely “lamer.”

To be honest, stick clipping doesn’t detract from the climbing experience at all. It’s all done before you start climbing, and it’s just another part of your standard setup of tying into your harness, getting the belay ready and so on.

If you want to know more about what stick clips actually are and what makes a good one good, then I wrote a handy guide here.

As for which stick clips are the best, look here.

Finally, here is a guide to the best extension poles to use with them.