silentbutdeadly
has some good things to say
Sadly an ex-climber these days as the nearest rock is Mt Arapilies and that's five hours away. Since I was never good enough for Arapilies in the first place...:drama:
Still got all the gear for a sport climb except quick draws (given I wasn't much of a lead climber).
The main thing to remember (and already covered by others) is that climbing in the gym is nothing like climbing outside and it can create a whole lot of poor decision making when you do make the transition.
I found that bouldering both in the gym and outside gave me a much better appreciation of technique and line selection which was great on the bigger walls. Low level traverses (both in and out) are great too. And both do wonders for your hand and shoulder strength...
Like everything technical, you'll benefit from a few lessons.
If you do go outside...never ever ever take the apparent skills and common sense of your climbing buddies for granted no matter how well you know them and how much you trust them. Your safety (and that of your buddies) is more important than wall bagging.
Whilst most of my climbing was on Sydney sandstone (Palm Beach, Berowra, Newnes, Hawkesbury River, Bangor)...my favourite place to climb was the granite slabs of Evans Crown near Tarana.
Still got all the gear for a sport climb except quick draws (given I wasn't much of a lead climber).
The main thing to remember (and already covered by others) is that climbing in the gym is nothing like climbing outside and it can create a whole lot of poor decision making when you do make the transition.
I found that bouldering both in the gym and outside gave me a much better appreciation of technique and line selection which was great on the bigger walls. Low level traverses (both in and out) are great too. And both do wonders for your hand and shoulder strength...
Like everything technical, you'll benefit from a few lessons.
If you do go outside...never ever ever take the apparent skills and common sense of your climbing buddies for granted no matter how well you know them and how much you trust them. Your safety (and that of your buddies) is more important than wall bagging.
Whilst most of my climbing was on Sydney sandstone (Palm Beach, Berowra, Newnes, Hawkesbury River, Bangor)...my favourite place to climb was the granite slabs of Evans Crown near Tarana.