Will update with pricing and how to buy soon!

We will be offering THREE options this year

NOTE: The university logo will be embroidered.

 Types of Rope

Dynamic types:

Dynamic ropes are designed to stretch in the even of a fall, taking out some of the force before it is transmitted to climber or his protection (if you don’t know what protection is don’t worry, it will be discussed in a later article)  These ropes are always used in when lead climbing, but can also be used for abseiling and top-roping and hauling freshers up  climbs.

As stated before the Dynamic ropes we use as a club come in two flavours:

Single:

The majority of Single ropes are between 9.5mm and 11mm in diameter, although they can go as low as 8.9mm. The general rule is the thinner the rope the harder it is to hold a fall  climbing, however they are also lighter and tend to be used by the top athletes pushing the limits of climbing. The standard rope is considered to be a 10.5mm, which should see you through pretty much everything  you’d want to do until you really start pushing yourself. Ropes for leading indoors tend to be 30m long; although there are a few walls around which need 40m ones; while outdoor ropes tend to be either 50 or 60m.

Singles are normally used for sport climbing (leading on bolts) and the majority of easy to hard Trad climbs, once you start getting to the extremely difficult Trad climbs (E3+) you start to see climbers use  Half ropes more and more.

Half or Double:

Half or Double ropes are two completely  separate ropes of the same diameter and length that are clipped independently into pieces of gear. These ropes are usually about 8.8mm, so that they can hold a fall should the other fail. Shaky pro, long, scary traverses, and razor sharp rock require the confidence and the security of half (double) ropes. Because they’re used in pairs, half ropes offer climbers many advantages over single ropes such as allowing the leader to clip into protection independently which places far less force on questionable gear; providing more safety for the second in the event of a fall on long traverses; and, they provide the security of an extra rope in case the rope becomes cut from rockfall, sharp edges, or ice tools.

Static – Semi static:

Static or more often semi-Static ropes are the opposite of dynamic ropes and only undergo a small amount of stretch under load. We primarily use these for setting up anchors for top roping climbing outside and setting up zip lines in the sports hall. They are also used outside the club for rappelling, top-roping in high wear situations and hauling gear. However they should NEVER be used for lead climbing as the forces from a fall will not be dissipated by the rope and could on a long fall break you in half.

The equipment that you needed to start climbing depends on the type of climbing you are doing, but for all types you will definitely want climbing shoes.

While for the first couple of sessions you should be fine in trainers, you will probably find climbing is pretty difficult in them, they just aren’t designed to let you stand on the small holds that you need to.  Climbing shoes have hard rubber soles which allow you to stand on the very edges of your feet and will make a big difference.  So once you know you enjoy climbing you should invest in some although they aren’t too cheap.

I’ll let you in on a secret climbing shoes are defiantly not the most comfortable shoes you will ever buy and you will probably be told by the sales person to go for a tight fit. Some may even suggest that you go one or more sizes smaller than your normal shoe size; and while too much wiggle room is not a good thing, if the’re so tight that you can hardly stand to keep your feet in them your enthusiasm for climbing is going to drop off pretty fast. While you will be starting out at the brunel wall, by the end of the year we shall be taking you out to the crag for several hours climbing, so make sure that you buy shoes that you can bear to wear. As a side note suede shoes will stretch a little, synthetic shoes are unlikely to.

Climbing shoes absolutely must be bought from a shop and NEVER over the internet as each pair is handmade and sizes can vary drastically between manufactures and even different models.

The easiest way of telling how whether a climbing shoe is for an advanced climber or a beginner is to look at the shape of the shoe;  the shoes tend to get less and less foot shaped as they get more advanced, as they put pressure on certain parts of the foot to improve performance.  For a beginner you want a symmetrical looking shoe that doesn’t try and to distort you foot into new and interesting shapes.

Shoes I would recommend for starting out are the Scarpa force( which were my first shoe) or Vantage, or the Red Chili Spirit VCR or Sausalito  all of which are about £60-70.

DMM Climbing is the largest manufacturer of climbing gear in the UK and most of the current BUMS have got at least a couple of bits of our gear attached to themselves somewhere.

With any luck (read if I find time and can be bothered) I’ll be posting updates throughout the year and If you ever want to know about any of  the gear on the market from any manufacturer just drop me a message and I’ll be happy to try and answer.

I’ll leave you with video of  How we make DMM Carabiners, it’s a few years old but it covers pretty much everything.

The making of a carabiner @ DMM Wales from Dave Gill on Vimeo.

This is how DMM Wales make their carabiners.

Sam

This map is used by James’ phone’s satnav app, it also has lots of other useful locations. Decided to share it.

Here!

James’ Pimp Climbing Map

Climbing Shops in Central London

Climbing Walls in Central London

If you have any more to add please get in touch! Click here

There is a larger list available at: http://www.ukclimbing.com/listings/

Dimi came across this article and wanted to post it on the site. It contains the following categories:

• HISTORY, NAVIGATION AND FAMOUS NAMES
• ABSEILING
• SEA CLIFFS
• LEADING
• BELAYING/SECONDING
• GRADINGS/GUIDEBOOKS
• “WALL-BRED” CLIMBERS
• CAMPING AND REFRESHMENT
• WINTER AND ALPINE CLIMBING
• MISCELLANY

Have a read of the article! Some helpful stuff and some funny stuff!