Will update with pricing and how to buy soon!

We will be offering THREE options this year

NOTE: The university logo will be embroidered.

NOTICE:

Usually the club closes it’s membership, this year we are keeping membership open, but at a discounted rate. As we are well into the lessons you will not be able to join the climbing course this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t climb! So we’ve introduced a casual membership!
 

How do I join?

Simply click here to sign up for a sports federation card and join Brunel Climbing / B.U.M.S.
Don’t forget to join our Facebook Group!
 

How much does it cost?

Just £10 for the entire year, no weekly fees, no equipment use fees.
*You will need a Sports Federation Card.
 

What does the CASUAL Membership fee get me?

• Free entry to the wall during club SUNDAY sessions (12-2pm)
• Free use of club gear, unlike most public climbing walls, there are no equipment rental fees.
• We will teach you the basics you need to climb safely. (You need to arrange this with one of us, find us on Facebook)

How is this membership different?

You will only be able to climb Sundays, this is to keep the casual members separate from those on the outdoor leading course which runs throughout the year. Please note, with this membership you will not be able to come on a Tuesday or Thursday, you will not be able to take part in the Lessons on Tuesday or Thursday and you will not be able to come on any of the Trips unless stated otherwise.
We will teach you how to put on a harness, tie in and belay safely. This will allow you to pass the entrance competency test at other climbing walls such as Westway Sports Centre.
 

What is a Sports Federation Card?

The Sports Federation Card costs £22.50. To join ANY club at Brunel University you NEED a Sports Federation Card. The main purpose of the card is for insurance.
 

What equipment do I need?

NONE!
Simply turn up in some baggy trousers/shorts, trainers and we’ll handle the rest.
 

If you have any questions contact us via our contact page or our Facebook profile

Click here to get a sports federation card and join B.U.M.S.

We teach a climbing course throughout the year, each week you learn something new. As this builds up each week, it has gotten to the point where we can no longer run “catch up” sessions to get everyone to the same point in the lessons.

Normally we Close the membership completely, but after discussions with Student Activities we have arranged a new CASUAL MEMBERSHIP

Please see here for details. : http://brunelclimbing.com/wordpress/news/new-casual-membership/

How do I join?

Simply click here to sign up for a sports federation card and join Brunel Climbing / B.U.M.S.
Don’t forget to join our Facebook Group!
 

How much does it cost?

Just £30 for the entire year, no weekly fees, no equipment use fees.
*You will need a Sports Federation Card.
 

What does the membership fee get me?

• Free entry to the wall during club sessions (Tuesday and Thursday 5-7pm + a Sunday sessions when they are running)
• Free use of club gear, unlike most public climbing walls, there are no equipment rental fees.
• A full climbing course is taught throughout the year to ensure you are a safe and competent climber, doing a similar course privately can cost hundreds of pounds.

What is a Sports Federation Card?

The Sports Federation Card costs £15. To join ANY club at Brunel University you NEED a Sports Federation Card. The main purpose of the card is for insurance.
 

What equipment do I need?

NONE!
Simply turn up in some baggy trousers/shorts, trainers and we’ll handle the rest.
 

You won’t find a full climbing course for anywhere remotely near this price!

If you have any questions contact us via our contact page or our Facebook profile

Click here to get a sports federation card and join B.U.M.S.

Rules:

• Designs can only use one colour.
• Must feature BUMS somewhere on the hoodie, and it would be a plus if  Brunel University Mountaineering Society or Brunel Climbing was also somewhere on the hoodie.
• Must feature the year
• Must have space for personalisation.

Submit your designs to the Facebook Group here.

Price

ONLY £35!

When?

Friday 7th – Sunday 9th October

We’ll leave Friday evening (so you don’t miss any lectures) and we will come back Sunday night.

Where?

We will be staying in Chinley Scout Hall, this is an upgrade from previous years where we used to camp. The (heated) hall costs the same as the campsite, so definitely worth it.

We will be top-roping at some easy to moderate crags, so plenty of easy routes for new climbers.

How?

We will be taking a pair of uni minibuses, seating ~ 16 people per bus.

What do I need?

We’ll provide all of the gear, and as we are staying in a heated scout hall there will be no need for tents!

• Clothes for Saturday & Sunday
• Sleeping bag (the club does have a few if you need one)
• Money for lunch (Breakfast and dinner will be provided by us!)
• Whatever waterproofs you own! (just incase)

Price

The budget for the trip has not been worked out yet, it will be roughly around £35-£45.

When?

Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd October

We’ll leave Friday evening (so you don’t miss any lectures) and we will come back Sunday night.

Where?

We will be staying in Eric’s Barn, Eric Jones is a legendary climber, he started base jumping at the age of 50! Here’s his wikipedia page.

We will be top-roping at some easy to moderate crags, so plenty of easy routes for new climbers.

How?

We will be taking a pair of uni minibuses, seating ~ 16 people per bus.

What do I need?

We’ll provide all of the gear, and as we are staying in Eric’s barn there will be no need for tents!

• Clothes for Saturday & Sunday
• Sleeping bag (the club does have a few if you need one)
• Money for lunch (Breakfast and dinner will be provided by us!)
• Whatever waterproofs you own! (just incase)

 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.

There are currently discussions with Student Activities about a special event in Fresher’s week that I’m sure everyone will love. A bit nostalgic… I’ll add more details once everything is confirmed!

We will also be running free/open taster sessions to give people a chance to try climbing. Think “try before you buy”…

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.