Rock climbing

[Sciadopitys]

I have been climbing trees for a few years now, and have always wanted to try rock climbing. Well, i am going tomorrow. Well excited!! I'm sure lots of you guys have tried it and some of you are probably regular rock climbers. Whats it like, i hear you need loads of strength in ya fingers!?!

[Stephen Blair]

I have been climbing trees for a few years now, and have always wanted to try rock climbing. Well, i am going tomorrow. Well excited!! I'm sure lots of you guys have tried it and some of you are probably regular rock climbers. Whats it like, i hear you need loads of strength in ya fingers!?!

 

prepare to feel weaker than a weak thing. i have tried it a few times indoors. when i could get something to grip with my hand then it was a doddle(upper arms)when it got to the finger grip stuff i was goosed. you tire so quickly, but you will learn loads, and you will find a big difference when you go back into a tree, have fun:001_smile:

[Buzz]

Whereabouts are you going mate ? You'll either love it or hate it it's a completley different ball game to tree work.

 

If you like it it's well worth doing specific strength trainning focused on power and endurance....have fun..

[Jason James Gairn]

Indeed there are few of us on here. If it's your first outing then make sure you don't get `pumped' too quickly. start with big hand holds to warm your muscle up and work towards more fingery stuff. If your forearms turn into solid iron, then shake out the arm and wait for the lactic acid to reduce.

A good stretching for 5-10 mins before will help.

presumably your going with an experienced party. they'll take care of you I'm sure.

have a great time, movement on rock will inform your tree climbing for the better.

Remember the photos for us arbtalkes.

[Jason James Gairn]

Oh and I forgot to say, remember your feet. most beginers forget to actually stand up and end up using too much upper body.

[Scottie]

Where you going? Have been trying to get to go with someone. Leeds Wall isn't too far away from me.

[Joe]

rock climbing and liking being outdoors is what got me into tree suregery, but as soon as i started climbing trees i found rock climbing so boring compared to climbing trees and i have not been since.

[Steve Bullman]

you do need strong fingers, but also work on your balance, this will take a lot of the strain away from your fingers. and like jason said, it will make your tree climbing better....you will find yourself pulling yourself up on tiny pieces of bark on gnarly old oaks that you probably wouldnt have even considered doing before

[Joe]

you do need strong fingers, but also work on your balance, this will take a lot of the strain away from your fingers. and like jason said, it will make your tree climbing better....you will find yourself pulling yourself up on tiny pieces of bark on gnarly old oaks that you probably wouldnt have even considered doing before

 

well said steve, it will make you start to look for handholds in trees and encourage you to wrap your fingers round the gnarliest bits of bark.

[Jason James Gairn]

I'm a big fan of what I think is called `parallel learning'. I have a friend who is a fairly well accomplished jazz saxophone player in London. To improve his feeling and technique on his instrument, he makes furniture in his workshop. I believe that an appreciation of sculpture and painting can inform a tree surgeons sense of aesthetics, at the end of the day our work is judged so much on what it looks like.

Rock climbing is a very close relative of tree climbing and taking part in it can only improve ones game. I'd encourage everyone to have ago, be it in a rock wall environment or if your lucky enough to live in the right place, on real rock out in the elements. For me the vicious and unforgiving gritstone of Derbyshire has always captivated me.