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General Climbing Discussion

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Trad Climbing Club? 15-Apr-2013 At 10:07:41 AM simey

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On 15/04/2013 Cliff wrote:
>On 14/04/2013 ratherbeclimbinv9 wrote:
>>Cliff, I think you're massively over-emphasising your point.
>
>That was my intent. I was trying to make the point that learning from
>a competent pal can be a good enough start to climbing (worked for Wendy
>and tens of thousands of others who are still climbing), and the rest can
>be learned the traditional ways wo hiring a guide. Of course, in the absence
>of climbing amigos one can hire a guide.
>
Even climbers with a reasonable amount of experience can benefit from climbing with a guide for a day, particularly on trad. I'm staggered at the number of people who climb pretty well who still do weird and funky stuff, or who don't know the simplest ways to do things (particularly rigging belays), or who still place pretty average protection.

These climbers (because they already have a good foundation of knowledge/experience) have huge opportunity to absorb new stuff as they are less likely to be suffering from information overload compared to beginners. They can ask questions until the cows come home about what practices are relevant to what situations and get reassurance about whether their approach to climbing is sound.

Two people hiring a guide for the day is pretty cost effective. Outlining exactly what you want from the experience means the day is tailored for you. The experiences and knowledge gained from one day with a guide might be the equivalent of many, many days bumbling around yourself - where even then you might still be asking yourself, 'Am I doing this right?'

>Maybe you're
>>the guy who spends all his time teaching new punters to place and evaluate
>>gear - bully for you if so, but I'd still suggest you're in the minority.
>
>No, the only pure gumbies I climb w are friends. When I reflect on my
>climbing 'accomplishments', introducing my mates to climbing ranks #1.
>1 still climbs hard 25 years later, and coaches kids. Pure joy.

Totally agree.