First find a facility near you. The local climbing wall facility staff can give you great local area information. Here is a list of world wide climbing walls. The gym or climbing facility staff will give you an orientation, show and teach you how to put on a climbing harness, how to tie the figure-8 knot and how to belay and lower your partner. After demonstrating proficiency on the key climbing skills you can begin climbing and belaying your partner. As you get yourself involved in a climbing training program you will be surprised at how your climbing technique improves month by month.

Climbing walls are constructed by a variety of methods. Many climbers build their own climbing walls for home practice. Some are made of plywood with wood beam structural supports. Other climbing walls are constructed with steel beam structures with fiberglass sheathing or molded "rock like" texture. Almost all climbing walls use climbing holds. Climbing holds bolt on to the wall to create a climbing route. Many climbing facility owners or managers hire routesetters to continually update and keep routes new and interesting. In recent years routesetting for indoor climbing has developed almost to an art form. Skilled routesetters are valuable assets for a climbing wall manager. Climbing routes can be designated by colored holds, tape on the wall or by stripping all holds from the wall except the holds used for the route. Sometimes the route is given a named. Usually a difficulty level will be assigned using a climbing difficulty grading scale. This allows climbers to track their progress as they improve in skill. Beginning climbers will usually improve several grades in the first several months. As climbers develop their climbing skill they progress to more difficult routes.

Bouldering. This form of climbing is unroped, usually 12 feet, or 4 meters above the ground. Climbing facilities set their own "safe" bouldering height. Usually the fall zone has padding such as gym mats, pea gravel, shredded tire tread to break a fall. The bouldering style of climbing generally requires more strength than endurance. The routes are shorter, and therefore become more difficult. Bouldering requires a minimum amount of climbing equipment, just climbing shoes and chalk. If there is no fall zone for example outside climbing, the climber should also take a crash pad. Bouldering is very social. The climbs take place a "eye level" as compared to 30' or 10 m overhead.

Lead Climbing. Lead climbing also requires a belayer. However the rope goes from the belayer directly to the climber. As the climber ascends he/she must clip in at anchor points. The anchor points screw into the wall using the same screw holes as the climbing holds. The anchor points have quickdraws attached to them. When the climber gets to a quickdraw, he/she pulls rope up and clips it into the lower carabiner on the quickdraw. Lead climbing is a little more risky and requires more experience than top roping. When the climber falls, he/she drops a little more than twice the distance he/she is above the anchor. It is a little more than twice the distance because the rope stretches and there is always some slack in the rope.

Top Rope. A belayer controls the rope from the ground as the climber moves up the route. The anchor and rope is already in place. The climber does not have to place protection or clip in to anchors as he/she progresses up the wall. The rope goes from the belayer to the top of the route through the anchor. From the anchor it comes down the climbing route to the climber. This is the easiest and safest form of rope climbing. It is the primarily type of climbing done in an climbing facility. If the climber falls the belayer locks the rope in the belay device. The rope comes tight and stretches a little, but the "fall" is only a few feet.

Gear Required for Climbing. The following gear items can usually be rented, hired at the local climbing facility. For your first few trips to the climbing wall it's probably best to hire/rent the house equipment. These links give you information about climbing gear required for the sport.


Climbing Birthday Party. Climbing is a great birthday party group activity. It is very popular with teens and young adults. groups usually get a group rate. facility stff usually provides belayers. It's an easy way to let kids expend a lot of energy in an exciting, memorable and safe environment. The facility managers usually separate a location for the gift exchange and party area for cake and drinks. Each climbing facility manager will have his/her own options for climbing birthday party ideas. Climbing gym owners can provide information about sponsoring a climbing birthday party.

Climbing Team Building. Many climbing facilities offer team building courses for corporate or organizational groups. Climbing team building event is an excellent way for a management team to improve group communication, trust, bonding and dependence on each other. The nature of climbing lends itself to team building perfectly. It requires trust. Supervision, management, workers are all placed on equal status as all must trust and work together in an equal way. The teamwork skills learned during climbing are quickly related in the workplace for team problem solving, inter-cooperation between work centers. For team building the type of climbing is usually top rope. Teams progress at their own pace as they develop their skills, trust, confidence and teamwork. This form of team building has become increasingly popular.

Indoor Rock Climbing. It is great fun but also provides a lot of personal value to a wide range of people:
great place for teens to spend time exercises problem solving provides aerobic and anaerobic exercise uses a wide and diverse set of muscles great for team building, improving trust, camaraderie builds self confidence and a sense of achievement excellent for parties

Indoor Climbing is an increasingly popular form of rock climbing performed on artificial structures that attempt to mimic the experience of outdoor rock climbing but in a more controlled environment.

The first indoor walls tended to be made primarily of brick leaving little scope for interesting routes, as the steepness of the wall and variety of the hand holds were somewhat limited.

Construction method

The most common construction method involves screwing resin hand holds on to wooden boards. The boards can be of varying height & steepness (from completely horizontal 'roofs' to not even vertical 'slabs') and have a large variety of holds (such as very small 'crimps,' slanted-surfaced 'slopers,' and 'jugs,' which are often large and easy to hold) attached. This variety, coupled with the ability for the climbs to be changed by attaching the holds onto the wall differently, has resulted in indoor climbing becoming a very successful sport.

Seasonal effect

Indoor climbing has also seen an increase in popularity in areas with rainy climates where climbing outdoors is sometimes difficult. Besides offering an alternative during inclement weather, many working adults find that they can get to the gym after work and still climb even though it is too dark outside. In order to improve in any sport, consistent practice is crucial. With the advent of indoor climbing, weather, seasonal difficulties, and busy schedules are less of an obstacle to consistent improvement, and enjoyment of the sport.

Indoor climbing gym

The proliferation of indoor climbing gyms has increased the accessibility, and thus the popularity, of the sport of climbing. Since environmental conditions (ranging from the structural integrity of the climbing surfaces, to equipment wear, to proper use of equipment) can be more controlled in such a setting, indoor climbing is perhaps a safer and more friendly introduction to the sport. In fact, birthday parties and youth teams are common at many rock gyms.

This sense of security has a downside- a new gym climber may head to the cliffs and find they do not have all of the necessary skills for climbing in a setting without preplaced anchors, and explicit route finding.

Indoor rock climbing

Indoor rock climbing is also continually described as an alternate and secondary option to outdoor climbing. Although this may be true for a range of climbers, many climbers see outdoor climbing as an excursion from the gym, and much less usual than indoor climbing. For this reason, indoor climbing should not be classified as a secondary sport, as it is a competitive sport, governed by many national organizations throughout the world, and therefore quite different from outdoor climbing.

Climbing walls are a popular type of challenge course, a learning and recreational experience that provides adventure, promotes fitness, and instills teamwork and self-confidence in the climber. It’s a wilderness experience in a fixed location. If the operation is well run, there should be no accidents; but there are risks. To ensure a maximum safety experience for climbers, management should verify that the equipment is completely built, installed, and maintained to all safety standards; that all climbers are given proper instruction; that they understand and agree to follow those instructions; and that the equipment is used only under proper supervision


SAFETY
1 Rules should be posted at the wall.
2 The area should be controlled to prevent unauthorized use – chained-off, room locked – or the equipment covered with panels secured to a height of 8 ft. - 10 ft. This protection should be in place anytime the wall is not supervised.
3 All accidents and near misses should be reported immediately to whoever is specified in the emergency plan to receive such reports. Accidents should be documented, and written reports filed in accordance with facility procedures.
4 If outdoors, the wall should not be used in high wind or when there is a chance of lightning.
5 A first aid kit should be present at the wall. If the wall is outdoors, away from the facility, staff should have a cell phone ready to call emergency authorities in case they are needed. All facilities should be equipped with an AED (defibrillator) on-site, within a 3-minute response time.
6 There should be no hooks, shelves, trees, or other objects near the wall upon which a climber could fall.



EQUIPMENT

1. Climbing walls should be designed and constructed according to ACCT standards. Builders should have appropriate experience and/or be an ACCT preferred vendor. The wall should be designed for the population that will be using it. [ADA standards may apply.]
2. The wall and its elements should be inspected quarterly, with at least an annual inspection by a professional contractor. All inspections should be documented, and the records kept on file.
3. All safety equipment should conform to accepted safety standards, and be inspected before every use by staff.
4. Each piece of equipment should have a usage log documenting the dates of service, hours of usage, inspections, and failures, if any. The documents should be kept on file indefinitely, or at least ten years.
5. The equipment to be inspected before each use includes, but is not limited to:
a. Harnesses
b. Ropes
c. Belay systems – anchors, nuts, bolts, etc.
d. Carabineers
e. Helmets
f. Handholds
g. Fall protection
h. Wall stability
6. There should be a minimum of 6 - 12 inches of fall protection at the base of the wall. If mats are used, they should be connected to prevent them from spreading upon impact. This fall protection should extend away from the wall 6 ft. - 8 ft. It is recommended that all ropes be replaced on an annual basis or more often if condition or heavy usage dictates.

1. All climbers must pass the Certification Test. Beginners must attend a Certification Class at the scheduled times and dates.
Experienced climbers may be tested during regular operational hours.
2. Climbers over the age of 18 may boulder (climb unroped) provided their feet are not higher than 72 inches off the floor. Climbing above these heights require use of harness, rope and belayer.
3. Climber’s bouldering must give the right-of-way to roped climbers.
4. Report all loose holds to the SRC Supervisor, immediately.
5. Climbers are required to check their and their belayer’s setup and equipment prior to climbing.
6. Shoes are required at all times when climbing. No bare foot climbing allowed. Street shoes must be clean and dry prior to climbing. Climbing shoes are preferred, but not required.
7. The SRC Supervisor has the authority to ask anyone to leave if their behavior is deemed inappropriate, hazardous or disruptive
8. Climbers’ must use the correct rope and anchor for the route they are climbing to prevent dangerous pendulum swinging in event of a fall
9. All belaying must be done using belay devices (Gri-Gri, ATC, Stitch Plate, etc). No hip belays allowed.
10. Use proper belay commands between climber and belayer to avoid miscommunication and potential accidents
11. Belayers must not allow excess slack in the belay rope. Accidents and injuries can occur with long falls.
12. Proper ID with Certification must be shown every time you use the Climbing Gym
13. All personal gear must be stored in a locker outside of the Gym. Do not leave gear unattended or unsecured. The SRC and Staff are not responsible for loss or theft of your gear.
14. The SRC Supervisor on-duty is the final authority on all aspects of usage, activities and safety procedures for the climbing wall. Please do not interfere with the climbing wall Supervisor in the performance of their duties.

15. Additional rules and policies will be posted and enforced as needed.

Rock climbing styles: Traditional climbing: A traditional rock climber is more often called as ‘Trad’ climber. A Trad climber is any climber, who is secured with ropes and places protection (pro) like nuts, bolts, pitons, hexes, in the faults on the rock face as one ascends. The faults can be crack, notches, projections, nips, crete. If no crack is naturally available one may drill the bolt in with a hammer. Trad climbing is mostly done in teams. Sport climbing: Sport climbing is very similar to Trad climbing but for the difference in gear and bolted nature of the route. The rope system remains the same, but added protection ensues from pre-bolted routes, wherein a climber has to just clip-in the quick draw as one ascends. A quick draw is a short sling with one bent gate Karabiner and one straight karabiner at its ends. It is mostly short climbs, not more than two or three pitches and with added safety, more emphasis can be placed on climbing techniques and harder moves. Bouldering Bouldering is the most explosive and dynamic type of climbing. Bouldering is usually done on boulders not high more than 15-20 feet. These are known as boulder problems or boulder challenges. The climber is never actually much of the ground and bouldering consist of series of moves where in a limber has to climb or traverse a boulder problem. Bouldering even though not higher up, offers the most difficult problems and climbs to be overcome, since you might not attempt a difficult and dynamic moves at a height of, say 60 feet of the ground, as against when you are just 10 feet o the ground. In bouldering, no rope or equipments are used, but just crash pads to fall on so as to avoid injury. Indoor/Wall climbing: During rains, the routes are always laden with moss and it makes it impossible to climb in those extremely slippery conditions. To satiate their hunger for climbing, climbing enthusiasts, devised Indoor climbing or wall climbing. However, today indoor climbing has taken over the Trad climbing and is more favored in Europe and US. All the climbing competitions are done on indoor walls. The environment is always controlled and the route manipulative. Ice climbing: Even, though never done, few words on it. Frozen waterfall, vertical ice face are climbed with specialized equipments. Crampon equipped shoes; ice axes etc are bare essentials of the same. In addition to equipments used, the nature of the climb, the routes and climbing techniques differs a lot. Ice faces exhibit mutations and changes its nature between the lead climber and the second.

The simplest type of wall is of plywood construction, known colloquially in the climbing community as a 'woody', with a combination of either bolt-on holds or screw on holds. Bolt-on holds are fixed to a wall with iron bolts which are inserted through the hold, which will have specific bolt points, and then fixed into pre-allocated screw-threaded holes in the wall. Screw-on holds are, by contrast, usually much smaller, owing to the nature of their fixing. These holds are connected to the wall by screws which may be fastened anywhere on the wall's surface.

Other types of walls include slabs of granite, concrete sprayed on to a wire mesh, pre-made fiberglass panels, manufactured steel and aluminum panels, and textured fiberglass walls.

A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, used for climbing. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used is a thick multiplex board with holes drilled into it. Recently, manufactured steel and aluminum have also been used. The wall may have places to attach belay ropes, but may also be used to practice lead climbing or bouldering.

Each hole contains a specially formed t-nut to allow modular climbing holds to be screwed on to the wall. With manufactured steel or aluminum walls, an engineered industrial fastener is used to secure climbing holds. The face of the multiplex board climbing surface is covered with textured products including concrete and paint and/or polyurethane loaded with sand. In addition to the textured surface and hand holds, the wall may contain surface structures such as indentions (incuts) and protrusions (bulges), or take the form of an overhang, underhang or crack.

Some grips are formed to mimic the conditions of outdoor rock, including some that are oversized and can have other grips bolted onto them.