Liz Procter's Blog

Yes, for 2011 climbing is my latest hobby.

My workplace had a brand new indoor climbing wall fitted in the summer of 2011 which has led me to re-start an old hobby of mine, ‘climbing’. The image below is the wall with the mats up. This wall has provided such great opportunities for my family and I as well as the local community, I totally love it!

This time I have taken up climbing seriously and have now completed my CWA (Climbing Wall Award) training. More on this later…

It all started when the climbing wall was fitted after much preparation, press coverage and public voting to raise the money for it.  The local police were heavily involved with the scheme too.

After the summer holidays I became a volunteer at the after school climbing clubs twice per week and helped out at children’s climbing parties at weekends. This has kept mereally busy… on top of my ‘Animal Health’ after school club that I also do twice weekly.

Anyway, after gaining experience from volunteering (I’m still learning) I decided to become a member at other climbing walls and do a lot of my own personal climbing. I joined ‘Craggy Island’ and ‘Calshot Activities Centre’, both of which are about an hours drive away from me and are really good walls to climb at. In order to become a member I had to do a small five minute assessment to prove I could tie my own knots and belay safely. This is standard practice to all new comers. Below is a picture of  ’Craggy’:

Craggy has many top roping routes (rope already in place) as well as lead routes (you take your own rope up) and of all grades ranging from complete beginner to expert.

The man assessing me at calshot seemed rather uptight and spent way too long assessing me than usual (because I stupidly said I was doing my CWA which made him try and test me on other things).

Anyway, I passed both and was permitted free rain of the wall and to bring in two guests each time if I wanted. This was good as it meant I could bring the kids if I wanted to. I took my son and nephew climbing at Craggy a couple of times. They love it. My son is old enough to climb at these places but unfortunately he has to wait a few more months before he can climb at the wall I actually work at, MAJOR BUMMER but not long to go, then he can join the after school club.

Here is my son having a go at the work wall during open day:

Here is my daughter having her first climb (she then joined an after school club):

Below: My son coming back for more:

As climbing has become a serious hobby of mine I have had to invest in my own kit, consisting of:

• A climbing harness
• Belay device
• Carabiner
• Climbing shoes

These are all the basics that any beginner will need.

1. The harness, obviously, as it is what the climber wears and the rope and equipment are attached to Mine cost £50.
2. The belay device is what the rope feeds through when the climber climbs and for lowering the climber down and cost approx £18.
3. The carabiner which is used for a number of things but mainly with the belay device andcost £15.
4. The climbing shoes  aid your footwork on the wall. Trainers can be worn but grip on small holds on the wall is much harder. The climbing shoes have a better grip and squash your toes together which although sounds painful, makes climbing better. These are quite expensive and mine cost £85. I strongly advise that you try loads on to see which one feel better as online purchases are a bit risky.