Climbing in the Olympics – how it works
The Olympics is coming. And climbing is in it this time round. Get everything you need to know, here at Womenclimb, so you go into your competition viewing with all of the intel. ...
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Beginner Climber
The Trad Journey – Part 3/3
By now, you’re hopefully feeling some psych for getting out and trying your hand at trad climbing. At first you may spend a long time seconding (following) your climbing partner/s up a variety of trad routes to get into the trad vibe and get used...
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The Trad Journey – Part 2/3
The next stop on your trad journey, is, of course, the kit. All of that lovely shiny expensive climbing gear that clinks so nicely at the local crag. The trad climbers metal skirt. But what is it all? What are those dangly, noisy items trad...
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The Trad Journey – Part 1/3
The road to trad climbing is littered with lingo, gear, and a very specific set of skills. But don’t let that put you off! If you want to get into trad climbing but aren’t sure where to start - look no further! What even is trad...
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Climbing Exercises for Beginners
Starting out with climbing can seem quite daunting at first: completely new kit, knots and belaying techniques that need to be learnt, and the lingo that goes along with a new sport. If you’re just starting out, try...
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Destination Guides – by you!
Do you have a favourite crag you want to shout about? Have you stumbled on the perfect set of beginner's boulders? Esoteric or popular; piddly 9 metre single pitch gruntwork or long multipitch exposure; everything in between and around...
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Film Review: ‘Liv along the way’
This short 24 minute Salomon film, shown as part of the Mountains on Stage Lineup, demonstrates the formidable strength of Liv Sansoz. Her aim is to climb all the summits in the Alps that are over 4000metres, of which there are a hearty 82, in...
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Climbing Books to Enjoy This Summer
As the Easter weekend proved, summer is well underway. More daylight and longer hours means much more time spent outdoors, but that doesn’t mean you need to neglect climbing completely during your down time....
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#6 Easy Access Resources
If you've ever felt lost and not sure how to progress, our downloadable resources can help you to identify areas to develop and learn new climbing skills and techniques, all in one place. No more hunting round the internet for trustworthy and reliable resources once...
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#5 Get Better, Get Training
Plenty of us want to get better, but don't know how. That is where Womenclimb training comes in. Join women around the UK who have already benefitted from our dedicated training programmes, face-to-face and remote-access online. Whether it's the practical skills for climbing or managing...
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#4 Exclusive Discounts
At the heart of what we do is this: people. When you sign up as a member of Womenclimb, you are creating and becoming part of an authentic community that is committed to supporting women to achieve their goals, in more ways than one. ...
Read More#3 Get Outdoors
Summer is on its way in the UK, which means that lots of us want to get outdoors. Being a Womenclimb member will give you access to our amazing outdoor meetup programme. At our meetups we can guarantee that you will meet incredible women...
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Why go to a Womenclimb Meetup?
Ever wanted to climb, but none of your friends are available? Ever felt daunted by a particular route, unsure how to go about it? Join one of our monthly Indoor Meetups, all across the UK! Each meetup is led by a wonderful Womenclimb Ambassador: ‘I became an ambassador for Womenclimb because...
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#2 Indoor Meetups
Have you ever been in a position where you really want to go climbing, but no-one else is free? Or you want to push yourself further, but just don't know how? Womenclimb Meetups are for you! Every month, as a member, you will get FREE...
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#1 Amazing Climbing Community
Our climbing partners are crucial to our climbing success. They are there through our achievements and highs, as well as our struggles and challenges. They can make or break our climbing experience. What we’ve discovered through listening to you, our community, is that women often...
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Destination Guide: Thorn Crag
I’ll be honest. I discovered Thorn Crag as a result of a somewhat desperate Google search: “easy bouldering UK”. As that search indicates, I am by no means a boulderer. A nasty ankle injury bouldering indoors early in my climbing career, compounded by a trip to Font with...
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Reasons to become a Womenclimb member
Have you ever felt like you can’t find the right climbing partner?Would you like to climb more and get better at climbing? Do you want a confidence boost?Have you hit a climbing plateau? Natasha Hirst photography Womenclimb membership is here to help with these things and...
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Training Exercises for Bouldering
Going to the bouldering gym to crush your project is a satisfying and fun way to climb, but what about those days when you want something a little less intense while still...
Read More7 Reasons I Chose my Climbing Gym
There has been a recent explosion of bouldering gyms around Sydney, and having climbed at each of them, let me tell you why I travel one hour each way to get to the gym I chose. It’s in Lane Cove, and it’s called 9 Degrees...
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20 Ways to Motivate Yourself on a Can’t Be Bothered Day
The days are getting longer, the air feels a little warmer, the spring is coming. Now is the time to get into the climbing gym and get ready for the season, so you can reap the fruit throughout the summer. But what happens when you...
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Climb Catalunya Interview // Natasha Hirst
20 women, 4 climbing coaches, 1 photographer and 3 hosts = one amazing climbing trip. In November 2018 we came together for a very special climbing trip in Spain. It was a spectacular trip, filled with new friendships, climbing firsts and lots of laughter....
Read MoreBouldering in the Falklands
Falkland Islander Lisa Watson is a keen boulderer and editor of the Falklands local newspaper. She and her partner Jonny Summers are on a mission to build the Islands first bouldering gym. Find her on Instagram @lisapenguin and on Twitter @lisafalklands Being capable of shearing 300...
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Bouldering Vocabulary
Natasha Hirst Photography Enjoying the bouldering wall, but not sure what the lingo's all about? Here's a quick guide to get you started: Barn door: when the body swings open from the same hand and foot being positioned on the wall Beta: information about the moves, approach...
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Managing Periods in the Outdoors (#awkward?)
Each year, millions of women share in the experience of having periods, but it is still seen as a taboo subject, making many people feel awkward and stopping thousands from participating. As part of their long-term research project 'Managing Menstruation in Extreme Environments Project’ (or...
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4 ways to track your climbs
If you are wondering why you should log your climbs, if you need to log them or you’re not sure how to start logging them, then Womenclimb is here to help. Here’s our opinion on why you should, and four different ways to start keeping...
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Training // Climbing Wall Games
We all know the usual drill at the wall. You approach the wall; find your holds, which are all the same colour and scramble up hoping for success. However sometimes you might find yourselves at a smaller wall where the jumps between grades are massive,...
Read MoreWhy Hard is Not Bad
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. Hamlet Act 2, scene 2, 239–251 I am new to the climbing scene. Funny, as I am now a climbing writer, but I have a few experiences up my sleeve, that I am finding...
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Monday Motivation: Interview with Molly Burdick – from heart disease to ninja warrior
10 years ago, Molly Burdick was diagnosed with congenital heart disease. After years fighting PTSD due to her illness, and often too scared to leave the house, her life changed forever when she watched a climbing video of Chris Sharma and Adam Ondra. Fast forward...
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Fearless Fridays: Ten tips for nervous climbers
It being winter here in the northern hemisphere, my social media feed is full of news and images of the white stuff – people climbing it, hiking across it, skiing down it (me, jealous much?!). I came across one such article (link at the end)...
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Monday Motivation: Mountains for the Mind
Currently, 1 in 4 people in Britain experience mental health problems each year (according to Mind). The chances are pretty high then that every one of us knows someone who’s suffering with some aspect of mental health. It’s also pretty likely that we don’t actually...
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Monday Motivation: First indoor climb at 99!
Think you’re too old to learn new tricks?! How about this amazing 99-year old grandma who just did her first indoor climb… For Tim Dobson, watching his grandma tie in and start her first ever climb was probably not the calmest moment of his life. Especially...
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Skills // Yoga for climbing
Written by Beth Thomas
Yoga – Just a fad?
Yoga has become a bit of a buzz word in recent years and you could even say it has become quite trendy. It is however an ancient Indian practice developed over 5,000 years ago! Bang on trend.
Chat with Petra Klingler at the Women’s Climbing Symposium 2018
Petra Klingler, the Bouldering 2016 World-champion from Switzerland, led the competition bouldering workshop at WCS2018. We were excited to get a chance to chat to her at the end of the day and reflect on the day’s events, the food (particularly the cake table), and...
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My WCS Climbing Journey
How did I get on at the Women's Climbing Symposium? I talk about my WCS experience and what I got out of it. Read on to find out about my journey. I’ve been climbing indoors and out, for around 5 years, but overhangs and climbs requiring any...
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Celebrating our friends’ successes
Our mini-series this week is celebrating the climbing achievements of our friends - the friends who support, motivate or challenge us; the friends who have faced their climbing fears; the friends who have overcome obstacles through climbing; the friends who are just awesome to climb...
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Womenclimb on Tour!
November 2018 welcomed our first Womenclimb overseas trip and it was a sight to behold: Twenty climbers, four coaches, rain, sunshine, food, friendships, fun and oodles of personal growth. These are the incredible women who stepped out, pushed themselves, worked hard and made this a truly unforgettable...
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Celebrating Our Successes in 2018
The theme for our posts this week is celebrating our personal successes from 2018. All week we’ll be sharing success stories of some of the country’s most inspiring women climbers, including Hazel Findlay, Madeleine Cope, Michaela Tracy, and Abbie Robinson. We also invite you to...
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Shirts On or Shirts Off???
Should Climbing Gyms Adopt a Shirts-On Policy? Climbing culture is about inclusivity, which is why shirtless climbing can be a sensitive issue. In this article, Tess talks about her thoughts on why going shirtless should be accepted within the climbing community. Exercising shirtless is widely practiced among...
Read MoreBusting Climbing Myths #4: Trad, Lead, Sport, what do these terms all mean and do I need a partner?
As with any sport, there is always a whole bag of new lingo to pick up and climbing is definitely a guilty candidate. There are many different types of climbing and some may suit your lifestyle and time more than others. Whatever one you like...
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Busting Climbing Myths #3 – Everyone is looking at you…
“No one is thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves, just like you.” Unfortunately, this doesn’t always apply in the climbing world. Our third myth is slightly different, in that it isn’t a myth. To be truthful, people are watching you, but it doesn't mean it's a bad...
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Busting Climbing Myths #2 – What Gear Do I Need?
Starting rock climbing is one of the most rewarding things you can do since it’s a great way to get outdoors, meet new friends, and keep fit. However, it is easy to feel overwhelmed when choosing which gear to buy as there are so many...
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Busting climbing myths #1
😱 I don’t have any upper body strength The myth ‘I need to have strong arms’ often stops people getting started, so today’s article is all about why you don’t need strong arms when you’re starting out. In fact, you don’t need to be fit or skinny...
Read MoreWomen in Adventure Film Competition 2019 Launched
The fifth Women in Adventure Film Competition with the BMC is officially launched. The BMC and Womenclimb launched the competition at this year's Women's Trad Festival in the Peak District, in the company of 180 climbers from all around the UK. The competition is designed to...
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#inversion Christmas Giveaway
Adventure travel company inversion are offering an incredible prize to one lucky Womenclimber - a free place on their upcoming ice climbing adventure in the stunning Pyrenees. The trip, running 19th – 23rd January 2018, led by MIC Simon Edward, includes transfers, half-board accommodation, guiding &...
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Charlie Low Reviews // Rab Kinetic Plus Softshell Jacket
"As soon as my Kinetic Plus jacket arrived I was impressed with how soft and comfortable it felt." Charlie Low is a climber based in the Peak District. She runs the popular Women's Trad Festival every summer, she climbs and she's all round outdoorsy - perfect for a...
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Climbing Inspiration // 1920’s to 2010’s
We all know that you can't be what you can't see, so in today's post are some Youtube videos to help you visualise success. Vicarious experiences, seeing other achieve success, are critical to gaining self-efficacy. Feel Successful, Watch Others' Success Self-efficacy is the thing that makes us...
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Successful Climbing
Today's climbing has been a success. I've been to Wilton 3 Quarry, north of Bolton where I led one route (a Severe), and backed off another (a VDiff) only 2 metres from the top. You might wonder how this was 'successful', because climbing one route and backing off...
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How to Set up a Women’s Climbing Group
In the second in our series about setting up a women's climbing group, guest writer Lorna Potter discusses how she went about setting up Bristol Women Climbers. She talks about what you might need to think about and what you'll need to do. It doesn't have to be...
Read MoreWhy YOU should create a Women’s Climbing Group
Guest writer Lorna Potter, founder of Bristol Women Climbers, discusses her insights and suggestions in the set up of a women’s climbing group.
Women’s climbing groups are are a great way to empower women and create a community for women to come together and build friendships around their love for climbing.
I’m Lorna and I run Bristol Women Climbers (BWC), a group for women climbers in Bristol to get to know other local female climbers, make friends, have fun, share skills and inspire each other to climb harder.
Types of Climbing Shoe
Climbing shoes are an essential piece of equipment. They are probably THE most important piece you will buy. Your shoes will affect your comfort indoors and outdoor climbing. Choosing the right shoe is important too, because climbing is all about your feet - how you...
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