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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The countryside code is a set of guidelines that helps people to enjoy the outdoors whilst protecting the rights of landowners and helping everyone to take responsibility for themselves whilst they are out enjoying nature. It gives guidance on what you should and shouldn't do, so...
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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,...
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Mindfulness has been shown to help athletes improve their head game and perform better. Sometimes, it's easy to start, but not so easy to sustain a new habit, like mindfulness. Here are some tactics other people use to make mindfulness a habit:[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_text_separator title="Attach to a habit you...
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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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Making the jump from top roping to lead climbing is a big moment in any climber’s career that expands the routes climbers can do indoors and outdoors. With this new skill, climbers can access new training techniques that will help push their climbing even further....
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In her recent TEDx talk, pro climber Emily Harrington succinctly describes how she uses her fear of falling to succeed at climbing some of the hardest routes in the world. Starting out climbing aged 11, she – like most beginners – was afraid of falling. She...
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I love the adventure of long traditional climbs and I enjoy going to indoor walls with friends for fun and exercise. Occasionally I've made the effort to push my lead grade but 6a is my indoor all-time best and the rare VS outside. In winter it's...
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With one month to go til Christmas, we’ve selected a few ideas to make your gift-buying that bit easier. This year we’re focusing as much as possible on British-made, hand-made, ethical products. Some products feature an exclusive discount too, because those super friendly folk want...
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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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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.
Footwork is talked about so often by climbers, but even experienced climbers often don't know where to go to improve their footwork. Today's article is all about improving footwork. If we've missed something, leave us a comment and share your experience and knowledge with us...
Read MoreThe weather is getting warmer and if you’re like me you are getting excited about getting outdoor climbing again.
In a world where climate change is a real threat us climbers have to do our part to keep the environment we inhabit, and let’s be honest, take advantage of for our own pleasure, safe.
Sometimes it is easy to forget to do certain things to maintain a fun but environmentally responsible balance but it’s actually pretty simple!
On January 19th 2013 an avalanche swept four people to their deaths in Glencoe. It was an event that shocked a great many people. Me included. I was on the mountain on that day. A year later I returned to Scotland to do a Winter...
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Mountain Rescue Services are staffed by volunteers. Stay safe in the hills using their download as a guide. Read on to go to the download…
Winter is here. If you are considering learning new skills to make the most of Scottish winter, or perhaps just thinking of going out with friends or family over the winter weekends, there are many ways to enjoy the winter season. Here’s essential information from Mountain Rescue England & Wales about how to stay safe in during winter.
Work-climb-life balance can be tricky, especially if you have children or a demanding job.
Whether your work is paid or voluntary (and in this I include caring and housekeeping roles), after long hours committed to this role it can feel hard to find the time to get to the wall let alone the energy to do so.
Returning to climbing after an injury or recovery from surgery can be daunting, let alone frustrating and often maddening. Your mind is telling you to hop on the routes you were on prior to the injury but your body is unable to emulate how it worked before.
Finding just the right present for the climber in your life can be tricky. Chances are she/he’s got all the usuals, so here are the Womenclimb top Christmas or birthday present picks. You can be in with a chance of winning a 3rd Rock sports bra
In her last post, Emily Thompson talked about Via Ferrata and here she gives her top tips for beginner to help you make the most of your via ferrata experience.
Why did you get into rock climbing? Or, if you’ve never tried, why would you? Maybe you love being outdoors or maybe it’s an alternative to the gym and a good way to keep fit. If you reach a point when you want to climb an obscure rockface or a big wall tucked away you in a valley, will need to consult a map and have to work out how to get there. So, here are my 7 top tips for finding the crag:
At the Alpkit premises on my visit in June 2015
At the start of 2015 Alpkit invited me over for a fish and chip lunch to take a look at their office/ production facility/ warehouse and a few weeks ago, finally, I made it over there. They gave me some great tour of their workshop and showroom as well as showing me some of their fantastic kit. Their gear is developed in the UK and a large percentage of their gear is made over here by the people who do the sports. It’s great to see passionate people who are into sports making products for the sports they love.
We heard on the grapevine that they’re developing some new clothing lines – trousers and jackets. Keep an eye on the Alpkit website to find out about their ever-expanding range of equipment & clothing.
By Emily Pitts // Route reading is like solving a puzzle. It involves time, skills and attention. These are some exercises you can use and practical things you can do to help you get better at finding solutions to your climbing puzzles, focusing mainly on indoor top rope climbing, as a mechanism for improving and moving on to lead climbing indoors and climbing outdoors. There’s hopefully something in here for beginners, but also people who are more experienced climbers.
It may seem very straightforward to some people, but knowing how to start climbing is not simple if you don’t know anyone who climbs**. Firstly there are different types of climbing, both indoor and outdoors. Decide which you want to try and that will help you decide the best way to get started.
To climb indoors using ropes (as opposed to bouldering) you will generally learn to do a number of things to stay safe. Here are some of the things we think you’ll need to know**:
Beth Thomas is no stranger to Womenclimb. She is a reviewer and writer for us and we also climb with her. She’s recently broken the HVS barrier and climbed her first E1 trad lead – Tighe’s Arête at Hobson Moor Quarry. We talked to Beth about how she feels having climbed E1….
Following on from the last blog post here are some practical things you can do right now to improve your skills for bouldering:
1) Watch