FAQ
- Bolivia climbing questions
-
Mallorca island and rockclimbing
- What are main specifics of rockclimbing trip to Mallorca
- Mallorca island impressions
- Rockclimbing safety Spain
- Mallorca climbing accommodation
- What season is possible for rockclimbing in Mallorca
- Transport accessibility of climbing sectors in Mallorca
- Active vacation in Mallorca
- Saint Anthony night in Mallorca
- Peru climbing questions
- Gear reviews
- Safety in the mountains
- Health in the mountains
-
Elbrus questions
- Elbrus climbing gear
- Climbing Elbrus with children?
- Mount Elbrus location?
- Elbrus logistics
- How to get to Mount Elbrus?
- Elbrus German airfield?
- Elbrus difficulty grade
- 5 points beginner must know about Elbrus
- How to prepare for Elbrus?
- Are there avalanches on Mount Elbrus?
- Climbing Elbrus solo?
- Seasonality of climbing Mount Elbrus
- How much time climbing Elbrus takes?
- Clothes for Mount Elbrus?
- Pressure at the top of Elbrus?
- Elbrus air temperature
- Elbrus sightseeing
- How much to climb Elbrus
- Gear questions
- Mountaineering questions
- Mountain climbing training
- Rockclimbing questions
- Horse riding tours
- Iceclimbing questions
-
Questions on the alpine programs
- Georgia 2023
- Pico Aneto - what is that mountain?
- Mountain climbing food ration
- Queries on the alpine program climbing Mount Bazarduzu
- Queries on the Kamchatka alpine program climbing
- What is combined program?
- What is Sightseeing program?
- What is pilot program?
- What programs you have of the medium complexity level?
- Basic expedition rations
- Prices for the mountain climbing programs
- Queries on the Mountain Course in Adyl Su valley
- Program complexity?
- Questions about MCS AlexClimb
- Questions related to trekking programs
Rockclimbing gear
Version of the text for mobile device in English
Versión del texto para dispositivo móvil en español
MCS AlexClimb Rock Climbing School
General recommendations on equipment for classic rock climbing. What equipment do you need to start rock climbing?
Too lazy to read the whole text? Here is a complete list of rock climbing equipment:
- Rock climbing shoes
- Chalk bag
- Climbing chalk - magnesia
- Rock climbing harness
- ABD/ATC belay device
- 8.0 - 9.8 mm climbing rope
- Set of rock climbing quickdraws
- Rock climbing helmet *
-----------------------------
Further text - for those who like to understand everything in detail:
Like any real sport, rock climbing involves studying and expanding the capabilities of your own body.
MCS AlexClimb rock climbing training in Greece - Kalymnos island
The peculiarity and main advantage of rock climbing over other sports is that you don't need any expensive equipment and complicated devices for practicing rock climbing.
In rock climbing, only the rock relief is used as a sports equipment, and to ensure safety during training, a minimum amount of belay equipment is used.
MCS AlexClimb rock climbing training in Cuba
By the way, this is the main difference between rock climbing and mountaineering - if you are interested, this topic is covered in detail in this text.
Another reason why you shouldn't confuse mountaineering with rock climbing: - rock climbing is a very minimalistic sport, but mountaineering will require much more serious material investments.
MCS AlexClimb Rock Climbing Training in Noravank Gorge, Armenia
Speaking about the special equipment that is required for rock climbing, it should be noted that in addition to a minimum set of devices for ensuring personal safety, you will only need a pair of rock climbing shoes and a bag for chalk.
A good chalk bag is a guarantee of your success in the rock climbing community
Due to the minimum amount of necessary equipment, rock climbing opens up excellent opportunities to reveal your own physical abilities, without any excessive financial costs.
Your success in rock climbing is in no way related to the budget you invest in the equipment for this sport.
Someone may even get disappointed by the fact that he won't be able to spend on rockclimbing as much money as can be spend for buying a new phone.
MCS AlexClimb Climbing Training in Timna National Park in Israel
Yes, rock climbing definitely is a sport for which you will not spend a fortune...
But to succeed in rock climbing, you will need a different level of investment - your personal time, perseverance, patience and long-term motivation - this is what, for some beginner climbers, may be "too expensive".
MCS AlexClimb rock climbing training at the Klimhal Mountain Network climbing wall. Netherlands, Amsterdam
It should be noted that rock climbing in any of its forms is a very budget-friendly form of sports activity that does not require any large investments in attributes and equipment.
Ideally, if you have access to some public natural rock climbing location, your expenses for this very effective fitness will be limited to just the purchase of the most basic set of equipment.
On the way to the MCS AlexClimb climbing training near Barcelona
So, what do you need to have if you decided to start your rock climbing?
The main element of personal rock climbing equipment is rock climbing shoes. How to choose the proper climbing shoes you can read here.
Climbing shoes are the only individual piece of equipment that is not recommended to be rented for regular rock climbing.
Climbing shoes are the most important individual piece of rock climbing equipment
This specific footwear requires careful selection and precise matching to the individual characteristics of the foot. With regular climbing, many models of rock climbing shoes stretch to the shape of the foot, providing ideal fixation.
It is impossible to achieve this effect in rental rock climbing shoes. The rest of the rock climbing equipment can be rented.
MCS AlexClimb rock climbing training in the Cueva Larga sector, Cuba
In addition to rock climbing shoes, you will need a bag for chalk and chalk itself - a special powder that is smeared on the hands to increase friction. It is not talc, as some people think.
Climbing chalk can be found in specialized shops selling mountaineering and rock climbing equipment. (The use of dry chalk is prohibited in some indoor climbing walls - an alternative is chalk in gel form).
Climbers are the largest social group dependent on the use of white powder - Magnesium Carbonate
To climb lead or with top rope belay on the rock routes or a climbing wall, you will need the rope, rock climbing harness and special device to provide belay. In some cases, you may also need a set of 12-15 climbing quickdraws.
These are all your long-term needs for sport rock climbing equipment.
All this equipment is usually available for rent at climbing walls and even at many natural rock climbing locations.
Climbing with a rope in the Arico climbing sector, Tenerife
Climbing with a rope is possible if you have a proven instructor or a reliable climbing partner who has good belay skills.
As a rule, for rock climbing training on the indoor climbing walls, ropes are part of the gym equipment and their use is included in the cost of the entrance ticket. In other case ropes are offered for rent for a small fee.
At the Betaclimb climbing wall in Bogota, Colombia
Do you need to use a helmet when rock climbing?
The answer to this question is ambiguous. On the equipped sport rock climbing routes on the natural rocks or indoor climbing walls, most climbers do not use helmets.
The fact is that a helmet creates additional inconvenience when climbing difficult routes, where every gram of excess weight can be decisive.
Using a helmet on the rock climbing routes makes them more like mountaineering ascents
However, using a helmet when practicing classic rock climbing has local characteristics - for example, in Germany, most rock climbers (not all) use helmets when climbing.
But in Spain or France everyone climbs without helmets. Also, rock climbers in Latin America practically do not use helmets - due to more objective reasons - equipment there is less available than in Europe.
Village Climbing Championship, Cuba
My personal subjective opinion about a helmet: it is still better to have one.
Modern models of climbing helmets weigh 150-170 grams (Black Diamond Vapor, Petzl Sirocco), and do not create serious problems when climbing at an amateur level. However, this piece of equipment is not mandatory when practicing rock climbing.
Author of text and photos: Alex Trubachev
Your professional guide to rock climbing and mountaineering routes, rock and ice climbing coach
MCS EDIT 2024
Our Principles
AlexClimb Rule #1 - Safety First
From the very beginning of our activity, here nearly 16 years, the first Principle of work of School of mountaineering and rock-climbing of MCS AlexClimb is the Safety Priority. On the basis of this Principle all process of training is based, all programs and rounds are developed and carried out only within this main principle. We consider that at professional approach to development of programs, at personal discipline and correctly put motivation - occupations by mountaineering and rock-climbing are COMPLETELY safe. And from the return - all troubles and accidents in our sport come from nonprofessionalism, from ignorance or neglect by elementary standards of safety, from irrational motivation, from revaluation of own forces and opportunities. All these prerequisites we COMPLETELY EXCLUDE in our work - ours Rock-climbing, Ice climbing and Mountaineering are based on one Principle - the Safety Priority. In rock-climbing, mountaineering and ice climbing, the Priority of Safety of MCS AlexClimb-is your personal security and comfort irrespective of, than we are engaged - we train muscles and we work technology of the movement in the sports hall and on the rock climbing wall, we make the way through snowstorm to top or we relax on golden sand of the Caribbean beach after hot day of trainings on rocks. The Safety priority - the main credo of School of mountaineering and rock-climbing of MCS AlexClimb.
AlexClimb Rule #2 - Leave No Trace
Closely interacting with Nature, working with the active programs in mountains, woods, lakes and rivers, we perfectly understand the importance of carefull and respectfull bahavior towards the Nature, for its resources. From the very beginning of our outdoor-activity we adopted rules of Leave No Trace technique - the standard of behavior of the person accepted in all the civilized world in relation to environment and especially - to the wild nature. After all on the relation of people to the nature near which they exist, itself can draw dalekoidushchy conclusions on the relation of these people to... Where and as we didn't travel - we don't reserve any garbage, we try to reduce whenever possible our influence on environment to a minimum. We clear earlier zagryazyonny tourist parking of the left garbage, we take out and we take out to utilization places that to us other people left there. We consider that only thus, at personal individual consciousness of each citizen, each tourist, climber or autotraveller, we will be able to keep the nature surrounding us in its state, natural, suitable for life, - in it pledge of the healthy future for ourselves and our children.
