Connor Baldwin: Tips For Novice Rock Climbers

Connor Baldwin is an outdoorsy person and there are few things he enjoys more than getting out into the mountains in Vancouver, British Columbia and enjoying a little bit of rock climbing. He believes the sport offers a challenge while also being great for maintaining your physical fitness, so he is always keen to recommend it to people who have never tried it before. If you want to give it a go, consider all of the following before you start your first climb.

-Start Indoors

If you are completely new to the sport it is not a good idea to start out by climbing outside, even if you are accompanied by somebody with plenty of experience. Your body is going to need time to adapt to the challenges that you present to it, plus you will need to spend time understanding your own physical limits. As such, practice at an indoor climbing gym, as this will give you a taste for the techniques that you will need to use while also being much safer.

-Always Climb With Another Person

Once you feel confident enough in your abilities to head outside it is important that you take every safety precaution possible. Do not feel that the skills you learned when climbing indoors will transfer over perfectly, as you will now need to start accounting for issues such as wind or inconvenient climbing surfaces. Novices should never attempt a climb without being accompanied by somebody with far more experience.

-Use Your Whole Body

Connor Baldwin has seen a lot of novice climbers try to just use their arms to pulls themselves up. However, climbing is a sport that challenges every part of your body, so make sure to keep your core strong and use your legs to push off, so that you don't place all of the burden on your arms.