The Ultimate Guide to Rock Climbing in India for Beginners | Indoor & Outdoor Climbing & Bouldering

Types of Climbing:

Indoor Climbing:

With indoor gyms popping up in every major city, getting a day pass at one of these facilities is definitely the easiest way to try climbing for the first time. An indoor climbing gym has artificial holds (that mimic features found on rocks) set on the wall. 

The routes usually are colour-coded and are set in a way that forces a particular movement. So if you use, say red coloured holds up a wall, it will be of a particular difficulty. The starting hold(s) and the end hold are defined and a climb is considered complete when you get both hands on the end hold.
 A climbing gym usually will have a handful of such routes in different grades (difficulty levels) and these routes are reset once every few months! Indoor walls usually have bouldering, top rope climbing, lead climbing and speed climbing. 

Indoor Bouldering:

Bouldering walls are usually 10-15 feet high. They have cushioned mats spread all through the floor making the falls safe. Bouldering appeals to most people because of its simplicity. You don't need ropes or any other gear; a pair of rock climbing shoes and some chalk are all you need to get started. 

Having a partner to boulder indoors is not a necessity, although it can help with the motivation. The routes here are called ‘problems’ and the grading system used to measure difficulty are the Font scale (e.g. 6B) and the V scale (e.g. V3) (charts in the grades section). 

Indoor Top Rope Climbing:

Top rope climbing is usually the popular style of roped climbing indoors. The rope is pre-fixed on the top anchors and the two ends come down to the climber and the belayer (the partner who takes in rope to ensure the climbers safety). 
 Some gyms have auto belays, a device that automatically retracts rope as the climber progresses up the wall, and lowers the climber back down smoothly once he falls. The routes here too are usually colour-coded and gyms have multiple routes of varying difficulties. The harness, belay device and the carabiners are usually available in the gym.

Most gyms have trainers who can belay you as you climb up and after a few weeks you can choose to learn to belay. Gyms let you belay only after you pass their belay test and get a belay certificate. The popular grading system followed here to rate difficulties are Yosemite Decimal System (e.g. 5.10d) and the French scale (e.g. 6a) (charts in the grades section below).

Indoor Lead/Sport Climbing:

Lead/Sport climbing is when the climber takes the rope from the ground (no fixed rope at the top) and clips the rope into pre-drilled bolts in the wall. So if the climber falls, he’ll fall more than twice the distance that he has climbed up above the last bolt that he clipped. In short, the falls are a bit more serious and belaying is more nuanced than top rope climbing. 

Indoor sport climbing is usually really safe given you learn the skills and take all the safety measures. Gyms usually have lead courses and certifications that you can apply for. The popular grading system followed here to rate difficulties are the same as top ropes, Yosemite Decimal System (e.g. 5.10d) and the French scale (e.g. 6a) - charts in the grades section below.

Outdoor Climbing:

Most of the skills learnt in the indoor gym translate well to the outdoors but there are also some major transitions between the two. The major difference between the two being that the holds here are not really defined.  Just after a few weeks indoors, you can start venturing outdoors and start climbing with experienced climbers. 

Bouldering:

The two main differences between bouldering indoors and outdoors are that the holds aren’t defined and falling consequences are much higher. Most boulder problems, you can use any feature on the rock except in rare cases where the guidebook specifically mentions eliminating a hold or two to make a variant more challenging. 

You have to carry foldable crash pads that you open up under boulders to serve as your landing area. Since these pads aren’t big enough to cover all potential fall areas, a partner who spots you is also highly recommended.

Outdoor Top Rope Climbing: 

Indoor and outdoor top roping are similar for the most part except the anchor systems. In gyms you have preset top rope climbs whereas outdoors you either have to have a partner who can lead the climb and set up a top rope for you or if the climb has a hike up to the top, you can hike up and set up the anchor. Make sure you do this with the guidance of an experienced climber for at least the first few times.

Outdoor Sport Climbing:

Outdoor sport climbing is more exacting than indoor sport climbing as the bolts here are not as evenly spaced as they are indoors. The fall potential seems scary and definitely has to be taken more seriously than indoor falls but most sport climbs are bolted with the climbers’ safety in mind. Usually most outdoor bolted top ropes are also bolted to be lead climbs. 

Trad Climbing:

Trad climbing is lead climbing where the climber has to place their own protection as they ascend up instead of clipping into bolts. The protection (nuts, hexes, cams- explained in the gear section) is then removed once the climber descends or by the second climber who climbs and is belayed from the top.

Trad climbing is more on the adventure end of the spectrum. It is more challenging mentally as you have to trust and focus on the protection you place as well as the climbing moves. It is considered cleaner as you leave the rock face as it is without drilling in bolts. And for this reason, in most areas bolting a climb where natural protection is possible isn’t considered good ethics. 

Single/Multi-pitch Climbing:

The length of a route determines the number of pitches. A pitch is usually determined by the rope length. Most single pitch climbs are 25-35 meters in length. So most climbing ropes are 60-70 meters in length (double the length so you can be lowered to the ground). With single pitches, the climber is belayed from the ground and is lowered back.

On some bigger cliffs/ rock faces, the climb is split into multiple pitches. The first climber climbs the first pitch, reaches the anchor point and belays the second climber up from the top. They keep swapping leads one after another till they get to the top. The exit is either a rappel (explained below) or a hike down if there is one from the top.

Rappelling:

Rappelling is when a climber descends from the top of a climb (not lowered by the belayer). The control of the descent is with the climber itself using a belay device and a prusik knot. 

Free Climbing and Free Soloing:

Free climbing is a style in lead climbing where the climber uses only the rocks features for his hands and feet to ascend the entire length of the route; no hangs, no falls or pulling on gear in between. The climber still uses a rope and clips into gear and the rope is there to catch him if he falls. Any sport/trad route is considered a clean ascent only after you free climb it.

Free Soloing is when the climber doesn’t use any protection, and is climbing without a rope. One mistake can lead to the climber falling to his death. Less than a percent of the climbers pursue free soloing seriously and this realm of the sport has become very popular thanks to the free soloing phenomenon Alex Honnold and his Oscar winning documentary Free Solo.

Aid Climbing:

Aid climbing is when the climber pulls on the fixed gear, uses sling ladders to ascend a rock face. Aid climbing is the most popular way of ascending big walls as there might be just a couple of moves that are too hard to free climb.

GEAR:

Shoes:

Climbing shoes are made with soft sticky rubber that helps you stand on small footholds. Shoes are usually sized with a snug tight fit and sizing varies from brand to brand. For a detailed article on shoes, fit, sizing and local options, check this blog out- https://www.avathi.com/stories/beginner-rock-climbing-shoes-in-india?dd=1

Harness:

Harness is the piece of equipment that connects the rope to the climber/belayer. It has gear loops to attach gear and full strength load loops and belay loops to attach the rope and belay from respectively. There are multiple harnesses these days that are customized with features to help some specific style of climbing but as a beginner buying a first harness, look for a well-padded comfortable harness rather than one loaded with features or the lightest one.

Rope:

A rope is what holds the climber in the event of a fall. It usually is made of 2 parts, the core and the sheath. The core strands provide the strength and the sheath helps protect the core from abrasion.

For any type of lead climbing a dynamic rope is used. A dynamic rope stretches in the event of a fall and helps dissipate the force so the climber doesn’t feel it when the fall comes to a halt. The most common lead ropes are 60-70 meters in length and 9.5-10.5mm in diameter. A static rope is usually used by commercial groups that offer rappelling as a service or to set up climbing anchors. 

Belay Device:

A belay device is a friction device that is used to control the fall or to lower the climber when belaying or when rappelling. There are passive tube style belay devices and assisted braking devices. Assisted braking devices assist the belayer in catching the fall but it is always recommended that beginners learn the basics on tube style belay devices first. Beginners jumping on directly to assisted devices are way more prone to making mistakes down the road and don't completely understand the risks and responsibilities associated with belaying.

Carabiners:

Carabiners are metal loops with a spring loaded gate opening on one side. They are used as connectors in climbing, say to connect the belay device to a harness or the rope to the anchor. There are locking and non-locking carabiners, based on whether the gate opening could be locked.

There are multiple mechanisms for the gate, a screw gate being the most popular one. Locking carabiners are used in critical connections or when chances of the gate being unlocked are high; e.g. to connect the belay device to the harness. Non-locking carabiners are used for less critical connections, e.g. clipping the rope to a bolt.

Quickdraws:

Quickdraws aka QDs are pretty much 2 non-locking carabiners attached by a sewn sling. QDs are used to attach the rope to a bolt or a piece of protection. It helps the rope run freely between the climber and the belayer. 

There are sport climbing draws and alpine draws. Sport climbing draws, the sewn sling between the carabiners are stiff and short and as the name suggests is used for sport climbing. Alpine draws have a 60cm sling connecting two non-locking carabiners. Alpine draws are used mostly in alpine climbs or in sport climbs where the route is wandering.

Protection:

Protection or pro refers to gear used in trad climbing that the climber places and clips into to protect his fall. There are passive and active pros. The widely used passive pros are nuts and hexes and the popular active pros are camalots or friends.

Passive pros (nuts or hexes) are simple blocks of metal and when placed in constrictions in the rock, they get wedged in. Active pros (friends or camalots) are spring loaded devices which narrow in width with the use of a trigger and expand when the trigger is released. They thus jam themselves even in parallel cracks and pods where passive pros cannot be used. 

Crashpad:

Crashpads are made of multiple layers of lightweight foam that can be folded and carried like a rucksack to a climbing area. They are used to cushion bouldering falls by dissipating the force and the foam is designed to regain its shape almost instantly.

Chalk:

Chalk is used to absorb moisture, sweat from the climbers hand and is stored in a chalk bag.