How To Transition From Hiking to Climbing

Many find the transition from hiking to climbing somewhat daunting, but climbing isn’t a mystical art reserved for the few crazies who have nothing left to live for. I can safely tell you I have plenty to live for, and that climbing comes in all shapes, forms and sizes. So how exactly does one go from walking on two legs back to all fours?

Don’t Be Afraid To Fail

First and foremost, it’s a mindset. The learning curve of any new skill involves an acceptance of failure. The more you fail in the beginning, the quicker you learn in the long run. I learned more from my misadventures, and they were certainly more fun in hindsight. If you expect to fail, then it can’t ever demotivate you, and if you succeed, it will be an added bonus!

Learn From The Best

Join your local climbing community, watch and emulate. Always research best practices, question everything but yourself, and don’t ever count purely on luck. If you have a local climbing gym in your city, this would be the place to start. Otherwise, you can sign up for a basic rock or alpine climbing course.

The Best Training For Climbing Is…Climbing

You can do as many pull-ups as you can, it won’t help you as much as you think it does. Once you get into it, you will understand that it’s all about your feet. Rather, work on your balance and your breathing when you’re at home. Otherwise, the best way to get better at something is to do as much of it as possible.

Set Achievable Goals

If you’re hoping to climb Everest one day, start by going up 10 flights of stairs. Focus on doing that and leave Everest behind for now. Whatever kind of climbing you’re going for, start small but never lose the greater vision.

Educate Yourself

There are so many different types of climbing out there. Within each type, there are even more disciplines. There are countless paths to approach from, so you need to find the one that suits you best, although some require more experience than others. If we take rock climbing as an example, here are some of the different types that exist:

1. Bouldering – easy to start, requires little to no experience.
2. Sport Climbing – can be easy, but must be learned through an instructor
3. Trad Climbing – Difficult, requires prior climbing experience
4. Big Wall Climbing – Extremely difficult, requires years of experience

If you take Sport Climbing as a type of rock climbing, below are some of the disciplines that exist:

1. Free Climbing – Using the rope only for protection
2. Aid Climbing – Using the rope and other equipment to help you up the wall
3. Free solo – Using no ropes at all (i.e. what Alex Honnold does)

So you can now imagine the breadth and extent of the world of climbing, but like any other skill, it is within your grasp.

Get Psyched!

Do not ponder what is the purpose of it all, rather get out there and get inspired! And when you can’t get out, there are plenty of books, movies, documentaries, and short videos that will surely light a fire under your…seat.

Some of my favorite books:

1. Prisoner of Annapurna – Maurice Herzog
2. The Push – Tommy Caldwell, Johnathan McClain
3. Alone on the Wall – Alex Honnold
4. The Rock Warriors Way – Arno Ilgner
5. Conquistadors of the Useless – Lionel Terray
6. Climbing Free – Lynn Hill, Greg Child
7. The Climb – Anatoli Boukreev
8. The White Spider – Heinrich Harrer
9. Vertical Mind – Don McGrath, Jeff Elison
10. Touching the Void – Joe Simpson

Happy climbing!