Anyone know anything about climbing?

[PlasticPotPlant]

My 12yo, who is interested in nothing active ever and usually only grunts, did some climbing on holiday last yr and fell in love with it. Used whole words to express joy. It was shocking.

Typically there is no climbing wall near us, but given how much he enjoyed it he’s done NICAS levels 1-3 at a climbing wall a 90 minute drive from where we live, but it’s been very infrequent- usually climbing once every 4-6 weeks, then a couple of holidays there to do intensive weeks.

Hes now really keen to do level 4 and also wants to start doing competitions. I don’t climb, and to be honest know very little about it. I think I can probably get him to the climbing wall once a fortnight, but any more than that would be difficult (limited more by logistics and time than money)

I’m hoping some climbers on here may have some ideas about how I could support him at home on the weeks I can’t get him to the climbing wall?

And in terms of climbing competitions- is it realistic to try and compete when able to practice so infrequently? And how do climbing competitions for children/teenagers work?

Any suggestions/info gratefully received

It might not be within your risk appetite (and fair enough!) but there might be outdoor bouldering spots near you. You can buy a portable crash mat and climb low boulders outside.

A lot of the training for climbing that you could do off the wall wouldn't really be recommended for a 12-year-old (using 'hangboards' or heavy weight training). Maybe a pull-up bar in the garden or over a doorframe could give your son something trainable where he could see improvement. Complementary sports like swimming or gymnastics would help, although sounds like he might not be keen on that.

Here's some info on how the climbing competitions work at a youth level in the UK. Generally, climbing walls often have their own comps with youth categories though, and that might be the best place to start. They're lower pressure environments and sometimes have fun themes like fancy dress--animals or UV colours or whatever. See if you can find something like this within driving distance.

Is there a youth squad or something where he climbs now? Maybe talk to a coach there about how he can get involved.

For what it's worth, climbing is a great sport, and my honest biggest regret in life is giving it up at 14 and having to pick it up later as an adult. At the time, the provision didn't really exist like it does now. Try to help him stay involved if he enjoys it; it's annoying thinking how good I'd be now if I'd stuck with it!

Long shot, but some leisure centres have a tiny climbing wall within them. Not usually much good, but better than nothing if that's all there is.

Bodyweight strength exercises (particularly lats, back and glutes/quads), and flexibility like yoga/Pilates. Agree with PP that gymnastics would be helpful.
Grip strength trainers (pref. the "individual fingers" type, not the "squeeze the whole hand" type) could be useful, & are cheap.

Are there any "outdoor activity" type clubs nearby? They might do the transport part of it to take club members to a wall...
Or you might be nearer than you think to outdoor climbing locations, in which case there will almost certainly be clubs/instructors who could take him....

If you're really dedicated to it, you can buy climbing holds and put them up on exterior walls - ideally as a low traverse, but that's pretty extreme/dedicated since it puts a ton of bolt holes in your walls!!

Thanks @ammpersand - really helpful suggestions… could def look into a pull up bar and see if there is a youth squad, but outdoor bouldering sounds outside my comfort zone! Great to hear you’ve got back into climbing too… unfortunately although I participated in a fun ‘clip n climb’ forray once it is clear my aptitude is not for the altitude!

I hadn’t thought to look for little climbing walls in leisure centres @WrylyAmused - it’s a good shout and I’ll consult my dear friend google.

gymnastics is an interesting idea… I don’t think he’d be keen though, and he has to wear glasses so not sure it would really work. I’m not sure we have any walls of a stability to support a traverse… live in a classically vintage property.

what are hang boards and what age are they recommended from / why not good when young?

There are often smaller bouldering walls more locally - for example we have a bouldering wall 10 mins away but have to go 40 mins to climb.
Could you learn to belay so you could do a non-lesson session for him at the far away climbing wall?
We often look for a local wall when we're on holiday in the UK.

I would look at
Parkour too
Go ape
Zip lines

I don't know your location

Lots of places to rock climb & boulder

Peak District
Wales
Scotland

Hi, NiCAS level 4 is where you learn to lead climb, it’s riskier and feels more “intense”and you have to learn to fall on safely.

What kind of level is he climbing at - do you know? If he’s happily on 5’s then he’s talented, if he’s managed 3 levels of Nicas in one year and isn’t generally active.

Core strength, general strength and flexibility are what you’re after. My dd started Nicas 4 age at a young age and found it hard, but she’s slender and not built for gymnastics. She stopped and switched to indoor bouldering and never looked back. She does karate too - weirdly they are so complementary as her karate teacher spends a lot of time on general exercise (strength and flexibility). DD recently won an informal planking competition at her climbing centre and hands down beat the older lads, they were miffed!

Look for sympathetic sports like parkour or pop up obstacle course challenges, more challenging Go Ape style things. DD loves these.

Round my way most of the competitive youth squads are VERY competitive and focus on bouldering. Think training 3 times a week minimum. They comp all over the place. Age 14 there’s a more chill vibe for the amateur teens to hang out to boulder as at that age they are allowed to be unsupervised by adults.

Bouldering centres are springing up everywhere where there’s no outdoor climbing but don’t overlook outdoor climbing, it’s a whole new world.

@PlasticPotPlant
Finger boards are a major cause of tendon strain and ligament damage even for adults. Many climbers over-train them and injure themselves, and a child without good instruction is very much at risk of that. Those injuries take a long time to heal and are high risk for recurrence.

Plus, they're not actually helpful unless you're at a reasonably high level anyway - a novice climber should be learning to use their body movement well, use the big muscles (eg legs) more, and grip less, until they're on tiny holds that need a bit more finger strength.

Google is your friend for finding out about hang boards/fingerboards as well! 😊

I’ll look to see about bouldering walls @AnnaBegins and about learning to bilay… as long as their are options they allow me to learn without having to climb (I’m up for the knots but not the heights!) good thought on bouldering walls too, thank you

@LadyBitsnBobs i had to ask about climbing grades but he says 5s consistently for a while and now mainly 6a, best climb he’s managed is apparently a 6b but he says he’s limited by not being tall enough… sounds like he’s doing ok, but don’t think training 3x per week would be feasible. Thank you for the suggestions Re complimentary activities and outdoor climbing, will give it some thought .

@WrylyAmused thabk you, that makes sense Re finger boards. Google has been my friend for a long time but we’re going through a rocky patch where they seem to feed me less reliable info these days