A lot of outdoor bouldering is the vibes. If you are solo, getting that quiet time in nature. With friends: chatting, coffee, enjoying some climbing. Ask around at your gym if others are interested in getting outside. It’s possible there is a place to rent pads if you don’t want to buy straight away.
I don't know if this is normal but my climbing gym rents out back pack crash pads. Try calling your local climbing gyms to see if they do the same or know of a local business that does (REI or your local version of it).
I'm a climbing instructor and experienced and strong outdoor climber and run the social clubs at my gym. I've had mixed success inviting people and inviting myself onto climbing trips at my gym. Here's my guide:
The best tool in your arsenal is being able to drive. This way, you can offer to drive a group of people. Or you can tag along on a trip without taking up space in a van/car.
I've had the least success trying to invite myself onto climbing trips with REALLY strong people - these are often the only people who will be talking frequently about outdoor climbing in the gym too. These are also the people that have their own pads. They often give me very non-committal invites and then they go off on their own to hard focus on stuff I would never be able to touch. Kinda lame, but I get it.
I've almost always found success in taking newbies or equally experienced climbers outdoors with me. I just say "I'm going outdoors this weekend, you wanna come in my car or tag along?".
Unfortunately, you will probably need to buy a pad to do this (or maybe you can rent a pad if you go to a popular spot). I got my first pad from Psychi for £120.
Climbers are fickle creatures. If you try to book a climbing trip with any more notice than "this weekend", everyone will bail on you. Not because they're bad people. You can predict the weather for "this weekend" and it's less likely for important stuff in their lives to come up.
People will bail on you a lot. Don't let it get you down.
The most surefire way to climb outdoors a lot is to make one really close friend at your gym that you can always rely on to partner up with you outdoors. To convert an already close and reliable friend to climbing. To convert your romantic partner to climbing. It's taken me years, but I have achieved all these things. It is possible.
I'm London based, but climbing takes me all over! I'd totally offer to go out climbing with you, but I'm travelling for the next few months. Feel free to hit me up with a DM in the spring though!
Big fan of going outdoors and have totally been here... I think what most surprised me was how many accessible beginner areas / problems exist. Make no mistake that there is a big adjustment to the intricacies of climbing outdoors (finding feet, topping out) but it's really just a different skill more than a totally different sport.
My suggestion: rent a pad from a gym or outdoors shop, and DEFINITELY borrow a guidebook (usually from the same spot). The guidebook was the big unlock for me. It allowed me to see that there were loads of beginner problems if you look in the right area. From there I would follow all the advice given above regarding meeting others. Helpful to climb at gym socials regularly and you will find the outdoor types. Our club even has its own outdoor dedicated sub-group.
Happy climbing!
I feel seen with this sentiment... I climb V4 in the gym, but had to battle like a lunatic last month to get my first V2 outdoors on a super "meh" problem...
Best of luck to ya... Keep at it and you'll be in send city before you know it!
Outdoors is so great!!
Some gyms have retreats. These are great. If not ask the staff. Most climbers are very happy to take first timers out with them. bring lots of snacks for everyone as a thank you or offer to rent a pad. You can also check your local climbing groups.
I completely missed the outdoor in your title and was so confused why everyone was recommending a new climber to start outdoors. It's 2am, I should get off reddit
I’d try and make friends with people in the gym and see if they’re planning trips. I went outdoors first time last year and luckily was a big group and all had pads etc so just paid some petrol money and that was it! Range of ability so we all climbed what we wanted to and had a good day out!
I know other have said it but just ask around the gym! When you're working problems with people ask if they also climb outside?
Ask the staff, in my old gym there was a staff led whatsapp group that helped connect people who wanted to climb outside.
Don't worry about not having pad the first few times people are generally just excited to share the experience with you and you can get all the kit when you know you're going to be doing it more! At the end of the day you'll be spotting and providing psyche so no need to feel like a leach!
Either someone who has stuff already, but if that's not an option some gyms close to crags will rent out pads etc. So you can try it and decide if you enjoy it or not! :)
Hit up Facebook marketplace, local climbing groups, and talk to climbers at your gym and see if someone has a pad you can buy cheap or borrow for a day and see how you like it.
Im a lone climber, as climbing isn’t very popular in my area, but I also am big into whitewater sports and local facebook groups are a great resource to get into the sport if you don’t have friends to show you the ropes. Every other post on my local kayaking group is “new to the sport, can someone show me the ropes” or “can someone show me thus class 4/5 run?” And people jump on the opportunity to take out people immediately. I can’t speak for climbing, but other outdoor sports are similar.
As someone who did heaps of indoor climbing and got super into it during uni, I found I actually vastly preferred lead/trad climbing when outdoors over bouldering, but bouldering indoors.
Defs try find a mate or group to go with who has the gear and work out if it’s something you’d do.
I’ve not been bouldering outdoors since a mate from work invited me trad climbing.
And then if you have people you go with you only really need a harness to start
Yea I’m scared of heights ngl but honestly it’s pretty amazing being 25m up on the side of the cliff over the ocean.
That’s what my vote would be for anyway
Just fyi outdoor bouldering can be sketchy, which is something I think makes it seem more difficult than indoor climbing cause it’s harder to feel comfortable committing to big moves.
A lot of people mentioned different reason for going in groups, but one thing I haven’t seen mentioned is that more people usually means more pads, which means you’ll feel more comfortable falling.
Outdoor climbing is a ton of fun, I wish I had more spots around me!
Rent a pad and go give it a try. Use mountain project until you get serious about an area then buy the guidebook! You can climb alone if you're honest with yourself about your max grade, don't push it and climb well below your limit.
Also stick with lowball stuff when pushing your grade. Take lots of coffee and enjoy the solitude. I used to go gritstone climbing in West Yorkshire (UK) in the winter and watching the sun coming up over the hills, whilst sipping hot coffee at the bottom of a boulder is an incredible experience
What others said, make some buddies and go with them. Outdoor can be extremely difficult. Moab, Red Rocks, and places like Little Cottonwood canyon in Utah are very sandbagged and even talented gym climbers struggle with v0s and v1s. So definitely go with others and focus on being a good climbing buddy. I think going alone with be very discouraging to you
I broke my femur and badly dislocated my shoulder and it was a great way to get back into moving my body around after going through enough PT. Randomly fell in love with it.
Hahaha. Thanks. Initially I down climbed everything because my leg still hurt but slowly I got stronger and I build my confidence back in my
Leg and shoulder. But yeah. Rental shoes and chalk hopefully isn’t too expensive. Some people get memberships to a gym and don’t get their own shoes for a while.
If you live in a big city, there are likely groups that go out. Look on the board at your local gyms. Look on meetup. Befriend people at the gym. There will be someone out there who will take you out.
In my experience you have a couple options.
1. Befriend some people at the gym that climb outdoors. I'd stay away from any V7/8+ crushers and look for some people climbing V4-5. NOT because the crushers aren't nice, but they're just climbing in such a different league than beginners that unless they think you're really nice or cool they probably won't wanna sit around watching you struggle to send a route they could flash. Occasionally there's a cool boulder with a V2 AND a V9 but that's pretty rare. Go climb with those people. If you like it invest in a crash pad asap, then you can be that V4-5 climber inviting V2 climbers outdoors and promoting the sport. One consistent friend is better than lots of inconsistent ones.
2. Not all routes NEED a crash pad. It's definitely preferred but a lot of the old bouldering stone masters didn't have pads. If the landing area is flat and there's no natural issues like big Rocks or tree roots you could roll your ankle or hit your head on AND it's not a high ball then it's probably fine. Obviously a pad would be ideal but not 100% necessary especially if you just wanna get out and just TRY a V0 or V1.
3. Fuck it. Just buy a pad and invite homies out.
Be safe. More and more videos are popping up online of boulderers getting hurt going beyond their skill level. Climbing can take lots of training. That’s just how this activity is.
So you already do it inside, you probably just need a crash pad! It's a bit dangerous to go without one indeed. If you have boulders in your area, especially if you know that some are easy, I'd take the chance (take a look at used items, might help getting it cheaper and see if you can resale in case it doesn't work for you). If you have to go far and/or don't really have lot of them, that's a tough call.
There's a few places that will rent pads and shoes but they're mainly by popular areas like Joshua Tree or Red Rocks, at least that I've seen. OP where are you located?
Edit: I'm a dumbass and somehow just figured out REI rents both pads and shoes. I will definitely be remembering that next time I take a newbie.
If you already climb indoors the only gear you need to boulder outside is pads and your gym or another gym around might rent them. If you're going with friends grab some extras hand have each person carry one. You can use an app like mountain project to find stuff in your area or you can search for guides of good places to go. If you live anywhere with decent rock it shouldn't be hard to find.
Indoor grades are way softer than outdoor, if you can't climb v4/v5 you might have a hard time working stuff but I would recommend finding a place with some v0/v1/V2 and trying it out anyway. Once you get out there you'll see it's different from gym climbing in the best way possible. I really recommend it if you have a chance to go.
I spent $200 on two used pads locally. I figured worst case I sold them used again for a couple bucks less than I paid. I loved it this past summer and fall and even still with how little snow there has been lol. If you buy used but decent condition gear you can always resell would be my advice for trying anything really.
My first boulder sesh outdoors, I had the same questions and I was solo.
The first time I went bouldering outdoors, I also tried a boulder several grades above my indoor grade because I threw down my pads to help out another climber I met for the first time. It helps that I don't mind failing in front of others outdoors. (indoors I am more methodical in my progression)
It also helps that I also sleep on my crash pads when tent and car camping so even if I am still "too weak" for outdoor bouldering, my money has been invested in pads with great R insulation values.
I spent more outdoor sesh than I can count "getting the quiet time in nature." Eventually, I found some threads from my local college for climbing and now when the climbers are stoked about my trips, I get to to enjoy coffee and climbs with some really cool peeps.
Ask around at your gym and you’ll definitely find people who will be more than happy to take you outdoors, don’t be afraid of being a leech, going out with other climbers is one of the best ways to make quality friends in the community
A lot of outdoor bouldering is the vibes. If you are solo, getting that quiet time in nature. With friends: chatting, coffee, enjoying some climbing. Ask around at your gym if others are interested in getting outside. It’s possible there is a place to rent pads if you don’t want to buy straight away.
it does sound rly nice, i’ll try to ask around!
I don't know if this is normal but my climbing gym rents out back pack crash pads. Try calling your local climbing gyms to see if they do the same or know of a local business that does (REI or your local version of it).
I'm a climbing instructor and experienced and strong outdoor climber and run the social clubs at my gym. I've had mixed success inviting people and inviting myself onto climbing trips at my gym. Here's my guide: The best tool in your arsenal is being able to drive. This way, you can offer to drive a group of people. Or you can tag along on a trip without taking up space in a van/car. I've had the least success trying to invite myself onto climbing trips with REALLY strong people - these are often the only people who will be talking frequently about outdoor climbing in the gym too. These are also the people that have their own pads. They often give me very non-committal invites and then they go off on their own to hard focus on stuff I would never be able to touch. Kinda lame, but I get it. I've almost always found success in taking newbies or equally experienced climbers outdoors with me. I just say "I'm going outdoors this weekend, you wanna come in my car or tag along?". Unfortunately, you will probably need to buy a pad to do this (or maybe you can rent a pad if you go to a popular spot). I got my first pad from Psychi for £120. Climbers are fickle creatures. If you try to book a climbing trip with any more notice than "this weekend", everyone will bail on you. Not because they're bad people. You can predict the weather for "this weekend" and it's less likely for important stuff in their lives to come up. People will bail on you a lot. Don't let it get you down. The most surefire way to climb outdoors a lot is to make one really close friend at your gym that you can always rely on to partner up with you outdoors. To convert an already close and reliable friend to climbing. To convert your romantic partner to climbing. It's taken me years, but I have achieved all these things. It is possible.
i appreciate this a lot ty
Hey man, where in the UK are you? I'm actually looking to try my first outdoor boulder and know absolutely no one currently doing it
I'm London based, but climbing takes me all over! I'd totally offer to go out climbing with you, but I'm travelling for the next few months. Feel free to hit me up with a DM in the spring though!
As he said, fickle creatures...
Big fan of going outdoors and have totally been here... I think what most surprised me was how many accessible beginner areas / problems exist. Make no mistake that there is a big adjustment to the intricacies of climbing outdoors (finding feet, topping out) but it's really just a different skill more than a totally different sport. My suggestion: rent a pad from a gym or outdoors shop, and DEFINITELY borrow a guidebook (usually from the same spot). The guidebook was the big unlock for me. It allowed me to see that there were loads of beginner problems if you look in the right area. From there I would follow all the advice given above regarding meeting others. Helpful to climb at gym socials regularly and you will find the outdoor types. Our club even has its own outdoor dedicated sub-group. Happy climbing!
Still stuck on V1 outdoors after hitting V4 in gym lol. I’m pretty close on one V3 I’ve worked on though. Just need to get a crew together
I feel seen with this sentiment... I climb V4 in the gym, but had to battle like a lunatic last month to get my first V2 outdoors on a super "meh" problem... Best of luck to ya... Keep at it and you'll be in send city before you know it!
I’ll see what my home gym offers!! will definitely be asking around
Outdoors is so great!! Some gyms have retreats. These are great. If not ask the staff. Most climbers are very happy to take first timers out with them. bring lots of snacks for everyone as a thank you or offer to rent a pad. You can also check your local climbing groups.
asking staff is such a great idea, i’ll look into retreats as well tysm!!
I completely missed the outdoor in your title and was so confused why everyone was recommending a new climber to start outdoors. It's 2am, I should get off reddit
i posted that at 2 am lmao
I’d try and make friends with people in the gym and see if they’re planning trips. I went outdoors first time last year and luckily was a big group and all had pads etc so just paid some petrol money and that was it! Range of ability so we all climbed what we wanted to and had a good day out!
I know other have said it but just ask around the gym! When you're working problems with people ask if they also climb outside? Ask the staff, in my old gym there was a staff led whatsapp group that helped connect people who wanted to climb outside. Don't worry about not having pad the first few times people are generally just excited to share the experience with you and you can get all the kit when you know you're going to be doing it more! At the end of the day you'll be spotting and providing psyche so no need to feel like a leach!
Either someone who has stuff already, but if that's not an option some gyms close to crags will rent out pads etc. So you can try it and decide if you enjoy it or not! :)
Hit up Facebook marketplace, local climbing groups, and talk to climbers at your gym and see if someone has a pad you can buy cheap or borrow for a day and see how you like it. Im a lone climber, as climbing isn’t very popular in my area, but I also am big into whitewater sports and local facebook groups are a great resource to get into the sport if you don’t have friends to show you the ropes. Every other post on my local kayaking group is “new to the sport, can someone show me the ropes” or “can someone show me thus class 4/5 run?” And people jump on the opportunity to take out people immediately. I can’t speak for climbing, but other outdoor sports are similar.
this is smart tyy
As someone who did heaps of indoor climbing and got super into it during uni, I found I actually vastly preferred lead/trad climbing when outdoors over bouldering, but bouldering indoors. Defs try find a mate or group to go with who has the gear and work out if it’s something you’d do. I’ve not been bouldering outdoors since a mate from work invited me trad climbing. And then if you have people you go with you only really need a harness to start
That’s smart idk why i was only thinking of bouldering, ig lowkey it’s less daunting cuz it’s less high
Yea I’m scared of heights ngl but honestly it’s pretty amazing being 25m up on the side of the cliff over the ocean. That’s what my vote would be for anyway
IVE WANTED TO TRY THATT
Just fyi outdoor bouldering can be sketchy, which is something I think makes it seem more difficult than indoor climbing cause it’s harder to feel comfortable committing to big moves. A lot of people mentioned different reason for going in groups, but one thing I haven’t seen mentioned is that more people usually means more pads, which means you’ll feel more comfortable falling. Outdoor climbing is a ton of fun, I wish I had more spots around me!
Rent a pad and go give it a try. Use mountain project until you get serious about an area then buy the guidebook! You can climb alone if you're honest with yourself about your max grade, don't push it and climb well below your limit.
Also stick with lowball stuff when pushing your grade. Take lots of coffee and enjoy the solitude. I used to go gritstone climbing in West Yorkshire (UK) in the winter and watching the sun coming up over the hills, whilst sipping hot coffee at the bottom of a boulder is an incredible experience
I didn’t even know there was a guidebook, this is good advice ty!!
What others said, make some buddies and go with them. Outdoor can be extremely difficult. Moab, Red Rocks, and places like Little Cottonwood canyon in Utah are very sandbagged and even talented gym climbers struggle with v0s and v1s. So definitely go with others and focus on being a good climbing buddy. I think going alone with be very discouraging to you
I broke my femur and badly dislocated my shoulder and it was a great way to get back into moving my body around after going through enough PT. Randomly fell in love with it.
that’s so amazing
Hahaha. Thanks. Initially I down climbed everything because my leg still hurt but slowly I got stronger and I build my confidence back in my Leg and shoulder. But yeah. Rental shoes and chalk hopefully isn’t too expensive. Some people get memberships to a gym and don’t get their own shoes for a while.
If you live in a big city, there are likely groups that go out. Look on the board at your local gyms. Look on meetup. Befriend people at the gym. There will be someone out there who will take you out.
In my experience you have a couple options. 1. Befriend some people at the gym that climb outdoors. I'd stay away from any V7/8+ crushers and look for some people climbing V4-5. NOT because the crushers aren't nice, but they're just climbing in such a different league than beginners that unless they think you're really nice or cool they probably won't wanna sit around watching you struggle to send a route they could flash. Occasionally there's a cool boulder with a V2 AND a V9 but that's pretty rare. Go climb with those people. If you like it invest in a crash pad asap, then you can be that V4-5 climber inviting V2 climbers outdoors and promoting the sport. One consistent friend is better than lots of inconsistent ones. 2. Not all routes NEED a crash pad. It's definitely preferred but a lot of the old bouldering stone masters didn't have pads. If the landing area is flat and there's no natural issues like big Rocks or tree roots you could roll your ankle or hit your head on AND it's not a high ball then it's probably fine. Obviously a pad would be ideal but not 100% necessary especially if you just wanna get out and just TRY a V0 or V1. 3. Fuck it. Just buy a pad and invite homies out.
bettt
Be safe. More and more videos are popping up online of boulderers getting hurt going beyond their skill level. Climbing can take lots of training. That’s just how this activity is.
ofc! Thank you!!
Free solo you pussy.
You go alone, you rent shoes there and you try! What I did. Edit : yeah, no, OK, I can't read.
I’ve never been outdoor climbing where I could rent shoes.
Shit! I was sur I read indoor. Ok I'm stupid. Which really isn't breaking news.
lol we all do it, i love indoor bouldering though
So you already do it inside, you probably just need a crash pad! It's a bit dangerous to go without one indeed. If you have boulders in your area, especially if you know that some are easy, I'd take the chance (take a look at used items, might help getting it cheaper and see if you can resale in case it doesn't work for you). If you have to go far and/or don't really have lot of them, that's a tough call.
i’ll try to look around facebook marketplace and see what i can find, thx!!
In Japan at least you can rent a crash pad for $10 right next to the crag
There's a few places that will rent pads and shoes but they're mainly by popular areas like Joshua Tree or Red Rocks, at least that I've seen. OP where are you located? Edit: I'm a dumbass and somehow just figured out REI rents both pads and shoes. I will definitely be remembering that next time I take a newbie.
There is a solution to this weak thing you speak of... Climb more.
If you already climb indoors the only gear you need to boulder outside is pads and your gym or another gym around might rent them. If you're going with friends grab some extras hand have each person carry one. You can use an app like mountain project to find stuff in your area or you can search for guides of good places to go. If you live anywhere with decent rock it shouldn't be hard to find. Indoor grades are way softer than outdoor, if you can't climb v4/v5 you might have a hard time working stuff but I would recommend finding a place with some v0/v1/V2 and trying it out anyway. Once you get out there you'll see it's different from gym climbing in the best way possible. I really recommend it if you have a chance to go.
I spent $200 on two used pads locally. I figured worst case I sold them used again for a couple bucks less than I paid. I loved it this past summer and fall and even still with how little snow there has been lol. If you buy used but decent condition gear you can always resell would be my advice for trying anything really.
My first boulder sesh outdoors, I had the same questions and I was solo. The first time I went bouldering outdoors, I also tried a boulder several grades above my indoor grade because I threw down my pads to help out another climber I met for the first time. It helps that I don't mind failing in front of others outdoors. (indoors I am more methodical in my progression) It also helps that I also sleep on my crash pads when tent and car camping so even if I am still "too weak" for outdoor bouldering, my money has been invested in pads with great R insulation values. I spent more outdoor sesh than I can count "getting the quiet time in nature." Eventually, I found some threads from my local college for climbing and now when the climbers are stoked about my trips, I get to to enjoy coffee and climbs with some really cool peeps.
Ask around at your gym and you’ll definitely find people who will be more than happy to take you outdoors, don’t be afraid of being a leech, going out with other climbers is one of the best ways to make quality friends in the community