Tab tries: Climbing

We sent our most unfit writer to try out rock climbing – it was a big ask

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I’ll admit I was pretty nervous about trying this out. High walls, tiny rocks to hold onto and no experience whatsoever – what could go wrong?

The climbing wall at the sports centre is open for club sessions on Wednesdays at 12:30-2:30pm and Saturdays at 5-7pm.

I chose the Saturday session, despite the fact that it was the day after Halloween and I was still recovering from getting in at 7am. Praying I wouldn’t collapse from exhaustion and fall to my death, I hired some climbing shoes (£2.50 from reception) and made my way in.

Upon arriving, I was shown the different walls as well as how to use all the equipment. First I tried the bouldering walls that didn’t require equipment, but at least there were crash mats.

It was pretty nerve-racking knowing there wasn’t the safety of a harness if you fall, but I managed to hold on and make it to the top of both walls (I took easy routes, but was still pretty proud of myself).

Terrified

The next wall (my favourite) was the tower, which stood at 12.5 metres tall and required a rope and harness.

I learned how to set up the rope and harness myself and felt a lot more confident – it’s a lot easier to climb when you don’t have to worry about falling! Whilst I climbed, others called up encouragement or ideas on where to hold onto next, which was really helpful when I was unsure.

Lord help me

The atmosphere was really friendly and I spoke to various regular climbers, including their social sec, Alex.

He told me that they have socials roughly once a week, usually on a Wednesday or Thursday. They do various activities for their socials, such as ice skating or film nights, as well as themed pub crawls and nights out.

Just hanging out

I enjoyed it, just don’t look down.