By Alan Hinkes
Rock climbing has been my passion since I first started on the sandstone and gritstone crags as a teenager.
It was always grim in winter, trying to find dry rock. I remember some of my early enthusiastic forays getting soaked to the skin in rain on wet slippery rock and on freezing cold days getting painful, hot aches in my fingers from gripping bitterly cold handholds.
Nowadays, rock climbers can easily travel to warmer, dryer places such as Spain, Greece, or Turkey to catch winter sun and dry rock. I have recently returned from Kalymnos, a Greek island dedicated to rock climbing – like a ski resort for rock climbers.
I met climbers from all over the world who had come for the rock climbs which are pre-prepared with fixed bolts drilled into the cliffs for protection. This sort of climbing is called sport climbing and is relatively safe and pleasant in the warm sun.
Rock climbing is exciting. It requires a certain amount of skill, especially safety skills, such as how to tie on a rope and protect each other from serious falls. As you progress you learn techniques and develop stamina to ascend increasingly difficult routes.
Some people prefer ‘ouldering’. This is rock climbing on low outcrops of rock where a ground fall may not be fatal. Sometimes traversing along the rock near to the ground is practised for honing stamina, technique and skill.
In winter and wet British summer weather the place to go is indoor climbing walls. It’s where training is fun.
Climbing walls did not exist when I started rock climbing, but I use them now extensively and enjoy the craic with friends – and make new friends.
There is a particularly good wall in Newton Aycliffe, called ROF 59. It has many extremely high climbs, of 20m plus, a bouldering area and a cafe. The staff are welcoming, friendly and experienced.
If you fancy a go, there are beginner’s courses and you can start from scratch at any age. I have friends who signed up and started in their fifties and sixties. There are also regular after-school classes for under 18s.
Rock climbing is a good all-round physical activity. It develops all-round fitness, strength, flexibility and mental wellbeing. There is a certain amount of risk and, for very difficult routes, some bravery is necessary, but practised properly it is a safe and highly rewarding activity. It can become a passion, almost a way of life.
Recently, rock climbing has become an Olympic discipline. Athletes must compete in three categories: lead climbing, bouldering and speed climbing with a safety rope. Team GB’s 19-year-old Toby Roberts won the Paris 2024 Gold Medal.
There are a couple of local clubs which are always looking for new members. They are Cleveland Mountaineering Club (meets Tuesday evenings) and Swaledale Outdoor Club (meets Wednesday evenings). See their websites for more details.
