So a year or so ago I bought some climbing shoes. I had a work

>>867646
do a shit ton of pull ups on your finger tips using different grips for each pull up. flail your legs around while you do this. read books about climbing. translate strength training and book smarts to rockclimbing.

atleast for me, climbing is atleast 90% training

>>867646
So wait, the sport with the friendliest and nost helpful people in it and you cant find a friend to climb with?

How boring are you to be around? Or are you just one of those really uncoordinated types? You said you MTB'd with him, did you crash a lot?

Honestly OP you should probably just stick to what you know.

>>867669
don't listen to this guy, I heard he fell while climbing alone and got scared, didn't go outside for over a year.

Go to climbing gym. Meet climbers

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>>867669
I've been getting in better shape after about a year of not working out. But yeah, still lots of room to improve honestly.

>>867674
Wow harsh. I wouldn't know if they're friendly, so far I've had little interaction with them. I don't do a lot outside of work, property projects and my few hobbies so I guess pretty boring. I crashed once when we were riding, I was riding with clipless pedals for my first time outside of my yard and it was fucking with my head. I ride way better with flats. Is that enough to actually put someone off from wanting to do stuff with me?

>>867720
I have one bouldering gym but that's it. And here's where it gets weird to me. What do you do, just say hello and start talking to other people there? How does this work? What's protocol?

I've always been pretty uncomfortable approaching people I don't know socially, and also I get really self conscious about being a beginner at a sport I guess. When I was a kid my friends and I actually had like a 4 block radius where we couldn't ride our bikes because there was a literal gang of BMX kids who had a park there, and if you weren't great at BMX they'd chase you down and shit. I was also a pudgy kid in school and so I was always sort of shunned from sports in general.

I know, I know....
>/r9k/ detected

But thinking about it this is totally relevant to my problem here. How do I 'meet' climbers without being some annoying tag-a-long?

>>867952
watch neil gresham's masterclass, go to the bouldering gym for half a year, build up a decent base and you might be good for going outside without being a burden. also consider paying a guide to take you out a few times to learn rope and gear skills, despite the high $$$ this will be a good way to learn and figure out if you really want to go outside and climb without spoiling someone elses weekend.

good climbers might be willing to bring you along to learn on a trip if you are already their friend and/or if you already have some skills and are willing to bring some beer, give belays and pitch in gas money. if you aren't ready to climb moderates it will be a bit of a drag to bring you along which is why guiding for pay exists

>>867952
>What do you do, just say hello and start talking to other people there? How does this work? What's protocol?

Pretty much, yeah. I found climbing through my sister's bf. They lived in NY but came down to visit and took me to a rock gym I had no clue existed near me. I loved it and when they left I was trying to get friends to come with me since I didn't want to go alone. Nobody wanted to so I went alone, which helped with my social anxiety as I kept doing it. I eventually met friends there and now I know everyone and can talk with them just fine.

What worked for me was just watching people and figuring out the beta with them. If I got stuck and saw someone do a move in couldn't, I'd ask for help with how they did a certain move. This breaks the ice and just keep talking whether it's about climbing or moving to more personal stuff later on. Now I usually cheer people on who I've seen get stuck a few times at a certain hold, even if I don't know them. They'll usually talk about the route once they land and just take it from there.

Good luck man

When it comes to doing outdoor stuff see if anyone in your area is doing free or cheap lessons /outings / meetups . Usually its run by passionate people and even though you might not be friends on a personal level you will have a bond through the hobby. Just don't go to a regular business expecting much because its possible they are just another wageslave and don't really care.

Ok cool. Thats all good stuff. Maybe the gym isnt such a bad idea then. Anxiety really is the bitch but, I know once I get past it I do fine with people really..

Posting this made me think to check out the local mountaineering club. My ultimate goal is to take their mountain academy and eventually climb Rainier. But I see they do rock climbing courses as well. Im going to email them about it.

Thanks for the insights. Sorry for moping. /out/ really is the chillest board.

>>867952
what is your location? if I know where you are, I can give you tips on routes to climb, and a program to train up. usually there is a favorite wall for the locals that has a "traverse". where I live, there is a highball traverse at one wall that is 300+ feet at 10-15ft off the ground. there is another area in town that is a stone retention wall, that is over a hundred feet that used to be a very popular traverse.

>>868180
also, look into local crags that have top rope access.

equipment required; rope>(height of wall)+20-30ft for tying off to a tree, a descender, an ascender, a harness, a couple carabiners.

optional equipment up the ass if you want, but that's all you need. set up a single line, attach the ascender, make sure the rope feeds smoothly and manage the rope so that it stays "taught" between you and the ascender.

The first hard lesson you need to learn, is that ONE rope is keeping you safe, ONE harness is keeping you safe, and for God sakes, ONE ascender will keep you safe. Anyone who tells you otherwise, given the benefit of the doubt, is just assuming you will be mismanaging the tension between you and the anchor, and is assuming you will be shock loading the ascender/rope. 2kn of force is a far sight away from the peak load when using the above method, and you will be just fine in the giant slop of tolerances.