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Sorry if this is has been posted already, I'm rather new to the site. By this post I was hoping to recieve advice from those who have more experience than I climbing.

My situation: I have been a frequent visitor to RRG over the years and enjoy extreme sports/activities. I have been been into reppeling the last few years but now finally have the finances to switch over to climbing (I love competition and desire the feeling of accomplishment which is not experienced through rappeling). My dilemma is I have not had much sport climbing experience. Other than bouldering at the gorge and simple indoor routes (no leads) I have no experience.

In addition I unfortunatly have no peers to educate me in the sport or pass their experiences and thats why I ask for your suggetions. I was hoping you all could lead me in the right direction on what I need to focus on first regarding: gear, routes, or any other suggestions one of my ignorance wouldnt think of. All I have now is the basic rappeling gear which obviously can not be used for a sport climb.

Sorry for a lengthy post but I am recently engaged and my fiance made me promise I would receive all the information I could before going out in the field.

Thanks for your time.

stay indoors. btw, climbing and rappelling...neither of these constitue extreme sports, unless you are ex-military.

good luck.

My intentions were to start off small and progress. Get all the practice I can indoors and eventually move outdoors.

As for my description of climbing/rappeling I know they are not exactly considered extreme sports but I dont have the time, ability, or expense for any other activities and compared to my daily lifestyle they are extreme.

Even for Indoor climbing is there any gear better than others? Brands? Styles? ext.

Everyone on here is a jerk, and you are entitled to only one serious response. So here it is and don't forget it.

A gym is a good place to learn, and meet experienced people. Hire a guide like RRO or TrueNorth to teach you. Or whore yourself out to people on here to take you out and teach you. Tellng us where you are from could help, but might also lead to HoFo stalking you. Buy some books, read, and learn to take criticism well.

Now that I am done, don't ever come back.

If it helps i hail from Northern Ky. Got a few books that i been looking into but you can only get so much from print.

If i have to take a few cracks to get some more serious advice that fine with me. Just want to get started off right becuase I dont plan on being an amateur forever.

These are not the droids you're looking for.

i did a search for beginner info and came up with a few threads. i recommend you do the same. not only will you find a few useful links - you'll get sidetracked by some pretty amusing threads.

http://www.redriverclimbing.com/viewtop ... t=beginner

http://www.redriverclimbing.com/viewtop ... t=beginner

red river outdoors does a great job guiding. you can learn a lot from them.

It's a trap!

For the indoor climbing come north to http://www.rockquest.com/ for top-roping and leading or to http://www.ctoba.com/ for bouldering. You will meet some people from here and find that they aren't as mean as they seem on this site. Both places sell gear. Another gear option is http://www.self-propelled.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

Networking at a climbing gym is a great way to start gaining knowledge. Read the books, practice it at the gym and then establish a network. Everyone wil have opinions, but there will be an overlap - if everyone says the same thing about something, it will probably hold true. Try different equipment out from the group you network and climb with. All gear has different feel and attributes so you'll want to check out stuff before you commit to an investment. You may hate wire-gate draws, love 5.10 shoes and never want to have to wear a Misty harness again. All comes from experience.

The more you climb, the more confidence you will have. Make sure you pick partners that have more experience than you, and never be afraid to ask questions (what's a back clip, what's a Z clip, what's your favorite pizza topping?). Trust your instinct, don't be persuaded to climb something due to peer pressure. Be sure you're having fun, but always remember that they put the warnings on the equipment for a reason. Climbing is an inherently dangerous activity...

Take care, good luck. Oh, and there is good information on this site if you hang on long enough to get to it.