101 How to Start Indoor Lead Climbing | Private Lead Climbing Courses Bangkok

How to Start Indoor Lead Climbing- Private Courses Available

Rock climbing isn’t as hard as it seems.

It usually kicks off with a 1st time try out with some friends, or during a team building activity organize by your school/ company. But if the interest grows and you find yourself doing it more frequently, it means this really rocks your boat and can evolve into a hobby.

However a common question I get from people is, how did you transit from a beginner climber to eventually started doing it outdoors in natural rock?

Rock climbing in Siurana Spain | How to graduate to outdoor rock climbing
Rock climbing in Siurana Spain | How to graduate to outdoor rock climbing

Simple, go learn lead climbing.

It honestly isn’t as professional and intimidating as it looks. But the liberation and new found physical and mental training you get from lead climbing vs top rope, though scarier, is truly fulfilling.

All ready to do some good old lead climbing | Lead Climbing Courses
All ready to do some good old lead climbing | Lead Climbing Courses

Cez, my new partner in crime from etramping.com for climbing took up his lead climbing class over in Bangkok where we were base for 1 month remotely.

We were privileged to do it with Pack, the owner of Rock Domain Climbing Gym located over in Bangna area in Bangkok.

Take your lead climbing course or private lesson at Rock Domain
Take your lead climbing course or private lesson at Rock Domain Climbing Gym

Not all the gyms in Bangkok offer such private and personal lead climbing training as what Pack from Rock Domain did, so we really had time to learn at our pace and work on areas that needs more attention and practise.

One amazing thing we found out from Pack is that in Rock Domain Climbing Gym,they even provide 1st time beginners to the gym a private instructor to teach them the basics of climbing. That is really useful as a lot of people are deterred from climbing more as they feel that they might lack a climbing partner or belayer.

Alternatively, it is more frequent to find gyms with auto belay system so that solo climbers are able to still enjoy climbing without worrying about the need to have someone who them to belay them.

Warm up on an easy auto belay routes | Lead Climbing in Bangkok
Warm up on an easy auto belay routes | Lead Climbing in Bangkok

So lets go straight to the main crux – lead climbing class for Beginners.

Lead Climbing Private Class Begins

1. Learn the basic of tying the figure of eight safety knot

A proper figure of 8 knot for climbing. Important to cross check | Lead Climbing Courses
A proper figure of 8 knot for climbing. Important to cross check | Lead Climbing Courses

Tying a figure of 8 safety knot is the basics of rock climbing, and it is even more important to do it properly when you do lead climbing, given there will be times where you will do a big fall, and thats when the safety points on climber and by the belayer is highly critical.

Basic rule: Always check each other, figure of 8 for the climber and that the belay device ( with the traditional normal ATC with carabiner or using an assisted belay device ABD like a gri gri)

2. Safety Lead Belay Practices

Learning safety rules and steps | Lead Climbing Basics and Rules
Learning safety rules and steps | Lead Climbing Basics and Rules

One more important thing to note is the amount of loose rope ( or commonly term as slack) before the climber starts. Always remember it is important to have enough for your climber to clip into the 1st clip, as you will not be holding the rope and feeding it at the beginning, but spotting your climber.

Ensure the proper way to hold the rope and lead belay your climber | Lead climbing in Bangkok
Ensure the proper way to hold the rope and lead belay your climber | Lead climbing in Bangkok

Interested in learning about the full list of Rock Climbing Gyms in Bangkok?

3. Learning how to do proper clipping in and avoiding back clips or z clips

Types of knots and practise station | Lead Climbing Basics and Rules
Types of knots and practise station | Lead Climbing Basics and Rules
Pracitising proper clipping in methods | Lead Climbing Basics and Rules
Practicing proper clipping in methods | Lead Climbing Basics and Rules

Learning the proper way of clipping in helps to save your time and energy.

Most of the time as lead climbers, the challenge comes when you are so high away from the last clip, and when you start clipping in, you don’t have much time to hang on the rest of the body.

Do not fret, clipping in usually drains a lot of arm energy at the beginning especially when you do not know how to position your body, but as you get more seasoned in climbing, you will start learning how to position your body weight very well. The bonus is you also start seeing visible positive changes in your body!

Looking for recommendations of the Best Climbing Gear and Brands to go for?
Check out my personal picks.

4. Practicing lead climbing on easy routes to get the hang of it

Cez putting on his fitting and snug climbing shoes and is ready to do some serious climbing | Lead Climbing in Bangkok
Cez putting on his fitting and snug climbing shoes and is ready to do some serious climbing | Lead Climbing in Bangkok

Once you learn all the basics of safety checks and clipping in, put those indoor rock climbing shoes on and then time to hit the wall!

Cez on his 1st lead belay route in rock domain | Lead Climbing Courses in Bangkok
Cez on his 1st lead belay route in rock domain | Lead Climbing Courses in Bangkok

Pack was an amazing guy, very patient and obliging, teaching us the procedures/steps and precautions of catching a lead fall when belaying someone. Even I learn new things like static belay and dynamic belay.

Keen to learn beyond lead climbing to multi-pitch? Here’s the basics.

5. Warm down and stretching with resistant bands ( gets rid of soreness and aches)

After a long 3 hour session of climbing, or whatever amount of time you take/ require, it is always recommended to do proper cool down and stretching. You can do the usual stretching on your own, or use the assistance of a resistant band.

Warm down and stretching with resistant bands ( gets rid of soreness and aches)
Warm down and stretching with resistant bands ( gets rid of soreness and aches) | Lead Climbing Basics

All in all, lead climbing courses are a great way to get to the next step of your climbing growth. Whether you are a student or child beginner to climbing or have been doing it for quite a while, most importantly is to enjoy the sport and watch how climbing changes you physically and within too!


Enquiries on Courses

For more enquiries about the rock climbing gym course available at Rock Domain Climbing Gym in Bangkok, visit Rock Domain Facebook Page or email them at [email protected].

Group shot with Pack our lead climbing instructor | Lead Climbing Courses in Bangkok
Group shot with Pack our lead climbing instructor | Lead Climbing Courses in Bangkok

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4 Comments

  • Avatar of Sue Slaght
    Reply
    Sue Slaght
    May 13, 2018 at 7:03 pm

    Lydia we spent about 15 years rock climbing outdoors in the Canadian Rockies and loved it. So wonderful to see your post about taking a course and learning all of the proper safety and technique before heading outdoors. We used ot see so many people think they could just climb and get themselves into dangerous situations not to mention serious accidents.

    • Avatar of Lydia Yang
      Reply
      Lydia Yang
      May 14, 2018 at 3:31 pm

      That sounds like an unforgettable time you had there, Sue! Safety is crucial for any outdoor activity.

  • Avatar of Joanne Sisco
    Reply
    Joanne Sisco
    May 20, 2018 at 1:33 pm

    My second son embraced climbing about a year ago and is not very passionate about it. When he isn’t working or sleeping, he’s climbing. This past winter I too gave it a try at a local climbing gym. I’m not sure I would be comfortable taking it out of a gym quite yet though ?

    • Avatar of Lydia Yang
      Reply
      Lydia Yang
      May 21, 2018 at 9:09 am

      Take your time, Joanne. When you start feeling comfortable, then you can try it outdoors. I can guarantee that it’s even more exciting. 🙂

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