[al123]

hi all i am pretty new to bouldering and would like some advice on kit to buy and maybe guidebooks to buy and can anyone give me some good but easy routes in the peak district are that are graded please
cheers

[meatball]

Shoes, bouldering pad and chalk bag will get you started.
Guide book wise i'd get Peak District Bouldering (assuming your based in the Peak?)

[al123]

cheers yeah i am based in the peak district.
can anyone recomend me some bargain climbing shoes please maybe under £50 if thats possible

[Andy B]

The cheapest new boots you will get are the dark blue own brand value Decathlon boots. at around £20-30.

[al123]

bargain!!!! they sound brillant as i am still young i will grown out of shoes quickly so durability isnt a issue cheers for that!!

[badong]

Go outdoors are pretty good for shoes too.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/rock-pillars-rock-pillars-mongoose-3-to-8-p104426

Theres an excert of the peak bouldering guid here to get you started.

http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/content.php?categoryId=2075

[Andy B]

Decathlon Blues seem to be on sale too:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/vuarde-vulca-3232896/

You could probably get more than a tenner for them on ebay!

[tomtom]

Decathlon Blues seem to be on sale too:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/vuarde-vulca-3232896/

You could probably get more than a tenner for them on ebay!

Christ thats cheap - I may pop down to Decathlon and get a pair for MrsTT in the possibility she ever wants to come bouldering with me..

[al123]

thanks all for the advice i will be popping into my local go outdoors pretty soon so i will have a look at the shoes.
where is burbage south and places exaclty as in what is the green path that is marked on the maps on the link??? is it the main path just below burbage edge??
and what makes a good climbing shoe?? what should i look out for when i go in???
cheers

[mr__j5]

The 'Green Drive' track in the maps is this one:

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=426682&y=381430&z=120&sv=426682,381430&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=822&ax=426682&ay=381430&lm=0

[al123]

cheers all i will be popping into hathersage shops for a look at shoes and books tomorrow and it looks like saturday or sunday i will be going to burbage south boulders.

[dave k]

I bought my wife a pair of those decathlon blue boots a few years back and they were officially the most uncomfortable pair in existance (4 different people tried them!) Could just be the one pair I guess. Just try them on and have a good walk around in them. Forget advice to get them too tight.

[jmblanc]

I am also newbie and would like to ask more experienced climbers, if you have to be really good to be able to try alpine climbing? (My friends have invited me to go with them to Austria, but maybe this kind of climbing would be to difficult for me??)

Thanks..

[chummer]

Not at all, to quote CJD (i think) it's simply 'extreme ledge shuffling', piece of piss, and he'd know. If you can climb your stairs with a rope and rack and gloves on you'll be fine. Oh, and a rucksack, you'll definitely need a rucksack. 

[slackline]

I am also newbie and would like to ask more experienced climbers, if you have to be really good to be able to try alpine climbing? (My friends have invited me to go with them to Austria, but maybe this kind of climbing would be to difficult for me??)

Thanks..

Do you climb with these friends?  Are they experienced in alpine climbing?

Can they offer an opinion if, based on their knowledge of your climbing experience and their knowledge of the sorts of routes they are proposing you go and climb, whether you've sufficient skills (and more importantly general fitness) to be able to do them?

 

[erm, sam]

I think Alpine climbing doesn't so much revolve around being a good climber, it is a lot more important to be experienced in a mountain environment. There are so many more things to consider to keep safe and have a good time. Eg, you should be comfortable with multipitched climbing, should have done some leading etc. Should be able to rig absails etc without guidance. If you can't do that then you probably are not ready for an Alpine experience. Or it might be a rather steep learning curve...
If you were 5 pitches up a climb and a rock whizzed down and killed your partner, would you be able to get yourself down? If not, you might need some upskilling before you would ready for it...

[Sloper]

I have a beard and can put the booze away.  As far as I can tell that makes me an almost fully paid up member of the AC.

I mean look at that Kenton fella, he looks like a right shandy.

Back on planet earth,  compare E3 at Gogarth with E3 on grit.

[chris_j_s]

A bit of knowledge on glacier travel would probably not go amiss either. Roping up, tieing off coils, crevasse rescue etc. might all be very handy to help you actually get to your climb before you think of anything else.

A few hours with a guide to get you started would probably be valuable experience if you or your friends have never done this before.

[lagerstarfish]

I am also newbie ... if you have to be really good to be able to try alpine climbing?

I guess that since they've asked you then your friends think you'll be fine.
It does help to be fit and used to long days on the hill carrying a rucksack.
My first alpine climbing partner had only done a bit of rock climbing, but was a ridiculously fit hill walker (walking all weekend over multiple Munros without sleep and such) with some ice axe and crampon experience. We started on easy routes where I got used to walking in and out at his speed and he picked up the practical rope skills and leading confidence he needed (he'd read it all in books before hand). We ended up doing the American Direct on the Dru by the end of the trip.