First Time Visitors

You may be wondering what you or somebody you know should expect on your first visit.

Firstly, there's the clothing etiquette. We recommend you wear shorts that go down to the knee (at any time of the year) or a loose fitting light weight pant, a t-shirt that goes well over the waist , and a shoe and socks that won't fall off of the feet.

Knee length shorts and shirts well over the waist help with keeping the nylon harness from coming into contact with a climber's skin and causing any rubbing issues. They also help in eliminating any "self-revealing" moments when hanging in a harness high in the air on a rope.

We've seen all types of shoes from the highly fashionable (skeleton shoe and rather cool and contrasting leggings) to the scary (the high heels with nylons). Or is it the other way around? Oh well, one person's fashion is another person's consignment item right?

"Skate" shoes with big thick, loose shoe strings are quite popular, but quite often perform at less than optimum when used for climbing. They are ok as long as they get tightened up (teenager willing of course!). Flip-flops are a definite no-no as are bare feet.

One of the best kept secrets in the climbing gym business is the inexpensive, elastic-like "water" shoe that can be found at local stores during the spring and summer seasons. While not meant necessarily for climbing, they do well with the young ones whose feet grow quickly. For the Spiderman or Princess fan in your family, anything with either theme is always welcome, velcro, elastic, tee, tank, short, pant, or otherwise!

Regardless, wear a sock with a shoe when you arrive just in case you want to use a pair of our climbing shoes. Unlike bowling shoes, climbing shoes are made to be super snug around your feet. Think discomfort but not pain. They're essentially a slab of rubber around most of your foot and are made of special "sticky" rubber that enhance your climbing abilities. After all, the first rule of climbing is Feet, Feet, Feet!

The well outfitted climber will look and feel comfortable with the harness and tie in point in plain sight. This helps with making sure that our staff can see the equipment as we check for safety throughout the crowd.

Note the longer shorts, the t-shirt tucked into the waist belt of the harness, the proper clip in to our gym harness, and the climbing shoes with socks.

Which brings us to the second item, the harness. All climbers will need to wear a harness and we have one to fit any size, large or small. It's an easy to use piece of apparel and of course always the latest in fashion (at least in the climbing gym). Belayers are also required to wear them, though we can accommodate those needing situations where harnesses can't be used but inclusion is still desired; wheelchair belayers (rope holders) are welcome!

Thirdly, there's the belay (rope-holding) lesson. What we have found is that people starting at around the age of 10 or 11 have the ability to use our equipment for belaying another person, attention span and dexterity permitting. All of our training is hands-on, no videos or costly classes are required regardless of age. The lesson is simple and straightforward and we make sure you're well versed before letting you head off to explore the walls on your own.

For youth around that crux age of 10 or 11, always be prepared to have an adult step in to take over just in case the attention span and dexterity are not yet demonstrable. We've even found adults who don't quite "get" the belay motions or who may not have the rope gripping strength required. Toddlers should have a 1:1 ratio of caretaker to toddler since they can be a real handful.

Also, if you think you'll be wanting a lot of pictures, it might be best to bring an extra adult to hold the rope while you snap the photos. Additionally, we suggest that you leave the cell phone, game boy, PDA, etc., in the free lockers we provide. We don't want to force you into paying strict attention to another persons well being, but, well, you'll just have to pay strict attention to another person for a while.

All totaled, your outfitting and training usually takes no more than about 10-20 minutes and then you're off and climbing. Always feel free to ask a SolidRock Staff Member for advice or help at any time.

Thanks for choosing SolidRock Indoor Climbing Gyms.