Rock climbing is a dangerous sport. That ever-present hazard is part of the thrill of climbing, and going through a basic checklist of skills and equipment before every climb is one of the best ways to enjoy the thrill without the potential consequences. Add careful, attentive communication with your climbing partner, and you're ready to climb on.
Harness, Climbing Shoes, Belay Device
A climbing harness, climbing shoes and a belay device are the minimum gear you need to climb on rope in a climbing gym. The minute you step outside the gym, you also need your own well-cared-for climbing rope. Always research in guidebooks, or by checking with other climbers, to make sure that your rope is long enough for any climbs you intend to do. Helmets also offer valuable head protection when you climb outside, although some climbers are reluctant to wear them.
Sport and Trad Climbing Gear
Most sport climbers, who clip the rope into bolts drilled into the rock as they ascend, can get by with nothing but a harness full of quickdraws. Occasionally, you'll also need slings and carabiners to build an anchor at the top of the climb or fashion a long, makeshift quickdraw.
Traditional or "trad" climbers might occasionally clip bolts, but usually they place specialized climbing gear in cracks and other rock features, creating safety points they can clip the rope into as they ascend. Types of trad gear you might encounter include spring-loaded camming devices, nuts, hexes and tri-cams.
Other Types of Climbing
Aid climbers use climbing equipment to support themselves and make upward progress, instead of scaling through direct physical contact with the rock and using the equipment only as a safety check. Because of this, aid climbers have a specialized arsenal of equipment including hooks, daisy chains and pitons.
If you participate in winter climbing pursuits, including ice climbing or mountaineering, you'll also need specialized gear including ice axes and/or ice tools, ice screws, and a special wire tool for the ice-anchoring technique known as creating V-threads. Many climbers make their V-thread tools, which vaguely resemble giant safety pins, out of wire coat hangers.
If you're mountaineering or big wall camping you also need the appropriate camping or bivvy gear, which can include expedition tents or portaledges, sleeping bags and pads, a camp stove, stove fuel, food and water.
Skills
No matter what kind of climbing gear you're carrying, the most important equipment of all is in your head. Using climbing gear incorrectly, or not having the basic skills to evaluate and cope with unexpected situations, can be deadly. Depending on what kind of climbing you're doing, skills you should master include top-rope and lead belaying, escaping the belay, anchor building, hauling, mechanical-advantage systems and other rescue skills. First aid or wilderness first responder skills are also a valuable asset in the field.
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