Putting The Finishing Touches To A Climbing Wall

Dec 25th, 2009  Posted in Articles |  No Comments »

So, you have finished construction of your climbing wall. Once the woodwork is complete, it is very important to go on to the final phase of your climbing wall, i.e. painting and final finishing. Your wall should look like a mountain face and should be safe to practice on.
You can sand the surface, which you want to be painted. Remove any sharp edges in your ply joints and also around your drill holes by sanding them with a sanding machine or manually. Then apply a coat of primer to the wood. You can also apply latex primer if you want the wood to have a genuine sand or rock like finish. Primer helps the paint to stick well with the wood and hence prevents chipping and bubbling. If your wood is wet, then you will have to dry it first before you can start applying anything on it.
Mildew can also be removed from wood by applying bleach mixed with water at a 1:4 ratio. You can use any exterior paint for your climbing wall and since most of them have a fungicidal agent added to the paint, it should prevent further mildew attacks from taking place. To protect any non-painted surface or the floor, cover them with old newspapers or cloth or apply tape on it.
If you are planning to provide a sand like finish to your climbing wall then you can add sand to your paint in the ratio of 1:10. Since sand settles down very fast in your paint pan or container, you will have to constantly keep on stirring your paint mixture before every application. You can also change the sand to paint ratio to achieve a different finish. Also, you can use golf tees to plug in your T nut holes so that the primer and paint does not go into the threading of your T nut.
If it does, you will have a hard time fitting your holds. The final touch is bolting on your holds and jugs to your wall. You can use different footholds at the bottom of your wall, but as you progress higher, you will require very few and none at the top. As per your climbing skills and the construction of your wall you will require some jugs at the bottom and some at the top of your wall. You can buy an entire ready made set of plastic or wooden holds which just need to be bolted on to your wall. Buy one according to the size of your wall and the number of holds required.
You will also require a good mattress, which breaks your fall without breaking your bones in case you slip and fall. The mattress should be around 10 to 12 inches thick and should not only cover the entire base of the wall but should also extend away so as to cushion your fall if you slip while swinging from one hold to another. Your final finished wall should look like a genuine rock wall for you to get into the real mood of rock climbing.
So, once your climbing wall is ready, go in for a test climb. Then call your friends and neighbors over for a rock climbing competition and have fun. Arrange rock climbing related theme parties. Happy climbing.

What Are Climbing Holds

Dec 22nd, 2009  Posted in Articles |  No Comments »

By the end of the twenty-first century, rock climbing had reached high popularity levels as a sport. The sport that combines the intense activities of mountaineering and trekking had become a recreational activity accepted by the local populi. Besides, the sport is not limited to adults alone, even children can pursue it both as a hobby and career. In the United States alone, there are over 100,000 recreational athletes, and more and more people have started to develop an interest in it.
And why shouldn’t they? The sport is an all-round activity that requires an athlete to develop coordination between all five senses. The sport compels its athlete to be constantly vigilant and maintain a disciplined mental composure during the ascent and descent. Simultaneously, the sport however enjoyable it may seem, is not recommended for people with height disorders, especially vertigo. Even if an individual does learn the basics quickly, climbing a towering rock can be hazardous. The sport requires continuous surveillance under experts and coaches.
The first climb should be performed with proper safety equipment and guidance. The sport requires its students to master every involved aspect and to make it mandatory to use complex safety tools and headgears. Each of the equipment involved in the sport should meet with the required standards, as faulty equipment can result in injuries and wounds that could scar you permanently.
Many enthusiasts prefer pursuing rock climbing in the countryside, but not all people have the time and money to do so. For such individuals visiting a climbing gym or setting up a portable climbing wall should serve their purpose. Artificial climbing walls are created on a wooden or iron framework, and the holds are created separately. The holds are made of resinous or plastic material, with a stone or sand paper finish. The climbing holds mimic the feel and condition of a natural rock and each of the holds can be customized to create a difficult level.
For smaller walls the holds used are few and should be well placed, to duplicate routes of original rocks. For climbing such a wall, a climber would need strong hands and chalk. Chalk is a solvent absorbent and easily absorbs sweat and other liquids, offering a dry grip to climb. In case of taller walls, a single climbing hold could be a junction of many routes.
While purchasing the climbing holds, make sure you clarify whether the necessary screws, t-nuts and bolts are present. If they are not equipped, you may have to shell out extra money for the needed hardware, thus adding up to your expenses. Also, make sure the holds have been created considering the design of the wall. For instance, if you plan to outfit your 45degree steep overhand, you would have to make sure the holds accommodate the particular degree.
Climbing holds are usually sold as part of multi-piece kits, with every kit having a varied number of colors and sizes. Holds are available according to your necessities. They offer a comfortable grip and are ergonomically designed. You can also buy climbing holds that have a UV protection coating, which enables them to deal with the outside elements that could harm it.

Portable Rock Climbing Walls

Dec 22nd, 2009  Posted in Articles |  No Comments »

Rock Climbing is an urbanized form of mountain climbing. Even though the sport began as a recreational activity, it is considered today as the layman’s favorite recreation and offers its very own thrills. The roots of this sport lie in Europe, and it has over 100,000 athletes involved in it. These days, Rock climbing is considered as popular as baseball and basketball in the United States.
Rock climbing is the only sport that demands strength and endurance. It also requires co-ordination of all five senses and mental composure to evade injuries and increase speed. For many, the sport may seem easy, but rock climbing needs continuous guidance to move from the basics to the expert level.
Rock-climbing is habit forming; it is so addictive that sometimes you wouldn’t want a rock climbing session to end. In that case, enthusiasts seeking sessions on an hourly or monthly basis would run into financial trouble. This is where a comprehensive investment such as a portable rock-climbing wall would do well.
So, what is a portable rock-climbing wall?
A portable climbing wall is built with materials such as wood and iron. It offers its own set of belays and hooks arranged to represent actual climbing routes and their toughness. A portable climbing wall is of different types:
A Portable wall that has Stone-coated panels
This kind of portable will go easy on your pocket. The design is simple and includes well-defined angular faces. The panels have a sand coating and resin for added friction. This wall is considered the best for competition purposes as it can be constructed over large areas at minimum cost.
A freeform wall with a Stone-coat
This portable wall is for the more experienced climbers and includes coordinated angular faces. The frictional coating is a bit more superior and has a ‘higher bolt on hold’ per square meter ratio.
Portable wall with featured panels
Such a portable wall has the feel of a natural rock. Each panel of the wall is specifically designed with an even distribution of cracks, flakes and pockets. The interior system is 2-dimensional, taking up a smaller amount of floor space. The best aspect of such a wall is that the climber can himself decide on the placement of bolts and holds. This offers the user several different options of route on a single bolt line.
A Portable wall with a Digital Freeform
The most expensive among the four, this portable wall uses the design of a natural rock. This wall has many features and in certain areas includes hand sculpting in a three dimensional curvature. This wall is created on order and can be molded into any three dimensional shape. The shapes could include deep chimneys to big rounded aretes. The crack lines could be deeper with a bulging overlaps. The other smaller features included in this wall are pockets, slopers, jugs, and undercuts.
If you are looking for discount on a portable climbing wall, the best place to visit is a fair or festival where these walls are offered for testing purposes. If you are looking for a more-challenging make. you can browse the internet.

Rock Climbing Walls- A Good Training Aid

Dec 18th, 2009  Posted in Articles |  No Comments »

While outdoor rock climbing is an excellent sport, it is also fraught with risks. You could lose a foothold or you could get caught up in a blizzard or a snowstorm and get frostbitten. Rock climbing also requires proper time and planning. The time spent on planning and reaching your mountain could be more than the time you actually spend on rock climbing. Enter indoor wall rock climbing.
This type of rock climbing where you can climb a wall fitted with footholds and even finger holds can be installed inside your house or even in your backyard. This arrangement offers you almost the same joys of rock climbing without the associated risks. Since you can indulge in rock climbing on a regular basis, you could plan your schedule so that you can train regularly on it. In the long run rock climbing can help you increase your strength in your arms, legs and even fingers and regular training can also build up your stamina.
Once you have built a rock-climbing wall or if you have installed one professionally, then you and your family can slowly start practicing climbing it. You can start with the easy sections first, and if you have a wall with an overhang, then that section should be attempted last, since it places a lot of stress on your hands and fingers. The holds on the wall should also be interchangeable and movable. This will enable you to keep changing their positions to keep your climb interesting and you could also increase your level of difficulty in future by fixing fewer holds.
By adhering to a routine, you can take in all the advantages which rock climbing walls can offer. If it is kept indoors, you can even practice when it is raining or snowing. For city dwellers, a rock-climbing wall is a very practical investment in keeping fit, as it is not possible for them to go outside the city regularly to do rock climbing. You can attach a harness with an auto-belay to help you train alone if your rock-climbing wall has an overhang or if the difficulty level is high. For a simple wall, this might not be required, but a thick soft mat should be spread at the foot of the wall to prevent any injuries in case you slip and fall.
In case it is not possible to install a climbing wall in or out of your house, then you could join a gym, which has one. This makes for an interesting change in workout, when you go to the gym and they would also have trained instructors to correct you in case you make any mistakes. You can increase your stamina by climbing as per different difficulty levels and also different time levels. So slowly and steadily, as you increase your difficulty level and shorten the time required to do it, you will notice your fitness levels rising. For young children too, wall climbing is a very important training aid as it teaches them to think, plan and then execute their moves.
So, any way you look at it you will still have to look up to wall climbing since the benefits associated with it will stay with you in the long run and therefore rock-climbing walls is truly a very important training aid in the quest for a long and fit life.