Short courses in London – idlovetodothat

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Rock climbing courses in London – physically challenging, a little bit scary but ultimately, a hugely rewarding experience

I could feel the perspiration gathering under the rim of my protective hat and a trickle started to run down my forehead. No chance of wiping it off though, flattened against a craggy rock face, six or so metres up. Rock climbing. Taking some short courses or even evening classes in rock climbing had seemed like a good idea from behind the safety of my lap top and a nice glass of red. Now I wasn’t so sure.

“There’s a lovely hand hold just to the right,” I heard the instructor shout helpfully from his vantage point on the ground. I leaned back slightly to have a look. I could see a tiny ledge which I guessed I could just about get two fingertips in. I flattened myself out again and harrumphed – easy for him to say, he was the expert at rock climbing after all. At the beginning of the lesson, we’d all watched in wonder as he’d almost run up this bit of wall in just a pair of converse to lay the top rope. Now here I was in full climbing gear, still not managing it.

I had a look at the hand hold again and decided to give it a try. After all, if I slipped, my fellow rock climbing course member, Paul was belaying for me – that means holding tight the rope I was attached to, so if I fell off the wall, I wouldn’t actually fall. To be honest, that didn’t fill me with a huge amount of confidence - my life in the hands of a beginner. I glanced down and saw that Paul, apart from looking very far away, appeared to be taking his rock climbing safety duties very seriously. Ok, maybe it would be alright.

I took a deep breath, pushed up with my legs – during my rock climbing short courses I’d learned all about how it’s pushing up through the legs, not pulling up with the arms – and grabbed the unfeasibly tiny ledge. I wedged my fingers in and to my amazement, it held.

Starting to feel a bit more confident, I now started to scan around for hand and foot holds myself and before I knew it, I was making progress up the rock face. When I finally got to the top, at about ten metres, and hauled myself over the edge and onto a flat surface (blessed grass!) I was totally sold. Rock climbing was amazing and definitely for me.

Thinking about it later, I realised that taking the short courses in rock climbing meant I’d ticked two of the major boxes for what I look for in a sport. It’s physically challenging and really gets those thighs firmed up but it’s also psychologically stimulating too. The difference between getting up the cliff face or not, isn’t about your fitness, it’s about what your fear is saying you can or can’t do. When you overcome this, suddenly you can see the hand and foot holds and suddenly you can reach them too. It’s quite amazing really – and the sense of exhilaration you get when you reach the top is second to none.

In short, I would recommend rock climbing short courses in London or evening classes in Londonwhole heartedly. There are courses in London or you can venture further afield. And that’s just the start – short courses or evening classes could be just survival course the beginning of your rock climbing adventures.