Exciting times at Alien Rock 1! Two of the boys, Gavin and John tried out some crack climbing, which looked really cool but painful.
We also used the occasion to take a girl group photo for #ThisGirlCan week, and you can tell we’re not very synchronised yet…
Us girls can, and #ThisGirlDid
Thank you all for showing up during such a busy uni time!
Every month we’re planning to crown a “Climber of the Month”, which is someone we feel have made great progress with their climbing, have participated in both sessions and socials or have positively impacted the team and so on!
This month the committee has decided that Bride Kamp fits this description perfectly!
Bride’s hardly skipped a session this month, and has impressed us with her climbing skills.
When not on the wall, she’s a mood booster and can put a smile on anyone’s face!
We’re excited to see what grades she’ll be climbing at the end of the year, and what climbers will stand out in November!
Lots of hard work went into today’s session, well done to all our climbers!
Many of both our new and old members got on the lead climbing routes, nice to see so many wanting to try something different from top roping.
Here are some more photos from today:
There’s lots to do at climbing; sometimes it doesn’t even include actual climbing.
Today, we took the opportunity to be monkeys for a little while
It worked fairly well, for most of us, despite falling down from time to time and being slapped by your friends behind your back..
And even if we couldn’t do it by ourselves, team mates are always there to help!
Anything is possible with a little help from friends!
Some of us did do some actual climbing, but most of it happened before the camera came out, although there is some evidence.
And some of us had to climb with a bit of difficulty due to mischievous team mates…
In addition to all this climbing and “climbing”, there were times even most of us are unsure of what was going on…
Thanks for a great session guys, see you Wednesday for more NRCC antics!
It’s not everyday something’s at stake for our climbers, but today it got very serious.
James Diesel simply cannot live without his blue NRCC fleece and today it was brutally taken from him and hidden away.
James gearing up for the challenge
Will he make it?
Nearly there now!
Got it!
Happily reunited <3
Other than joking around we actually did some serious climbing too…
What a day at Blackford Quarry!
Great weather and great climbers results in some great photos
There are more photos over on our Facebook page or our climber Bride’s Facebook page if you can’t get enough of the gorgeous climbers of the NRCC 😉
We’re not going to make this anymore difficult than it already is, because to be honest, it is very simple!
The type of climbing we do most of is top roping, lead climbing and bouldering, and you don’t need lots and lots of expensive kit for this, but it is nice to have your own so you don’t have to rent it everytime!
Being a student means (usually) not having lots of money to spend on things that aren’t pizza or alcohol, so keeping your eyes open for a good deal is smart. We recommend Cotswold Outdoor, where you also get a 15% discount if you’re a member of the club, or Tiso. You can find both these shops online or on Rose Street. Be careful if you’re thinking of buying secondhand equipment, it is best to know the previous use and condition of it, especially for harnesses!
Shoes
The one thing we definitely recommend you get is your own pair of climbing shoes. The reason being that it’s nice to have a pair of shoes only your sweaty feet enter and if you come outdoor climbing with us you don’t have to climb in trainers. Climbing shoes can get pretty pricey, but beginner shoes are usually cheaper. The beginner shoes are not as aggressive (read: painful) as other shoes, which is quite nice if you’re not used to wearing them. These need to be snug, and it’s recommended that you climb without socks in them. If you get your shoes from a shop the staff is very helpful and you get to try them before you get them.
Harness
Shoes and harness are the two things you are able to rent at Alien Rock, but if you want a harness that is comfortable, and not to forget funky and colourful, getting your own is a good idea. Prices can be quite high for a student budget, but if you have a tape measurer and an eye for a good deal, you can find sales online. Make sure you buy one that fits (hence the tape measurer) and is from a well known brand so you know it’s safe!
Screwgate carabiner and belay device
You can borrow belay devices from Alien Rock for free, but if you’re going outdoors or another place to climb having your own is a good idea. Make sure the carabiner is a screwgate (we want to be careful with the person we’re belaying) and that the belay device is a size that fits, anything between 7-11mm should be fine, but if you’re unsure, ask someone in the club or the shop.
Chalk
Chalk dries out the sweat on your hands and increases friction between your hands and the holds when you climb. There are many types of chalk, loose chalk, liquid chalk, chalk balls; whichever one you go for is a matter of preference. If you get loose chalk or a chalk ball, you can treat yourself to a fancy chalk bag to go with it, how about one that matches your harness or shoes? There’s all sorts of colours and patterns (Media Sec Maria has a homemade one) and if none of the ones in an outdoors shop takes your fancy, have a look on Amazon!
Tape
Climbing can be pretty tough on your hands. If you plan to climb a lot or try difficult routes, having tape to treat your poor fingers and hands with is a very good idea. We don’t want skinless and bloody fingers!
And most importantly, you can never have enough climbing gear…
We’re always looking for new styles of climbing to try out, and yesterday we got the chance in Glasgow!
13 keen climbers got in the mini bus and off we went to Snow Factor. You’d think we’d travelled out of Scotland and entered a Winter Wonderland, and it was definitely not September anymore.
Cold or warm, no weather stops the NRCC, and up the wall our climbers went!
As well as climbing, some of us took the opportunity to hit the slopes for some skiing and snowboarding. No point wasting such a beautiful, snowy day!
With frozen hands and wet socks we got back in the mini bus, all ready for bouldering at Alien Rock the day after, once our forearms stop hurting from all the axe whacking needed to scale the ice walls.
Lately, we’ve been receiving a lot of questions on our Facebook page, thank you all for showing so much interest!
We’ve noticed that most of the questions are very similar, so here are the answers to your most asked questions all in one place.
I missed your taster sessions, is it too late to try before I buy a membership?
No! You can still join us at Alien Rock 2 on this Sunday and next between 1 and 5, and at Alien Rock 1 on Wednesday at the same times. Next week is the last week our sessions are open to non-members, so come along if you’re interested.
How can I become a member of the club?
You head over to https://www.napierstudents.com/organisation/sports/rockclimbingclub/ and purchase an ENSA Sports Card and a sports membership. Once you have the ENSA Sports Card you can join as many sports clubs as you like without having to pay the £20 again.
But I can’t log in to napierstudents.com…
Have you remembered to put @live.napier.ac.uk? If you have and still can’t get it to work, double check your matriculation number is right, or use your personal email.
What happens once I’ve payed for my membership?
We will add you to the closed group NRCC – Napier Rock Climbing Club. This might take a little while because we have not yet received admin access from ENSA to see who has payed their membership, but if you are very eager to get in, send us a message with a screen dump of your confirmation email and we will get it sorted.
What happens in the closed group?
This is where all the magic happens! We put up plans of the month ahead so you can all see what’s coming up, we announce our socials, sessions and trips, and our members can post if they’re going climbing out of session times in case someone wants to join. There are also occasionally people trying to sell or buy gear, posting links to sales in outdoors shops or other relevant information to our members.
I see that you’re doing ice climbing in Glasgow on Saturday, can I join?
This is a members event, so you will have had to payed your membership. If you’re not yet on the group, there is a post on our public page, here, where you can put your name down before 10pm Thursday night. Due to limited spaces, if we have huge interest, we will do a draw of who can come.
Once I have my membership, do I have to pay to climb at Alien Rock?
Yes. You can find Alien Rock’s prices on their website, and Alien1 do a student deal on kit hire, £2 for harness and shoes. Many of our members have bought the student membership at Alien Rock, where they’ve payed a certain amount of money to climb as much as they want over the academic year. If you want more info have a look at their website, ask the staff or any of us climbers.
Should I buy my own kit?
This depends on how much you’re planning to climb, but if you think you’ll be joining us twice a week, every week, we would definitely recommend you do. A personal harness would be more comfortable than the once you hire, and having a pair of shoes is good for when we go outdoor climbing, as the club only have harnesses and no shoes to lend out. There will be a post up on the blog soon about what sort of kit is handy and where to get it.
What is the infamous Pub Climb?
This is an event that you definitely do not want to miss. Put aside Wednesday 28th for meeting new people, participating in challenges and drunken antics with the NRCC! Event page will be up on Facebook shortly. This event is also open to non-members.
The first bouldering session of the new academic year has taken place, and as always, it was good to see everyone who came! We’re very happy to have new climbers with us, so a special welcome to all new NRCC members.
Some of us haven’t exactly been climbing hard twice a week over summer, but that still didn’t stop us! This makes it all the more exciting to watch those who have been climbing lots though, so it was definitely an enjoyable session, whether you climbed little or lots, easy or hard.
The weeks most popular problem seemed to be this white route, involving high jumps and few holds.
We are all set for Wednesday’s session at A1, and hope to see as many as possible there!