You are probably not aware of this but Norwich has its very own climbing club, they are not new - in-fact they have been in existence for many many years.

Norwich Climbing & Mountainering Club (NCMC)

Norfolk is well known for being Flat but we do have an indoor climbing wall at the University of East Anglia (UEA) which is where we meet on a regular basis, the club also organises trips to the more popular traditional and sports climbing venues like the Peak District and The Lake District.

So-far I personally have only been on One trip and that was to the Peak District (See Related Article) which was great.

Why join a club?

• Climbing is not a sport you can do alone, you must have a partner who typically is responsible for your safety by virtue of making sure the other end of your rope is looked after when you are climbing, no need to get technical at this point.

  So, by joining a club you will always have somebody to climb with (In Theory) - so you can always climb when you goto the wall.

• You automatically become a member of the British Mountainerring Council (BMC) which means you are covered by their Insurance (not sure if this applies to all climbing clubs but it does with ours).

• You are invited on the trips as well as various educational lectures.

• Travel and other costs are subsidised by the club on official club events.

• You may get access to extra equipment.

• You are entitled to discounts (15%) at various places such as Cotswolds which is very handy.

• You will always get the help and support needed, we are like one big family.

What do you need?

To be able to listen and learn - Safety is a Priority and you must learn knots and procedures.

Safety Equipment, the basics are (this is what I have and their costs):

The above are the basics, NEVER underestimate how much of a difference the shoes will make - they are not designed to be comfortable either so don't expect to wear them around the house although I did when I first purchased my pair in order to break them in (this took about 10 hours).

You will appreciate a Chalk Bag too which I have not listed - these are £10 & Chalk Balls are only £2

The indoor wall provides ropes and Ballast (Bags of sand for the times you may have to Belay a heavier person than yourself) No need to get technical but the person you are climbing with will thread the other end of your rope through their belay device which is attached via the Carabina to their harness which in turn (if required) is then (the harness) connected to a bag of sand so anybody of any size can take part and it's safe.

So, this outlines the very basics. You will have to learn lots but I found this to happen very quickly.

If you are interested in trying this out please contact me using the 'Contact Us' at the top left of each page in the 'Simple Options' menu and if possible I will help.

Extra costs:

Club Membership - £20 P.A.

Climbing Wall Entry - *£10 deposit per climb and £5 (+85p entry to the establishment) for a 90 minute session.

* Deposit is not required once you sign the insurance disclaimer which is optional and only advised when you feel confident enough with the whole thing

^ All the information above relates to my local services and outlets - prices etc may vary everywhere else, I can only publish my own experiences.