Gym Climbing Essentials

When the air turns cold, go inside, get strong

When the winds of winter begin to blow, it is all the devoted rock climber can do but to head indoors to maintain their technique and their grip strength. Whether you are climbing in your local gym or bolting hangboards and holds to your walls at home, winter is the perfect time to build your strength up and get ready to send ever harder when the spring thaw comes around. But what will you need to make the most of your time inside? Will you emerge from the crucible of winter, white hot and gleaming? Check out our suggestions for gear below.

What do I need for the Gym?

Soft, foot-strengthening climbing slippers

Build up your foot strength while you're relegated to the gym and you'll be thanking yourself when you're on some multi-pitch edge-fest come Spring. Try something like Five Ten's Anasazi, Evolv's Addict Slipper, or La Sportiva's Skwama to make your toes do more of the work when the stakes are low.

A fat rope to take falls on

If you want to lead climb at the gym, chances are that you will have to supply your own rope (and you'll end up saving money on rental fees, too). Go as burly as your belay device will allow here--in the 10mm range--as you'll hopefully be working on harder projects at the gym and probably taking a lot of falls. You won't need a rope that is longer than 30m for the gym, so if you can find a deal on a 60m rope and cut it in half, bingo-bango, that's two gym ropes right there! You can save on expense by skipping dry-treated ropes, you'll be indoors, after all. If you wanted to buy a truly gym-specific rope, Mammut's 10.1 Gym Rope Classic is a durably made, affordable choice built for intensive use.

A gym harness

Now, if you already have a harness that you like, then this can perhaps be ignored. But! It can be said that renting a harness at the gym is often a miserable experience, and expensive besides. It is also worth noting that having a dedicated gym harness makes sense to increase the life of your outdoor harness. There's no need to go feature-crazy here, a harness that is comfortable and not overly technical is the name of the game. Black Diamond's Momentum or Primrose Harnesses, at $54.95, are fantastically useful and comfortable both inside the gym and out, without breaking the bank.

Training at Home

Now, you can't always be at the gym, nor would want to be. Or maybe you would. I wouldn't. Increasing your strength at home is well within your grasp, as long as you grasp these pieces of gear:

A Hangboard or Rock Rings

Increase your finger strength as you train your upper body by doing pull ups and static holds on a hangboard or set of rock rings, but be mindful to give your fingers plenty of rest as to not injure your tendons. Training programs utilizing these handy pieces of gear abounds, and following one diligently over the winter will yield great gains in strength and endurance. Just make sure to bolt the hangboard into some studs.

A Forearm Trainer

Absent-mindedly gain forearm strength during your downtime with a forearm and grip trainer like Black Diamond's Forearm Trainer, Power Putty, or the Metolius Grip Saver Plus. Your grip and endurance will be greatly increased without much thought, giving you an edge on pumpy pitches. Shop more of our gym climbing and training gear here!