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WATER! - Each person should have a minimum of 1 quart of water. I generally
bring more.
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Appropriate clothing - Clothing should allow easy movement and not be
restrictive. Your clothes may get scuffed up and possibly torn. Dress accordingly.
Your Sunday finest is a bad choice. You will be high up on a rock with people below
you. A miniskirt and thong (or, gasp, even less), while allowing unrestricted movement,
is not a particularly good choice (for either gender). I prefer to wear long sleeve
shirts and pants. Some people wear shorts and a t-shirt or tank top. Shorts are cooler,
but increase the risk of scuffs and scrapes to exposed areas (your exposed areas,
not the rock's).
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Shoes - Climbing shoes are a significant help. I have some shoes that
people can borrow, but they may not fit. Your best bet is to rent shoes at a local
sporting goods store. See the list of rental places.
Shoe rental is generally about $10 to $12 for the weekend.
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Food - If you plan on staying for several hours (which you should), you may
wish to bring a snack. Appropriate snacks are pretzels, trail mix and energy bars.
Inappropriate snacks are cotton candy, squeezable bacon and a 20 pound frozen
Butterball turkey. Any garbage, such as wrappers, need to be taken out with you
when you leave.
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Sunscreen - We will be out in the sun. Protect you skin. A sunscreen
with SPF 30 or higher is recommended. A hat is also a good choice.
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Gear - I have most gear required. If you have your own harness,
bring that. It will probably suit you better than the harnesses I have to
lend. If you have a rope you may optionally bring it, however, unless there
are a lot of people and some of them are skilled at belaying, we will probably
not need additional ropes.
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Restroom Facilities - There are none. Anyone is free to wander
off and find a tree or boulder to "take a leak". Otherwise, for
anything else, your only option is to hike back to your car and find a local
establishment willing to let you use their facilities. Plan accordingly (as in
take care of business before you leave home).
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Your Stuff - Bring a bag or backpack to put your stuff. You
don't want to be on the wall with a cell phone clipped to your waist. Also,
you need someplace to put your ice cream (err, make that energy bars), water,
sunscreen, garbage and so forth.
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Cost - Except for shoe rental and gasoline, climbing is absolutely FREE!
That is, until you get hooked and decide you need to start buying all your own
equipment. Even so, compared with other sports, climbing is one of the cheapest.
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