The morning was brisk, but with coffee and all your gear, you are ready to tackle today’s challenge. After a short walk, the group your with arrives at am odd looking cliff, the top seemingly unreachable. But you know the secrets and tools of this trade, and are ready to take it head on. But how exactly did you get here?

1: Gathering the Necessities

The basic items for rock climbing is a harness, necessary for almost every cope related activity. Several straps of webbing that go around your waist to hold you up while climbing. Next is a climbing carabiner, which is able to hold up to 1,000 pounds of force. A liberal supply of rope. Lastly a belay device, used to feed rope to the climber.  All of these can be bought at outdoor stores like Cabela’s, Gander mountain, and REI.

2: Location, Location, Location…

Places to climb are all around the america and it’s divers landscape, even some close to home. An easy place to start at is indoor facilities like Adventure Rock, located in Brookfield, WI. or North Wall Climbing Gym in Crystal Lake. For the real outdoor experience, the best places around are Devils Lake State Park in Baraboo, WI; the park is popular for it’s spectacular rock formations all around the area. Another popular area is the Mississippi Palisades, just south of Galena IL.

3: The First Steps

Before you go out and reserve a campsite and spend $500 on equipment, the best option would be to take a friend or two and try out climbing at a nearby facility. If you like it, start to go out to bigger and more difficult areas. This will give you the taste and experience you need to go out and tackle rock formations all across the state and country.