If climbing has been one of your favourite past times, then you must be remembering your one-on-one with your very first climbing session. It may have been thrilling for you or it may be a miserable experience which you may or may not want to recollect. But, however it may be, you must be remembering the person who must have taught you the do’s and don’ts while taking the path of climbing. That person must have left an indelible mark in the journey of climbing. Now you have to be the same person while you want to build a gang of climber friends. While this task may seem herculean in nature, but you have already dealt with the toughest part and you are ready for the part of come what may be.

Following are the steps which one must keep in consciousness while teaching your friend about the basics of climbing.

Try to take up an easier path because while you are already a Ninja at climbing, your friend is still a novice

It may be tempting that you want your friend to ace the heights of great mountains with you, but you have to bear this in mind that he/she still is a beginner in this area and making him/her take the difficult routes can land you with unnecessary burden of risks and dangers.

It is highly suggested to take a path which suits you both. Also, easier paths can soon be crowded which may make your friend lose the calmness of his/her mind. In order to make him/her acquainted with the surroundings you can try going to a gym at a less crowded time.

Don’t try burning yourself while you are not well enough to continue the hardship of climbing

The point of climbing is to have fun and not to over exhaust yourself and your friend and be under the summit fever. If your friend is tired enough, there is no need of pressurising or motivating him/her to continue climbing.

You can allow them to continue at their own pace because the whole idea behind the climbing session is to have fun together and not to fall ill. Celebrate small victories of acing the path.

Be “the support” of your friend and do not leave them down while you are standing up

It’s not wise enough to shout at your friend to climb the path while you keep traversing above them. It may make them nervous and leave them feeling less learned.

It’s better to follow belaying and then lowering while teaching how the basics of anchoring works. It’s an obvious thing that the person may not able to fathom the essentials until he is in the moment but giving them the basics can at least give them a brief idea.

Try being in their shoes and stop thinking that they would be comfortable in their very first venture

While you have already taken up climbing a few times before, you may be compelled to shout while climbing but it may be a hard nut for your friend to decipher what it meant.

While you are on the ground, it’s advisable to make them aware of the functions of dynamic rope and give them a clue that how it may feel while they have tightened the rope. After you have been a little off from the ground, let them practice while you stand beside them to guide if any untoward incident occurs.

Experience lays the foundation of another foundation

Constantly bombarding your friend with new instructions can actually confuse and frustrate them. Rather than dictating things, try to impart small tips which you may have gained over time. Being the first trip, they won’t be very comfortable in some of the moves which may be a breeze for you.

Tell them to ask you anything if it bugs them and if the journey is easy in nature, their foot and hand instincts would carry them up in most cases.