Only sign up for this course if you are a School of Rock participant.

Climbing gear is great if you love clutter, spending money, and looking/sounding like a Christmas tree being dragged around by a drunk reindeer (or equivalently, a lost cow that ran through an elementary school crafts project). There is a daunting number of options out there, and unfortunately it seems like everything has its niche.

This lecture will try to cut through a lot of that crap. In this lecture I will try to summarize the things I have learned through obsessive research on the internet and trials in the field. I will attempt to highlight the fundamental considerations when buying different pieces of climbing gear and supply a list of items that a top-rope belaying, sport climbing, and multipitch trad climbing climber should have. I will try to emphasize the utility and necessity of gear, not the flashy or the spendy. As you try out new gear and retire old gear, you'll find your own way. But this crash course will hopefully start you off on the right feet.

When: 7pm on October 18 in the MITOC office

Bring: questions, skepticism, and a desire to mitigate the risk in your adventures!