Beginner Indoor Climbing Tips
I Just Started Indoor Climbing: Here Are the Answers to 7 Top Newbie Questions
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If you go climbing alone, you can always stick to bouldering. But if you prefer being belayed, some gyms offer an auto belay system (see the yellow strap in this picture?). Two carabiners are attached to the auto belay strap; just clip and lock them to the belay loop on the front of your harness, and you're ready to climb.
Using an auto belay allows you to climb as high as you want, as fast or slow as you want, and if you fall or decide to come down, you let go of the wall and the auto belay automatically catches you and slowly lowers you down to the ground.
It's a little scary at first to be 40 feet in the air and to just let go and trust that the auto belay will catch you. So practice letting go from shorter heights to get used to that two-second free fall you'll experience before the auto belay catches you.