one-day courses
Our one-day rock climbing courses cover essential techniques, safety, and equipment use for all levels. Beginners learn fundamentals, while intermediate climbers advance skills like edging and crack climbing. Courses offered include Basic Rock Climbing, Intermediate Rock Climbing, Climbing Anchors, Lead Climbing, Crack Climbing Technique, Climbing Self-Rescue, and Big Wall Skills. Personalized coaching ensures safe progression.
Classes generally meet at 8 a.m. and generally last until approximately 4 p.m.
Basic rock climbing
If you have never done any climbing, or need a refresher, here’s where to start. This is an introduction to the world of rock climbing, with an emphasis on safety and fun. The class covers the absolute essentials for climbing steep rock and is a valuable course for those wishing to pursue mountaineering. Course itinerary: equipment, knots, anchoring, belaying, communication signals, rating system, climbing techniques, and rappelling. Classes are taught on low-angle, moderate rock suitable for novices.
Intermediate rock climbing
After reviewing fundamentals (knots, anchoring, and belaying), you’ll complete a progression of climbs where a broad range of more challenging climbing techniques are encountered, from the subtleties of edging and smearing used in face climbing to jamming and laybacking used in crack climbing. Protected by a toprope, each student is given personalized coaching and is allowed to progress to the limit of their ability. This class also includes an introduction to anchoring fundamentals using trad gear.
INTRO TO MULTI-PITCH
Once you have climbed a few single pitch routes the natural progression is to venture farther from the ground and explore the thrills of multi-pitch climbing. This course is an introduction to the world of longer routes and the skills needed for success.
climbing anchors
This is a comprehensive anchoring course that will teach climbers how to safely build and use climbing anchors with bolts and trad gear.
This course curriculum is specifically designed to give you the ability to quickly assess your gear placements and anchor systems based on sound principles.
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• Lecture on equipment characteristics and specifications.
• Detailed placement criteria and assessment principles for nuts and camming devices.
• Anchor system evaluation criteria, including the SERENE principle (Strong, Efficient, Redundant, Equalized, and No-Extension).
• Anchor system (both simple and complex) equalization methods using slings and cordelettes for both single pitch and multi-pitch anchors.
• The static rope rigging method for setting up top rope anchors that require extension over the cliff edge.
LEAD CLIMBING
This class focuses on leading fundamentals. You’ll learn what it takes to become a competent leader: confidence in technique and the ability to place reliable protection and sound anchors. You’ll practice placement and removal of all the various state-of-the-art protection devices, with pointers from your guide, and, under close supervision and toprope protection, you will execute simulated lead climbs. Placing gear on lead, use of slings to reduce rope drag, proper carabiner clip-ins and alignment, belaying strategies, rope management and route-finding skills are among the topics covered.
CRACK CLIMBING TECHNIQUE
In this course you will learn the techniques required to climb a wide variety of crack sizes, including thin cracks, hand cracks, off widths, chimneys, dihedrals, and flaring cracks. This class is a deep dive into the intricate techniques required to climb difficult cracks.
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• Hand and finger taping methods
• When to jam, and when to layback
• Chimney and wide crack climbing technique
• Gear selection and where to place it
• Training tips
CLIMBING SELF RESCUE
This class provides you with the essentials to perform basic self-rescue skills for you and your partner. The itinerary includes: friction hitches for slings and cord, improvised rope ascension, backing up rappels with an auto-block knot, how to rescue a fallen climber using an auto-locking (i.e., GriGri) device, lowering system with a redirected auto-locking device, lowering system with a munter hitch backed-up with an auto-block knot, the tandem rappel system, and the basic 3 to 1 “Z” raising system with an auto-locking device.
BIG WALL SKILLS
This one-day course teaches the basics of aid climbing. Stressing simplicity and safety, we’ll cover various types of direct aid placements, jumarring techniques, leading and cleaning aid pitches, establishing hanging belays, hauling heavy loads, tension traverses, and pendulums. This course will save you valuable time, increase your chances of success and reduce the frustration of learning the secrets of big wall climbing.