Description

The Introduction to Sport Climbing course focuses on giving you the skills and knowledge required to safely lead various routes in the outdoors, away from the safety nets provided in the gym environment. Lead climbing is really the gateway to a lot of amazing climbing from fun sport routes to multi-pitch climbing, long trad routes and even big walls.

The course will cover a wide variety of topics including: Climbing equipment, lead belaying, clipping bolts, back-clipping, rope management, building anchors, cleaning anchors, reading topos, route planning and much more.

This is a 2 day course intended to introduce club members to single-pitch sport climbing, i.e. leading on bolted routes.

Participants will learn how to use quickdraws to protect themselves on lead on a bolted route and how to setup and dismantle anchors when sport climbing. The first day will be instruction and climbing, and the second day mostly supervised climbing.

Curriculum

• Selecting the necessary equipment.
• Clipping techniques.
• Avoiding clipping mistakes (back-clipping and “Z”-clipping).
• Proper lead belaying techniques (using ATC or similar device).
• Setting up sport climbing anchors.
• Cleaning the anchor and lowering.

Prerequisites

• Top roping climbing experience, – some outdoor climbing experience is preferred.
• Comfortable and experienced with belaying.
• Able to tie in securely and check partner.
• Climbing confidently at 5.9 indoors: participants should be able to climb ANY 5.9 route in an indoor climbing gym without falling, weighting the rope or pausing for long period of time during the climb.

Selection Criteria

If within the first week after the event was posted to the calendar more than 9 qualified members sign up for the event, applicants are selected by the number of events of the ACC Vancouver Section they have attended in the past or how much they have volunteered. Otherwise selection is by order of signup.

Cost: $90.00

Once selected, you will be notified and directed on how to make your e transfer payment to our [email protected] and what passcode to use. Payment will be due within 72 hrs otherwise the next person on the list will be contacted. Once payment is received you will be moved from the waitlist to the confirmed list.  

DO NOT make any payments until directed to do so.

Cancellation policy

There are no refunds. If you have to cancel out, with the help of the leader, an alternate person who meets the prerequisites from the waiting list (if there is one) can be contacted. Transfer of payment is to be made directly between the two participants

Community Contribution

A dozen or more willing volunteers put in a thousand or more hours a year to make these courses happen, all of which include top-quality instruction at incredible value for money. We’ll literally share everything we know about staying safe in the mountains with you, because we want you to experience nature as we do.

That said, participation is a two way street, and if you’re going to take a course, we ask that you start thinking about ways to contribute back to the community also. Remember, we’re an entirely volunteer based community and this only works if everyone contributes!

Please consider becoming a trip-coordinator and hosting a trip (even just a simple hiking trip) when signing up for this course! You will be contacted by our Trip Director to prompt you to get a trip posted.

https://accvancouver.ca/join-us/volunteer/