There is snow in the mountains and AIARE courses are filling up! Book now for the best selection!
Learn the thrill of rock climbing with an emphasis on safety and skills. This 2-day course will allow you to enjoy the sport with confidence. The climbing areas around North Bend are the perfect classroom, and are located just 30 miles from Seattle.
2024 Course Dates:
Learn how to rock climb with professional guides just 30 miles from Seattle. The climbing areas of Little Si and Exit 38 provide the perfect classroom for our guides to teach you what you need to know to become a safe and proficient sport climber and help you enter the climbing community knowledgeable and prepared. This technical knowledge will also teach you about yourself, and it is all directly applicable to your future mountain travels. If the weather does not allow us to climb in North Bend we will travel to Vantage to enjoy the east side sunshine!
We will start around 8:00am and finish up around 4:00pm each day.
If the prescheduled dates don't work for you, please contact us and we can help put together a custom course.
This course is also offered as an all-women's program.
Overall Difficulty: Easy
Skills Required: No prior rock climbing required
Fitness Level: Good
Intro to Rock Climbing Course Curriculum
1. Introduction to Gear
• Gear selection
• Care of gear
• Correctly fitting rock shoes
• Correctly fitting climbing harness
• Explanation of rope types used in climbing
• Fall factors explained
2. Route Selection
• Explanation of the Y.D.S. (climbing grades)
• How to use guide books
3. Knots
• How to tie in
• Munter hitch
• Other basic knots related to sport climbing
4. Belaying
• Correct stance and position of the belayer
• Belaying devices
• Techniques for belaying a leader
• Static vs. dynamic belay
• Use of the Munter hitch for belay
• When to tie belayer into end of rope
5. Rope Management
• How to coil the rope
• Stacking the rope
• Use of rope bag or tarp
6. Anchors
• How to determine a safe anchor
• How to equalize anchors
• Anchor extension
7. Setting up Top Rope Anchors
• When to use existing gear
• Safe approach of top rope anchors
• When to set up your own top rope anchor
8. Movement Skills
• Body, hand, and foot placement
• Learning to climb with your feet
• Static vs. dynamic movement
• Sequencing
• More advanced techniques for face climbing
9. Rappelling
• Practice of single rope rappels
• Use of rappel devices
• Use of backup on rappel
10. Leading
• How to place the quick draw correctly on the bolt hanger
• Clipping the rope correctly to the quick draw
• Setting up a mock lead
• Leading sport climbs
This is a great place to start! We will teach you the basics from knots to belaying and get a fair number of climbs under your belt during the 2-day course.
Although tipping is not a requirement, it is considered standard practice in the guiding industry and is appreciated by our guides. We generally recommend roughly 10%-15% of your course or trip cost or a flat amount that you are comfortable with.
