Dear student of climbing,
Thank you for visiting my curriculum page!
Rather than offer pre-packaged courses, I have the following checklist from which we can assemble your personal course of instruction. From gym to crag to multi-pitch, alpine and big wall climbing, adding to your skills will open the door to new adventures.
A note on pacing: each section of the curriculum below could be about a day of climbing and instruction. How much material we actually cover will depend on prior knowledge, group size and other factors. My goal is always to find the best climbs and scenarios to take your skills to the next level!
Want to get a head start? A lot of the material described below can be found on Rock Climb, the instructional program by VideOracles. You can see some of the videos here.
Rock Climbing Fundamentals 1
Discuss:
-Scene safety
-Climber-belayer communication
Ground School:
-Safety Checks and Communication
-How to flake a rope
-How to belay and lower a climber safely with tube-style (ATC) and assisted-braking device (Gri-gri)
On the Rock:
-Face and slab footwork: edging vs. smearing
-Body position: hips in, hips out
-Types of hand-hold: jug, pinch, crimp, palm, jam
Rock Climbing Fundamentals 2
Discuss:
-Forces and falling. Understand the forces involved in top-rope and lead climbing, in order to climb safely and give a good belay.
Ground School:
-How to safely belay the lead climber: communication, body position, anticipating the clip, giving a soft catch
-How to coil a rope and prevent spaghetti mess
On the Rock:
-Follow and clean a sport climb
-Practice at least two ways to tether safely at the anchor
-Rappel: descend by rappelling while backed up by your instructor
Rock Climbing Fundamentals 3
Discuss:
-Climbing ethics and LNT
Ground School:
-Cleaning gear: how to remove cams, nuts, hexes and tricams
-Placing gear: how to place solid cams, nuts, hexes and tricams
On the Rock:
-Practice crack-climbing technique: liebacks, stems, basic jams
-Follow and clean a traditional climb
-Rappel using a friction hitch back-up
Intermediate Rock Climbing 1
Discuss:
-Top-rope site management
-Anchor-building theory: SRENE, angles and more
Ground School:
-Review gear placement
-Anchor-building practice
On the Rock:
-Intermediate face and slab technique: read the rock, climb to the rest, side to side movement
-Build a simple top-rope anchor
–Self-rescue 1: escape the belay and ascend the rope in low-angle terrain
Intermediate Rock Climbing 2
Discuss:
-Assessing a route for the lead
-Complex top-rope anchors: extension, equalization, tethering and working near the edge
Ground School (on the summit):
-Build an extended top-rope anchor and transition to a rappel
On the Rock:
-Lead a sport climb: communication, risk assessment (fall potential, bolt condition, descent options), making the clip, anchoring and lowering
-Build an extended top-rope anchor; go over the edge and transition to the rappel
-Self-rescue 2: ascending a rope in steep terrain
Intermediate Rock Climbing 3
Discuss:
Multi-pitch terrain: assessing difficulty and commitment; what to bring, what to know.
Ground School:
-Quick anchors in multi-pitch terrain; using the rope
–Self-rescue 3: improvised rappels
On the Rock:
-Follow and clean a multi-pitch route
-Escape the belay; rappel using a munter or carabiner brake
-More crack technique: tricky jams, chimneys and off-width cracks
Advanced Rock Climbing 1
Discuss:
Leading a traditional climb: gear placement, extension, fall potential, protecting the follower, gear conservation, route-finding, anchor-building, tethering and stance management
Ground School:
-Belaying from the anchor using a plate or assisted-braking device
-lowering from the top-belay using a guide plate or assisted-braking device
On the Rock:
-Lead a traditional climb
-Build an anchor, belay from the top, practice lowering from the top-belay
Advanced Rock Climbing 2
Discuss:
Multi-pitch climbing: route-finding, rope management, stance management, efficient anchors, planning and safety considerations for longer routes
Ground School:
-Alpine extensions and extended tethers for belaying from the top
–Self-rescue 4: mechanical advantage systems for hauling a stuck or injured partner
On the Rock:
-Lead a pitch on a multi-pitch route
-Guide skills: demonstrate a 3:1 haul system while belaying from the top
Advanced Rock Climbing 3
Discuss: tips and tricks for efficient multi-pitch climbing and transitions
Guide skills: leading a team of three: simul-belaying two followers, advanced rope management
Self-rescue 5: managing an unconscious victim with releasable systems and tandem rappels
Aid and Big Wall Climbing
Want to get ready for big wall routes in Yosemite, or Zion? We can practice all the skills on any vertical cliff, I do it all the time in Joshua Tree. This is complex stuff, many days could be spent on these topics:
Basic clean aid climbing: aiding on your free rack plus some offsets
Jugging a rope with mechanical ascenders
Cleaning a traverse: lower-outs
Load transfers and setting up the haul
Body-weight hauling
Mechanical advantage hauling
Portaledge practice (first on the ground, then while dangling)
Intermediate clean aid climbing: camhooks, micro nuts, grappling hooks
Basic nailing: pins, heads, beaks
Roddy McCalley Guiding 