Rock Skills Intermediate

The Rock Skills Intermediate is designed to develop your rock climbing skills by introducing you to traditional protection, rope systems for constructing belays and moving well on rock. You will have plenty of opportunities to practise all of these skills as well as increase your environmental knowledge and risk management strategies, alongside other developing climbers.

Course Content

• Background and Planning. Choosing a suitable venue, how to use guidebooks and mobile devices to find crags and routes, crag etiquette and the work of the mountaineering councils.
• Climbing Skills. Warming up and injury avoidance, developing your movement skills and widening your repertoire of climbing moves.
• Footwear and Equipment. Rock boot fit, selecting the right equipment for improved performance and an introduction to climbing protection.
• Technical Skills. Building anchors, selecting runners, ropework, belaying, holding falls, lowering, seconding a route and personal abseiling.
• Environmental Knowledge. The impact of climbers at the crag, ethics, access and environmental considerations.
• Hazards and Emergency Procedures. Identifying hazards, managing risk when climbing, abseiling and bouldering, understanding common injuries, how to get help and the role of Mountain Rescue.

By the end of the course you can expect to:

• Have covered the course content in a safe and enjoyable outdoor environment and classroom-style setting;
• Have climbed outside for a good proportion of each day on an appropriate crag; and Be in a strong position to second a lead climber on natural rock and participate safely in a climbing session.

Climbing experience required:

• Minimum age of 12, and
• Completion of a Rock Skills Introduction course OR
• Have logged 10 routes on walls or outdoor crags; and
• Have logged 10 belays of a fellow climber.

Mountain Training – Rock Skills Participant Handbook