Our intro outdoor rock climbing course is designed for people with no previous experience, or who currently enjoy indoor climbing and now want to learn more about the skills and techniques required to safely climb outdoors. Each course is tailored to your current experience and aspirations; by incorporating skills training into fun days out on the crag, we’ll teach you all the essentials to make a fun and safe transition to the world of outdoor rock climbing.

If you have no previous experience, or currently enjoy indoor climbing and want to learn more about outdoor rock climbing, then this is the course for you!

We run our intro outdoor rock climbing courses in the Peak District National Park, where generations of climbers have cut their teeth. The ‘Peak’ is home to several lifetimes worth of climbing, condensed into a small area with amazing variety and easy access. We can also be offer this trip in the Yorkshire Dales, which has a similar wealth of good climbing – please get in touch to discuss.

On all courses we cover the basics of outdoor rock climbing, including climbing movement skills, an introduction to outdoor climbing equipment, knots used in outdoor climbing. standard climbing calls, outdoor climbing grades and using guidebooks, crag safety and etiquette etc plus further skills according to group interest and experience:

• Selecting and organising a climbing rack
• Using trad gear and building belays
• Setting up top rope/bottom rope systems
• Seconding routes and removing protection
• Safe abseiling technique

Any items of specialist climbing equipment that you need are also included (eg helmet, harness, rock climbing shoes etc).

Dates

This course is available for small groups of up to 4 people. Please get in touch to discuss your preferred dates.

Guiding ratio

One IFMGA guide working with 4 clients.

All our UK guides are fully qualified IFMGA guides and members of British Association of Mountain Guides, the professional association for mountain guides in the UK – meet some of our  team here.

In terms of added value, climbing with an IFMGA guide is a great option if you want to learn from someone with the widest possible range of experience, or you aspire to/are already obsessed with winter or Alpine climbing!  IFMGA guides work worldwide on rock, ice, glaciers and ski – so we can offer training, advice and recommendations for all your future plans, whatever and wherever they may be.

Included in price

• 2 days of guiding and instruction
• All guides expenses
• Local transport in guides vehicle to complete the itinerary
• Use of communal technical equipment eg ropes and climbing hardware
• Hire of personal equipment including harness, helmet, belay equipment and rock shoes

Excluded from price

• Travel to venue
• Food and accommodation

Accommodation

We price this course on a guiding & instruction only basis. Food and accommodation must be paid for separately. Hotel/BnB/camping ideas can be found on our Accommodation page.

Subject to weather and climbing conditions, the plan is as follows. Please note that this is a sample itinerary only – on trips like this, itineraries are always subject to change as the current weather and climbing conditions need to be taken into account. This is an essential part of safety planning for all mountaineering, so please be ready for changes as part of your trip.

Days 1 and 2

Meet in morning for Course Briefing. This is usually in the village of Hathersage in the Peak National Park, in the heart of the Derbyshire climbing area just 5 mins from some of the best crags in the country (or pickups can be arranged from nearby if nec – please get in touch).

Your guide will run through kit checks and safety routines, as well as hand out any rental equipment, before going on to discuss the itinerary for the course, together with the current weather and hill conditions and how these affect our planning. We’ll have maps and guidebooks of the area to show you, so if you’ve any further questions or last minute requests, then this is the ideal time to bring them up.

Then, we cover the fundamentals of outdoor rock climbing over the 2 days, including:

Essential Skills

• introduction to climbing equipment
• belaying
• teaching/review of knots used in outdoor climbing
• outdoor climbing grades and using guidebooks
• climbing calls
• crag safety and etiquette
• movement skills – the essentials of climbing, how to maintain balance, footwork, types of hold and how to use them, and how to plan your moves.

In Depth Skills – to be covered according to group interest and experience:

• Using trad gear and building anchors – learning how to place trad gear and build belays is an essential skill if you want to lead or top rope outdoors on most crags in the Uk.  We look at the skills of both placing and removing nuts and cams, evaluating the quality of gear placements and building safe, equalised anchors.
• Setting up top rope/bottom rope systems – setting up a top rope/bottom rope system is the simplest way of protecting single pitch climbs and it’s a great way to start enjoying outdoor climbing with your friends.  We’ll teach you how to build a safe anchor at the top of the crag and how to rig top and bottom roping rope systems, avoiding hazards such as rope drag, rope abrasion and pendulums.
• Seconding and removing protection – becoming a competent ‘second’ (ie following a route led by someone else), is an important stepping stone in your climbing career, so it’s important to know how to remove and carry leader placed protection when seconding.
• Safe abseiling technique – knowing how to abseil (or retreat safely) from a climb is an important skill for UK trad climbers.  We’ll teach you how to both abseil as a means of descent and retreat safely from climbs should the need arise.

All instruction takes place during fun days at the crag, climbing classic local routes on the Derybyshire Gritstone outcrops, where generations of climbers have cut their teeth!

Final day PM Q+A session, course debrief and advice for the future.

The trip is based around Hathersage in the Peak District.  From here we have easy access to all the main climbing venues around the National Park.  You need to arrange accommodation in or near to Hathersage, so that you can make daily meet ups and reach the various climbing venues.

Travel

• Road – Hathersage can easily be reached by car via the M6 and Manchester to the West, or the M1 and Sheffield to the East.
• Train – Trains are available directly to Hathersage from either Manchester or Sheffield.
• Bus – Bus services are available as above – the closest being from Sheffield which takes around 30 mins.

To enjoy this trip you should be comfortable operating at Fitness Level 2, and Tech Level 1 (as appropriate for the style of climbing on this trip ie Alpine, rock climbing or ice climbing).

Fitness Level 2
You do 2-3 hours CV training/sport per week. At this level you should be happy doing either a 3-4 hour hillwalk, cycling 30-40 miles or mountain biking 2-3 hours without being exhausted. Eg: you should be able to walk from Ogwen Cottage in North Wales up Glyder Fach – Glyder Fawr – Y Garn – Ogwen in ~5hrs. Or in the Lake District Langdale – Bowfell – Esk Pike – Angle Tarn – Langdale in ~ 6hrs.

Tech Level 1
Hillwalker/scrambler. You have UK hillwalking and perhaps summer UK scrambling, or European via ferrata experience – but no rock or ice climbing, or previous alpine mountaineering experience.

To view all climbing Technical and Fitness Levels, and for advice on trip preparation and training, please visit our training advice page.

UK Rock Climbing Kit List

Above all, your kit needs to do the job but be as light as possible. Lightweight breathable fabrics are ideal for waterproofs, which are carried as often as worn (hopefully!).

Technical Clothing

• Waterproof jacket – lightweight breathable model
• Overtrousers – with long side zips
• Socks – warm ‘Smartwool’ type, plus thin liner socks and spares
• Wicking thermal tops/t-shirts
• Softshell jacket – or equivalent light insulating layer
• Mountain trousers – light/mid-weight windproof softshell model
• Thin gloves – windproof ‘hardfleece’ model is good
• Warm hat – must fit under a helmet
• Spare warm layer – fleece or lightweight synthetic belay jacket

Personal Items

• Water Container – at least 1 litre
• Headtorch and batteries
• Map, compass and whistle (optional, but a good idea)
• Personal medications and blister kit – zinc oxide tape, compeed, painkillers etc
• Sun Glasses – CE rated 3 or 4
• Sun and lip cream – factor 30+
• Sun hat
• Shorts and t-shirt

Technical Equipment

• Rucsac 35/45l is perfect for general use
• Approach shoes or trainers – sticky rubber models are excellent
• Rock climbing shoes – must be comfortable enough to wear for several hours
• Climbing Harness – with locking karabiner and belay device
• 120cm sling and locking karabiner
• Climbing helmet
• *Semi rigid B2 mountaineering boots – Axe, Boot and Crampon advice

Other Equipment

Depending on the trip, these may be ‘nice to have’ or ‘required’ items – see individual joining instructions.

• Superlight rucsac – superlight 15/20l model, for taking on long multi-pitch rock routes
• 2 prussik loops and karabiner – if in doubt, bring 3m of 6mm climbing cord!
• Trekking poles
• Camping gear if you choose to camp in the valley

Your guide will have ropes, climbing rack, first aid and survival equipment.

*On trips where boots are required, these should be reasonably stiff 3/4 season mountaineering models. They will be needed if we decide to go ‘big boots’ climbing on easy rock climbs or scrambling terrain. Soft bendy walking boots are not very good for technical scrambling/climbing (you may be better off in a pair of ‘sticky rubber’ approach shoes). See below for advice.

Recommendations and Advice
Visit the Knowledge Base section of our website or our blog for equipment advice. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, please get in touch!

Purchasing Equipment
Backcountry UK in Otley offer an excellent walking boot fitting service and general equipment advice.

Hiring Equipment
It’s best to have your own rock climbing shoes so you can get a proper fit, but if you need to hire some please get in touch. Other safety equipment can also be hired from us (subject to availability) – please see our Equipment Hire page for details.

For UK residents – we strongly recommend that you purchase cancellation cover, in case you’re unable to attend your trip due to personal circumstances or injury.

For non UK residents – search and rescue is currently free in the UK, but you may be charged by the NHS for certain treatments, and you should also consider the need for emergency repatriation in the event of a serious illness/accident. We also strongly recommend that you purchase cancellation cover, in case you’re unable to attend your trip due to personal circumstances or injury.

Please arrange your insurance as soon as your trip is confirmed to run.

Please find further details on our insurance info page.