Two days that take you from zero — or from the gym — to climbing outdoors safely, on real rock. The course most of our regular climbers started with.
Book NowTwo kinds of people book this course, and it's built for both: those who have never touched a rope in their lives, and gym climbers who want to get outside rock climbing but don't know how to make that jump safely.
If you've never climbed at all, nothing here assumes otherwise. We start with what a harness does and how to tie in, and by the end of day two you'll have climbed real routes on real rock and understood how the whole system keeps you safe. Every single person on the course started exactly where you are, including the guide.
And if you already climb indoors — this is the course that closes the gap. Gym climbing gives you the movement, the fitness and the confidence on holds. What it doesn't give you is anchor building, cleaning a route, reading rock that has no coloured holds, understanding where bolts are and aren't, or the judgement to know when conditions aren't right. Those are the missing pieces, and they're the reason a lot of strong indoor climbers never make it outside.
There are no coloured holds, so you read the rock itself. The bolts are where the route needed them, not every metre and a half. Nobody has set up the anchor for you, and nobody will clean it afterwards. The weather matters, the rock quality matters, and there's an etiquette to sharing a crag. None of it is difficult — but all of it has to be learned from someone, and that's exactly what these two days are.
Two days, deliberately sequenced: everything on day one is a foundation for something on day two.
Harness, shoes, helmet, rope, quickdraws, belay device: what each thing does, why it's built the way it is, and how to check it before you trust it.
The figure-eight, properly, until you can tie it without thinking. Plus the habit of checking your partner and being checked yourself, every single time.
Order is important, we follow the right steps for a natural progression. Taking in, paying out and lowering someone smoothly. This is the skill your climbing partner's safety depends on, and we spend real time on it.
It is super important to know how to clip the quickdraws efficiently and quickly. We will learn the best ways to do it and put it into practice.
What changes when you're above the bolt: rope management, body positioning, and the basics of falling.
The standard calls, why they exist, and what to do when you can't hear each other — which happens more often than you'd think.
Setting up a safe top-rope anchor and, just as importantly, taking it down cleanly. The thing indoor climbers have never had to think about.
We will practice lead falls and understand how to fall. Equally as important or more, the belayer must know how to secure the climber in case of a fall. Therefore, we will practice and explain different scenarios so that you know how to react on every condition. A first taste rather than a mastery, and only if you're ready for it.
Threading the anchor, lowering off, retrieving your gear. Get this wrong and it's the most dangerous moment of a climbing day, which is why we drill it carefully.
Choosing a route that suits you, spotting a worn bolt, reading the weather, understanding when a crag is in condition and when to go somewhere else.
Sharing space, protecting the rock and the access, not dropping things on people below. Small things, but they're what make you a welcome climber rather than a tolerated one.
Climbing routes with you running the system, supervised — the closest thing to a rehearsal for going out on your own.
Climb outdoors safely on bolted single-pitch routes with a competent partner: tie in, belay, set up and clean a top-rope, and make sensible decisions about routes and conditions. Full independence — leading your own routes, judging unfamiliar crags alone — comes with mileage after the course, and we'll tell you honestly what to practise to get there.
Unhurried. We meet in the morning at a crag chosen for teaching rather than for the postcard — good anchors, sensible angles, a range of easy routes close together — and the day runs at whatever pace the group needs. There's a lot of stopping and repeating, quite a lot of standing around learning things, and plenty of actual climbing in between.
Groups are capped at six, and in practice they're usually smaller. Almost everyone arrives on their own or in a pair, nobody knows what they're doing at the start, and there's no grade anyone is expected to reach. The most common thing people say afterwards is that it was far less intimidating than they'd expected — which is largely the point.
You'll be tired, and probably a bit sore in the forearms and the fingers. Two consecutive days outdoors is more than most people are used to, especially with the sun and the standing around. Bring more water than you think, eat properly, and don't plan anything demanding for the evening of day one.
Pick your dates below. Instant confirmation by email. If you're unsure whether it's right for you, message us — we answer honestly.
Everything first-timers ask — including the things people feel awkward asking out loud.
If you'd rather just have a great day out than learn the systems, book a guided climb and we'll do the technical work for you. If you already lead and want to climb harder, the Sport Climbing Improvement day is the one you want.
