Outdoor Rock Climbing - Intensive Introduction

Overview

A climber enjoys the superb granite in Leavenworth.

A climber demonstrating the use of a hand jam to gain a hold in a crack. Most gyms lack the variety of cracks necessary to learn this technique.
Jason Martin

Whether you are new to rock climbing or have climbed indoors previously, outdoor rock climbing presents unique athletic and mental challenges, and demands a wide range of technical and judgment skills that can only be learned outdoors.

This course is designed as a comprehensive introduction to rock climbing, both for beginners who have never climbed before and for indoor climbers who want to transition into outdoor rock climbing or alpinism.

The course has three primary components:

Movement skills, including techniques that are hard to learn indoors, such as jamming and friction climbing
Technical systems, including knots, anchors, belaying, rappelling, and top-rope site management
Judgment skills, including route-finding, recognizing hazards, and risk management

Goals and Objectives

The Outdoor Rock Climbing course was developed to provide you not only with the experience of rock climbing, but with the technical skills required to go climbing without the oversight of an instructor or guide. By the end of the course, you will have the knowledge required to set up and manage your own single-pitch climbing site independently.

Indoor climbing gyms have made it possible for many people to try, and even master, the most iconic type of rock climbing – steep face climbing – without going outside. Outdoor rock climbing, however, demands a much larger repertoire of movement and problem-solving skills than gym climbing.

Outdoor rock climbs don’t announce themselves with colored tape and holds. Learning to route-find often challenges beginners and indoor climbers, who don’t yet know how to recognize usable rock features like underclings, parallel-sided cracks, and small irregularities of the rock surface. Gym climbers who have advanced to the higher number grades can still be stymied by outdoor climbs with features such as jam cracks, chimneys, and friction slabs.

Why You Should Do It

Offered at outstanding, world-famous locations such as Joshua Tree, CA, Red Rock, near Las Vegas, and Squamish, BC, this course will transform your climbing from a gym discipline to a liberating communion with the natural environment and landscape of our planet.

Outdoor Rock Climbing - Intensive Introduction

Highlights and Curriculum

Program Highlights

Introduction to Equipment: Design, Care, Use, and Selection
Introduction to Knots and Hitches
Techniques for Belaying and Rappelling
Climbing Commands
Development of Full Repertoire of Free Climbing Technique for Moderate Ground
Introduction to both Passive and Active Traditional Protection
Anchor Construction
Techniques for Setting Up and Managing Top-Rope Sites

Locations

The end of another great climb in Leavenworth. Margaret Utgoff

The Intensive Introduction course is offered throughout the year in some of the most beloved climbing locations in North America.

Winter locations include:

Red Rock Canyon, NV

Moab, UT

Joshua Tree National Park, CA

Summer locations include:

Leavenworth, WA
Mount Erie, WA
Squamish, BC
Eldorado Canyon, CO
Mammoth Lakes, CA

Red Rock Canyon is located just minutes outside the city of Las Vegas, NV.

Joshua Tree National Park is approximately an hour away from Palm Springs, CA and right next to the Marine base in Twentynine Palms, CA. The climbing in Joshua Tree is on superb granitic rock famous for its cracks, which makes it an outstanding venue for first-time outdoor climbers used to indoor gyms.

Leavenworth, WA is about forty minutes from Wenatchee or three hours from Seattle on the east side of Washington's mountains.

Mount Erie is an hour and a half north of Seattle, near Anacortes, WA.

Squamish is two hours north of Bellingham, WA and one hour north of Vancouver, BC.

Mammoth Lakes is in the eastern Sierra, forty minutes north of Bishop, CA, and three hours south of Reno, NV.

Eldorado Canyon State Park is a mere half hour drive southwest from the city of Boulder

Course Itinerary and Curriculum

Day One:

Meet your guide at the program location at 8:00am.
Selection, use and care of climbing gear.
Introduction to basic knots and hitches. Knots to be covered will include but not be limited to the figure-eight follow-through and the clove-hitch.
Introduction to climbing commands and belay technique.
Develop an understanding of climbing grades.
Develop techniques for climbing beginner and intermediate rock climbs.

Day Two:

A beginner climber works on movement skills while on top-rope in Red Rock. Dana Hickenbottom

Review knots from the previous day and then continue the development of your knowledge of knots by learning the figure-eight on-a-bite, the munter-hitch, the overhand, the water-knot, the barrel knot and the autoblock hitch.
Introduction to climbing guidebooks and route topos.
Learn how to place and remove both passive and active rock protection.
Introduction to the concept of SRENE and 12-point anchors.
Develop the skills to build both pre-equalized and self-equalizing anchors.
Learn how to set up simple top-ropes using bolts.
Practice and discuss bouldering technique in an outdoor environment.
Introduction to basic rappelling technique.
Continue the development of movement skills for intermediate rock climbs.

Day Three:

Review knots from the previous days and then continue the development of your knowledge of knots with the double-bowline, the double-fisherman's knot, the mule-hitch, the kliemhiest, and the prussik-hitch.
Learn how to use traditional climbing gear to set up a simple top-rope anchor.
Develop the skills to belay a lead climber.
Learn how to follow a route that has been lead with traditional gear and clean the equipment off the route as you climb.
Develop advanced techniques for rappelling.
Continue the development of movement skills for intermediate rock climbs.

Day Four:

Review all of the knots and hitches from the previous days.
Use traditional climbing gear to set up a complex top-rope anchor.
Learn how to use a static rope or webbing to set up a multipart top-rope anchor.
Practice the rappel techniques that have been developed over the preceding days.
Continue the development of movement skills for intermediate rock climbs.

A note on enrollment:

Confirming this course at the regular cost and length requires at least 3 registrants. With two participants, we can run the course as a 3 day itinerary without changing the pricing; with just one individual we will consider this a 'private course' and charge private rates.

Outdoor Rock Climbing - Intensive Introduction

Dates and Locations

The Intensive Introduction course is offered year round in a variety of locations around the Western United States and Canada.

Winter: October – April

Red Rock Canyon, NV
Joshua Tree National Park, CA
Moab, UT

Summer: April – September

Leavenworth, WA
Mount Erie, WA
Squamish, BC
Eldorado Canyon and Boulder, CO
Mammoth Lakes, CA

Red Rock Canyon is located just minutes outside the city of Las Vegas, NV.

Joshua Tree National Park is approximately an hour away from Palm Springs, CA and right next to the Marine base in Twentynine Palms, CA. The climbing at Joshua Tree is very high quality, and is ideal for people who want to learn crack climbing technique.

Leavenworth, WA is about forty minutes from Wenatchee or three hours from Seattle on the east side of Washington's mountains.

Mount Erie is an hour and a half north of Seattle, near Anacortes, WA.

Squamish is two hours north of Bellingham, WA and one hour north of Vancouver, BC.

Eldorado Canyon is a mere half hour drive from the city of Boulder, CO.

Mammoth Lakes is in the eastern Sierra, forty minutes north of Bishop, CA, and three hours south of Reno, NV.

Boulder, CO

Sept. 12 - 15, 2024

Dates available on a private basis. Call for details.

Moab, UT

Dates only available on a private basis. Call for details.

Mammoth Lakes, CA

Sept. 26 - 29, 2024

More dates available on a private basis. Call for details.

Red Rock Canyon, NV

2024/25 Dates TBD

Additional dates are available on a private basis. Call for details & pricing.

Joshua Tree National Park, CA

2024/25 Dates TBD

Dates are available on a private basis. Call for details & pricing.

Mount Erie, WA

May 11 - May 14, 2024
May 16 - May 19, 2024
May 25 - May 28, 2024
May 30 - June 02, 2024
Aug 15 - Aug 18, 202

Leavenworth, WA

June 21 - June 25, 2024
June 27 - June 30, 2024
July 20 - July 23, 2024

Squamish, BC*

Aug 01 - Aug 04, 2024
Aug 10 - Aug 13, 2024
Aug 31 - Sept 03, 2024
Sept 05 - Sept 08, 2024
Oct 01 - Oct 04, 2024

* All participants in Squamish-based courses must first rendezvous at the AAI Offices in Bellingham and the group must cross the border together. We cannot meet climbers in Squamish.

A note on enrollment:

Confirming this course at the regular cost and length requires at least 3 registrants. With two participants, we can run the course as a 3 day itinerary without changing the pricing.

Rock Climbing Course Series:

Below is the progression for our rock climbing course series:

Outdoor Rock Climbing Intensive Introduction
Learn to Lead
Technical Self Rescue for Climbers
Multi-Pitch Skills Course

Climbers have a number of potential options for their continuing education, including, but not limited to, the Aid and Big Wall Climbing course and Private Guiding.

Outdoor Rock Climbing - Intensive Introduction

Cost and Details

$975 for 4-days

Max Ratio - 4:1 (Climber:Guide)

Capacity - 8

Minimum Enrollment - 3

A note on enrollment:

Confirming the 4-day course at the regular cost and length requires at least 3 registrants. With two participants, we can run the course as a 3 day itinerary without changing the pricing; with just one individual we will consider this a 'private course' and charge private rates.

Prerequisites

None

Rock Climbing Course Series

The Outdoor Rock Climbing Intensive Introduction course is the first part of a four part rock series. The second level of this course is Learn to Lead - An Introduction to Traditional Rock Leadership. The third level is our Big Wall and Aid Climbing Seminar. And the fourth part is our Technical Self-Rescue Clinic for Climbers. While it is possible to take all four of these programs in a row, it would make the most sense to climb independently between each program. The more practical time that you put in between courses, the more likely it is to retain new material.

Cost Inclusions and Exclusions

Inclusions: Included in the course cost is group technical climbing equipment, climbing permits, and the guide fee.

Exclusions: Not included in the course cost is all personal clothing and climbing gear, gratuities to guide, transportation, lodging/camping fees, meals while on the course, or travel insurance.