Gym to crag weekend “focusing on the WHY”

This course is for the gym climber that wants to smoothly make the transition to climbing outdoors. This course will spread over two days and cover a variety of topics. We will start day one by learning how to make top rope anchors on natural features. In the process we will learn a variety of knots, and how best to utilize them as we construct our anchors. We will alternate between building and then climbing on student built anchors. In the afternoon we will transition to bolted anchor stations, and how to construct durable and redundant anchors on those. 

On day two we will start by learning how to rappel. We will then transition to learning how to clean bolted anchor stations. Throughout both days we will spend time discussing what materials to use best for different applications, pros and cons of different options, and always exploring the “why” behind decision making. 

Following this course, students will be well educated and capable of making decisions regarding safety when climbing outdoors. They will be able to determine where to build anchors, how to construct them, and how to safely top rope climb in the outdoors. Should they venture into outdoor sport climbing, they will have the necessary knowledge regarding anchors and descending to do so.