Introduction
A climbing course in the Peak District is the ideal way to get into climbing either traditional or sports rock climbs safely. The Peak District is a fantastic part of the country to do this, because of the variety of rock climbing venues around. The selection of grades, styles and locations means that there’s always something available (almost) whatever the weather.
Booking and Prices
If you’d like to know more about a rock climbing course in the Peak District, then see our main page for more details and prices or see what our clients say about us.
When you are ready, then get in touch to make an enquiry or a booking.
We also run rock climbing courses in Yorkshire, the Lake District and Snowdonia.
Rock Climbing Courses in the Peak District
Our Peak District climbing courses are run throughout the climbing season. The vast majority of our courses are highly tailored to the individuals, so each course is unique. However, they are broadly categorised as follows:
- Learn to Lead Trad Climbing Course
- Intermediate or Improvers’ Climbing Course
- Beginners’ Climbing Course
Learn to Lead Rock Climbing Course – Peak District
At the top end of the scale is our learn to lead trad rock climbing course. Learning to lead trad rock climbs is absorbing and rewarding, but there are risks. Therefore it’s vital to learn how to minimise those risks and make your climbing as safe as possible. Our lead climbing courses in the Peak District will give you the knowledge and skills that you need to do this, as well as discussing getting the right equipment.
Before even setting off climbing, there are numerous things to consider if you are new to trad climbing. Can I use the same harness as I use indoor? If not, why not? Can I use the same belay device as I use indoor? What gear should I take on my climb? Do I take wires or cams, or both? Where should I keep them? How many quick draws do I need? What lengths should I take? Where should I carry them? What else do I need to take?
Having finished the climb, you need to build a belay at the top before bringing up your partner. This is not something that you have to know in sports or indoor climbing. However, it’s vital in ‘trad’ climbing. This skill involves assessing potential anchors, placing gear, tying yourself to the anchor appropriately, belaying your partner from above and managing the rope effectively.
This Peak District rock climbing course will help answer all those questions in a safe, progressive way. The aim by the end is that you’ve led a couple of climbs and are ready to go off and have your own adventures as an independent trad lead climber. Quite often you will have the opportunity to climb well-known classic routes such as ‘Flying Buttress’, ‘Heaven Crack’, or ‘Inverted V’.
Intermediate or Improvers’ Rock Climbing Course – Peak District
Like our beginners’ climbing courses, most of the intermediate courses are unique. We start off by discussing your current experience and identify your goals and how these can best be achieved.
Our climbing courses in the Peak District are all about moving you on to the next level, whatever that may be. Sometimes this may focus on climbing technique. Other times the emphasis may be more on the correct use of equipment in the right context – protection, karabiners, knots and managing the rope.
Whatever we do, you will be sure to have fun, learn loads and pick up numerous tips to help your future climbing.
Beginners’ Rock Climbing Course – Peak District
Our beginners’ rock climbing courses assume no prior knowledge – nor courage! This is all about trying it out, learning some of the basics and having some fun.
Rock climbing is not the black art that some people might think it is. Nor is it all down to thuggish upper body strength. It’s all about efficient, normal movement. We spend some time considering normal every-day movements that we all make. Then we see how to turn these into upwards motion – or climbing.
Our rock climbing courses in the Peak District cover everything that you might expect and plenty more besides. There is plenty of coaching on climbing technique. A few knots to learn and some vital rope-work skills. And we discuss a variety of climbing equipment including the pros and cons, the costs and where to buy it from. Importantly, we also suggest where not to buy it from to keep you safe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I go on a rock climbing course in the Peak District?
The answer to this question is the age-old one of “It depends”. Many people now come to rock climbing outdoors having climbed indoors for a period of time. It would be understandable to think ‘I can climb very well at hard grades indoors. Why would outdoors be any different?’
It’s certainly true that you don’t need to go on a professionally-run course to learn how to climb outdoors well and, more importantly safely. However, it’s equally true that you do have to learn certain basic skills from somewhere. So if not a professional course, then what’s your plan for learning these things?
How does rock climbing outdoors differ from indoors?
The most obvious difference between climbing indoors and outdoors is the lack of multi-coloured holds on rock climbs outdoors. All the handholds and footholds are the same drab grey/brown colour. So even working out what a hold is may take a little while to ‘get your eye in’.
But there’s more to it than that. Indoor climbing walls are great at what they offer, but the overwhelming majority of routes and holds are based on jugs and crimps. The indoor world has very little in the way of blank slabs, cracks (especially jamming ones), bridging moves and so on. Climbing on real rock can feel very different, especially on Peak District gritstone.
Is climbing indoors safer than outdoors?
The answer to this isn’t as clear-cut as you might expect. Again – “It depends”. The safety in rock climbing consists of a ‘safety chain’. Any break in the chain changes the activity from being (fairly) safe to extremely risky.
You can think about the safety chain indoors in two main parts. First, the climbing wall facility. This has usually been designed and manufactured to exacting standards and is subject to a rigorous maintenance and inspection regime. In short, it’s a very reliable part of the safety chain. But when you actually go climbing, the final part of the chain is based on your own knowledge and skills and those of your belayer. Human error is almost always the cause of climbing wall accidents.
Outside, the rock climbing pair are still part of the safety chain. Tying in, doing buddy-checks and good belaying are still essential components of the safety chain. But what replaces the climbing wall itself? On a sports route it’s the quality and positioning of the bolts and lower-offs – not to mention the inherent quality and solidity of the rock itself. On a traditional climb, it’s the knowledge, skill and judgement that the climber has in placing protection and using the rope in an appropriate way to safeguard the climb. Do you know how to do all this?
Climbing indoors should generally be safer than climbing sports climbs outdoors, which should be generally safer than climbing trad climbs outdoors. At least that’s the theory. But….it depends. And what it depends on most is you and your partner.
What would I learn on a trad rock climbing course?
On one of our Peak District trad rock climbing courses you should expect to learn about things as diverse as:- legal access to the crags; use of a guidebook to choose and locate climbs; basic safety and ‘crag etiquette’; ropes and equipment; climbing technique and skills; belaying skills; using traditional climbing protection; choosing anchors; building belays to safeguard yourself and your partner; and probably abseiling too.
All of these are essential topics to climb legally, responsibly and above all safely.
