Climbing Courses in the UK

ISM offers a very personalised and flexible programme of climbing and mountaineering courses based in the famous British climbing areas of North Wales and the Lake District (also other areas by arrangement).

Rather than running courses on set dates, we arrange activities for individuals and groups at mutually convenient times (mainly outside the alpine season of July-September). We find this fits in much better with people's work schedules, and there is no doubt that two or three short training/climbing sessions, properly spaced, can be much better preparation for an alpine holiday than a single course, as it allows time in between for specific training and working on weaker areas.

We have a ‘fast track’ approach: by tailoring the course to individual needs we can cover as much in 2 or 3 days as many centre-based courses cover in a week. All courses are run by IFMGA mountain guides who are expert in all aspects of climbing and mountaineering.

North Wales and the Lake District offer every type of climbing from roadside crags to long mountain routes (which give perfect training for alpine peaks like the Matterhorn). Each area has its sheltered venues suitable for rock climbing through the winter months (the North Wales coastline being particularly good) and a hard winter gives opportunities for snow and ice climbing (with far shorter walk-ins than those typical in Scotland).

COSTS We generally work with groups of one, two, three or four people (depending on the level of course) however larger groups can be catered for. The rates charged (for instruction and use of all technical equipment) in 2011 are as follows:

WEEKDAYS - 1 person - £200 per day; team of two - £120 each per day; group of three - £85 each per day; group of four - £70 each per day.

WEEKENDS - 1 person - £210 per day; team of two - £125 each per day; group of three - £90 each per day; group of four - £75 each per day.

Course providers are happy to give advice on location and accommodation for any of areas we operate in.

To arrange your climbing course please contact the ISM guide providing the course directly:

NORTH WALES: call or email Pat Littlejohn at the UK office: 01766 890441, ism@alpin-ism.com

LAKE DISTRICT: call or email Adrian Nelhams: 01539 620029 adriannelhams@aol.com.

We can offer any kind of customised programme you require, but the course summaries listed below will give an idea of the type of programmes we have been running in recent years.

Alpine Training (Matterhorn, Eiger, Mt Blanc + general Alpine preparation)
(up to 3 people per guide, 1 or 2 days per session recommended)

These days allow you to 'aim high' in your alpine climbing, by giving you practice on the sort of terrain you will be encountering in the bigger mountains and covering many of the climbing and ropework skills required to climb them. They can be useful in deciding which alpine course is most suitable for you and provide a great way to focus on the training you might require to make your alpine holiday as successful as it can be. It is a chance to ask questions about your alpine holiday and to check over equipment with a mountain guide who might well be taking you in the Alps. The guide can also assist with purchasing any equipment you might need (and is usually able to obtain favourable prices for you in local shops), giving guidance as to which items in the bewildering range of gear now available offer the best performance and value.

Rock Climbing Introduction
(1- 4 people per guide, 2 days minimum recommended)

This course is intended for the complete beginner or novice climber, who would like to learn the skills of safe rock climbing. The aim is to give you a simple, safe, effective and versatile system for rock climbing, which should allow you to develop your own climbing at the end of the course.

It is also ideal for people who climb regularly indoors and want to gain experience/transfer skills to the more serious outdoor environment of multi-pitch climbing

The course can be adapted to give useful preparation for the Alps, as it will give you a firm grasp of moving efficiently on technical ground and also a solid foundation of skills for security on steeper and more exposed rock terrain. It gives good preparation for many ISM courses such as ‘Summits & Skills 4000m’ and ‘Student Alpine week’’.

Skills covered on the course include:

• Rope work (knots, hitches, rope coiling methods)
• Belaying techniques and how to hold falls
• Coaching of climbing techniques including balance and footwork (smearing and edging), using handholds (jamming, crimping, palming) and other valuable techniques (bridging chimneying, rock-overs, dynamic moves, long reaches)
• Effective communication (an important safety feature)
• Efficient use of the climbing equipment (handling the rope and karabiners etc)
• Organisation of the hardware on the harness
• Use of natural protection (wires, cams, slings, hexcentrics and chocks)
• Setting up of anchors to make a secure belay
• Stance organisation
• Abseiling with prussic protection
• Using prussiks
• Judgement in rock climbing (perhaps the biggest safety factor)
• Next step - how to develop your rock climbing after the course

Recommended Reading

• The Handbook of Climbing by Allen Fyffe and Iain Peter. Complete Guide to Rope Techniques
• On Peak Rock by the BMC

Rock Climbing and Mountaineering Introduction
(1-4 people per guide, 2 days minimum)

The first day is spent rock climbing on both single-pitch and multi-pitch routes, covering most of the skills described in the previous programme. On the second day a longer 'mountain' route is climbed, introducing 'alpine rope work' skills such as 'short-roping', carrying and securing coils, and moving together with protection from the rope. This combination gives two contrasting and very enjoyable days, and many people take this programme time and time again to improve their climbing grade both on rock and in the mountains and broaden experience.

Lead Rock Climbing (and Advanced Rope work)
(Up to 3 people per guide, 2 days minimum recommended)

This course is intended for people with previous climbing experience (including indoor wall) who want to begin lead climbing on outdoor crags; also for lead climbers who want to broaden their repertoire of climbing techniques and emergency procedures. The main aims are to teach safe lead climbing procedures and to learn to anticipate and solve problems commonly encountered while climbing. You should leave the course feeling a lot more confident to tackle rock climbs on the lead and be able to look after your climbing partner more effectively.

Participants are taught to lead climb by choosing an appropriate route well within their limits and while climbing are closely supervised by the guide. Protection techniques, rope management and related issues are discussed during the climb, and the guide can provide extra security if students do not feel comfortable at any point. This is a very effective way to learn lead-climbing skills and to progress quickly.

This course is good preparation for anyone considering an alpine course, particularly the ISM ‘Technical Alpinism’ week. It also offers an opportunity to discuss your alpine aspirations and how to achieve them.

Skills covered on the course include:

• A review of all the skills covered in the ‘Rock Climbing Introduction’ course (see above)
• Preparation of equipment
• Mental preparation
• Safe leading practices
• Using the full range of natural protection
• Route choice and route finding
• Stance organisation
• Abseiling and retreating from the lead
• Avoiding potential problems (such as rope jams, protection falling out)
• Adequately protecting the second at all times
• Emergency procedures (when things don’t go quite as smoothly as planned), such as abseiling past a knot, hoist systems, escaping the system, evacuating an injured climber.
• Judgement in rock climbing (perhaps the biggest safety factor)
• Next step - how to develop your lead rock climbing after the course

• Recommended Reading
• The Handbook of Climbing by Allen Fyffe and Iain Peter
• Complete Guide to Rope TechniquesOn Peak Rock by the BMC

Family Climbing Days
(For up to 4 people per guide - but charged at the 2 person guiding rate)

These rock climbing days are provided for families who would like to have a fun time climbing together in complete safety whilst learning some valuable techniques. The course is very much tailored to the needs of the family, whether to achieve a fun and dynamic activity day or a more instructional day geared to learning new skills. In practice a balance can be achieved between these, giving all the family an enjoyable, worthwhile and rewarding experience.

The course is useful preparation for a range of ISM alpine courses such as Introductory Alpin-ISM, Summits and Skills, Student Alpine week and Swiss Via Ferratas. It also provides an opportunity to discuss any alpine aspirations and how to achieve them.The following skills are covered (as appropriate):

• Basic rope work (knots and hitches)
• Belaying techniques, how to hold falls and dealing with weight differentials such as a child belaying an adult
• Coaching of climbing techniques (balance and footwork (smearing and edging), using handholds (jamming, crimping, palming, pressing) and other valuable techniques (bridging chimneying, rock-overs, dynamic moves, long reaches)
• Effective communication on the crag
• Single-pitch climbing & multi-pitch
• Abseiling and protecting an abseil
• Use of natural protection (wires, cams, slings, hexcentrics and chocks)
• Setting up of anchors to make a secure belay
• Stance organisation
• Using prussiks
• Judgement in rock climbing (perhaps the biggest safety factor)
• Next step - how to develop your rock climbing after the course

Classic Rock Climbs
(Up to 3 people per guide, 1-day to 5-day programme)

For people with some climbing experience, this course is a combination of further skills training and doing a variety of the finest climbs in the Lakes or North Wales, around the grades of Very Difficult to Hard Severe (or higher grades if participants make good progress over several days). The Lakes and Wales have some of the finest rock climbs in Britain, each with its own fascinating history. They are celebrated in the book 'Classic Rock'. We aim to do as many of these routes as possible, especially those which have really captured your imagination, giving a very varied and enjoyable course over anything from a single day to a full week.

Hard Rock Classics
(up to 2 people per guide, 1-day to 5-day programme)

The 'Hard Rock' routes encompass the great climbs of Joe Brown and Don Whillans in North Wales and those of pioneers like Arthur Dolphin and Jim Birkett in the Lake District. This course is suitable for experienced climbers who would find these routes a little too stiff at the sharp end. Documented in the book 'Hard Rock', the quality of these routes is such that we never tire of doing them. It is our pleasure to guide you up great cliffs like Cloggy and Gogarth or the Central Buttress of Scafell. The number of high calibre climbs is considerable and you have the option of tackling them in a block of several days or a series of one-day visits over a year or more. Either way you can't fail to gain a deep appreciation of the unique climbing heritage we have in this country.