Vertical eXcape offers several climbing advancement courses. These courses will assist you in taking the next step in your climbing journey. Our knowledgeable staff can take you from the ground up or help you fine-tune existing skills.
- Class Size: Min 4 / Max 8
- Prerequisite: Must be belay certified at VX
- Available on a recurring monthly schedule
Climbing routes and boulder problems successfully involves way more than just being strong and pulling down. Increasing your performance will require power, balance, dexterity, flexibility, and technique. This movement and technique class will build a foundation of skills for how to use your entire body to complete your “proj” top-rope route and/or boulder problem. We’ll put names to the various types of holds and grips, demonstrate some warm-ups that will keep your tendons crankin’, teach you why your shoes should be so darn tight, and show you how to keep from flinging wildly from hold to hold. Success usually comes down to many little details of your movement going perfectly all at once and in sequence, and figuring them all out is often half the fun! Plenty of folks end up completing their “project” route before the end of the night.
- Class Size: Minimum 2 / Maximum 4
- Two 2-hr sessions (4 hours of instruction)
- Prerequisite: 5.9 climbing ability, current top-rope belay certification at VX
- Flexible scheduling. Clinics can be set up with a minimum of 2 participants. Coordinate your clinic with a particular instructor or on a particular day and time that fits your schedule.
At this point in your climbing you should have a fundamental grasp on top rope climbing skills of anchoring, belaying, rope management, and general safety. With this solid foundation, you are now ready to take the next step in your climbing – Sport Climbing. As a lead climber, you are constantly climbing above your last “catch point” in order to reach the next. The leader must secure the climb and the belayer must constantly assess potential falls and stay ready to catch the climber. If you’re ready for the next step, sign-up for our next Sport Climbing clinic!
- Class Size: Min 2 / Max 4
- One 2-hr session
- Prerequisite: 5.9 climbing ability, Gym Sport Climbing clinic or equivalent knowledge
- Flexible scheduling. Clinics can be set up with a minimum of 2 participants. Coordinate your clinic with a particular instructor or on a particular day and time that fits your schedule.
Participants in this clinic should already have a good grasp on indoor sport climbing and belaying the leader, and are ready to take a trip outdoors. This class covers the differences between sport climbs indoors and at the local crag where quickdraws are not measured and hung for you in advance. We’ll discuss when longer falls or longer quickdraws might be appropriate, research some guidebooks to local crags, emphasize outdoor ethics, and practice changeovers and cleaning routes.
- Class Size: Minimum 1 / Maximum 2
- Two 2-hr sessions (4 hours of instruction)
- Prerequisite: 5.9 climbing ability & Sport Climbing – In the Gym & Sport Climbing – Gym to Crag Transition, or equivalent knowledge of both courses, & basic understanding of multi-pitch climbing
- Flexible scheduling
“The most important self-rescue skill is the ability to prevent the need for a rescue.” However, if you are confronted with a situation in which a rescue is imminent, it is important you have a solid foundation to work from. Your knowledge and understanding of self-rescue skills could make a critical difference on inevitable or unavoidable disasters. Start building your foundation today.
This course will help to prepare you for many emergency situations you may encounter while on an outdoor adventure. You will learn how to pass a knot while rappelling, stop in mid-rappel to assist another, spider rappel with an injured partner, emergency ascending, and how to escape the belay. If you ever plan to take your friends out for a multi-pitch adventure, this course is a must! Don’t put your life or your friend’s in jeopardy. Sign-up for a Self-Rescue course soon!