What are the aims of this course?

The aim of this course is to provide a comprehensive set of skills that you can use to set up your own top-rope climbs in the outdoors. These skills include:

• Anchors. You need the ability to set safe anchors at the top of the cliff, capable of holding a fall.
• Abseiling. To get down safely, you can either walk (which is how you got up there) or you can abseil. We will learn the latter… with a prusik backup.
• Belaying and Lowering. You need to know how to safely belay a climber as they ascend the cliff (it’s not just as simple as holding the rope), and you need to know how to safely lower them to the ground after they have finished climbing.
• Rope Management. As well as tying a Figure-8 for the climber and threading the belay device to belay with, you need to know how to manage the excess rope on the ground and how to care for the rope
• Safety. You need to know how to create a safe climbing environment by recognising and mitigating the dangers of climbing, by wearing a helmet, using redundant anchors and ensuring your own safety by securing yourself while you build and dismantle the anchors.

What will we learn?

• Identify established rock-climbing areas suitable for top-rope climbing, as well as areas that are not suitable.
• Secure yourself at the top of a cliff while building an anchor.
• Build effective top-rope climbing ERNEST anchors.
• Safe abseiling using a prusik backup.
• Return at the end of your session without leaving any of your gear behind.
• Inspect fixed climbing hardware and anchors before you use them.
• Recognise the most common top-rope climbing mistakes and easy methods to mitigate them.
• Make intelligent decisions in the outdoors.