Rock climbing and abseiling

Rock Climbing is a sport where you climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial climbing walls. The general aim is to get to the top and you may follow a set route or routes. Climbs come in different levels of difficulty depending on the length of route, size and frequency of the holds and steepness of the rock face. 

Our friendly and fully qualified instructors will kit you up in one of our climbing harnesses and helmets, and provide you with a safety briefing and demonstration of how to climb, and how to descend once you have reached the top. Your group will work together to attach yourselves to the rope and belay each other, all overseen by our experienced instructors. Challenge yourself to climb as high as you can whilst our instructors provide you with hints and tips to develop your climbing skills. 

Our expert instructors will teach you climbing techniques and how to link your foot, hand and body positions to successfully ascend the wall on your chosen routes. You'll learn where to put your hands and how to position your feet to best maintain your balance and stability which will help you to conquer the more challenging climbs. Our friendly and experienced staff will provide you with encouragement and support throughout the activity ensuring a fun session and feeling of accomplishment.

Once you're ready, our instructors will support and encourage you as you enjoy the exhilaration of stepping over the edge at the top and leaning back. You'll then control the rope yourself so you move down at a slow and steady, comfortable speed. Don't worry - there is no risk of you falling if you let go of the rope because our team will have you attached to a safety line which they will be controlling throughout the session. Once at the bottom and back on the ground we'll detach your harness from the rope and you can celebrate your achievement with the rest of the group. 

We can advise on what type of session would best suit your experience and desired outcomes. Depending on the climbing location and group size our instructors can run a variety of climbing sessions including:

• Bottom roping (all participants start and finish at the ground)
• Top roping (participants start at the ground and finish by climbing over the top of the rock face) 
• Lead climbing for more experienced climbers (climbers place gear as they climb to keep them safe should they slip)

Abseiling is an adrenaline fuelled activity involving controlled sliding down a rope to descend a steep rock face or tall building. It's a fantastic challenge for everyone, with no previous experience or skills needed. Abseiling is usually combined with our climbing activity sessions to provide participants with a slightly different challenge or as a wet weather alternative.

Abseiling is often combined with our climbing sessions to provide a different challenge during a session. After either climbing or walking to the top of the rock face you’ll be attached to the abseil rope with a friction device called a Figure 8. You will be shown how to use this device which enables you to control your speed as you descend in a controlled and safe way. 

The UK for a relatively small island has a varied landscape when it comes to the rocks that make up our hills, mountains and outcrops. From the famous gritstone of the Peak District, Limestone of the Yorkshire Dales or Borrowdale Volcanic of the Lake District, no matter where you are based in the UK there will certainly be an area suitable for rock climbing and abseiling. We can provide climbing sessions at many indoor and outdoor locations across the UK. Our most popular outdoor rock climbing locations are:

Yorkshire

• Ilkley Cow and Calf Rocks
• Brimham Rocks
• Almscliffe Crag
• Lake District

Scout Crag

• Tilberthwaite Quarry

Peak District

• Stanage Edge
• Burbage Edge

1. Improving problem solving skills: by solving climbing problems of where to put your feet and hands next, which move to make, which route to follow and how to progress upwards, making on the spot decisions as you go
2. Improving teamwork: by learning how to 'peer belay' and motivate each other to climb up the rock face, and supporting other team members
3. Boosting self-confidence and sense of achievement: by overcoming fears of heights and working outside of your normal comfort zone to take part and challenge yourself
4. Helping to improve strength and balance: by using your forearms, core, legs and back to climb the body's different muscles will get a full workout
5. Improving communication skills: by listening and following instructions, by giving clear communication to each other on routes up the rock, where to place hands and feet and giving motivation and support to others
6. Building leadership skills: by taking part in belaying others and motivating the team to continue with their climb, supporting and encouraging those who are less comfortable or fearful of heights, and motivating others to face their fears and providing advice and encouragement as others descent
7. Building focus and determination: by learning to ignore distractions around you and focusing on what you are doing; how you are going to progress up the route and focusing on the end goal