The Rock Climbing Essentials course consists of a Wednesday evening (June 15, 7pm) lecture/practice at the south end of John Hendry (Trout Lake) Park followed by two weekend days in the Squamish climbing area (June 18-19).  At the end of the course, you should be able to set up and use a simple top-rope, rappel, set basic anchors, belay and follow a lead climber.  

Course Prerequisites:
Successful completion of the Basic Outdoor Top-roping course or equivalent (note that preference may be given to participants from the Basic course), i.e. it is essential that you are able to:
• tie-in to a climbing harness & belay without prompting,
• understand basic rope management, how to coil a rope and the climber's knots,
• figure of eight, clove-hitch, münter-hitch, fisherman's knots,
• able to explain "SERENE or ERNEST Anchors" and ABCD's of checking the belayer,
• understand climber's communication used outside a gym, e.g. ready to climb, on-belay, off-belay, climbing, ready to lower, etc.

Required Equipment:
• climber's harness, rock shoes & helmet (climber's strongly preferred, but a good cycling helmet will suffice),
• 4 locking carabiners, 1 large pear/Münter-biner, & a belay device (no figure 8s),
• 2 slings of 7mm "static cord" -- one of 1.5 metres & one of 5 metres in length.
The course organizers or the BCMC will provide other required equipment. On the course's full-day outings, you will need to bring lunch, water, suitable clothing and sunscreen.

Instructors and Assistants:
The course volunteer instructor will be BCMC member Paul Olynek; who has taught this or similar courses in the past.  In addition, one or two BCMC members who have completed an Essential Rock Climbing course may be invited to assist (if interested in volunteering, please contact Paul).  

Course Registration

The participant fee of $35 includes an evening session and an outdoor 2-day weekend session.
There will be at least two instructors and we're planning for a maximum of 10 6 participants. 

The registration process to attend this course will be:
a) you'll be placed on the Request List while we review your answers to our "Join" questions.
b) next, you're moved to the Waiting List where you'll pay online via the "Pay Now" button.^[1] 
c) After that, you'll be added to each session's Confirmed List  and sent email notifications.
   [1] If you plan to pay by personal cheque, please contact the course organizer ASAP.

Emergency Contact: If you haven't done so, please add it to your BCMC account by clicking on "My Account" in the top-right corner of our club website, then select "Edit Emergency Contact" under "Manage My Account" in the left column.

Waiver and Medical: Every participant must have read and agree to ("signed") the club's online Waiver.  In addition, those with potential medical issues, that might affect their course participation, need to contact the course organizer ASAP after registering for this course.

Changes - Cancellations: This course is weather-dependent and may be rescheduled in case of suspected poor weather.  If the course is rescheduled to another weekend that does not fit into your personal schedule then a full refund will be issued.  IMPORTANT: cancellation fees may apply in case of a cancellation by a participant; please review the BCMC Course Refund Policy for detailed information.