Climbing with Kids, Indoors to Outdoors
It was about a year ago when it started. After two months there wasn't much I could do. My Wednesday evenings were now to the mercy of my nephew's Josef and Felix, who can bare a resemblance to a pair of axe wielding psychopaths, hell bent on the next fix of fizzy sugar water. One day a week ever since, have been spent giving climbing lessons to two children.
Naturally, the evenings started off at the climbing wall. It always seems like the obvious place to go. A risk assessed arena for all to enjoy the sport of climbing. We spent the first 5 months climbing there. The boys progressing from "F4" to "F5", even trying the odd f6a sport route. From there, the logical progression for Felix was to do backflips on the bouldering mat. For Josef, his goal was to eat marshmallows at the shop.
We were all locals to a lovely little crag, a little exposed at times to the elements but nothing the appropriate clothing cannot fix. Here is the clue to my first personal lesson learned about teaching kids climbing.
The first six weeks always ended pretty much the same, after one hour may I add. "I'm cold".
Lesson number one: I needed to make sure every time, that the axe men (I mean boys) have coats, gloves, warm hats, hot chocolate, hand warmers in chalk bags, proper socks (!), warm tracksuit bottoms and ensure this again for any adult that may be accompanying you.
You may sense a little frustration in me recalling these events. I would be lying to say it didn't test my patience when cutting a lesson short due to insufficient sock (cold feet!) but we have moved on since those times. To be fair to everyone it was 10 degrees at times and pretty damn cold.
As the weeks went by, the boys progressed from top roping Severes to E1s. It was fantastic to see this. We took selfies with the crag and Gloucestershire rolling hills in the background, ate our picnic outside on the hill and sometimes treated ourselves to a drink in the pub after. Then something changed. Felix didn't feel like climbing today. Josef didn't want another go. "Oh dear", I thought, "they're loosing interest".
The arrival of the summer helped a little. We were all reminded once more of why we are climbing outside, in nature. Buzzards soured in the distant horizon, jets and Hercules aircraft flew above our heads at times. Ladybirds congregated in the sheltered limestone pockets of the crag, nature as you know can be quite inspiring, especially for two young boys. Something however, was still missing.
"That's it!", I thought, I had made a plan, it was a fantastic idea if I may say so myself.
The brainwave had come to me on a trip to an indoor wall one damp and cold evening. After weeks of outdoor climbing, it was something different to be indoors. The boys were now "seasoned rock warriors" and after seconding polished cracklines, tying figure of 8s to their harness's and enduring the cold spring evenings, they were ready for some plastic pulling fun.
I was a bit snappy that evening. Quite annoyed in fact at the farce that indoor climbing was now. I too was a "seasoned rock warrior" and hear me roar! It's only when you visit a new wall do you realise the bureaucratic pedants some establishments can be. Obviously, I wanted to climb that evening, not much I may add, just a line or too. Hannah, while not a climber herself gives a very good belay and that's all she was going to do that evening. The wall however had their own rules and unless Hannah could tie a figure of 8 to her harness, then she could not belay me.
After sulking for a while and generally being a little more bossy than usual to the boys, I noticed that they were responding a little better. Felix tried a little harder on the blue route, Josef did a mock lead climb.
The idea then took off further. Knowing about the NICAS scheme, I sneakily printed off a handful of log pages found online and made up a booklet each for the boys. The booklets consisted of log pages for logging climbs, a tick list of goals (safety orientated along with goals to reach I.e. complete 10 belays) and reminder sheets on how to tie in to the rope. Each session the boys filled in their booklets, logged their routes whether top rope or lead, dogged or on-site. Their climbing sessions now had some structure, goals to reach and they had an opportunity to consolidate the things they had learned over the previous months.
They were happy and so was I, we had made outdoor climbing work for us all. It's priceless the time we spend outside, nature is a great host to climbing and provides experiences a climbing wall cannot, we can all agree that outside smells better too.
If I was to summarise and create a list of tips for climbing outside with Children, this is how it would look. I may add or subtract a few things over time, as we progress through the (hopefully) years to come:
- Rule number one. Wrap up warm (and then add a layer). A warm spring day can be deceivingly cold in the evening. Gloves, hats, hand warmers in chalk bags, hot drinks, warm socks, thermal layers etc. All will help keep you happy. Climbing isn't nice when you feel cold.
- Give the lessons some structure. Constantly recite safety instructions, talk about emergencies and make a plan. Get the kids to log their climbs, how they felt on the climb and how they can improve is the key.
- Take a picnic and don't always grab a takeaway on the way home. For a start a picnic is a really nice treat in itself, you can fuel up in between climbs. Takeaways are normally eaten after climbing and therefore quite late, which is not good for digestion obviously. Plus I believe if we are going to teach good values, spending out unnecessarily on junk food isn't a good lesson to teach.
- Don't forget climbing regularly on your own gear, you need to check its safe. Personally I change ropes once a year or at least downgrade them to "toprope only". Look at it this way, the money you save from indoor wall fees can buy you new shiny gear more often but then you are climbing on it more often.
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| Josef trying out a f6b at Wyndcliff Quarry - July 2017 |
"Marshmallows and backflips"
It started, quite simply because of Josef, who was almost 12, needed a confidence boost after a conflict at school. "Not to worry", I told Rachel, "we can take them climbing".Naturally, the evenings started off at the climbing wall. It always seems like the obvious place to go. A risk assessed arena for all to enjoy the sport of climbing. We spent the first 5 months climbing there. The boys progressing from "F4" to "F5", even trying the odd f6a sport route. From there, the logical progression for Felix was to do backflips on the bouldering mat. For Josef, his goal was to eat marshmallows at the shop.
Spring arrived and I banned indoor climbing.
Yes, "meany Rob" I can hear you murmur. "Kids at an outdoor crag, are you mad?!". There was a plan behind the madness...We were all locals to a lovely little crag, a little exposed at times to the elements but nothing the appropriate clothing cannot fix. Here is the clue to my first personal lesson learned about teaching kids climbing.
The first six weeks always ended pretty much the same, after one hour may I add. "I'm cold".
Lesson number one: I needed to make sure every time, that the axe men (I mean boys) have coats, gloves, warm hats, hot chocolate, hand warmers in chalk bags, proper socks (!), warm tracksuit bottoms and ensure this again for any adult that may be accompanying you.
You may sense a little frustration in me recalling these events. I would be lying to say it didn't test my patience when cutting a lesson short due to insufficient sock (cold feet!) but we have moved on since those times. To be fair to everyone it was 10 degrees at times and pretty damn cold.
As the weeks went by, the boys progressed from top roping Severes to E1s. It was fantastic to see this. We took selfies with the crag and Gloucestershire rolling hills in the background, ate our picnic outside on the hill and sometimes treated ourselves to a drink in the pub after. Then something changed. Felix didn't feel like climbing today. Josef didn't want another go. "Oh dear", I thought, "they're loosing interest".
Losing Interest...
It was true, they were losing interest. Similar to the indoor wall, with the marshmallows and backflips, the lessons lacked the structure or stimulus for them now. It was all getting a bit too repetitive.The arrival of the summer helped a little. We were all reminded once more of why we are climbing outside, in nature. Buzzards soured in the distant horizon, jets and Hercules aircraft flew above our heads at times. Ladybirds congregated in the sheltered limestone pockets of the crag, nature as you know can be quite inspiring, especially for two young boys. Something however, was still missing.
"That's it!", I thought, I had made a plan, it was a fantastic idea if I may say so myself.
The brainwave had come to me on a trip to an indoor wall one damp and cold evening. After weeks of outdoor climbing, it was something different to be indoors. The boys were now "seasoned rock warriors" and after seconding polished cracklines, tying figure of 8s to their harness's and enduring the cold spring evenings, they were ready for some plastic pulling fun.
I was a bit snappy that evening. Quite annoyed in fact at the farce that indoor climbing was now. I too was a "seasoned rock warrior" and hear me roar! It's only when you visit a new wall do you realise the bureaucratic pedants some establishments can be. Obviously, I wanted to climb that evening, not much I may add, just a line or too. Hannah, while not a climber herself gives a very good belay and that's all she was going to do that evening. The wall however had their own rules and unless Hannah could tie a figure of 8 to her harness, then she could not belay me.
After sulking for a while and generally being a little more bossy than usual to the boys, I noticed that they were responding a little better. Felix tried a little harder on the blue route, Josef did a mock lead climb.
"The brainwave"
What I was actually doing without realising, was adding a little structure. Instead of being "uncle Rob" I was being a climbing instructor to them. The reward for me that evening was belaying Josef on his first clean lead climb. The reward for them, a bag of Haribo sweets.The idea then took off further. Knowing about the NICAS scheme, I sneakily printed off a handful of log pages found online and made up a booklet each for the boys. The booklets consisted of log pages for logging climbs, a tick list of goals (safety orientated along with goals to reach I.e. complete 10 belays) and reminder sheets on how to tie in to the rope. Each session the boys filled in their booklets, logged their routes whether top rope or lead, dogged or on-site. Their climbing sessions now had some structure, goals to reach and they had an opportunity to consolidate the things they had learned over the previous months.
They were happy and so was I, we had made outdoor climbing work for us all. It's priceless the time we spend outside, nature is a great host to climbing and provides experiences a climbing wall cannot, we can all agree that outside smells better too.
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| The boys enjoying the sun |
A handful of Tips for Climbing Outdoors with Children
If I was to summarise and create a list of tips for climbing outside with Children, this is how it would look. I may add or subtract a few things over time, as we progress through the (hopefully) years to come:- Rule number one. Wrap up warm (and then add a layer). A warm spring day can be deceivingly cold in the evening. Gloves, hats, hand warmers in chalk bags, hot drinks, warm socks, thermal layers etc. All will help keep you happy. Climbing isn't nice when you feel cold.
- Give the lessons some structure. Constantly recite safety instructions, talk about emergencies and make a plan. Get the kids to log their climbs, how they felt on the climb and how they can improve is the key.
- Take a picnic and don't always grab a takeaway on the way home. For a start a picnic is a really nice treat in itself, you can fuel up in between climbs. Takeaways are normally eaten after climbing and therefore quite late, which is not good for digestion obviously. Plus I believe if we are going to teach good values, spending out unnecessarily on junk food isn't a good lesson to teach.
- Don't forget climbing regularly on your own gear, you need to check its safe. Personally I change ropes once a year or at least downgrade them to "toprope only". Look at it this way, the money you save from indoor wall fees can buy you new shiny gear more often but then you are climbing on it more often.
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| Priceless moments in Nature |
