I have been a little absent from my blog the last few months. Not up to the mark really but it has been a busy summer for us. We have seen some interesting trends in the things that we are doing include a very definitive shift for us from doing more introduction to rock climbing courses to doing more learn to lead courses. I’ve talked to colleagues in Squamish and elsewhere and it seems that they are experiencing the same trend. Is it because more people are starting their climbing careers indoors and coming out of the gym with belaying and climbing skills and wanting to lead on rock as soon as they get outside? Is it that lots of people have done our intro to rock courses and have top roped enough that they are ready to make the next step to leading? I think the answer to both is yes and I have to say that it is very satisfying to be helping people to reach their goals and to send them off into the realm of leading on the “sharp end” of the rope in a consistent and solid manner.

While we’ve run a ton of learn to lead courses this summer and last, the thing that we are running very little of is rock rescue courses. Which has me asking myself “what’s up with rock rescue?”. I just don’t get it. I know that there are lots of people out there climbing multi pitch rock routes that simply do not have the skills to manage a problem should it arise. All you have to do is imagine having your partner on belay on a multi pitch route when some trouble befalls them. They are hit by rock fall, they take a big fall themselves and are hurt. Once they are hanging on your belay your hands are occupied. Your belay is fully loaded and if you can not free those hands up by escaping the belay you are hooped before you start! And even if you can escape the belay somehow can you do it safely without compromising your safety or your victims? And then what? How do you safely change that belay to a lower? Or a raise? Or how do you get from your anchor to your victim to help them? And then what will you do? All of these are very real questions and as long as nothing goes wrong when you are climbing it’s all well and good. But I am afraid that I am pretty sure that there are way more people out there that could end up in this situation than there are people out there with the skills to manage it.

So why do we not have more people signing up for rock rescue courses? Is it the “it won’t happen to me” syndrome? Is it that people think “oh I would manage it somehow”? Is it that they have not even really considered the problem? I think it could be any of the above and more. The fact is that rescue systems are complex and need good instruction and regular practice to remain strong enough to be of use when you need them. I really hope that our trend toward more learn to lead courses will continue to evolve and morph into an increase in interest in rock rescue courses. I know from experience that when people take these courses there is an incredible sense of satisfaction that comes from learning these skills as well as a retrospective view that says “am I ever glad I did not need these before learning them!”.

Have a great remainder to the summer and get ready to ride the pow before too long!

Jan