UKC

A south-east London-based friend has a 10 year old child who is keen to start climbing. She'd prefer outdoors. Bowles is the obvious venue and I'm guessing only the local centre work there. Recommended?

I also wondered about Swanage. Any suggested providers?

I won't be rushing to suggest this lot, if the photo captioned "Experience Climbing" is anything to go by: http://www.freebornclimbing.com/#!rock-climbing/c7z4

In reply to flaneur:

I don't know why you are concerned about Freeborn Climbing as all of their staff are professionally qualified to teach climbing. The photo you are concerned about looks a lot more difficult than it probably is and it is a bottom roping set up at a sport climbing venue, probably Portland.

If you want to know more about appropriately qualified climbing instructors have a look at AMI.org.uk or mountain-training.org. Bowles is also a very reputable centre and holds quality badges from the Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres (Gold Standard). Any provider climbing outdoors with young people under 18, unless their parents are present, must hold a licence from AALA.

In reply to oggi:

I think the comment would be that they are top roping off the insitu bolt, not extending it like they should. Bolts don't last forever.....

In reply to galpinos:

yeah, looks like in the photo they are TRing off the lower off bolts.....the little bull horn style too. Wouldn't fancy that!
I thought the climber in the photo was smiling, but on second thoughts that might be the terrified grimace of fear.

In reply to flaneur:

Re Swanage - try this link http://www.southamptonclimbingwall.co.uk/adult-climbers/outdoor-climbing/

In reply to ogreville:
If you look at the way the rope is lying, there is probably another bolt out of shot but they should have used their own krabs.

Al

In reply to oggi:


Fallen Slab area?

In reply to sog:

Thanks for the suggestion. The link seems to be trying to sell me PPI though, I get enough of that already. Can you try again?

Let's be charitable and assume the direction of the rope is due to a screw gate and secondary anchor out of shot, and not just because it's the lying on a slab. It's still not good practice to top-rope directly though bolts and this is something you do see at Portland from time to time. They don't grow back.

In reply to flaneur:


It's now working. Very strange.

Looks ideal - many thanks to sog.