Lesson 4:  On to the Wall – Introduction to Climbing
Duration: 1 Class Period

Materials Needed: Mats for bouldering

Assessment:

Activities: Discuss the different types of climbing: 1) Bouldering 2) Top Rope 3) Lead 4) Sport 5) Trad (traditional) and 6) Aid

The focus today is bouldering.  Bouldering is a great way to introduce basic climbing principles and technique.  It can be used later as a warm up.

Points of Emphasis:

• Students are never allowed to touch any higher than 8 feet or above the second panel on the climbing wall.

• Students may boulder only under the supervision of a certified staff member and with permission of the teacher.

• You must have spotters.

• No horseplay allowed.

Basic climbing principals to be taught:

• Think foot placement first, feet are critical!

• To rest, hang on your skeleton not your muscles.

• Use the inside and outside edges of your feet, do not climb as you would a ladder.

• Shift your weight off of the foot you’re moving, onto your balance foot.

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Lesson 5: Warm Up Bouldering, Learn Belay Commands, Top Rope Climbing Demo, Begin Climbing
Duration: 2 Class Periods

Note:  Trained student belayers are needed to assist with belaying for this portion of the class. They will belay to allow students to focus only on climbing for 2 class periods.

Materials Needed: Climbing harnesses, Helmets, Screw gate carabiners, ATC belay device, Climbing chalk

Assessment:

Activities: Teach the students the commands to use when climbing:

Climber – Belay on?
Belayer – On Belay!

Climber – Climbing?
Belayer – Climb on!

Climber – Take
Belayer – Lowering

Other commands: Up rope, Slack, Watch me, Falling

Static rope vs. Dynamic rope, how to care for and store a climbing rope, how to inspect a rope, and how to coil a climbing rope. Teach students single strand coil and 2 Strand or “elephant ear” coil

A student will perform a climb using correct commands while the teacher belays. Emphasize the correct technique to lower after saying take. Give a brief overview of what your wall has to offer in the way of route difficulty. At this point, don’t go into too much detail other than to point out the easiest route up to the most difficult. Ratings will be presented in another lesson. At this point, let the students climb using the trained, certified student belayers. Tell students to climb without paying attention to tagged routes so they can focus on technique. As students improve, they can challenge themselves by staying on a tagged route with a specific difficulty rating. This will continue for the remainder of this class period and another full class period.

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Lesson 6: Belay School Begins
Duration: 1 Class Period

Materials Needed: Climbing harnesses, helmets, ATC belay devices, screw gate and ball lock carabiners, Gri-Gri belay device, 2 ft. practice strand of rope

Assessment:

Activities: Show the students all of the equipment they will use to belay with.  Show both the ATC and the Gri-Gri, explaining the difference.  The students will first learn on the ATC where they will perfect their technique and then they will learn how to use the Gri-Gri.  Each student must pass a skill test with both belay devises. Every student will test until they pass, however it will be optional whether or not they choose to belay once they pass the test.

The teacher will then demonstrate how to perform the safety check before the belay begins. This will be done the same way every time so that nothing is missed.

Safety Inspection: When performing this inspection, physically touch what you are inspecting. Never stand back and just look.

• The belayer will check the climber: Always start with the harness. Make sure the waist strap is tight and above the hip bones.  Make sure the leg loops are up under the buttocks and tight.  Make sure the elastic strap is attached from the leg loops to the waist strap.

• Check that all buckles are doubled back or “locked”.  For the Misty Mountain harness, remember “red is dead”, meaning if you see the red tape on the waist buckle it is not locked.  The leg buckles on the Misty Mountain harness are self locking.  For the Black Diamond harness, the waist buckle and both leg loop buckles must be doubled back or “locked”.

• Check that the tie in is correct.  On the Misty Mountain harness the rope should run up through the bottom webbing, through the “swami loop” at the waist.  If it is only through the waist strap and not fed through the “swami loop”, it is not correct.  Never allow a climber to tie into the blue belay loop on the Misty Mountain harness.  On the Black Diamond harness, the tie in is on the reinforced loop on the waist strap where is says, “Tie in Here”.

• Check the figure 8 follow through knot.  Is it close to the harness?  Is it dressed?

• Touch the helmet to make sure it is tight enough and worn correctly.

Review the order of inspection: 1) harness 2) buckles 3) tied in 4) knot 5) helmet

Points of Emphasis: Belaying Philosophy

• The belayer is in charge of the climb. They are responsible for performing a safety check and telling the climber when they may climb.

• When a belayer agrees to belay, they are accepting responsibility for the climbers safety and they are conveying the message that they are well trained, competent and certified.

• It is ok to decline if you are not able to either accept the risk or have confidence in your own abilities, even if you have passed a belay test.

• The term “certified” simply means that you have passed an official belay test at Coronado High School.

• Understand that you are being trained to belay and climb indoors. If you want to climb and/or belay outdoors you must have proper training in that environment.

• Always climb with trained, competent climbers. Make sure any equipment used is inspected, high quality and in perfect working condition.

How to set up your belay using an ATC:

• Push a bight of rope through the top channel of the ATC. If you are right-handed the tail, or “dead end” of the rope should be oriented to the right.  Do the opposite if you are left-handed.

• Holding the ATC with a bight of rope, clip the screw gate carabiner from the bottom up and then flip it – “clip and flip”.

• “Scratch your belly.”  Connect the carabiner to the Misty Mountain harness by pushing the carabiner down first through the “swami loop” with the gate facing down and then through the bottom webbing. That way when you lock the carabiner, the gate is on the bottom and you are locking it by screwing down in it’s position of use.  Use the phrase, “we screw down, we never screw up”.  Finish by “squeeze checking” the carabiner.

To review:  With a bight of rope through the top channel of the ATC: 1) “Clip and flip” the carabiner. 2) “Scratch your belly” to clip in. 3) “Squeeze check” the carabiner.

Now that the belay is ready, double check yourself. Then the climber should double check the belayer.  The following is the safety check for a belay set up:

• Harness tight and locked.

• The rope is fed correctly through the ATC and captured by the carabiner.

• Squeeze check the carabiner to make sure it is locked.

Using clearly marked retired or good carabiners and ATC’s , pair the students up so they can practice setting up a belay. One partner sets up and their partner performs the safety check, then they switch.
Retired equipment can be used for this since they will not perform a weight bearing belay. This allows for lots of practice. 
As a reminder, remember to remove all retired carabiners and ATCs before the students belay on the wall!

After teaching the belay set up, students will now watch a belay demonstration:

• The term “feel hand” refers to the hand holding the rope which attaches to the climber. 

• The term “brake hand” refers to the hand holding the other line or the “dead end”.  The brake hand should NEVER let go of the rope. 

The following technique is used to belay:

• PULL in the rope with both hands until the braking hand is fully extended.

• SLIDE the feeling hand out until it is the same distance as the brake hand.

• SLAP the rope from the brake hand into the feeling hand.

• Hold both parts of the rope with the feeling hand.

• SLIDE the brake hand toward the body keeping it ready in case of a fall.

Belayers should always go the brake position when a climber stops climbing, stops to ponder a move, chalks up or falls. 

If there is time, have the students load an ATC with the 2 foot strand of practice rope and work on the belay technique.  It helps not to have a long rope to work with when you’re trying to focus on the correct hand movement.

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Lesson 7:  Practice Belay at the Simulation Set Up
Duration: 2 Class Periods

Materials Needed: Harnesses, 8 retired climbing ropes, 8 carabiners, 8 ATCs,

Assessment:

Activities: Find somewhere in your gym where you can run climbing ropes through an anchor point that will simulate a climbing situation. In my gym, I wrap the ropes around a railing that sits about 15 feet off the ground. I set up 8 ropes. Students work in groups of three. One student ties in as the climber. One student is the belayer. One student is the observer, watching for any errors that need corrected. Each student will rotate to all three positions. Students will practice until they can belay, without error. When a student thinks they are ready, they may perform their simulation test. Every student must pass the simulation belay test. They may test as many times as it takes until they pass. The test is pass/ fail. If a student makes one mistake they will not pass. It will probably take two class periods to test all of your students. Once all students have passed the simulation test we are ready to move to the climbing wall for testing.

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Lesson 8:  Belay Testing on the Climbing Wall
Duration: 3 Class Periods

Materials Needed: Harnesses, helmets, carabiners, ATCs, chalk

Assessment:

Activities: Use the easiest route on the wall for the belay test. The other routes are open for climbing while testing occurs with the certified student belayers doing the belaying. These are usually students who may be repeating the class or students who have volunteered to come back to help out. In my classes I always have my eye out for students who are very good belayers, mature and ready to accept that responsibility. I fill out an individual belay test checklist for each student that I keep on file for that school year. You can access the form through the following link: 3 Part Belay Test. Every student will test until they pass. Once a student passes they may belay in class. After a student passes the belay test they must have a back up belayer (using a hip belay) until the teacher tells them they no longer need to use a back up.

Have students pair up (depending on how many retired ropes you have to work with). Students will practice both coiling methods until they are proficient.  As students finish, time permitting, teach the bowline knot. In closing, have the students turn to their partner and share the following:
Partner #1 - What are you looking for when you inspect a climbing rope?
Partner #2 – What is the proper way to care for and store a climbing rope?

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Lesson 9:  Moving On to the Gri-Gri and Climbing Difficulty Ratings
Duration: 3 Class Periods

Materials Needed: Harnesses, helmets, carabiners, ATCs, chalk, 3 Part Belay Test

Assessment:

Activities: It is important for students to learn to use an ATC and a self locking belay device called the Gri-Gri. The ATC is taught first because it demands perfect technique. The Gri-Gri is designed to be self locking. That way, if loaded correctly, it will lock up on a fall even if the belayer doesn’t brake. The danger of the Gri-Gri is that when loaded incorrectly it will not self lock. However, when loaded correctly it gives added safety to ensure any fall is protected.

Points of Emphasis:

• The Gri-Gri has great pictures that help you trace the rope through correctly.

• Perform a “yank test” as part of the safety check.

• The belay technique remains the same.

• On the lower, the rate of descent is controlled with a lever instead of the angle of the brake hand.

• On a lower, never pull the lever all the way back.  Pull slowly until the desired rate of descent is achieved.

Demonstrate how to load the Gri-Gri. Demonstrate a belay with a climber on the wall as you point out how to use the lever to control the descent.  Once again, the easiest route on the wall is used for testing. Since the belay technique is the same, once a student demonstrates they know how to load the Gri-Gri, they may test using the 3 Part Belay Test. Every student must pass the test and may test as many times as needed. The other students may climb on the other routes until it is their turn to test. This usually takes three class periods.

Discuss the difficulty ratings at the beginning of the second day in this sequence. You can find this information on the document from Wikipedia titled, “Grade (climbing)”, that is posted for you on the website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_(climbing).

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Lesson 10:  Climbing for Fun!
Duration: Optional - 3 Class Periods  (this can be added if you choose and have the extra time)

Materials Needed: Harnesses, helmets, carabiners, ATCs, chalk, 2 foot piece of webbing, blindfolds

Assessment:

Activities: To add challenge, students can choose to climb blindfolded or joined together as a tandem if you have a place on your wall where this would work.

Points of Emphasis:

• When blindfold climbing, remove the blindfold before lowering.

• The belayer will aid the climber by giving verbal directions for climbing clues.

• On a tandem climb, each climber is tied in to their own rope with a belayer on each rope.  Belayers must communicate and work together in order for the climbers to succeed.

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Lesson 11:  Self and Peer Assessment, Teacher Assessment
Duration: 1 Class Period

Materials Needed: Rocky Mountain High Performance Assessment

Assessment:

Activities: The culminating assessment for this unit is a self assessment, peer assessment and a teacher assessment, click on the following link: Rocky Mountain High Performance Assessment.  After completing the three assessments, the culminating activity will be an open discussion among the students. All students will sit in a circle. Students are asked to share what they have learned about themselves through the process of learning and accepting responsibility as a belayer. Have they seen any changes in themselves through this process? Any student has the right to pass. Students are expected to be good listeners and respectful of each other.

Have students pair up (depending on how many retired ropes you have to work with). Students will practice both coiling methods until they are proficient.  As students finish, time permitting, teach the bowline knot. In closing, have the students turn to their partner and share the following:
Partner #1 - What are you looking for when you inspect a climbing rope?
Partner #2 – What is the proper way to care for and store a climbing rope?

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