Outdoor Education Outdoor Education

Rock Climbing

Rock Climbing classes are offered at two levels—introductory and advanced. Introductory classes are offered in the fall and spring terms, and the advanced class is offered in spring so students can progress from novice to advanced within the school year. Introduction to Rock Climbing teaches the essential skills for top-rope climbing, belaying, and rappelling. Essential climbing knots, rope coiling, use of harnesses and helmets, and climbing techniques such as stemming, mantling, and smearing are all taught in these introductory classes. The advanced class, Rock Climbing II, teaches advanced climbing skills and the fundamentals of setting up top-rope anchoring systems. An introduction to lead-climbing techniques and the use of protection devices such as nuts, cams, and friends may be taught in the advanced class. Both classes use sites such as Rose Ledges at Northfield Mountain, which offers a wide range of climbing challenges close to campus. Weekend climbing expeditions take student climbers to further-afield sites such as Marlowe in New Hampshire.

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