Weekday evening climbing at the Index Town Walls all summer long!
Do you want to work on crack and trad climbing skills at the best crag in the universe? Build community with other women and non-binary climbers? Are you local to Northwest Washington? Join local guides Katie Griffith and Bennett Rahn for the Index Summer Climbing Series THIS summer on Tuesday evenings*!
The program in a nutshell:
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Climbing sessions every other Tuesday evening from 4-8:30pm
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Dates: June 17th, July 1st, July 15th, July 29th, August 12th, & August 26th (August 19th is a back-up weather day)
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5:1 max climber to instructor ratio
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Focus on crack technique, slab technique, and leading trad
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Cost: $675 for all six sessions
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Katie and Bennett will be your guides! Learn more about them here.
Who is this for?
Local Climbers: This series is designed for folks who call Index a local crag, because we’ll meet after work on weekday evenings throughout the summer. This program is a great way to meet other local climbers and find new climbing partners!
Women and non-binary folks: This program is for anyone who identifies as a woman (cis and trans) or non-binary. Instructors at this time are cis-gender women, both queer and straight, who are committed to creating welcoming spaces in the outdoors. They’re happy to talk with prospective participants about what to expect in this space.
Climbing Prerequisites
This program is designed to help intermediate climbers gain confidence with slab and crack climbing skills and leading traditional rock climbs. Participants will get the most out of the series if they are able to*:
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Top-rope 5.9 in the gym without falling or taking
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Tie in with a figure-8 follow through and top-rope belay
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Experience leading sport climbs helpful but not required
*If you’re curious about this program but not sure if it’s a good fit, please reach out! We’re always happy to answer questions.
SKILLS YOU WILL LEARN
Index is the best classroom in Washington to work on crack technique, slab climbing, and trad leading! There is some flexibility in the overall flow of the program, but these skills will be our main focus. If there’s group interest, we may include anchor building, cleaning, rappelling, or basic rescue skills.
Crack Climbing Techniques: We’ll set up tons of top-ropes on a range of different crack sizes, learn new techniques, and thrash around until it clicks! Skills learned include hand and foot jamming, finger locks, offwidth technique, chimney climbing, and more.
Slab Climbing Techniques: Along with splitter cracks, Index is known for its slab climbing trickery. Pulling hard alone won’t get you through the cryptic friction cruxes; we’ll practice smearing, balance, and even breathing techniques to help you climb granite slabs.
Trad Leading: We’ll start the series with an introduction to trad gear and lead strategy. Over the course of the program, students will have plenty of opportunities to mock lead and receive feedback on gear placements.
During the second half of the summer, we will work toward live leads. Check out the Leading Trad webpage for a more thorough curriculum overview.
Other Skills: If there’s group interest, we can also cover outdoor climbing skills like anchor building, rappelling, cleaning anchors, or rescue.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
What's Included?
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Instruction covering crack technique, leading trad, trad anchors, and other climbing skills prioritized by the group
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Ropes, anchoring material, trad gear*, belay devices
*Instructor will supply a double rack to share, but students are welcome to bring their own trad gear as well
What's Not Included?
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Transportation to Index, WA
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Personal climbing equipment (helmet, harness, shoes)
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Lodging or camping
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Guide gratuity
Why sign up for a multi-week series?
Grow Confidence in Skills: We’ve taught enough weekend climbing courses to know that it takes more than two days to solidify new skills. This series will introduce concepts in bite-sized chunks, rather than hitting you with a fire-hose of information. You’ll get ongoing practice and feedback over the course of the whole season. With more sessions over a longer period of time, you’ll gain more confidence and competence as an outdoor climber.
Learn Your Local Crag: A season-long program will also give you a thorough introduction to Index climbing. With a reputation as a “sandbagged” climbing area, Index can be an intimidating place. But the truth is, there is more and more moderate climbing developed there every season. Bennett and Katie have been climbing in Index for over a decade. They are constantly exploring new crags and will share their favorite first leads, moderate climbing meccas, and best spots for honing crack techniques.
