Self Rescue Skills for Climbers

This is an advanced course for experienced climbers who want to learn the basic skills of self rescue. Of course we all go onto the crags without much of a thought about if we have the skills to cope if something goes wrong, but sadly, simple mistakes in climbing often escalate very quickly into an emergency situation if we don't have some basic techniques and knowledge about how to use our standard climbing rack.

We usually run this as a two-day course, ideally for two people who already climb together. We offer it as a bespoke course, so dates are agreed between the three of us. The two days don't have to be consecutive either, as we recognise that some people prefer to learn the basics on day one, go away and practice those a little, then come back a week or so later to learn more technical rescues.

There are a range of techniques that can be useful in an emergency situation, and we focus on those that involve climbing skills and equipment. It's just as important to have first aid skills too, but that's not something we offer here at Graham Uney Mountaineering. We have good connections with first aid course providers though, so get in touch if you want recommendations.

On our Self Rescue Skills for Climbers course we start by looking at common problems and how to avoid them. We then cover the techniques that will be most useful to you and your style of climbing if you haven't managed to avoid an issue. Typically, on a two-day course we might cover some or all of the following:

Day One

• Problem avoidance
• Holding a fall
• Lowering safely to a ledge or the ground
• Tying off the belay device
• Reinforcing a belay anchor
• Assisted and unassisted hoists
• Escaping the system
• Calling Mountain Rescue, and what to expect if you do

Day Two

• Abseils
• Prusiking up and down a rope
• Belaying, abseiling, and prusiking past a knot in the rope
• Counterbalance abseils
• Y-hang pickups
• Rescues on a traverse

Course Dates 2024

April 22nd - 23rd - in the Lake District

August 28th - 29th - in the Lake District

£275 per person - two people needed for a course to run.

How to Book

To discuss available dates for a course and to book email me or use our contact page.

We can offer this course on other dates too, if there are two of you booking together.