19 BOULDERING
Bouldering is an excellent activity for use with participants of all ages. It doesn't take much preparation time or equipment. It is a good way to learn some basic skills before approaching the bigger rocks. People enjoy this less dramatic challenge when it is presented in an inviting way by an instructor who enjoys bouldering themselves. It takes some work to find sites that are both challenging and appropriate for participants who have never climbed before. A range of problems with differing difficulties and flat landings is required. Proper spotting should be taught. Set limitations on how high participants can climb. Use helmets.
How instructors set up safety lines is an example of one of the many issues which will pose a challenge to program management. Some traverses upon which safety lines are set will be more dangerous than others. Regardless of the objective hazards of a given traverse, some staff will be comfortable walking across with no personal safety system and others will find the traverse dangerous. If there are no rules, confident climbers may take unacceptable risks and set a poor example for other instructors or participants. At the same time, overregulation can interfere with the flexibility that instructors need to do their jobs.
Safety lines can be set up by leading out across the rock while on belay, placing slings as one goes; by fixing one end and traveling out on a couple of prusiks with a figure eight on a bight back up; or simply fixing one end of the line and tying into a succession of figure eights on bights.
Find a balance in staff regulation. Staff can be permitted to set up systems as they will, as long as they adhere to a set of basic principles. The importance of personal judgment and flexibility should be emphasized.
SOME RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES FOR THE PERSONAL SAFETY OF INSTRUCTORS
1) No free soloing in areas that have been designated as requiring safety systems within your institution.
2) Instructors should wear helmets wherever participants are asked to wear them.
3) Instructors traveling on a rope which is fixed on one end, should always be attached to the rope with two prusiks of unequal lengths and a back up figure eight on a bight if possible.
4) Instructors should be allowed to exercise their own judgment as to what is safe for themselves, but must be held accountable for their responsibility to set a conservative examples for other instructors.
21 MULTI-PITCH CLIMBING
Most multi-pitch climbing with paying clientele is conducted by private guiding services. However, an increasing number of institutional programs are incorporating multi-pitch climbing into their curricula. There are two approaches to the management of multi-pitch climbing. The first makes the multi-pitch climbing a regular component of the program. If this is the case, stringent hiring qualifications, training and protocol are implemented to insure the safety of the program. The second approach, often employed by smaller programs, is to allow occasional forays into multi-pitch climbing with participants when there happen to be staff on hand with some lead climbing experience. The occasional approach is not recommended.
The institution which follows the occasional approach will most often allow those instructors with significant personal climbing experience to conduct the multi-pitch climbing excursions. But personal multi-pitch climbing experience and guiding experience are two very different things. Personal climbing experience does not guarantee than an instructor will be prepared to deal with the problematic and unexpected situations that often arise during multi-pitch climbing with novices.
Problematic situations include hysterical participants, stuck participant, extremely slow participants, stuck ropes, participants who give a poor belay, participants who pass protection without removing it or unclipping the rope and then freeze precariously perched above the piece, participants who become entangled in rope and anchors, participants who forget how to get themselves off of an anchor without jeopardizing themselves, abrupt weather threats, etc.. Handling such situations in a timely manner requires technical experience and competence far beyond the requirements for running a top roping sight. Professional guide's training and experience can provide a basic introduction to the necessary techniques.
A program that has maintained a consistent multi-pitch climbing program will have senior instructors who can introduce new staff to the potential problems and idiosyncrasies of the routes. In such a program, their will be a body of knowledge concerning evacuation procedures from all points on all of the regularly used routes. In addition, the regular and multi-pitch specific trainings help to insure that all of the instructors know the techniques necessary to lead participants safely on multi-pitch routes.
Programs that regularly incorporate multi-pitch climbing face the difficult task of maintaining a pool of qualified and responsible staff. The weaknesses that inevitably arise in the staffing pool can be somewhat mitigated by running a very conservative program.
If you want to offer multi-pitch climbing in your program, but you do not have the resources to maintain a consistent multi-pitch program, the best option would be to contract out this work to reputable guiding service. You might consider using the occasional approach if you are so lucky as to have someone on your staff who actually has significant guiding experience.
CONSERVATIVE MULTI-PITCH CLIMBING PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
1) Hire only instructors who can lead a climbs that are a couple of grades more difficult than those they will be using with participants. Avoid climbers whose experience is limited to sport climbing.
2) Put together an exclusive list of multi-pitch climbs to be used with participants in your area. Select routes that are free from rock fall, difficult descents, difficult retreat, long sections requiring complicated or small protection, painful belays, etc..
3) Make the retention of senior staff a priority.
4) Arrange each day of multi-pitch climbing so that newer staff are on routes near senior staff.
5) Participants must assume a high measure of responsibility for their own safety. For this to be possible, they need to have been taught and to have practiced a progression of skills which leads up to the multi-pitch climbing experience. Each participant needs to understand the importance of remaining attached to the anchor until they are on an active belay.
6) If instructors are going to take a pair of participants up a route, it is often advisable to use a double rope guiding technique rather than stringing the participants out along the two ropes. The instructor leads up with both ropes, although she is only belayed on one of them. Each of the ropes is attached to one participant. When the instructor reaches the belay, she removes the slack from the second participants rope and secures it to the anchor before belaying up the first participant. If the second participant should become prematurely detached, he is secured by his rope that is attached to the Instructor's belay anchor. Of course, for this method to be practical, the instructor must feel comfortable climbing the route while pulling the weight of two ropes.
It is possible to belay two participants simultaneous on one rope. Attach one to the end of the rope and the other perhaps ten feet above that with a two or three foot cow's tail (an overhand on a bight with another overhand on a bight on the end, clipped into the participants harness with two locking carabiners). The cow tail helps to prevent both climbers from loading the belay simultaneously. This system is not recommended for pitches that will be challenging for the participants. The synchronized climbing required will be difficult. Neither will this system work well for full length pitches.
7) Require that multi-pitch climbing be suspended if the weather looks bad. Abort (or quickly complete) climbs at the first sign of declining weather.
8) Run a thorough and regular training program for your staff. Run all staff through simulated guiding rescues and challenges out on the rock. Compile a list of guiding skills and make sure that each instructor demonstrates proficiency in those skills before being allowed to take participants up multi-pitch routes.