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Topic Date User

looking for instruction 18-Nov-2008 At 1:21:44 PM Epic Steve

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Why do so many people find it so hard to pay a qualified climbing instructor or guide, when they will :

1/ Be fully qualified and have local knowledge and experience...not to mention be good fun!

2/ Be fully insured (or should be...so make sure you ask them if they are...!)

3/ Will usually fit into whatever time frame/date you need...that is when it is most convenient for the client

4/ Will teach you the right stuff, that is industry best practice techniques

5/ Once you have these skills, you can keep them current with the use of books and practice, practice, practice...

6/ For most people, it will be the best few hundred dollars they will ever spend...if it keeps you safe and out of hospital...then it's a bargain!!! Most people will happily spend thousands on an alpine climbing/mountaineering course (for their first time...) for fear of getting killed by making a basic mistake...and that's for something we might only do once a year...rock climbing is no less forgiving, and we might be doing this every single weekend, so statistically the odds are far greater of a mishap whilst at your local crag...especially doing the basics like top rope setups, abseiling, etc. Once you get into trad leading, anchor building and multi pitch climbing, the risks increase even more....so start with the right attitude (that is don't expect to be leading Flight Of The Phoenix next week, when you don't even know how to set up a top rope safely...), get good at the basics then you can move on to the next level...that's pretty much how we all learn, so get skilled up

7/ What is your life worth...??? Surely more than a few hundred bucks???

8/ A good mentor is not a substitute or excuse to not get some qualified instruction, at some stage of your climbing career...mentors are happy to assist new climbers along the path to safe practices but many do not necessarily want the added responsibility or possible liability of teaching someone new...plus some of them just want to climb...where as a qualified climbing instructor has this factored into his overall business structure (experience, insurance, quals, permits, time, etc)...EVEN GOOD MENTORS WILL OCCASIONALLY USE THE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE OF A GOOD CLIMBING INSTRUCTOR TO KEEP THEM SHARP, LEARN NEW OR MORE ADVANCED SKILLS AND TO AVOID ANY BAD HABITS/PRACTICES CREEPING IN...

9/ It's good to support your local climbing instructors/guides...that's what they are there for!

10/ What ever you do...climb safe...don't get c--ky and remember, gravity ALWAYS wins!!

Steve