Rock Climbing Development Instructor FAQs

1. I need to have worked a minimum of twenty days as a Rock Climbing Instructor to register for the Rock Climbing Development Instructor scheme. What constitutes ‘a day’?

All candidates registering for the Rock Climbing Development Instructor scheme need to have a wide variety of experience working with groups including teaching both sport and trad climbing. A day’s experience working as a Rock Climbing Instructor would usually include all of the following:

• The instructor takes part in the planning and delivery of the climbing activities
• Skills and techniques new to group members are taught and supervised
• Attention is paid to safety
• The day’s activities are five hours or more in duration

At registration, candidates must have recorded in their DLOG a minimum of twenty days delivered as a Rock Climbing Instructor at a variety of venues and with a variety of groups.

2. Why must I have climbed 60 trad and 60 sport routes?

Mountain Training believes this number of climbs provides the necessary level of personal experience required to meet the demands of the scheme. All candidates are already qualified Rock Climbing Instructors and will already have a wealth of personal climbing experience.

3. Should I choose Rock Climbing Development Instructor or Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor?

Candidates should choose the scheme which they feel most suits their needs and aspirations. Candidate handbooks for all schemes outline their scope. Mountain Training can be contacted for further information.

4. I’ve completed Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor training. Can I go straight to Rock Climbing Development Instructor assessment?

Candidates need to have passed Rock Climbing Instructor assessment before registering for the Rock Climbing Development Instructor. Therefore, having attended a training course for the Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor is not, in itself, sufficient to proceed straight to Rock Climbing Development Instructor assessment, but will undoubtedly strongly support an exemption application.

Training exemption applicants should read the assessment requirements very carefully and ensure their DLOG shows clear evidence of having these before making a submission. A qualified and experienced Rock Climbing Instructor who has substantial relevant personal experience, as well as experience in teaching climbing skills and lead climbing techniques, may apply for exemption from training. To qualify for exemption, candidates must, at the very least, meet the minimum experience requirements for attendance at an assessment course. They should also have at least two years recent experience of teaching climbing on the crags of the UK and Ireland.

5. How is Rock Climbing Development Instructor different to Climbing Wall Development Instructor?

The main difference is the scope of the two schemes. One is for climbing walls only and the other for single-pitch crags and climbing walls. There are many similarities between the schemes regarding the types of activities they cover and the breadth of knowledge and experience required of candidates.

6. Can Rock Climbing Development Instructors teach leading at multi-pitch venues?

The scope of the scheme covers only single-pitch trad and sport climbing environments. As such, the scheme does not train or assess the competencies of working at multi-pitch climbing venues.

7. How does the Coaching scheme fit into the Rock Climbing Development Instructor?

Being an effective teacher, having a wealth of technical skills and deploying appropriate risk management strategies are cornerstones of the Rock Climbing Development Instructor scheme. Coaching climbing is all about developing people's climbing skills to help them improve their performance. In this way, our coaching schemes complement our instructor schemes, making great instructors into great coaches.