Aid climbing in Stockholm

Time for old school climbing that makes you a more complete climber!

Aid climbing is climbing where you use the equipment to move upwards. This technique is the basis of big wall climbing and on this course you will learn the basics that will further prepare you for challenges on Kjerag / Trollväggen in Norway or El Cap in the USA.

Before modern friction shoes and light equipment, Aid climbing (or technical climbing) was the way you climbed. Still today, this is something that a complete alpinist must know in order to tackle larger tours. Many major tours in the Alps and all over the world have passages that are aided by.

In guidebooks in France it often says "TD+ 200m 6b, 6a obligatoire"

This then means that the route is TD as a whole and that you must be able to free climb 6a and then you aid past some shorter passages. If you want to do the whole tour for free, it's 6c.

Previous knowledge

This is a course for you who have climbed at least one season trad outdoors. You have a red card and can climb rope tours at least grade 4+

You can build your own anchors and know how to place wedges and combs (friends).

You also know how to rig for abseiling and how to get down.

Course objectives

The goal is to learn an efficient and safe method of aid climbing. After completing the course, you should be able to safely:

• Route climb an artificial route with difficulty level A1-C1

• Clear an artificial joint using jumaring

• Clear an artificial joint on traverse

• Route climb using a solo-aiding method

Content of the course

• Ethics, public rights and access around aid climbing

• Grading system for Aid climbing

• Equipment knowledge and use of; AIDS ladders, daisy chains, jumars, fifi hook, sky hooks, micro wedges and various carabiners

• Repetition of the requirements for an anchor/stand

• Bottom anchor for solo belayed aid climbing

• Method for self-belaying in soloaid with double half stroke and ATC guide

• Solo belayed climbing C1- C3 with backup rope

• Peaking with transition from aid to free climbing

• Jumaring in steep terrain

• Jumaring in flat terrain

• Cleaning of aidled as well as cleaning in roof and on traverse

• Sequence for aid climbing

• Method for high-stepping

• Pros and cons of daysichains

• Method for aid climbing past a crux with existing climbing equipment on a long trip

• Presentation of equipment for technical aid

• Common Terms at aid, eg bounce test, leap-frogga, high-steppa...

• Practice placing aluheads, rurps, birdbeaks

• Lower out method

• Introduction of other equipment such as Haul bags, Portaledge etc