Intermediate Classes

This class is for women, by women. CAYA: Intermediate starts with an evaluation of your climbing strengths and weaknesses. Over the course of six weeks, you will work on core and grip strength, flexibility, power, technique, and the mental aspects of climbing. Each session will end with campus board, hang board, pull-ups, and light weights.

This course is for top rope climbers who want to expand their terrain at Shaker Rocks and practice for the outdoors. Our lead climbing instructors will help you learn to lead quickly and carefully with good habits you can apply to indoor and outdoor climbing. You will be coached on proper clipping, belaying, falling, rope handling, and risk management. We will help you stay focused while you’re leading and show you how to give a “soft catch” to any partner. At the end of the course, you will be prepared to complete the lead climb and belay check.

Intermediate Routesetting covers more technical concepts in routesetting like creating specific movements, using volumes to create dimension, using the RIC scale, and athletic empathy while forerunning. During the Intermedidate Clinic, participants will set one collaborative boulder with a partner and one individual boulder.

Advanced Routesetting covers the fine details and abstract concepts of routesetting like creating aesthetic climbs, efficiency in setting and forerunning, adjusting difficulty, and working as a team for the overall considerations of the set. During the Advanced Clinic, participants will set two collaborative boulders and one individual boulder.

If you want to take your climbing to the next level in a private and personalized setting, a private coaching session is for you. Our coaches will work with you and help you take your climbing to new heights (yes, pun intended).

“Cleaning” a route is the process of removing all of your gear after you’re done climbing a sport route outdoors. Alongside lead climbing and belaying skills, this is the most important skill needed to take your climbing outside. Doing it wrong can be catastrophic. In this 2-hour class, you will learn how to clean quickly and confidently, based on the local climbing ethics for the New River Gorge and the Red River Gorge climbing areas.