Basic Climbing Class

Tuesday Classroom Schedule

Class meets on Tuesday nights from 7 to 9pm.  Class is held in the basement of Prospect United Church of Christ on Capitol Hill (1919 E Prospect St, Seattle, WA -- map here).  Don't be late, we start promptly.

To get the most out of the class, you will need to do some reading to prepare for each of the Tuesday night sessions.  Most of the reading is from Freedom of the Hills (FOTH), 8th edition (our main text book). 

For the anchors class, we use the Climbing Anchors text book, and for the Mountain Safety, we encourage you to read Accidents in North American Mountaineering (ANAM).

Like the field trips, this is a very hands on class.  In addition to the reading and the lectures, we will be using our climbing gear to practice knots, anchors, and other skills in the classroom before we venture outside. 

On the class schedule below, you will find a list of the required readings, and the gear to bring to each class session. 

Date

Class Topic

Reading Assignment Prior
To Class

Gear For Class

Snacks

Tuesday, March 20

Gear Lecture

FOTH Chapters 2, 4

 

Co- Chairs

Tuesday, March 27

Leave No Trace
Map and Compass
Gear Sale

FOTH Chapters 5, 6, 7

Compass

 

Tuesday, April 3

Knots 1
Gear Sale

FOTH Chapters 9, 11

Climbing gear per gear schedule.

 

Tuesday, April 10

Knots 2

FOTH Chapters 10, 12

Climbing gear per gear schedule, including ice axe and leash.

 

Tuesday, April 17

Anchors

Climbing Anchors

Climbing gear per gear schedule.

 

Tuesday, April 24

Winter Camping
Self Arrest

FOTH Chapters 3, 16

none

 

Tuesday, May 1

Avalanche

FOTH Chapters 26, 27

none

 

Tuesday, May 8

Knots Exam
First Aid

FOTH Chapter 17

Climbing gear per gear schedule.

 

Tuesday, May 15

Glacier Travel
Z-pulley

FOTH Chapter 23 (and review chapter 17)

Climbing gear per gear schedule, including pulley and snow picket.

 

Tuesday, May 22

Mountain Safety
Crampon Use and Care

ANAM,
FOTH Chapters  22, 24

none

 

Tuesday, May 29

Trip Planning

Complete assigned homework

none

 

Tuesday, June 5

Altitude,
Final Exam

 

none

 

Looking to find Smith's or The Hopvine for post-class libations, here is a map with some pushpins.