Telephone: 01332 367200

At Alter Rock beginners are welcomed with open arms. There are several options available to someone new to climbing or to those returning to the sport after a hiatus. 

Everyone that climbs at Alter Rock without direct supervision from one of our staff is required to fill out a registration form, this can be done on your first visit or you can save time by downloading the relevant form from here. 

There are three types of climbing available at Alter Rock, these are: 

Bouldering 

Bouldering is a type of climbing that is done without the use of ropes which are replaced by a large crash mat at the base of the wall. Bouldering walls are typically much lower than roped walls, the bouldering at Alter Rock is 4m high. 

Bouldering problems can range in difficulty from climbs not much harder than a ladder to climbs using finger tip sized hand and foot holds. At Alter Rock we try to cater for as wide a range of people as possible and the holds are changed every few weeks. 

• Anyone over 18 is welcome to come along to Alter Rock at any time, register and climb on the bouldering wall without any previous experience.

• People aged 16 – 17 can come along to Alter Rock and boulder without supervision proving that a parent or guardian has completed a registration form to give consent.

• People aged 14 – 15 can boulder at Alter Rock without supervision providing that a parent or guardian has been to the climbing centre and completed a registration form to give consent.

• Children 13 OR UNDER must be supervised at all times by a parent or guardian.
   

Top Rope Climbing

Roped climbing requires people to work in pairs, one person climbs whilst the other stays on the ground controlling the rope using a belay system. Just over half of the routes at Alter Rock have a top rope in place at any one time and as with the bouldering wall, routes range from big chunky positive holds that are as easy to climb as a ladder to almost professional grades. 

Unless you are already a proficient climber you can not just turn up at Alter Rock and climb on the ropes. 

Depending on age there are several options available to beginners, please click on the course name for more information. 

Beginners Climbing Course (people over 18 Years) 

Youth Climbing Club (14 – 17 Years) 

Junior Climbing Club (7 – 14 Years) 

Parent and Child Climbing (Parents and Children of Any Age)
 

Lead Climbing 

As with top roping, lead climbing involves pairs climbing on a rope. The key difference is that the rope is clipped into insitu-runners or quickdraws by the climber as they progress up the wall. The belay system used in lead climbing is similar to climbing on a top rope although the technique is modified to allow rope to feed both ways. 

Lead climbing when not done properly vastly increases the risk of a climber falling to the ground and therefore should not be done by a beginner. It is recommended that people should not begin to learn to lead climb until they have sufficient experience and skill gained from top rope climbing. 

Those wishing to progress to lead climbing should either aim to learn the skills required from another more experienced climber or attend one of Alter Rocks Advanced Indoor Climbing Courses.