women's events
Our group events are designed to be a safe space for women* to gain the skills they need to be more competent, confident, and capable in the mountains. We maintain 2:1 student to instructor ratios to ensure high-quality, customized instruction to climbers of all experience levels. We provide camping, breakfast, dinner, and evening festivities as a way to promote camaraderie!
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Spend the weekend focusing on skills specific to your experience level including:
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Trad fundamentals
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Transitioning from gym to crag
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Multi-pitch efficiency and safety
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Gear placement and anchor building skills for lead climbing
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Self-rescue techniques
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Photo:
kiersa koepnick
Our goal is to bring climbers of all experience levels together to climb and learn from one another. We believe that beginners can learn from our more experienced climbers, AND our more experienced climbers can learn from being put in the role of a mentor.
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How do we accommodate such a wide variety of skill levels?
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2:1 student to instructor ratios
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Careful assessment of ability levels and goals prior to the event
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Pairing students of similar experience levels and goals to work with one another for the weekend
Weekend Itinerary
Our itinerary changes with each event as we customize our courses to fit varying experience levels, but here is an idea of what our group clinics look like!
Friday Night Warm-Up
This is a travel day for most participants. We will host a dinner and meet and greet in our campsite and make sure everyone has all the gear they need for the weekend!
3:30pm: Campsite Check-in. This is the earliest participants may arrive at our campsite -- this is not a required start time.
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6:00pm: Dinner and Meet & Greet
Saturday
7:00 am: Breakfast at Our Campsite
8:00 am: Head Out for Day One of Climbing
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8:30am - 4pm: You will be partnered with someone with similar climbing experience and goals. You and your partner will work with one of our guides focusing on skills pertinent to your goals.​
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5:00 pm - ?: Ladies Night! Dinner On Us & Festivities
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Photo:
kiersa koepnick
Sunday
7:00 am: Breakfast at Our Campsite
8:00 am: Leave for Our Last Day of Climbing
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8:30am - 4pm: Day two is when you get to put all the skills you learned on day one in context, be that in multi or single pitch terrain. The key is to get repetition working with skills you already learned so that you actually retain them!
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5:00 pm: Goodbyes, until next time!
Photo:
R. Douglas Fields
Payment Info
Our event costs vary with each location in accordance with local permit and guide rates. Here is a link to our cancellation policy.
What's Included:
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2 Days of guided climbing instruction (2:1 ratio)
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Climbing Equipment
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3 Nights of Camping (Fri/Sat/Sun)
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2 Breakfasts (Sat/Sun)
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2 Dinners (Fri/Sat)
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Saturday night festivities with good times guaranteed
What's Not Included:
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Guide gratuities
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Camping gear
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Park passes (required for National Parks)
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Transportation to and from climbing area
Optional:
An additional day of guided climbing can be added at a discounted rate on the Monday following each event depending on the availability of our guides. Please contact us if you are interested in adding a day of climbing to this itinerary.
Event Cost by Location:
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Joshua Tree: $995
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Seneca Rocks: $795
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The Black Canyon: $1425
Curriculum
Our guides are experts at turning the mountains into the ultimate classroom for teaching rock climbing. Our curriculum is designed to incorporate instruction throughout the day. Expect to get first hand experience with the technical systems we use in rock climbing. We can't give away all out secrets, but here's a general idea of skills and concepts we cover.
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Not exactly sure which course is right for you? No worries, that's what we're here for! Contact us with more information about your climbing experience/goals and we will be sure to put you in the correct course!
intro to trad
Start building a solid foundation for climbing outdoors. Intro to Trad clinics and courses teach the basics for climbing outside. Join us to start tying in to the world of trad climbing whether you have never Trad climbed, never multi-pitch climbed, or never climbed outside before.
Skills We May Focus On:
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Basic knots & hitches
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Top rope & lead belaying
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Intro to gear placement/removal
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Basic Self Rescue Skills
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Rappelling
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Mastering the role of a second for multi-pitch climbing
Photo:
R. Douglas Fields
learn to lead
Learning to lead can seem like an overwhelming task. Our clinics and courses provide a supportive, judgement free environment where women can learn & ask questions alongside other enthusiastic women. Go beyond covering gear placement and anchor building to seeing what it's like, first hand, to tie in to the sharp end -- our multi-pitch mock lead instruction provides an invaluable customized experience for climbers who are ready to take their climbing to the next level.
Skills We May Focus On:
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Gear Placements
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Anchor Building With Slings, Cord, & Rope
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Top Belaying
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Rappelling
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Protecting The Second On Technical Terrain
Self-Rescue
Part of climbing safely, competently, and confidently means knowing how to keep yourself safe with the equipment you have when things don't go as planned. Our clinics and courses incorporate progressive self-rescue skills for every level because we believe that understanding the equipment and systems we use in climbing is vital to building confidence in the mountains. More experienced climbers should take advantage of our clinics to spend two full days mastering self-rescue techniques ranging from what to do if you drop your rappel device, to rescuing a fallen lead climber in a multi-pitch setting.
Skills We May Focus On:
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Rescuing a fallen leader/second
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Alternative systems for belaying, rappelling, & climbing
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Releasable systems vital to rescue
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Load transfers (belay escape/knot passes)
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Hauling & lowering systems
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Multi-pitch rescue
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Photo:
kiersa koepnick
Gym to Crag
These days, many climbers are introduced to the sport by learning how to climb indoors. Our gym to crag clinics and courses are designed to help climbers transition to climbing outdoors. We will build on the skills and concepts you already have from indoor climbing to help you start climbing outside on your own. Our goal is to help you establish a good foundation for outdoor climbing by passing on the safest, most ethical practices.
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How you start climbing outside on your own depends on your current experience level and your goals. We will either connect you with ways to build top rope anchors, teach you skills to start sport climbing, or help you master skills required for following more experienced Trad climbers, as these three avenues are often great ways to start transitioning into outdoor climbing.
Skills We May Focus On:
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Anchor building using bolts, trees, or rocks
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Skills for leading sport climbs outside
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An introduction into Trad climbing gear
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Belaying, rappelling, safety checks, general risk management/awareness for climbing outdoors
Multi-pitch climbing
Athena Rock Climbing specializes in teaching skills required for multi-pitch climbing. While all of the skills we teach are progressive & applicable to a variety of environments, our passion as climbers lies in long multi-pitch routes. Our clinics and courses are designed to provide climbers with the skills they need to spend full days, up high in the mountains.
Skills To Focus On:
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Lead belaying
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Removing gear
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Managing belay stations
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Top belaying (bringing up the second)
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Multi-pitch rappelling
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Rope management & efficiency tips
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Pros/cons of anchors for a multi-pitch setting
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