Unsupervised climbing for 14 to 17 year olds.
Climbers aged 14 to17 yrs who want to climb unsupervised at the centre may do so once they have passed our Youth Climbing Assessment (YCA).
The type of climbing and age of climber will dictate which assessment is needed.
Age of climber
14 & 15 year olds
At this age range a YCA is required for ALL types of climbing, including bouldering.
16 & 17 year olds
Bouldering - No assessment required however a parental consent (competent junior acknowledgement of risk) form must be completed BEFORE your first visit. It is mandatory for both the climber and parent to have watched the safety video and there will be questions on arrival.
Auto Belay, Top Rope & Lead - YCA required to access these types of climbing.
Assessment types
We have 4 types of assessment. Once passed youth climbers will be able to use the facilities they have been assessed on without supervision.
Bouldering (30 mins): All aspects of safe bouldering practice.
Auto Belay (30 mins): Bouldering as above plus harness fitting and safe auto belay usage
Top Rope (60 mins): Includes both bouldering and auto belay above with the addition of safe top rope practice (tying-in and belaying)
Lead Climbing (60 mins): Focuses on assessing safe lead climbing practice only, no other types of climbing are assessed. Candidates must have passed the Top Rope assessment BEFORE presenting for a Lead assessment.
Eligibility for assessment
There is no instructional element to an assessment. Candidates are expected to be proficient in the type of climbing for which they are being assessed. Should it become apparent a candidate requires instruction their assessment will be stopped.
Both the Top Rope and Lead Climbing assessments require a minimum of 2 climbers. Where this is not possible, please contact the centre before booking as we may be able to group candidates together.
Parents MUST be present during assessment.
If you would like to access the centre unsupervised but do not yet have the skills to pass an assessment, we have a range of options to help get you up to speed. Get in contact with us either via email or phone and we can discuss what’s best for you.