After last weeks climbing and recce of this area Dave F and I came back on a sunny Sunday with his teenage son and daughter, Brad ,16 and Ashleigh, 14.
Dave had previously taken them climbing at a center where he belayed them . He wanted them to try outdoors so I picked some suitable routes and we came back for a day's climbing. I set up the bottom rope using a static rope anchored with gear in cracks in the wall on the top tier climbing area or trees as we moved along the crag. It had been a while since I assisted at UCR so Saturday was spent going through the lessons. We spent the first hour going through safety at the crag, helmet and harness and tying the fig 8 knot with a stopper knot .
After going through belaying with them we tried the first. Both had wobbles at height and again when starting the descent but with more routes came trust and confidence. A great day out and we're out again in 2 weeks to reinforce the lessons and set up an abseil for them to try.
Area :
Wye Valley, Monmouth and Gloucestershire Sport Routes
Includes crags on both sides of the Wye Valley and also outlying areas of Worcestershire and Malverns
