Rock Solid Leadership Course 2008

We are excited to say that we think there has never been a course quite like Rock Solid Leadership. Some courses are geared toward providing you with skills for placing gear. Some hone your climbing. Others work on techniques for leading. Yet other courses provide rock rescue training. A limited number work at improving your alpine rock climbing skills. Very few technical climbing courses provide soft skills to enhance your understanding of issues as a leader. And a large number of courses are simply too short to cover all the things that instructors and participants alike would love to address.

Rock Solid LeadershipEnter ROCK SOLID LEADERSHIP. Rock Solid Leadership addresses all of these technical topics while focusing on leadership issues and filling in the gaps with soft skills. At long last all of these skills have come together in a single week long program designed specifically for the amateur leader with emphasis on the climbing club setting.

Rock Solid Leadership is a seven day course during which a number of hard and soft skills sessions related to leading club trips to rock climbing venues are presented. It is not a course about leading hard rock climbs but rather a course to introduce you to leading others on rock climbs of almost any grade.

We will spend some time dealing with managing personal and climbing club trips to shorter one pitch venues but our aim is to go well beyond that. Managing a small party during ascent and descent on multi-pitch rock routes and/or alpine rock routes will be what we are eventually striving for. We will also begin to learn and practice the art and science of shortroping, rock rescue, group handling, group dynamics and so much more.

Participants must have experience following traditional rock climbs with an experienced partner. Some previous gym, outdoor sport and traditional leading experience is required with a minimum of a half dozen leads on each type of route required. You don't have to be leading hard routes but you should have begun your leading career. This is NOT a beginner course. If you attend this course you must be mentally and physically ready to lead. The days will be long and participants are expected to give a 100% commitment to the program.

This is a leadership course above all. You must be willing to spend at least as much time thinking about others as you spend thinking about your own needs. If all you want is to be a good rock climber, then you are better off seeking a good technical skills course. This course is about leading routes and leading others who may be perhaps far less experienced than you. There will be plenty of leading and technical skills involved but there will also be so much more.

For more information please contact Sandra Bowkun at .

For the 2008 RSL course info pack, click here.

For the RSL application, click here.

Course subsidies will be made available to participating Toronto Section members through the Gunter Stefan Leadership Fund.