There is much more to lead climb coaching than showing you how to place runners, and manage the risks. One of the misconceptions with instructors rather than coaches is that all an instructor does is cover the safety aspects rather than the associated soft skills of mental and physical preparation. Its a shame that so many people perhaps don’t realise that coaching is just a different facet of instructing and vice-versa. We all at the end of the day try to teach people new skills, and in the case of Lead Climbing Coaching we often put it into a very contextual setting, where our students are actually on the ‘sharp end’ of the climbing rope.
This allows us to make a distinction between ‘safety and danger’ often in real situations. As both a coach and instructor I find it interesting that the two groups try to separate themselves into two camps. One can only assume that a lack of any official ‘coaching’ qualification make those self appointed coaches feel vulnerable. Having a qualification though isn’t necessarily an adequate indication of competence for something like Teaching Lead Climbing or Performance Coaching. In fact the way an MIA assessment works it would be very hard to justify teaching lead climbing on your assessment, so even a qualified MIA may only have half a days experience from there training course on the introduction of people to lead climbing, however the associated assessment of risk throughout the course make that aspect a key skill that has been assessed, as is teaching progressions.
When I started work as an MIA I was assessed on several different occasions by senior instructors at Plas Y brenin as part of an in-house check. In the years since i have taught many different people in all manner of lead climbing situations, and that experience has allowed me to develop a very good understanding of what routes I can used to develop different skills, and of course how hard those routes are so that should someone wish to push themselves I can ‘judge’ a climbers lead climbing ability versus the difficult and risk level of a route.
For me it is one of the most rewarding parts of my job, even if it means lots of jumaring. However it is also quite worrying at times and something that I never underestimate the risks involved and part of that accepting the risk is in part down to the students as well. It would be impossible to guarantee a students safety, however that isn’t a caveat to throw caution to the wind when we teach lead climbing. We have to ensure that the student has the necessary experience to assess those risks and the route is appropriate for them to lead.
I have heard of a coach basically shouting encouragement from the top of the cliff as there student started to struggle, until the point that they fell off and stripped a runner or two, and nearly hit the ground. If that is a coaches idea of appropriate management of the situation I would suggest you look elsewhere. I have also watched many instructors at Plas Y Brenin and from other centres in North Wales offer fantastic ‘coaching’ in lead climbing. Not just putting in wires and other protection but the movement and mental processes that are required of a competent lead climber.
So my advice is to ask the right questions of any instructor or coach.
What experience do they have?
What routes are they likely to use and why?
Will they put you straight on the lead? (arguably they should see you climb whilst seconding first to assess your ability)
Similarly does the instructor or coach ask the right questions of you.
What is your experience?
What routes have you lead or seconded? Also does the instructor know those routes?
What do you want to get out the day?
What do you want to work on? (mental skills, gear placement or both?)
Alternatively ask on UKC for recommendations or for a contact of a previous client of the instructor/coach.
The where comes down to your aspirations, if you want to climb on Gritstone then you should probably look at getting and instructor based in the area. They will have a far greater experience than someone travelling over to the area. Similarly if you want to develop your multipitch or sea cliff climbing then somewhere like North Wales or Pembroke would be advisable. Again look for someone with experience of the type of route you want to climb, many small independent instructor keep blogs of what work they have done recently which might form an excellent way to assess not only what they do for work but also for pleasure as well.
In terms of cost you probably need to be looking to pay at least £150 per day based on two people sharing one instructor, cost will vary, for instance a day with Johnny Dawes will set you back £300. Whilst a large provider like Plas Y Brenin will charge £285 per person for the weekend with food and accommodation thrown in, they also have a lot of experience delivering this type of course.
If you would like some lead climb coaching then Mark Reeves offer session through www.snowdoniamountainguides.com.