Technical climbing cannot be learned in one week. Therefore, if students are good Kismet citizens and if they are interested in climbing, Kismet invites them to return yearly to continue their education. During the first year, our objectives include:
1. To provide students with an opportunity to have a lot of fun.
2. To offer students a chance to get to know us and to become familiar with Kismetçs goals and values.
3. To offer an extensive overview of technical climbing including gym climbing, top-roping outdoors, and multipitch climbing.
4. To teach the basic technical aspects of climbing that will provide a foundation for much more hands-on instruction during ensuing years.
The first yearçs program includes:
1. The care and use of climbing and mountaineering gear.
2. Climbing Knots and basic rope management.
3. Belay technique.
4. Climbing technique(friction climbing, face climbing, and crack climbing).
5. Rating Systems.
6. Basic weather considerations.
7 . Principles of attitude related to wilderness travel:
a. Attitudes and relationship to partners.
b. Mountaineering etiquette: Attitudes toward other parties.
c. Attitudes toward the environment.
8 . Communication.
The first year of instruction provides a familiarity with climbing and with the Kismet program which allows students to begin learning top-roping skills. Although it takes young people several weeks of instruction to thoroughly learn these skills, top-roping is the first step to safe independence. We begin the second year of instruction with this in mind. In addition, second year students learn more advanced climbing techniques and they climb harder and longer climbs.
During the second year of instruction our objectives include:
1. How to pack and what to carry.
2. How to approach a cliff edge safely.
3. The placement of rock gear.
4. Tree anchors.
5. Rappelling.
6. Mastery of previous yearçs skills.
7. Rope management.
By the end of the second year, students will have gained a considerable amount of knowledge of gear, systems, and attitudes relating to safety and courtesy to others. It takes several weeks of instruction for young students to gain top-roping independence. If students gain this independence we will begin teaching the most basic skills associated with leading. It takes years to acquire the expertise necessary to lead safely but by the fourth year in the program we are able to begin teaching the most basic skills associated with leading. This does not necessarily mean that we will complete the job of fully empowering our students as leaders. However, we can provide a foundation upon which they can develop a safe climbing career in the future.
Basic leading skills include:
1. Reading guide books.
2. Finding easy and safe climbs to begin leading.
3. The use of quick draws (clipping bolts).
4. Belaying a leader.
5. Assessing and clipping sport anchors.
6. Managing attitudes while leading.
LEARNING ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT
Although Kismet is not primarily an institution of environmental education, most activities take place in the forests and in the mountains. Therefore, we have a unique opportunity to teach students about the geology, flora, fauna, and ecology of the areas in which we climb. We also have the responsibility to raise our studentsç awareness in regard to protecting the environment from our own impact. We will enter and leave the mountains with the ethic of leave no trace.
