Clinics Clinic Registration will open on Monday April 12, 2010. See below for details on how to register.
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Clinic Registration is Closed!
If you would like to join one of the open clinics or be put on a wait list for a clinic: Meet at the NRAC Hospitality Tent on the morning of the clinic at 8:30 to be put on the wait list. If there is a no-show or a late arrival, you will be allowed into the clinics on a first come first served basis. Arrive ready to go with all your climbing gear.
Scarpa Saves the Day!
Scarpa has generously donated once again to keep the clinics coming to you for free again this year. So,
stop by the Scarpa booth and say thanks!
New River Mountain Guides
The clinics have been such a successful component of the Vous, and
we're in the process of lining up another killer offering of clinics
for 2010. Traditionally we pair up an athlete with an AMGA Guide to help facilitate each group, athletes like: Lynn Hill, Chris Lindner, Brittany Griffith, lisa Rands, Will Mayo and many more.
After listening to your feedback from the last few years we're
making some changes in the clinic registration system to better serve
you guys. A couple changes are:
Limit 1 Clinic per Person: In an effort to make the clinics available to more people, you can only sign up for ONE clinic. This also means you can't register for someone else. The person who wishes to sign up for a clinic must contact us personally to do so.
Pre-Requisites: You must meet all
of the prerequisites for the clinic you wish to attend. This will help
make sure everyone is on the same page so your time won't be spent on
remedial skills.
To Sign Up by email:
YOU MUST BE PRE-REGISTERED FOR THE EVENT TO SIGN UP FOR A CLINIC
Your name
Cell phone number
Name and Day of clinic you'd like to sign up for. Please list
1st choice and 2nd choice. You'll be placed in the first available
clinic.
Brief desciption (no more than 5 sentences) of your previous climbing experience including ability level
Rendezvous Weekend Check-In: All
clinics will meet at 8:30 at the NRAC Hospitality Tent on the morning
of your clnic. Come prepared to go climbing for the day with your
personal climbing equipment including but not limited to:
UIAA approved Climbing Helmet
UIAA approved Climbing Harness
Climbing Shoes
Chalkbag
Locking Biner & Belay Device
Climbing Rope
Climbing Hardware suitable for your clinic (Draws for Sport clinic, Trad Rack + slings etc for Trad Clinic)
2 liters of water
Food
Sunscreen
Closed Toe shoes- no sandals or slides please
Prescribed Medication (if applicable)
Camera
Notepad and paper if you'd like to jot something down
UPDATE 2010: This
year we will not start a waiting list for clinics until the morning of
the clinic. If a clinic you wish to sign up for is full, we recommend
you show up at the NRAC Hospitality Tent at 8:30 on the morning of your
clinic and put your name down on the waiting list at that time. In the
event there is a no-show/late arrival for your clinic of choice, you
will be allowed to fill the spot on a first come first served basis.
Arrive prepared to go out and climb for the day so as not to hold up
the other clinic participants.
Projecting & Redpointing w/ Pete Kamitses New! Friday 9-4, 8 person limit
Pete Kamitses
Clinic description: Learn the art of projecting a sport climb. We will talk about all the
aspects of sending sport climbs at the upper end of your ablitity. From the
mental tricks and confidence building methods to physical conditioning and
performance peaks.
We will spend the day having FUN and trying to redpoint our "short term"
projects and all that that process entails. Proper warm up, crux analysis, beta
refinement, creative resting, breathing, mental momentum....and much more.
Requirements: Participants should be able to lead sport climbs at least at
the 5.10a level and have a desire to break thru to the next level.
Bio: Peter Kamitses lives
in Burlington, Vermont with his wife and two
sons. Climbing has been the main focus of his life for the last 16
years taking
him to many international locations as well as across the country and
throughout
every nook and cranny of his backyard in the hills of the northeast. He
appreciates all aspects of climbing but applies himself mostly to
high-end free
climbs having repointed 5.14+ sport, 5.14a trad and on-sighted up to
5.13c sport.
Over the years Peter has repeated nearly every established 5.14 in the
northeast
as well as adding a few of his own in Vermont, New Hampshire and the
Adirondacks
of New York. He works as the head routesetter at PetraCliffs climbing
gym in
Vermont and frequently travels to Boston to routeset for competitions at
the
Metrorock gyms.
Climbing Videography with Charles Fryberger New! -Saturday 9-4, 8 person limit
Chuck Fryberger is a pro!
I'll cover how to envision a short video, set up shots, capture the essence of the climbing experience, and assemble a professional looking final product.
Equip each person will need: A video camera or DSLR with 'video mode'. The more manual controls the better. Charged batteries and plenty of storage... tape or memory cards. Students will also need a way to transfer their footage to my PC.
Pre-Requisite Experience: Folks should know the workings of their camera, and basic climbing safety practices.
About Chuck: Chuck Fryberger has been shooting and editing climbing videos for 13 years. His most recent release, CORE, is currently in international distribution and you can catch a snippet of it here at the Rendezvous. Not only is Chuck a talented photographer and videographer, he also composes original music and can mix it up on the turntables under his pseudonym DJ Underground Chuck. When not fueling his
creative efforts he totally cranks on the rock, with many hard double
digit send on his ticklist. Chuck is sponsored by Scarpa Climbing shoes.
Gear Refurbishment Clinic w/ Doug Phillips of METOLIUS New! -Friday 9-11am, 15 person limit -Saturday 9-11am, 15 person limit
Learn how to repair and refurbish your old and tired TCU's from the guy who invented the things! Doug is the owner and founder of Metolius and will teach you all you ever wanted to know about caring for your gear. By the end of this clinic your gear will be in tip top shape and you'll be ready to go send area testpiece The Greatest Show.
Equipment: Bring your trad rack!
Topics:
proper care of your cams
how to inspect
maintain tip-top condition
lubing, rewiring, reslinging
Rescue 2: From Crag to Definitive Care New! -Saturday 9-12, 24 person limit
Appalachian Wilderness Medicine
This clinic is for all of you who want to be
a bit
safer, whether
your "out there" is here at the NRG or on a remote mountain in the
Himalayas.
We will focus on common climber injuries and treatment, extrication
of injured
partners, and what to carry in your first aid kit. The clinic will
begin with a
brief overview, spend the majority of the session practicing techniques,
and
wrap up with a question and answer period about wilderness medicine
topics of
your choice.
NO Previous Experience: Required We will cater to all levels. Actually the less
people know, the more essential it is that they make the clinic! What to Bring: First Aid Kit if you have one, recommended but not required
Instructors for
this clinic include: - Seth Hawkins, MD, FACEP, FAWM -
Executive Director
of the Appalachian Center for Wilderness Medicine, emergency
physician
with
Mountain Emergency Physicians and Medical Director of Burke County EMS’s
Special
Operations Team, the oldest EMS-based wilderness rescue team in NC. This
team
provides wilderness medicine and rescue services to Linville Gorge. He
enjoys
climbing, mountain biking, and paddling.
- Bryan Simon, RN, FAWM - Board
Chair for the Appalachian Center for Wilderness Medicine, former Army
Ranger/Infantry officer who was born and raised here in West Virginia.
He
enjoys climbing, traveling, and pretty much any activity that involves a
chance
to be outside.
- Deb Simon, RN, FAWM - Secretary for the Appalachian
Center
for Wilderness Medicine has vast experience in trauma, ICU, and OR
nursing. She
enjoys climbing, traveling, trekking, and a cold beer after a fun day
outside!
Intro to Climbing w/ Hard Rock Climbing Friday 9-2, 8 person limit
Have little to no climbing experience? Then this is the clinic for you. All equipment is provided just show up with water, snacks and a small backpack to carry the climbing equipment you'll be using. You'll learn:
Knots
Belay skills
Verbal commands
Technique
Rappelling
In 1987 Hard Rock Climbing Services was created by Thomas Wendell and has
remained independently owned after all these years. Since 1989, Hard Rock
Climbing has been on the corner of Court Street and Fayette Avenue, providing
instruction for beginning to advanced rock climbing, rappelling and vertical
rope rescue in the New River Gorge and Summersville Lake areas. After being in
business for over 23 years Hard Rock has taken out thousands of people that have
traveled to the New River Gorge area to experience rock climbing and rappelling.
Intro to Trad Climbing w/ Appalachian
Climbing School
-Friday
9-4pm, FULL
Want to
learn to trad climb but not sure where to start? Take this clinic. Intro
to crack climbing technique, gear and what to do with it and lots of
practice honing your climbing skills.
Pre-Requisite
Experience:You must know how to tie in with a figure 8 and know how to
belay to sign up for this clinic.
Intro to Sport Leading w/ Appalachian Climbing School NEW! -Saturday 9-4,FULL
Ready to start tying into the
sharp end of the rope but want to do so safely? This clinic will teach
you the finer points of lead climbing such as:
Planning for the lead
Methods for clipping
Avoiding common mistakes
Giving a cushioned belay
Pre-Requisite Experience: You must be an active climber of at least 12
months, know how to tie in with a figure 8 and how to belay to sign up
for this clinic.
Breaking the 10a Trad Barrier w/ Matt Wilder New! Sunday 9-2, FULL
Matt Wilder free climbing Moonlight Buttress
In this clinic we'll explore tricks and techniques that will improve your
fluidity as a trad climber and will help you push to the next level. We'll cover
four main topics: pre-climb preparation, moving on the rock efficiently, finding
the best gear, and mastering the mental component of trad. The clinic will take
place in a relaxed atmosphere at the crag, with the safety of a loose TR back-up when you're on the sharp end. We'll play with gear, talk about
crazy trad tricks, and also get some fun time on the rock.
Requirements:
You should be comfortable on 5.9 trad and should have experience belaying and
placing gear. The techniques will be relevant to climbers not at the 5.9 level,
but we won't cover the basics of placing gear. The clinic will also be fun and
relevant for climbers above the 5.9 level.
About Matt: Matt Wilder's first trad route was Three Pines 5.3 in the Gunks. He still
remembers being scared on 5.6 and thinks back fondly on his first 5.10 trad lead
at Cathedral Ledge in North Conway. Over his 16 years of climbing, he has honed
his trad skills in the Adirondaks, Yosemite, Squamish, Indian Creek, and the
many crags surrounding Boulder, Co, his current homebase. He has established two
5.14 trad routes in Colorado and completed the third ascent of the Path 5.14a in
the Banff area. He also made the first continuous onsight of the 10 pitch
Moonlight Buttress 5.12d in Zion and has climbed numerous 5.13 trad pitches
throughout the country. As a PhD student in computer science, Matt is known for
his analytical approach to all things -- climbing included. This outlook has
offered him a conscious understanding of many of the finer points of trad
climbing.
Climbing Anchors with Appalachian Mountain Institute -Friday 9-4, FULL -Saturday 9-4, FULL
Appalachian Mountain Institute
This course is for any climber who wants to improve their
ability to place protection for leading, and rigging anchors. This intensive
clinic will focus on selecting and placing various types of protection devices,
how they work, and evaluation. Additionally you will learn the concepts behind
rigging anchors, which anchor type to rig and why. This is the ideal course for
climbers who want to learn anchor rigging or who want to become better at
rigging anchors for either single pitch or multi-pitch climbing.
Pre-Requisite Experience: Should have some
climbing background, but it is not necessary to know how to place gear
or lead
climb.
Topics:
Understand how climbing
protection works
How to place cams, stoppers, and
various other types of climbing protection
Confidence in evaluating the
protection
Be able to construct a variety of
anchors using a cordelette, slings, or rope
Be able to control force
distribution in an anchor
Appalachian Mountain Institute is a guide service offering
climbing courses, guided rock and ice climbing and AMGA SPI courses and exams.
Patrick Weaver, owner of AMI, has 23 years climbing experience, is a American
Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Certified Rock Instructor, and is an AMGA
Single Pitch Director. Patrick has a Masters Degree in Risk Management in
Adventure Education from Prescott College with emphasis on judgment
development.
Multi-Pitch 101 with Fox Mountain Guides New! -Friday 9-4, FULL -Saturday 9-4, FULL
This clinic will focus on solid concepts for climbing in parties of
two and three in multi-pitch rock terrain. The clinic will suit climbers with some
multi-pitch experience through to aspirant climbing guides. Many of the topics
will parallel curriculum taught in the AMGA Rock Guide Course.We will look at one of the most key
topics of multi-pitch climbing:
efficient transitions
looking at ways to be more
efficient with time, gear and energy
technical
mishaps and how to
eliminate them from your systems.
Fox Mountain Guides & Climbing School is the Southeast’s largest Climbing School and offers climbing trips, courses and training throughout the USA and worldwide. We are the Southeast only AMGA Accredited program and only use AMGA Certified Instructors and Guides for all our programs. Contact us for your next climbing adventure!
The Clinics will be taught by: Adam Fox, Originally from the United Kingdom, Adam grew up in the heart of the Peak District National Park climbing the local Grit and Limestone. He started instructing and guiding in the U.K. in 1989 and since then has climbed and guided in such places as Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and extensively in the U.K. and U.S.A. He is one of the two AMGA Rock Guides working in the Southeast and is the National Discipline Coordinator for the AMGA's Single Pitch Instructor Program and also works for the AMGA teaching and examining higher level courses in the rock discipline as a member of the AMGA Instructor Pool. He is a member of the Technical Committee and currently a member of the Board of Directors.
Mental Training to Break Barriers with Eric Horst New! -Saturday 9-4, FULL
Eric Horst
Based on Eric’s new book, Maximum Climbing, you will learn to identify performance-limiting constraints and then develop a plan to overcome them. You will learn specific ways to improve your technical, tactics/strategy, and mental skills to achieve the next grade.
Pre-Requisite: This clinic is designed for intermediate to advanced lead climbers capable of redpointing 5.9 or harder. Join this clinic if you want to better manage your fears, increase your focus, boost your confidence, and climb with great efficiency and effectiveness!
What to Bring: This is a hands-on-the-rock climbing clinic, so bring your hardness, shoes, chalk bag, and helmet….and a pencil and paper if you want to take some notes!
About Eric: An accomplished climber of more than thirty years, Eric J. Hörst (pronounced hurst) has climbed extensively across the United States and has established hundreds of first ascents in the northeastern US (including many at the New River Gorge). Eric has personally helped train hundreds of climbers, and his training books and concepts have spread to climbers in more than fifty countries. He is recognized internationally for his innovative training techniques, and his books have sold more than 150,000 copies worldwide. Eric is author of Training for Climbing, Conditioning for Climbers, How to Climb 5.12, and Learning to Climb Indoors, all of which have foreign translations. His latest book, Maximum Climbing, was released on April 1st. Eric continues as an Ambassador for La Sportiva, Sterling Rope, and Nicros, Inc.
Self-Rescue 1 w/ Seneca Rocks Climbing School -Friday 9-4, FULL -Saturday 9-4, FULL
Self Rescue Clinic
If you climb long enough, you will eventually be involved in or witness
some form of climbing accident or emergency. Are
you prepared? This course will cover numerous
scenarios where you will need to go to the aid
of an injured or incapacitated climber.
Pre-Requisite Experience:
Been climbing for at least 2 seasons
some multi-pitch experience,
you should know how to belay,
understanding of gear and anchor rigging
Topics: The basic tools from
which to construct an effective and efficient
self-rescue, whether going up or going down. These include: belay
escapes
utilizing different devices, lowers utilizing different devices, counter
balance rappels, tandem rappels, 3:1 haul system and rope ascension.
Equipment: Harness, helmet,
belay device, 2 cordelettes (at least 20'), 2 48" slings,
at least 5 locking biners, cordage forprusik/autoblock
(6mm is good)Optional: Gri-gri, plaquette type
belay device,more slings, more lockers All
personal equipment is subject to inspection and approval by your guide
to determined its' appropriateness and safe condition.
Seneca Rocks Climbing School has
been instructing all level of climbers for 40 years. Our focus is on
multi-pitch trad climbing and over the years we have introduced thousands of
new climbers to the multi-pitch environment of Seneca as well as taught
hundreds of leaders the art of placing traditional gear and anchor building
Kids Climbing Clinic -Sunday 9-12pm, FULL
Wanna get your kids psyched on
rock climbing? Sign them up for this clinic and we'll show them how
much fun climbing can be and ignite the bug to climb in a safe, fun and
low pressure environment.
No previous experience required,
suitable for kids age 5 and up. Parents welcome to tag along or not,
your choice. If your kid has climbing equipment (harness, shoes,
helmet) go ahead and bring it, if not let us know and we will provide it
for you.
Warrior's Way - Friday 9-4, FULL - Saturday 9-4, FULL
Deliberate Commitment Training A challenging climb can be mentally overwhelming until we learn how to plan
well, assess the consequences accurately, make deliberate decisions, and commit
wholeheartedly to those decisions. This clinic will help you do all of this.
You’ll learn how to chunk down a climb into smaller risk events, identify
consequences, make appropriate risk decisions, and commit fully to your
decisions.
This clinic is not for beginners who haven’t climbed before. You must have
at least 6 months of climbing experience and know the basics knots, belaying,
and climbing skills. We’ll do some discussion but the clinic will consist mostly
of climbing exercises.
Sport
Climbing 101 w/ Chris Lindner -Saturday 9-4, FULL
Chris "Lick" Lindner
Pre-requisite Experience: You
must know how to belay, able to TR-climb 5.9 cleanly, and have your own
personal climbing equipment.
The world famous Chris Lindner will lead this clinic and
teach you his secrets of badass-ness. Not only is Chris an amazingly
talented rock climber, he's totally down to earth and and all around
great guy. He's sponsored by Petzl, Evolv, Maxim Ropes, Sanuk and Smith Sunglasses. Check out his bio.
Topics:
Lead Climbing and Belaying
Climbing vocabulary, names
and ratings, proper equipment and setup,
figure 8 knot tie-in, clipping, falling, yarding, anchors and cleaning
''Becoming a Better
Climber'' includes onsight and redpoint tactics, crag
ethics and much more
Women's Climbing Technique w/ Brittany Griffith New! -Saturday 10-2, FULL
Hey Ladies! Learn essential techniques sure to improve your climbing in a fun, carefree
environment. Brittany
is a blast to hang out with and doesn't have a poseur bone in her body.
In short she is a terrific ambassador for our sport. No wonder American
Alpine Club hired her to be their events coordinator. She is sure
to fire that organization up. She is here representing Patagonia
and the American Alpine Club.
Participants must have prior climbing experience and be able
to belay one another.
This will be a technique clinic only and participants will
be top rope climbing only.
Trad Climbing for the Chicken-Hearted w/ Malcom Daly -Saturday 9-4,FULL
The world infamous Malcolm Daly
Head Chicken: Malcolm Daly
Little Pecker: Jim (Shim)
Shimberg
Requirements: Climbers who attend should have a good working
knowledge of climbing terminology, solid belay and rappel skills and know how to
tie and identify a figure 8 tie-in knot. We will not instruct on the basics of
belaying and rappelling however, we can help with techniques that are specific
to certain types of equipment.
Equipment: Harness, Helmet, Rappel/Belay
device, Climbing Shoes, Rucksack, Water, Food, weather-appropriate clothes and
hat. Participants should bring their own rack* of they have it.
This
full day interactive clinic will cover many of the basics of trad climbing as
learned through 40 years of trial and error efforts by the Head Chicken and his
Little Pecker. We'll start the day by tearing through a trad climber's backpack
and examine everything that is in it, why it's there and how it's used. This
will focus primarily on the climbing gear but will also cover the accoutrements
that make life safe and enjoyable on a day's outing. We'll cover:
packs
harnesses
first aid kits
dealing with shit
passive protection (nuts, stoppers, tricams)
active protection (cams, big bros, other springy things)
belay devices
slings/draws
clothes
food
water
lighting
Following this session will be the time to place gear and
climb! We'll find an area that has potential to practice placing and removing
gear as well as be able to set up a mock lead. Attendees will have a chance to
take a lead fall on the gear they place!
Note: This is not an anchor
clinic. We will not instruct the "building" of SERENE anchors. If you want
SERENE, listen to the Cowboy Junkies.
Caution: This clinic is unabridged
and R rated. Language will be fluid, colorful and occasionally profane. We mean
no offense: this how we communicate in the trad world. You WILL be changed by
attending this clinic and you must be prepared for anything.
Trango have
been building innovative climbing equipment since 1991 when we designed the
first "tube-style" belay device that actually fit ropes, the Pyramid.
Steep Face Climbing Technique w/ Lynn Hill New! Saturday 9-4, FULL
Lynn Hill
Patagonia athlete Lynn Hill needs no introduction. She is the greatest climber of all time male or female, nuff said! Lynn's clinic will focus on steep face climbing which requires a keen sense of body awareness and understanding of
efficiency in movement. Lynn will demonstrate her own climbing style and
approach, as well as observe each participant and offer some advice that will
help reinforce a conscious understanding of the physics of movement, energy
efficient techniques, and a few psychological tips that can be integrated into
your own climbing style.
Pre-requisite: Participants should be able to
climb 5.10a and above (either on top rope or leading). Equipment: Each person should
bring their own harness, shoes, chalk bag and belay/rappel device.
This clinic is for all of you who want to be
a bit
safer, whether
your "out there" is here at the NRG or on a remote mountain in the
Himalayas.
We will focus on common climber injuries and treatment, extrication
of injured
partners, and what to carry in your first aid kit. The clinic will
begin with a
brief overview, spend the majority of the session practicing techniques,
and
wrap up with a question and answer period about wilderness medicine
topics of
your choice.
In 1987 
