Granite Mountain Guides
  • GMG
  • About Us
    • About GMG
    • Meet The Guides
    • Our Affiliations >
      • AMGA
      • 1% for the Planet
  • Courses
    • Prescott, AZ >
      • Rock Courses
      • Alpine Courses
      • Self-Rescue Courses
    • Phoenix, AZ >
      • Rock Courses
      • Alpine Courses
      • Self-Rescue Courses
    • Tucson, AZ >
      • Rock Courses
      • Alpine Courses
      • Self-Rescue Courses
    • Womxn's Courses
  • Trips
    • Prescott, AZ
    • Phoenix, AZ >
      • The McDowell's
      • Queen Creek
    • Tucson, AZ
    • Red Rock, NV
    • Womxn's Trips
  • Local Information
    • Prescott, AZ
    • Phoenix, AZ
    • Tucson, AZ
  • Blog
  • Store
  • Contact

GMG BLOG

Intentional Mentorship

1/26/2022

1 Comment

 

Intentional Mentorship vs. Formal Education

There is a difference between formal instruction and intentional mentorship. We recently laid out the criteria of formal instruction in a separate blog and now we want to take some time to focus on what it looks like to have intentional mentorship in climbing and why it’s important. 

Impacts of Climbing Gaining Popularity

Climbing is gaining popularity, the community is growing, and as a result our climbing areas are in danger. This is where mentorship in climbing comes in. Mentors have a unique opportunity to set an example and teach local climbing ethics, Leave No Trace Principles and good environmental ethics. The Access Fund is an organization dedicated to keep climbing accessible while preserving the land we love so much. 
 
There has been more permitting process put in place than ever before to regulate the number of climbers that are impacting the land. The Climber’s Pact is a list of commitments for climbers to pledge themselves to keeping impacts low in our climbing areas to keep them safe and open. In general, the climbing community does not want a permit requirement to access our beloved areas, but we need to take ownership and be responsible stewards to prevent that from happening more. Following the Climber's Pact is one simple way to set a good example in the community.
Picture
Picture
​This photo was taken at a bouldering crag in Boulder, CO and posted by the Access Fund in an article titled "The Double-Edged Sword of Climbing's NewFound Fame"
We often see mentorship and instruction confused in this industry. Many times, experienced mentors have alternate, selfish motives. When working with a professional guide, you are ensuring that the person providing you skills is up to date on best practices and presents the content in a clear and concise fashion. Mentorship looks more like coming alongside a climber (usually a new climber) and teaching them in a loose manner. This can include initial technical skills, but should focus more on the efficiencies, principles and ethics. 
 
One of the factors that contributes most to this boom in climbing is the increase in the number of climbing gyms. In 2014 Mountain Project listed 884 climbing gyms in the U.S. and that number is now 1,165. For you data geeks, that's an increase of nearly 25% in the last 6 years alone!
Picture

Mentorship Starts in the Gym 

Just a few climbing gyms in the Valley:
Picture
AZ on the Rocks
Picture
Phoenix Rock Gym
Picture
Gecko Climbing Gym
Outside Climbing posted an article in 2014 titled “the mentorship gap” and it does a great job of outlining what it looks like to have intentional mentorship in the climbing community. One of the key take-aways from this article is that mentorship starts in the gym. It is much easier for climbers who learned outside to adapt to a gym setting than it is the other way around. When gym climbers transition to an outdoor setting it is important that they not only learn the technical skills of placing quick draws on bolts, setting sport anchors, and cleaning routes. They need to be mentored in crag ethics and Leave No Trace principles if we want to keep our climbing areas accessible for future generations. We need to come to terms with the fact that climbing is no longer a subculture. Climbing is now, and has been for a while, mainstream and with this visibility comes responsibility.
 
GMG offers a Gym-to-Crag course which acts as a smooth transitional experience for climbers to learn the differences between a climbing gym setting versus climbing outside at the crag, and while we touch on LNT and crag ethics, we depend on the climbers who have been in the community a while to seek out and come along side these new climbers to teach and exemplify what it looks like to Leave no Trace, respect others, and stay safe. 
​This is a call to work collaboratively as a community. We need both formal education and intentional mentorship to protect climbing in this drastic growth we are seeing. The only constant in this world is change, and we need the community to rise up to this challenge!
#seekqualifiedinstruction
1 Comment

Formal Education

1/19/2022

0 Comments

 
At GMG we are established on the foundations of providing exceptional instruction to climbers that are just learning the craft. From there it blossoms into how we can best serve the local community even more by promoting wonderful areas for all to experience on our guided trips. It is our first priority to provide exceptional instruction in a positive, risk-managed environment. While we also prioritize serving the local community and encouraging climbers to minimize their impact, which we will dive into deeper in our discussion of intentional mentorship.

Resources to Learn from Climbing Accidents

Learning technical skills in a supervised, formal, controlled environment plays a key role in risk management. We have previously mentioned resources like The Sharp End Podcast and Accidents in North American Climbing that tell the story of a climbing accident and then highlight things gone wrong and lessons learned. Another good resource for these types of case studies are climbing magazines such as Alpinist or Outside Climbing
Picture
A Gym-to-Crag course with GMG where the climber is cleaning a sport anchor.
A recent article tells the story of an accident that occurred in 2014. A new climber took a trip to Colorado with a group. She had recently learned how to clean sport anchors in a gym setting, one of the guys she had met the day before offered her one of his alpine draws to girth hitch to her harness and use as a personal anchor system to clean the anchor off the route. Likely due to her unfamiliarity with the process of cleaning as well as someone else’s piece of gear something happened at the top of the route that caused her to fall 60-feet to the ground. You can read more details on the “climbing pass” subscription on Outside, but we want to take some time to analyze even the vague details of this accident. 
 
It does not say if the climber who fell from the route and learned about cleaning routes in a gym setting was taught that in a class or by a friend/climbing partner. But we do know that when the climber cleaned this route they were with friends. It is important for all climbers to recognize the limitations, and biases, of their knowledge. This scenario could have been prevented if the climber had invested a little more time in an educational setting that is fully supervised. While accidents can still happen in a supervised setting, they are much less likely to occur.
Picture
In Episode 57 of The Sharp End Podcast, Brian retells a story from his early climbing days about an accident that occurred due to a "flawed knot". In his return to climbing with his sons, years later he made a point to hire a guide to make sure that him and his son were properly educated and supervised before diving back into climbing after years away from the sport. 


Picture
GMG guide instructing climbers on how to properly top-rope belay with a Gri-Gri

How to Keep Climbing Safe in the Midst of it's Rising Popularity

Climbing is getting more and more popular. We have seen countless individuals teach their friends how to lead climb and clean anchors in an outdoor crag setting simply by pointing to things and explaining the process. This is a recipe for an outcome like the one summarized above. Not to mention, we are in the day and age of technology. It is so easy to look up “how to clean a sport anchor” on YouTube and get a lot of results - which can also be daunting! Even if you watch a video created by a credible source such as the AMGA there is still a chance of not comprehending, not getting enough practice, not having proper supervision, etc. that can lead to life threatening accidents. 
 
The growing numbers of climbers is not going to stop, and it is impossible to prevent every accident from happening, but we strongly believe that if all climbers, especially those new to the craft were to seek qualified instruction, there would be less accidents in the community. Additionally, climbers should strive to always be students. Always willing to learn. Which flexes our brains and creates an important gap between competence and complacency. Complacency kills.

Seek. Qualified. Instruction.

GMG is dedicated to provided qualified instruction. But we know we are not the only service that offers rock climbing instruction.We always encourage others to seek instruction that is a good fit for their needs. We hope we have what you're looking for, but if not, look into other guiding services and see what courses they offer! Make sure that their Guides are Certified by the AMGA, which is the only internationally recognized organization for Mountain Guides, and have a high-level of wilderness medicine training. Additionally, reach out with any questions you may have about courses and opportunities. We are here to help you!

​#seekqualifiedinstruction
​
Picture
GMG Courses
0 Comments

Wilderness Medicine Training

1/12/2022

0 Comments

 
​Have you ever been in an accident or suffered an injury while out climbing? Or have you ever witnessed an accident or injury at the crag or in the backcountry?
 
Those scenarios can be traumatizing and often elicit a lot of panic. That is why we are going to spend an entire blog post talking about the benefits and importance of obtaining wilderness medicine training whether it is the basics of wilderness first aid or more in-depth training, such as taking a wilderness first responder course.

What is a WFR & WFA? 

First, we wanted to start by defining what a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) is and highlight the difference between a WFR course and a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) course. A certified wilderness first responder is an individual who obtains a standard level of medical training for remote locations. Responders are trained in patient assessment, equipped with treatment tools to stabilize various conditions, and provide extended care in remote environments (Definition from DMM). A WFA covers some, but not all, of the same topics and not as in-depth. A WFA Course is often 2-3 days long (16 hours), whereas a WFR Course is 7-9 days long (80 hours).

Picture
NOLS is a well-known and credible non-profit, global outdoor leadership school

Why Take a WFR or WFA Course?

When you go out for a day of climbing, how often do you plan for your day? Whether it’s a day at a new crag or a bigger backcountry objective. Most of you probably (hopefully) have an idea of what routes you want to hop on or have read some beta on the approach. We call this trip prep. Preparing for a trip is an important facet of risk management whether you think about that in your planning or not. Taking a WFR or WFA course is a form of risk management. By doing so you are equipping yourself with the tools that are at the least nice to have and at most lifesaving. 
 
We love The Sharp End Podcast. For those of you unfamiliar with the podcast, it is a resource that analyzes individual’s accidents in the mountains and concludes with take-aways to learn from. One of the common questions you’ll hear the host ask is if the individual’s involved in the accident have ever received any kind of wilderness medicine training. When the answer is no, more times than not, the response is that the victims wish they did. 


GMG offers Self-Rescue courses in a Single-Pitch terrain as well as Multi-Pitch. These courses cover the technical rescue systems,  but do not cover medical training. We highly recommend taking a WFR or WFA course as well as a self-rescue course to be prepared as possible if an accident were to occur to you or another bystander in the area. While we do not offer WFR/WFA courses at GMG there are many places that do. One of our go-to recommendations in Arizona is the Flagstaff Field Institute. FFI offers a WFR course, WFA course (as well as hybrid versions of both), WFR recertifications, and a Wilderness Upgrade for Medical Professionals. 

The Flagstaff Field Institute will offer a 10% discount on a WFA course to graduates of a GMG self-rescue course as a way of supporting the promotion of self-rescue skills and wilderness medicine!

 
Taking a WFR course could save lives.
Photos from GMG courses with climbers implementing rescue skills.

Additional Resources: Satellite Devices

We are all about sharing resources here at GMG. We believe that keeping climbing safe and protected has a lot to do with working together as a community. Another resource we want to emphasize is a satellite device such as a Spot or inReach. These devices are satellite communicators that work even when there is no cell service. These devices are hopefully just extra ounces in your pack, but if an accident occurs they can help you contact assistance to save yourself, or a person in need.
Garmin inReach Mini &
​Spot Satellite Communicator
0 Comments

    Author

    Granite Mountain Guides strives to empower local climbing communities with the knowledge they need to make sound decisions in the vertical world.

    Archives

    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021

    Categories

    All
    Climber Resources
    Tech Tips

    RSS Feed

​Seek. Qualified. Instruction.


This institution is operated under special use permit with the Prescott National Forest & Coronado National Forest. This institution is operated under special use permit with the City of Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve. This institution operates under a Guest permit for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area by the Bureau of Land Management. Granite Mountain Guides, LLC is an equal opportunity provider.
Picture
Picture
Picture

SOCIAL

Hours

Su-Sa: 7am - 6pm

Telephone

480.748.1437

Email

info@granitemtnguides.com
Picture
​© Granite Mountain Guides, LLC 2016-2023. All rights reserved.
  • GMG
  • About Us
    • About GMG
    • Meet The Guides
    • Our Affiliations >
      • AMGA
      • 1% for the Planet
  • Courses
    • Prescott, AZ >
      • Rock Courses
      • Alpine Courses
      • Self-Rescue Courses
    • Phoenix, AZ >
      • Rock Courses
      • Alpine Courses
      • Self-Rescue Courses
    • Tucson, AZ >
      • Rock Courses
      • Alpine Courses
      • Self-Rescue Courses
    • Womxn's Courses
  • Trips
    • Prescott, AZ
    • Phoenix, AZ >
      • The McDowell's
      • Queen Creek
    • Tucson, AZ
    • Red Rock, NV
    • Womxn's Trips
  • Local Information
    • Prescott, AZ
    • Phoenix, AZ
    • Tucson, AZ
  • Blog
  • Store
  • Contact