WHY TAKE OUR WORKSHOPS?

We are about sharing information, teaching skills and growing the community safely. Some people like an activity to be lead or guided, we offer that too. But these workshops are about empowering the climber with knowledge. We teach the skills you need to get out there and climb harder, and improve safety for yourself and others around you. Our workshops are structured in a way that the information is compounding, constantly building on what you just learned, or learned in a previous workshop. We understand that you are thirsty for knowledge and we will give you everything we have to quench your thirst.

WHAT WE DO DIFFERENT

We don't simply teach you how to build a few rock climbing anchors—we teach you the fundamentals of anchor building. You've heard the adage about gifting someone a fish versus teaching them how to fish, and that's what we're talking about here.

We break the whole thing down by going through the gear, the knots, the hitches, strengths and weaknesses of different anchor materials, angles that help share the weight of a fall versus those that don't, and then we teach you the anchors.

After you understand how to build good climbing anchors, we're going to move into a 4-part rock climbing rescue scenario. The skills taught during the rescue scenario build on the information you just learned about anchors, and teaches how to escape a belay, take over a belay, ascend a fixed line (to an injured partner), and finally how to do a counter-balance lower with your injured partner.

We will give you a foundation of knowledge that you can build upon to keep yourself and your friends climbing safely for many years to come.

THIS IS A PRE-REQUISITE WORKSHOP

This is a pre-requisite workshop for all of our advanced workshops. What we're telling you is that this information is so fundamentally important that we won't let you attend any of our advanced workshops until you attend this workshop and understand this information. This is the stuff that everything else is based upon.

OUR EXPECTATIONS FROM YOU

If you are humble enough to know your limitations, smart enough to not tag along to the local crag with untested climbers, and generally thirsty for knowledge, this is the workshop for you!

We provide all the educational tools and can rent the equipment you need to become a proficient, competent and confident rock climbing anchor builder in Trad, Sport and Top Rope environments. Our only requirement is that you come prepared to THINK. We will teach you proper knots, anchor techniques, site selection and belaying techniques in both top and bottom managed sites. We will geek out on the physics of anchors, angles and kilonewtons (kN). We will teach you self rescue and partner rescue techniques. We will discuss safety at the crag, the ethics of climbing outdoors, and how to identify un-safe situations to protect yourself and your climbing partners.

Our team of professional rock climbing guides are trained and certified by the American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA), to ensure that you're having the best educational experience, both fun and safe, possible.

WHAT IS INCLUDED: 
Professionally trained and certified rock climbing guides; park fees; climbing equipment (ropes, anchoring equipment, helmets, harness, shoes, belay devices) — see Required Equipment List for rentals if needed
WHAT TO BRING:
Water (2-liters); lunch/snacks; tip for your guides; sunscreen; sun glasses; sun hat
WHAT TO WEAR:
Comfortable athletic clothing; sneakers (for when you're not climbing). If you have your own personal climbing/safety equipment bring it, if you need to borrow gear from us, just let us know your waist size (for the harness), and shoes size (for our magic climbing shoes)
CLIMBING LOCATION:
We will be rock climbing at Cragmont Park in the Berkeley Hills, approximately 30 minutes from Downtown San Francisco.

TIMING:
We'll send you driving directions after you register, and will meet you at the cliffs at 8:00AM. This workshop is scheduled to end around 6:00PM.

EDUCATIONAL FLOW CHART

TIER 1 WORKSHOPS

TIER 2 WORKSHOPS

The Tier 1 workshop is a pre-requisite for ALL Tier 2 workshops

TIER 3 WORKSHOPS

The Tier 2 workshops are pre-requisites for ALL Tier 3 workshops

In order to help limit the spread of Covid-19 within our community, we are no longer sharing equipment in our workshops/clinics.

If you do not have ALL of the equipment listed below, then you’ll need to rent a workshop kit from us (we are not renting items out in piecemeal).

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

• (qty 1) Face Mask/Face Covering

• (qty 6) Round Stock/Pear Shaped Locking Carabiners

• (qty 1) 7mm x 7M cordelette

• (qty 1) 120cm sling (either nylon or dyneema)

• (qty 1) 60cm sling (either nylon or dyneema)

• (qty 1) UIAA Approved Rock Climbing Harness (in good condition)

• (qty 1) ATC/Verso Belay Device (or similar)

• (qty 1) Prussik

• (qty 30M+) 8mm+ static rope for natural anchor building

• (qty 30’) 1” nylon webbing

If you have questions about any of the required equipment, please do not hesitate to email/call.

info@saanoadventures.com / 415-890-5209

WAIT LISTING!

• If the trip you'd like to reserve is out of stock, please follow this link and put yourself on the wait list. If a spot opens up, we'll notify you immediately.

• A portion of the fees for each reservation is given to the parks department for conservation and sustainability. We appreciate your willingness to be a part of the effort to conserve our wild resources so that others can enjoy them after us.

ITINERARY

• 8:00 AM - Arrive at the rock climbing area; final gear check.

• 8:15 AM - Safety talk; LNT; knots; anchors (trad, sport, natural); site selection; self rescue; partner rescue; outdoor climbing ethics

• 6:00 PM - Estimated end time.

*Any changes to the departure time will be communicated in advance of the trip date.