Climbing and Bouldering
Lessons and skill-building courses
Start with beginner lessons and progress as your skills develop. Our experienced instructors teach adults and children year-round.
Our 13m indoor climbing wall features moulded concrete panels embedded with quartzite holds, texture, cracks, and chimneys. It was designed to learn/practice leading on gear, anchor building, rappelling, rock rescue and crevasse rescue.
The bouldering wall in the basement of the Kinesiology A block was revamped in 2019 and 2023 with recommendations and feedback from the local climbing community.
Rock Climbing
Explore the vertical world this summer with our rock programs. Whether you have indoor climbing experience of not, you can take a one-day intro and learn new skills from our experienced and certified instructors. For those with experience, advanced options include lead and alpine climbing programs.
Spend a day with us and spark a lifelong passion! Learn skills and stay safe under the guidance of our ACMG-certified instructors at a local crag.
Prerequisite: none
Ready to take your lead skills onto the rock? This 1-day course will cover guidebook interpretation, route selection and grades, protection, ropework, belays, and rappelling, as well as climbing movement and technique. Learn to lead climb with confidence on our local crags.
Prerequisite: Intro to Lead Climbing (Indoor) or equivalent lead experience
This 2-day course introduces fundamental trad climbing skills including equipment options, gear placement, anchors, and leading strategies. Plenty of practice with top-rope and supervised leads will help you develop the skills to safely lead single-pitch trad climbs of your own. The content taught in this course carries over to sport, crack, alpine, and ice climbing for future growth.
Prerequisite: Lead Climbing Intro (Outdoor) or equivalent lead rock climbing experience
Indoor Wall Climbing
Learn to climb on our 13m concrete wall - perfect for building skills that transfer to the outdoors. Start with our Indoor Intro and then continue to learn lead climbing skills and more.
Indoor climbing is exploding in popularity - and for good reason. Get hooked on this fun and challenging sport in our 2.5-hour introductory course, where you’ll learn all the basic skills needed to pass a top-rope belay test at any facility in the city. Our certified instructors will guide you every step of the way, helping you build confidence while climbing safely. Whether you're trying something new or looking to develop a new hobby, this is the perfect place to start.
Prerequisites: none
View offerings and register for Indoor Climbing Intro (Indoor Step 1)
Ready to take your climbing to the next level? In this 2.5-hour course, our expert instructors will guide you through your first lead climbing experience. Building on your strong foundation in top-rope climbing and belaying, you’ll learn the skills and techniques needed to pass a lead belay test at any facility in the city. This is a great introduction to lead climbing indoors or a foundation for taking a full-day course outside.
Prerequisite: A strong foundation in top-rope climbing and belaying, comfortable climbing 5.10- indoors, and it’s recommended you’ve passed a top-rope belay test. Unsure if you meet these? Contact us at ocprograms@ucalgary.ca before registering.
View offerings and register for Indoor Lead Climbing Intro (Indoor Step 2)
Youth Climbing
Let your kids climb our walls!
Our experienced climbing instructors offer progressive skill-building series to children aged 4-17 on our climbing and bouldering walls. No experience required.
Multi-week series are offered Thursday evenings or Saturday mornings.
This play-based program introduces young climbers to the vertical world, focusing on confidence-building and physical literacy. Participants will develop essential skills through bouldering activities and games in a safe and fun environment as well as some excursions to the roped wall with instructors belaying.
This beginner climbing series is designed to ignite excitement for being active and discovering new heights. The program introduces bouldering and top-rope climbing skills in a supportive, play-based environment for children aged 7-11. Participants will learn to climb, belay, and explore their limits in a safe and structured setting.
This exciting, progressive series for youth aged 12-17 will teach fundamental climbing skills and belaying techniques with lots of practice. Develop body awareness, coordination, and strength while having a blast in these weekly session. No previous experience required.
Ready to climb on your own? Check out the facility information page for indoor climbing and bouldering walls
Questions? Contact:
