Lead Climbing Safety

Lead Climbing involves climbers securing the rope to quickdraws attached to bolts on the wall as they ascend the route. In the event of a fall, they descend past the last quickdraw until stopped by the belayer. Various factors, such as distance between the climber and the last quickdraw, slack in the rope, climber and belayer weight, and clipping technique, determine the length of the fall.

How the risk is managed for foundry members (unsupervised climbers):

• Members who have not been lead climbing before are encouraged to go on our learning to lead course before starting.

• We regularly check the quickdraws and anchor points.

• Regular floor walks are conducted at The Foundry Climbing Centre to ensure the safety and adherence to best practices among all climbers. These observations involve monitoring climbers throughout the centre at regular intervals to ensure they are following established safety protocols, identifying any potential safety hazards or risky behaviours, providing assistance to climbers in need, enforcing rules and regulations, and ultimately enhancing the overall safety of the climbing environment.

How the risk is managed on internal instructed sessions (delivered by Foundry Climbing Coaching Ltd):

• Our instructors have National Governing Body qualifications and are subject to an in-house review process.

• The instructor checks all harnesses, knots, and belay setups before climbing.

• All belayers are backed up by the instructor or another climber.

• Climbers should have an appropriate ability level before learning how to climb.

• Helmets are worn when the climbers are learning, and afterwards unless their parent or guardian consents.

• We expect the climber to follow the instructor's briefing throughout the session.