Rock climbing courses: sport climbing, multi-pitch routes and much more

If you’ve never been rock climbing before, we recommend our “Beginners” Course at the Climbing Area”. This beginner’s climbing course is aimed at anyone who wants to make the transition from the indoor climbing centre to the crag. We’ll show you the basics of belaying, how to thread a sling through a pulley, and the fundamentals of rock climbing for beginners.

For the Basic course climbing garden All you need are your own climbing shoes, a helmet and a climbing harness, as well as your own belay device. Bergschaft will provide you with all the technical safety equipment – that is, ropes, carabiners and quickdraws. In advanced courses We’d be happy to advise you on putting together your own kit, and it’s well worth taking the courses using your own existing kit so that you can practise with it straight away.

Absolutely! In our Basic course climbing garden. Here you’ll learn how to clip quickdraws correctly from stable positions, how to fall whilst lead climbing, and how to belay dynamically. This will get you ready for independent sport climbing on the rock.

We run our courses in Switzerland’s most beautiful climbing areas. So you’ll always find a place to go rock climbing nearby. The exact meeting points (e.g. the Jura, Central Switzerland or Graubünden) vary depending on the season and the weather, to ensure you always have the best grip and sunshine.

Newcomers should go climbing about once a week. At the beginning, you make quick progress and you don't need much strength yet. It is better to sharpen your awareness of the movements by means of technique training and to practice the movements actively, i.e. consciously and reflectively. Beginners must be careful not to climb too much, because muscles get stronger within weeks, but tendons and ring ligaments need months and years to get used to new stresses. They are therefore often more susceptible to injury.

In our climbing training we focus on technique and tactics in climbing for four evenings.

On the first evening we look at the standard movement and how to take the rest positions correctly. In addition, we build in the appropriate technique elements. Specifically, we will look at the movements to shift the body's centre of gravity and how to hold holds. On the first evening, we will make a video of a route of yours, which we will analyse on the following evenings.
The second evening will focus theoretically on the interplay of technique, tactics, physique and psyche and in the practical part on foot technique, the change between static and dynamic movements and how to study, plan and memorise routes correctly.
On the third evening, the focus is theoretically on muscle building, maximum strength and strength endurance. Fear is addressed in the fall training and how to deal with it.

On the last evening, all the pieces of the puzzle come together. We climb the video route again, look at our progress and define the weak points that need further work.

Come along and benefit yourself!

to the climbing training

There are climbing gyms in almost all larger towns, in German-speaking Switzerland that is:

• Zurich,
• Wädenswil,
• Uster,
• Schlieren,
• Winterthur,
• Greifensee,
• Lenzburg,
• Baden,
• Solothurn,
• Bern,
• Ostermundigen,
• Chur,
• Lucerne,
• Basel,
• Meiringen

... and many more.

With us, of course! We have been offering climbing courses for a long time and teach with joy and empathy. As mountain guides, we know which tips and assistance go down well with guests and where the mistakes typically lie.

The climbing courses are already helpful for beginners. The outdoor climbing courses, the multi-pitch climbing courses and the clean climbing course do not have a minimum requirement. For the specific climbing technique training you should be able to climb at least 5a.

You should have experience of lead climbing on rock (approximately grade 4c) and be confident in belaying at a climbing wall. You should also have a head for heights and be fit enough for full-day climbing sessions on the rock face.

The focus is on rope techniques, setting up belay stations, organisation at the belay station, communication and abseiling. Multi-pitch courses cover everything to do with multi-pitch climbing. You should be able to belay independently and have a good grasp of the basics of indoor climbing. We’ll show you the equipment you’ll need and give you tips and tricks on gear. We’ll show you how to handle the rope and how to avoid tangles. Organisation at the belay station is key here. We’ll also look in more depth at communication and the challenges it presents. We’ll cover self-belaying, demonstrating and teaching the process, as well as how to set up a belay station and sharing tips to make it easier for you. We’ll show you abseiling techniques and potential problems associated with them, so that you can get back down safely.

Learning by doing is the motto here - fun and experience are not neglected!

At the belay station, you secure the climber behind you directly from the belay station. You’ll learn how to manage the ropes properly at belay stations so that they don’t become tangled and the rope team can make swift progress.

As well as a harness, helmet and climbing shoes, you’ll need a belay sling (e.g. a webbing sling with a screw-lock carabiner), a descender (Tuber) complete with a Prusik, and plenty of quickdraws and screw-lock carabiners. A small, lightweight climbing rucksack for water, a windcheater and approach shoes is also essential.

Planned abseiling is part of alpine safety. On the multi-pitch climbing course You’ll learn how to abseil down a rock face multiple times, set up abseil stations and correctly assess weather windows so that you can reach the foot of the wall safely every time.

These courses are aimed at anyone who already climbs outdoors but has reached a plateau – whether in terms of climbing grade, movement efficiency or the mental strength required for lead climbing.

Yes, controlled fall training on rock is a key component of the Mental and crash training course. You’ll learn how to belay gently and in a way that’s easy on the knees, and how to build confidence step by step so that you can climb relaxed when pushing your limits.

Our mountain guides analyse your movement patterns in the Outdoor Skills Course right on the rock face. You’ll learn techniques such as turning in, placing your feet precisely on small ledges, visualisation and energy-efficient friction climbing, so you can tackle more difficult sections with less effort.

Technique refers to clean movement on the rock. Tactics involve assessing the route in advance from the base of the wall, finding the best resting positions (no-hands rests), breathing correctly, and clipping the quickdraws swiftly from stable positions.

You’ll learn in our clean and trad courses, to secure routes independently where there are no fixed bolts. The focus is on the correct placement of mobile anchors (Friends and nuts), the construction of mobile belay stations, and the assessment of rock quality.

No. We’ll start step by step on gently sloping rock, or secure you with a top-rope at the start for added safety (back-up). This way, you can practise placing the nuts and cams without the fear of falling, and test their strength before you lead.

Our mountain guides check each of your anchors on the spot at ground level, give you immediate feedback on how securely the equipment is in place, and test the pull-out strength with you before you start a route. Much of this can be assessed from below, or our mountain guides will set up a fixed rope so that they can coach you on the route.

Thanks to their parallel cracks and solid rock, granite and gneiss offer ideal conditions for cams and Friends. But limestone also offers excellent opportunities for chocks, hourglasses and Tricams. On the course, we’ll show you the specific characteristics of the different rock types.