Ages 13 - 18
Immerse yourself in climbing! The RockPro series is for high school age people who really love to climb and want to bring their skills to the next level.
Whether you’ve never climbed before and want to learn to do it right or are already a climbing maniac and want to get further into the sport, you’ll find your place in the RockPro Series. The counselors are AMGA certified instructors, and we offer a full spectrum of instruction, from beginner to lead climber. In each program, our instructors will coach you individually to help you learn and improve your climbing techniques at your own pace. In camp, everyone will share in the necessary camp set up and cooking. Evening will be a time to take in a naturalist’s program, swim, walk on the beach, pick the brain of your instructors for more info or simply relax in camp with new friends.
Designed for high school age students looking to build a solid foundation of rock climbing skills while having an enjoyable camp experience, the RockPro series can take you from beginner climber to lead climber. Each RockPro camp is seven days long. When taken in succession, a camper will have received a very thorough exposure to the art of climbing. Each week blends top rope climbing, multi-pitch climbing and technical clinics to maximize learning. Take all four for maximum fun and progress or jump in at your current level. Many campers come back and take all of them a second time to get more cimbing in.
In each session we will evaluate your existing skills and focus on helping you reach your goals. We start with belay safety technique, basic knots, and the fundementals of movement in the intro camps. Anchoring principles, multi-pitch climbs, more complex top rope climbing and problem solving are introduced in the intermediate camp. In advanced camps you learn to lead, practice with gear, and further develop the skills introduced in the other camps. With the help of the guides, campers develop individual training programs for strength, balance, and flexability.
Each camp will be accompanied by at least two adult leaders on a 24/7 basis. We seek out caring leaders who enjoy working with teens and have significant background and experience as climbers and educators. As a minimum, our camp leaders are AMGA certiified Top Rope Site Managers and are trained and certified in Wilderness Medicine and Leave No Trace practices. Many are also Maine Guides. Each camp will be joined by additional guides as needed to provide safe, manageable ratios for different activities and to accommodate climbers of different abilities.
RockPro I Climbing Camp
Fundamentals, difficulty 5.5 and up
RockPro Camp I is for high school age students looking to build a solid foundation of rock climbing skills while having an enjoyable camp experience. The course is appropriate for those who have never climbed before or for those who have climbed a few times or who visit climbing gyms. The first two days of the course will be spent on the spectacular sea cliffs in Acadia. Here your instructors will evaluate your existing skills and help you develop basic top roping skills such as knots, belaying and rappelling. The middle of the week will focus on getting high off the ground. Working in small teams with your guides, participants will learn the answer to the age old question “How do they get the ropes up there?” as you climb longer multi-pitch climbs on the some of Maine’s best cliffs. Participants will have an opportunity to spend a night on a cliff wall as well if desired.
RockPro II Climbing Camp
Top Roping, Advanced Skills and Anchors, difficulty 5.5 and up
Begin the transition to climbing on your own. RockPro II is a fun and intense week that will improve your technical skills dramatically. After a review of basics, the entire week is spent learning and applying anchor building and rope handling skills needed to set up climbs using natural anchors and specially designed climbing protection. Under the tutelage of PCIA or AMGA certified instructors, campers will progress to setting up their own climbs and climbing on them with other campers. The course is appropriate for those who have participated in RockPro I or who are comfortable belaying and rappelling and are familiar with basic principles of climbing movement. We will visit several different cliffs throughout the week providing multiple opportunities to climb and problem-solve under the watchful eye of skilled instructors.
Maine / Quebec Rockpro III Climbing Camp
Maine / Rumney Rockpro III Climbing Camp
Advanced Sport Climbing, difficulty 5.8 - 5.12
This course is appropriate for students who have enough climbing experience (either in a gym or outdoors) to be very familiar with fundamental skills such as belaying and top-roping. There will be less focus on gear placement in this course and more fucus on leading sport climbs. Sport leading is more straightforward than traditional leading and easier to master. Campers will learn about bolts, how to place them and clip them, transitioning to rappel or lower from sport climbs and have ample time to work on climbing technique. We highly recommend completing RockPro II prior to this although it is not required. If you have some climbing experience and would like to learn more about sport climbing technique then this is the course for you. The Maine course will travel to Maine's best sport climbing in Clifton, ME and take a three day journey to Quebec Quartzite. There may be the unique opportunity for climbers to tag first ascents on the Maine program if their skills allow.
The White Mountain course will visit Rumney, New England's premier sport climbing area.
Rumney and Quebec offer steep, gym-like rock climbing on big holds while Clifton is known for thin, delicate face climbing.
RockPro IV Rock Climbing Camp
Maine and White Mountains
Multi-Pitch and Traditional Lead Climbing, difficulty 5.7 and up
This camp will feature a smaller student to guide ratio for maximum individual attention and more complex climbing routes. If you love climbing, gear, and really really big cliffs, you will love this camp. One of the only camps in the U.S. that teaches Multi-Pitch Trad lead climbing to teens! This camp will divide the time between coastal cliffs in Acadia and large faces in NH such as Cannon Mountain, Cathedral and Whitehorse Ledges. Acadia is known for spectacular sea cliff scenery, great traditional crack climbs and superb bouldering while NH crags offer greater height and exposure. Together they offer a superb exposure to both traditional climbing styles and have been the training ground for decades of alpinists. Each day involves a full day of climbing predominantly on multi-pitch climbs. Interspersed with the climbs will be informative lessons on technical skills. You will continue learn about placing both active and passive protection, setting up anchor systems, placing gear on lead, and setting up top rope climbs on your own. If you are ready there will be an opportunity to lead routes after demonstrating proficiency on "mock" leads.