Wanderers of Colour indoor rope climbing meet-up at The Reach Climbing Wall

Come join us at our next indoor rope climbing meet-up a the wonderful Reach Climbing Wall!

Wanderers of Colour's regular monthly rope climbing meet-up takes place at one of London's rope climbing gyms. This is for events taking place at The Reach Climbing Wall.

Who can come?

These events are open to all people of colour. They are a great chance to climb with new people, socialise and have fun in a supportive and welcoming environment. 

This event is primarily for competent experienced climbers who can put on their harness, tie in, and belay without reminder or support. You do not need to have had lead belaying experience, but you must be a confident top rope belayer. Please note that competency assessments are performed by the gym. If you are not deemed competent by the centre, you will not be allowed to rope climb without a supervisor.

However, we are able to offer 2x supervised climber spots for those who are new to rope climbing or not yet sufficiently experienced or confident to belay. Supervised climbers will be supported by an experienced climber (at a ratio of 2:1) for two hours from the start of the session. You’ll be helped to tie in and try climbing. If you’ve already learned to belay elsewhere, and your supervisor deems it appropriate, you will be able to try out belaying another climber while backed up by your supervisor. 

You will not receive tuition. To become a competent climber, you will need to undertake formal training or attend several sessions with an experienced climber who can teach you the necessary skills.

Cost

There is no charge from Wanderers of Colour for this meet-up but in addition to registering for this event, you will need to pay entry when you arrive at the climbing centre. Luckily this will be discounted for the purposes of the meet-up:

• Discounted entry (£9 instead of £14)
• Free gear rental (harness, shoes and chalk, normally £3.50, £3.50, £1.50)
• Registration fee waived (Normally £5)

Funded places

Thanks to the generosity of the Reach, we are able to offer 2x fully funded places for climbers on no or low income at this meet-up.

We are currently defining those on "no or low income" as anyone who is eligible or in receipt of benefit payments such as Universal Credit and Jobseeker's Allowance, or who struggles with covering the cost of their rent, bills, or food shops. 

Please select the "Entry: fully funded" ticket when you register and just give your name the same as everyone else when you arrive to access the price you booked.

Donations

Wanderers of Colour is a grassroots volunteer-run organisation and we all work hard to keep access to the outdoors and sports like climbing as open as possible. If you are able to make a donation, this money will help create fully funded places for people on low income to attend events like these in future as well as covering our basic administrative costs.

Before the event

If you're coming to The Reach Climbing Wall for the first time, please complete the respective waiver forms depending on what activities you plan to undertake:

• rope climbing and bouldering
• bouldering 
• autobelay

If you have a Supervised Climber place, you will need to sign the Supervised Guest form along with your facilitator when you arrive at the centre. Please arrive a minimum of 10 minutes before the event start time to do so.

If you are a competent rope climber, but have not been to the centre before, it is recommended that you arrive earlier to get your assessment done so they could add it on to your profile and you can start climbing with the rest of the group once the event starts.

If this is your first time attending a Wanderers of Colour climbing event, please fill in this form to join our WhatsApp Community, and then navigate to the "WoC Climb" group. This group is a friendly place to hear who else is coming to the meet up and also to arrange more casual meet ups with other members.

At the event

Please come and find one of the facilitators before registering to climb at front desk. We will be at the entrance to greet you.

What to wear and bring: 

Please wear comfortable clothing that allows you a full range of movement. Remove any rings or anything else that might get caught in advance before you climb. Bring a water bottle, there are fountains to refill it at the gym and a padlock for the lockers if you'd like to make use of them.

Photography

Our facilitators try to take a couple of photographs during these events to help promote the next one. Please let them know when you arrive if you'd rather not be photographed at all.

Nervous about coming alone?

We've all been there. Please contact us ahead of the session and we will buddy you with one of the team or members so that you can connect before and during the event. You can let us know a little bit about you and what you're looking for in terms of a buddy too and we'll do our best to facilitate those wishes. 

You can reach Wanderers of Colour by email via climbing@wanderersofcolour.com or via DM on Instagram.

No longer able to attend? (limited places)

If you registered for any limited place at this event, for instance a subsidised, fully funded or Supervised Climber place, and are no longer able to attend, please cancel your ticket by latest 3 days before the start time of the event. If you do not cancel in time, this prevents other people from attending. We will follow up via email if you do not attend.

No longer able to attend? (other ticket types)

We'd appreciate you cancelling your ticket as it gives us a more accurate idea of how many people are coming. 

Accessibility

We have complied some accessibility information for this gym. Please consider enriching our information via comments if you feel anything is missing. For any questions regarding accessibility, please contact The Reach Climbing Wall directly on 020 8855 9598 / info@thereach.org.uk.

Health and Safety

We are an informal community group, not a professional service. Climbing and bouldering carry inherent risks and you are responsible for your own safety. Any peer advice from facilitators or other attendees is informal and isn't endorsed by Wanderers of Colour. Follow at your own risk. Always follow the gym’s rules and seek formal instruction if required..

If you are feeling unwell or have COVID symptoms, please do not attend.