The RCDI course is the award for teaching the skills for trad and sport climbing and leading in a single pitch environment. We’re super proud to be one of the 4 providers in Wales for it! Whilst the venue remit of the award will be the same as the RCI, it will fill a gap between that and the MCI. The fact you need to be a committed hillwalker, mountaineer and ML holder for the MCI has in the past put many people off from moving up the awards ladder. With these barriers removed for this award, we’re going to see loads of amazing climbers and coaches moving to the next step, and I love being involved with that process!
What is the Rock Climbing Development Instructor scheme?
The lead climbing element is only a part of the RCDI course, and ultimately the pinnacle of what you might get up to. You could be teaching people to go and set up their own outdoor climbs and abseils, coaching them in skills and techniques to further their personal climbing, develop their indoor or sport climbing and help them with the head game of lead climbing. It’s going to be packed full of coaching tips, profiling skills, warm ups and games to develop climbers, background knowledge of climbing and the environment, and obviously all the ropework and decision making and managing lead climbers… The full syllabus and more details can be found in the excellent handbook if you look at the RCDI page on the Mountain Training website here:
Rock Climbing Development Instructor course information
The pre-requisites for registering are fairly significant, but they need to be as you’ll need a huge depth of personal knowledge and instructing experience to be able to fully cope in the environment yourself, look after your clients whilst they’re leading, and make sound judgements in the decision making process.
What do I need to do to sign up for the RCDI?
60 VS Trad leads, 60 6a or above Sport Climbs and 20 days teaching as an RCI – so get filing in your D-Log! Once you’re happy it’s all there you need to register and apply, your log book needs to get signed off by one of Mountain Trainings Technical Officers. Once you’re accepted, the same as the other qualifications, there is a training course, a consolidation process and then the assessment.
What I would say is that the MCI has had a VERY low pass rate, and we don’t want to see this award being the same – we want people to pass! The pre-requisites are a minimum, get loads more varied experience, get heaps of personal climbing in and work in different areas on different crags, trying to work on more than just intro taster days. Consider the BMC Fundas courses and the Coaching Awards, this will all help you become a better Instructor (and probably a better climber too!)
Where can I do the RCDI course?
We’ll be running our courses on the wonderful crags of the Gower and Pembrokeshire and possibly visit local climbing walls. We often have better weather than other areas of the UK and will visit great array of venues in stunning locations. I pride my courses on being relaxed, friendly, fun and adaptable, getting the best out of you – even the assessments! Course dates are up on the Candidate Management System but we can always put other ones on so get in touch if the dates don’t quite suit! Check out our dates here: The Climbing Company RCDI Courses…
Why do the RCDI course with The Climbing Company?
I’m a full member of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors, and a WMCI, which means you’re learning from a committed professional with a huge passion for climbing and coaching, and a climbing CV spanning 6 Continents, from Alpine North Faces in Winter, Big Wall Climbing in Yosemite, leading groups up big Himalayan Peaks and every other form of climbing in-between!
