The SDMC is the ideal place to find people to climb with. We use a private messaging app for communication and there are frequent posts from climbers looking for climbing partners when the weather is good or bad. We also organise regular Wednesday climbing meets throughout the year.
On Wednesdays we meet at various Crags around the south west area. If you are just starting out you do not need to bring a lot of climbing gear, just personal gear should be sufficient: Climbing harness, helmet, boots and belay device.
Once you join the SDMC, you’ll be sent an email invite to the private messaging app we use to communicate, it can take a few days to receive the email as the SDMC is run by volunteers. In the messaging app you can join various channels that may be of interest to you.
We don’t have any taster sessions, but you are welcome to come along to Climbing meets and get to know a few of the other members. This can be either indoors or outdoors. We generally climb indoors over winter. Note you will not be covered by the club insurance if you are not a member.
We have climbers of all levels of ability and experience, there is no minimum ability expectation but we do have a minimal level of experience to come on the Climbing meets this is highlighted on the joining page.
You can join the club now and participate in walking and social events but for climbing, members should have experience of climbing, be confident to put on a harness, tie in to a rope (typically using a rethreaded figure-of-eight) and belay a lead climber. You can gain the necessary experience quite easily; Climbing gyms often run courses and we do have experienced members in the club who also provide paid tuition but outside of the club activities. Contact details can be provided on request.
If you are new to the club you can communicate through our internal messaging app which you will gain access when you join. If it’s your first time attending a meet, you can post a message and ask any questions you may have.
Yes we have a family membership. It is only for two adults living at the same address and currently does not include children.
We are an active club with regular Climbing meets on Wednesdays, weekend trips, overseas trips plus plenty of ad hoc meets throughout the week depending on weather and climbers availability this should be an ideal place to get you climbing again.
As the club is run by volunteers who may not be available all the time some tasks can take a little time to be completed sending out Slack login information is one of these expect to hear within a few days if not immediately.
All communication around trips is through our private messaging app. A channel is normally created for the trip. You can join the channel and ask any questions that you may have. All details are normally published in the channel or an attached spreadsheet which is advertised in the channel.
There is no cost to attend any of the Climbing sessions on Wednesday if they are outdoors if it’s indoors you would have to pay the gym entry fees.