The Arc'teryx Climbing Academy (opens in new tab) has announced it will visit the Lake District (opens in new tab) at the end of April to deliver an action-packed weekend-long event featuring rock climbing, camping and a content-rich programme of outdoor clinics. It will be the third time the Academy has visited The Lakes, and organisers are promising to deliver the biggest event to date, offering participants tuition and inspiration to help them fine-tune their climbing and push their adventuring to the next level.
During the gathering, which will happen over the May Day long weekend from Friday 28 April to Monday 1 May, top guides from the International School of Mountaineering (opens in new tab) will be offering a range of skills sessions covering climbing, bouldering, scrambling, mountain safety and more, catering for climbers of all levels of experience.
There will be guide-led clinics on trad, multi-pitch, bouldering, scrambling, and top rope, as well as mountain safety and rescue skills. The tuition sessions are open to climbers of all levels of ability, and there will be women-only clinics too. Among the talent sharing their expertise and experience will be Arc’teryx athletes Mina Leslie Wujastyk (opens in new tab) and Alex Luger (opens in new tab).
High-end Canadian brand Arc’teryx (opens in new tab) produce some of the best technical outdoor apparel and climbing kit around, including category-leading waterproof shells (opens in new tab), such as the Beta LT Jacket (opens in new tab), plus top end base layers like the Rho Hybrid (opens in new tab) and boots for tacking trails and mountain sides, from the Acrux LT GTX (opens in new tab) to the more fast-paced Aerios FL Mid GTX (opens in new tab) walking shoe.
As well as exploring crags and learning from experts, participants can pitch their tents at the Base Camp, which is located at the National Trust’s Sticklebarn (opens in new tab), in lovely Langdale Valley, right beneath multiple iconic climbing routes. Live music has been promised on the Saturday evening, and a film night will take place on the Sunday. During the daylight hours, artist, climber and Arc’teryx ambassador, Tessa Lyons (opens in new tab) will also be giving free art workshops and a live drawing session at the Basecamp too.
All across the weekend, brand experts will be demonstrating technical gear in Base Camp, with people given the opportunity to test out the kit, and partners including Gore-Tex (opens in new tab) and Grangers (opens in new tab) will also offer a care and repair service, with pre-bookable slots to wash, fix, and sew up your much-loved outdoor equipment and clothing.
Those interested in staying for the whole weekend might want to get a wriggle on, though, because just 40 pre-bookable camping spots have been made available on-site for ticket holders. If you’d rather take your tent further from the crowds, however, a team of experts will lead a wild-camping trip into the hills around Langdale.
The Arc’teryx Academies have been running since 2012, and this is the third time they have visited The Lakes. Tickets for the event are on sale now (opens in new tab).
