Arc'teryx Climbing Academy heads to the Lake District for May Day bank holiday

(Image credit: Arc'teryx)

published 11 March 2023

The Arc'teryx Climbing Academy has announced it will visit the Lake District 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 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 and Alex Luger.

High-end Canadian brand Arc’teryx produce some of the best technical outdoor apparel and climbing kit around, including category-leading waterproof shells, such as the Beta LT Jacket, plus top end base layers like the Rho Hybrid and boots for tacking trails and mountain sides, from the Acrux LT GTX to the more fast-paced Aerios FL Mid GTX 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, 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 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 and Grangers 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.

Author of Caving, Canyoning, Coasteering…, a recently released book about all kinds of outdoor adventures around Britain, Pat Kinsella has been writing about outdoor pursuits and adventure sports for two decades. In pursuit of stories he’s canoed Canada’s Yukon River, climbed Mont Blanc and Kilimanjaro, skied and mountain biked across the Norwegian Alps, run ultras across the roof of Mauritius and through the hills of the Himalayas, and set short-lived speed records for trail-running Australia’s highest peaks and New Zealand’s nine Great Walks. A former editor of several Australian magazines he’s a longtime contributor to publications including Sidetracked, Outdoor, National Geographic Traveller, Trail Running, The Great Outdoors, Outdoor Fitness and Adventure Travel, and a regular writer for Lonely Planet (for whom he compiled, edited and co-wrote the Atlas of Adventure, a guide to outdoor pursuits around the globe). He’s authored guides to exploring the coastline and countryside of Devon and Dorset, and recently wrote a book about pub walks. Follow Pat's adventures on Strava and instagram.