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Forum Boards Helping Others "Learn How"
Here's James, aka "TreeFrog," helping a youngster climb
at the Dunwoody Nature Center in Atlanta.TCI's curriculum for people who want to put beginners on rope or teach others to climb is extensive.
Some people want to host group events, such as birthday parties or school outings. The tree climbing "facilitator" runs beginners' events. This person sets up the tree with several ropes, shows participants how to use the climbing system, and ensures the safety of all climbers. These two- or three-hour events are a fun way to introduce people to tree climbing.
Read more: The TCI Facilitator Program
Other people are more interested in teaching new people to climb on their own. The "instructor" teaches a basic tree climbing class in which people learn to identify safe climbing trees, set up ropes, ascend, descend, use gear, etc., and then gets to see people transform as they become safe and confident tree climbers. Being a tree climbing instructor is very rewarding.
Read more: The TCI Instructor Program
Finally, some people want to know how to rescue other climbers from the treetops if necessary. This skill makes them feel safer and more confident if they are leading others on a climbing adventure. In our Treetop Rescue Program, students learn how to get climbers out of a tree quickly and safely, no matter what the situation or condition of the "victim."
Read more: The TCI Treetop Rescue Program
We are happy to discuss any of these programs with potential students. Give us a call!
TCI Treetop Rescue Program
Facilitator students learn how to handle a rescue victim
safely. Rescue training is extremely valuable to climbers who go out with others to adventure in the woods, especially if they are climbing unfamiliar and rarely climbed ("wild") trees. This training is also a necessity if you are helping others go aloft for the first time in a tame tree. TCI's new Treetop Rescue Program offers single-pitch (fixed-line) and multiple-pitch rescue training to meet the needs of any type of climbing situation. Each class can be taken on its own, or both can be taken together back-to-back.
Single Pitch (Fixed Line) Rescue
Students learn how to get a climber out of the tree safely when that climber has enough rope to be brought to the ground. Single pitch rescue is used most often in climbing events when participants are not climbing above their first anchor.
This is the same rescue class that is taught in the TCI Facilitator Program. Students learn how to assess a rescue situation and the victim; the difference between ground and aerial, critical and non-critical rescues; and how to manage an emergency situation when other climbers and/or non-climbers are in the area.
Fixed-line rescue training is also a requirement for being a "Basic Climbing Skills Reviewer" for our "Online" Basic Tree Climbing Course.
Multiple-Pitch Rescue
The multiple-pitch rescue class is offered for advanced climbers who want to be able to rescue others from high in the treetops when the "victim" is above the point at which s/he has enough rope to be brought to the ground. Multi-pitch rescue is dangerous and complex. Students will spend most of the day practicing in a tree. Single-pitch rescue training is a prerequisite.
Tuition: $200 per day for each course.
Location: Taught at the TCI Training Center (at the Guest House)
Prerequisite: BTCC or demonstrated proficiency in basic tree climbing skills
TCI Instructor Program
The TCI Instructor Program creates professional recreational tree climbers who are prepared to teach the TCI Basic Tree Climbing Course (DRT). Students are required to be experienced and skilled tree climbers who have climbed in a wide variety of settings. Other prerequisites include successful completion of the TCI Facilitator Program, which has its own set of prerequisites.)
In the Instructor Program, students learn how to teach tree climbing to people who come to their training with unique questions, issues, and experience. Under the supervision of your instructor, you will teach modules of the BTCC to new students in several courses until you are ready to teach the entire course yourself. You will review single-pitch rescue techniques taught in previous courses and learn how to perform multi-pitch rescues.
The TCI Instructor Program is taught by Tim Kovar of Tree Climbing Planet.
By advance reservation only. Please contact us for details.
TCI Facilitator Program
Here's a facilitator-to-be running his
first tree climbing event.Tree climbing facilitators are people who have been trained extensively to run beginners' tree climbing events. In many cases, people enroll in the TCI Facilitator Program in order to open their own tree climbing "grove" (school). Facilitators lead many different types of group events. They set up the tree with multiple climbing stations, orient the group and give a climbing demonstration, and then help others to experience the joys of tree climbing for themselves.
Becoming a facilitator requires expertise in basic tree climbing techniques. It also takes patience, skill, and experience to safely manage lots of people in a tree all at once. In the five-day TCI Facilitator Course, the first component of our Facilitator Program, students learn how to work with individuals and groups. In addition, their training includes:
- Spending a whole day learning and practicing detailed rescue procedures using "Rescue Randy," our rescue dummy;
- Learning how to rig the "super system," a special climbing system for people who are not able to use the standard DRT system; and
- Participating in at least two group climbing events while they are here. During the first, they become familiar with procedures by watching how we manage an event; then they run a group climb themselves under our supervision.
Facilitator Course students must pass a climbing skills test and a written exam before they can enter the Facilitator Internship, the second component of our Program.
During the Internship (completed at home), students follow the standards and guidelines of Tree Climbers International as they gain experience running group climbing events. This way, when they finish their requirements and graduate from our program, we know that they are well-prepared and ready to put others "on rope" safely.
Note: Graduation from the TCI Facilitator Program does not qualify facilitators to teach a basic tree climbing course; this requires more extensive training and a higher level of skill and experience than people at the Facilitator level generally have acquired. Students learn to teach the BTCC in the TCI Instructor Program.
Program requirements: Approved personal climbing gear, the Basic Tree Climbing Course (or an instructor-approved equivalent), current CPR and first aid certification, and lots of climbing experience are among other course prerequisites.
Cost: $750
Course Location: Most of the course is taught at Blackburn Park (maps). Some sessions are held at the TCI Training Center and Guest House.
For scheduling and logistical information, see our "Logistics" section.
