Rock Climbing Club 2025
Ongoing communication, including updates on trips, new trips being offered, competitive climbing, weather cancellations, and other notices will all be done through the Google Classroom. Use the invite link or join using the code (b44z4xv).
Autumn Climbing Club Activities Included in membership for Term 1 and 2
Membership cost for Term 1&2: $110
Click on each heading for more information
- Dates: Feb 10th (week 3) until May 29th (week 5).
- Select to climb on either Monday or Thursday
- Optional: on the day you are NOT climbing, training session in the gym and/or work on technical ground skills (knots, anchors, etc)
- Most weeks will be from 3:15 - 4:45 on our home wall
- There will be several dates where we go to Port Chalmers to climb on real rock instead of climbing at school. We will be back at school by 6:00 on these days. See the Climbing Calendar for dates.
- Discounted registration on local trips
Bivouac Outdoor Gear Night:
Join us at Bivouac Outdoor for an evening of discounts and prizes on Monday March 10th at 5:00pm. 25% off climbing gear, 20% off everything else. Parents/caregivers welcome. In-store discount will only be for active members of the OGHS Climbing Club and Bouldering Club members.
Bouldering at Resistance Climbing Gym
Once in Term 1 and again in Term 2, we will head down to Resistance for a bouldering session. This will help introduce new and experienced climbers to indoor bouldering. This will also serve as training for the National Indoor Bouldering Series (NIBS) competitions that run from May - August.
Dates and times TBD
Additional Climbing Trips and Courses Term 1 and 2
All of these trips have an additional cost - local trips may be discounted for Climbing Club members. Some trips have prerequisites. Costs for away trips are estimates and will be finalised once trip logistics are booked.
Click on each heading for full details
Lead Climbing Course (Offered upon request)
Dates: Get a group of 4 - 6 interested students and talk to Daniel Bleckinger about organising a course.
Cost: $250
Overview: Two days of instruction and practice on lead climbing, belaying, building and cleaning anchors, and gear. The aim is to develop skills required for safe outdoor climbing with friends and family. You may be approved to lead/belay on the school wall. Day 1 will be at Port Chalmers Quarry, Day 2 will be at Long Beach.
Prerequisites: must be an experienced climber with at least one year of climbing club experience or similar. It is recommended that you have done some mock leading on the school wall and have climbed on real rock several times.
Long Beach (2024 info, still to be updated)
Dates: March 30th and/or May 17th (can sign up for one or both)
Cost for each date: $35 for members; $45 for non-members
Overview: Celebrate the end of climbing season and put your skills to the test by spending a day (or two) climbing at the beach. Arguably Dunedin’s best climbing spot with a wide range of climbs to be set up. Something for everyone, from beginners to seasoned experts.
Christchurch - Port Hills (2024 info, still to be updated)
Dates: May 2-4
Cost: $280
Overview: Our main away trip for the season. There is a huge amount of easily accessible climbing in the Port Hills of Christchurch. Local guides will spend two days showing us the best spots. There may be an option to visit Uprising Bouldering Gym and/or the Kind Foundation Adventure Centre Climbing wall.
Spring Climbing Club - Term 3/4
Updated for 2024 - check back later for 2025 dates and details
After school climbing on our school wall will resume on Mondays starting Sept 9th (week 8) and run until Nov 18 (week 6) from 3:15 - 4:45pm. We may head to Port Chalmers once or twice after school depending on interest and weather, but no other weekend trips are planned for this session.
No experience required - The Term 3/4 session is a great way for new climbers to try out climbing in a relaxed and fun environment. You will be taught all the skills necessary to be a safe member of a rope team.
Experienced climbers can still work on advancing their technical skills through route setting, leading, and other ground based gear skills - or just get a mental break after exams.
Cost for Climbing Club Term 3/4 is $40.
Please register by filling out the Registration Form under RESOURCES.
Competition
Watch for notices, training schedule, and registration information on Google classroom.
- NIBS Bouldering Series - Dunedin - May 10/11
Other venues if there is interest or travel on your own.
- South Island Secondary Schools Competition - August 27-29 at the Kind Foundation Adventure Centre in Christchurch
Teams are composed of four climbers. Senior A and at least one other team will travel together and compete together. Training sessions will occur during Term 3.
Sports awards (including Blues) are to recognise those who have shown dedication and commitment to the OGHS climbing community through service, coaching, and/or competing at a high level on a school team.
Students who compete independently or as part of a club team are generally not eligible for school Blues. We would strongly prefer you to climb with the school throughout the year, but some dispensation may be possible. If you climb independently and hope to represent the school at a competition, please consult with Daniel Bleckinger well in advance of the competition. Approval may be granted on a case by case basis. A minimum requirement would be training with the school prior to the competition and other checks as appropriate.
Please see the OGHS Sports Information Handbook for more details.
Other Notes
Bouldering Club
Now in its second year!
If you are interested in bouldering at Resistance Climbing Gym every Friday after school, check out the Bouldering Club website.
Equipment
- will provide all equipment including shoes, harness, helmets, and belay device. If you want to bring your own personal gear, you are welcome to. If you want more information on buying your own equipment - especially shoes - talk to your student leaders and instructors and come to the Bivouac Gear Night.
Note on climbing shoes:
If you have been climbing for a little while and think you will continue to climb, it is highly recommended that you get your own shoes. When buying shoes, talk to a professional to get them fit properly - they should be slightly uncomfortably tight and should be worn with bare feet. Talk to your instructor or Bivouac if you want to know more.
Registration
To register for Climbing Club or any trips or courses in Term 1 and 2, fill out the Google Form in the Resources section at the top of this page.
The form can be filled out more than once if you want to register for a trip later in the year.
Space on all trips is limited and will be first-in, first-served.
Registration for competition or Term 3/4 Climbing will open later in the year.
Bouldering Club registration is available on the Bouldering Club website
Permission Forms
- OGHS Climbing Consent Form Everyone needs to fill out this one (only once during the year).
- Dunedin Adventures Risk Agreement needs to be filled out for anyone doing a trip to Long Beach, Wanaka, or the Lead Climbing course (only needed once per year).
- OGHS Climbing Consent Form for Away Trips will need to be filled out if you are going to Wanaka and/or Christchurch (two copies if you are doing both)
- A YMCA risk agreement will need to be signed for the Christchurch trip (not yet available)
- It is recommended that you fill out an online agreement from Resistance Climbing Gym before the climbing club bouldering session, if you have never been there before.
Cancellations
Any climbing activity may be postponed, cancelled, or cut short due to weather conditions, illness or unavailability of an instructor, lack of participants, holidays and teacher only days, or other unforeseen events. There will be no partial refunds for after school climbing activities that are cancelled. Individual trips may be refunded at the discretion of the Teacher in Charge.