Rock and Ice courses are available daily, all year round! You may book anything from a one day lesson, a two day structured course to a week long climbing / mountaineering vacation.

Unlike other centres we arrange the course dates to fit in with your valuable recreational time. If you have some spare time we can fill it.

Based next to the medieval market town of Ashbourne in South Derbyshire, 30 minutes away from Derby station and 35 minutes from Nottingham East Midlands Airport.

Our location ensures we also have some of the best outcrop climbing in the UK right on our doorstep.

Don't hesitate to call Richard Hogan on 01335 344982 for an informal chat, or to discuss any special requirements.

Remember on our activities there are no fitness or age restrictions. All you need is lots of enthusiasm!

We are full members of the association of mountaineering instructors (AMI) which is the organisation for qualified professional climbing and mountaineering instructors.We are also registered with the Adventure activities licencing authority (AALA) which regulate activities with minors.
Our 5 million public liability insurance covers you and your organisation whilst on all our courses.


Enjoy browsing our website!  

 

 

Abseiling

Abseiling can be great fun! It is an exciting activity in itself. Abseils can be done from outcrops, mountains, bridges and buildings.

Abseiling is also an essential skill to enable a rock climber or mountaineer to descend from a big climb when there are no other reasonable means of safe descent.

Please note - Abseiling tuition is usually covered during our introduction to rock climbing courses.

We welcome requests from charities, individuals and companies for abseiling as a stand- alone fund raising activity. Click here for more abseiling info.

Call Richard on 01335 344982 with your requirements.

Pictured on the left is Janet Hogan abseiling from the top of Spazza Caldera in the Swiss/Italian Alps. On the right you have various abseils from locations in the Lake District to outcrops in Derbyshire.

Definition: 1. In British English, abseiling (from the German abseilen, "to rope down") is the process of descending on a fixed rope.
Definition: 2.Techniques for descending vertical cliff faces using harnesses, ropes and safety equipment.

Charity Abseil Events and Fund Raising.
Charity abseil's are a popular way of bringing in much needed funds.
Our costs are low for this type of event as we recognise your aims and objectives.

Rock and Ice have successfully worked along with charities working with Great Ormond Street, British Red Cross, Housing Associations, Housing Trusts,The South Yorkshire Probation Services, Children in Need, The Cancer Research Campaign, Muscular Dystrophy and the Parkinson's Disease Society.

Let us provide the equipment & technical skills to keep participants safe, while your charity reaps the benefits.

Rock and Ice have been featured in The Times, The Daily Mirror, The Derby Telegraph, Central Television and more recently on Channel 4 as the technical climbing safety officers for the Drama/Documentary 'Falling Apart'.

Abseil's may be from a suitable building or an outdoor site depending on numbers. We can also provide zip slides if required.

We are happy to cater for one person or hundreds.

Call Richard Hogan for a chat to discuss your requirements on 01335 344982.

We will probably need to assess your building for suitability if you wish to use it for your abseil event. We regret we have to charge a call out fee for this once-off initial safety survey. We are better qualified than most to do this as we have MIA qualified staff who previously worked as Steeplejacks in the construction industry.

Please note some other outdoor centres offer SPA staff to run these events. We recommend a minimum of MIA level as a rescue situation may arise that could challenge the remit of the SPA.

Rock Climbing Courses, Training and Holidays

Rock and Ice offer rock climbing instruction and personal coaching.

We cater for all ages and abilities.

These fantastic courses are our speciality as we have years of experience.

Our instructors are passionate about climbing and really enjoy teaching our customers how to become safe and independant climbers.

You can choose how fast you want to progress, we will always advise how to do this without pushing you past personal comfort zones.

Areas we cover include Derbyshire, Staffordshire ( Peak District ), Yorkshire, Lancashire, North Wales (Snowdonia), Anglesey, South Wales, Scotland, Cornwall and The English Lake District (Cumbria).

We specialise in quality climbing instruction, and base our success on our instructor to client ratio which is 1:2 maximum for lead climbing courses.

This enables the customer to get the climbing instructor's attention when they need it, and sometimes, when learning to lead you really appreciate this!

You will learn much more in 2 days with us, than on a larger ratio course elsewhere.

Introductory Rock climbing Courses, Lessons and Holidays.

Learn the absolute basics of traditional rockclimbing with Rock and Ice. This fun course is suitable for those with some basic interest and the will to get to the top! No previous experience is required for this fun course, just basic enthusiasm.

A low instructor to student ratio ensures you get the most from this course.

On this rock climbing course we cover the following:

• Belaying basics
• Bouldering (climbing low down without a rope)
• Knots and basic ropework
• Movement and technique
• Specialist equipment use and limitations
• Route and grading systems
• Basic safety, understanding objective dangers.
• Abseiling and choice of safe descents from climbs
• Top roping / bottom roping systems
• First steps to lead climbing and setting up safe belays
• Lots of climbing!
  
  Run over 2 days in the Derbyshire Peak District, Staffordshire, Lake District or North Wales (Snowdonia).
  
  Book now! Telephone 01335 344982 or just call us for a chat.

Used to climbing indoors? Want out? - This traditional ropes course is the one for you! We help give you the confidence to lead climb safely outdoors!

Intermediate Rock Climbing Courses and Holidays.


Run over 2 - 4 days in the Peak District Lake District
or North Wales.

Learn to be safer with Rock and Ice
On this course we try to cover:

Advanced Belaying

More knots

Technique

Specialist equipment use

Route and grading systems

Basic safety

Top roping

Lead climbing and advanced belays/stances

Introductory Rock Climbing Courses and Holidays.

Learn the absolute basics with Rock and Ice

On this course we cover the following:

Belaying basics

Bouldering

Knots and basic ropework

Movement and technique

Specialist equipment use

Route and grading systems

Basic safety

Top roping

Introduction to lead climbing and belays

Run over 2 days in the Peak District Lake District
or North Wales.

Book it now! Telephone 01335 344982

 

Scrambling Skills
Join us on some of the most famous mountains in the UK. We locate and climb some of the best Welsh, Lakeland and Scottish mountain scrambles.

Learn techniques for movement on steep ground, learn to use appropriate protection and to read the routes.

Our introductory scrambling courses cover the basic use of ropes, guidebooks, navigation and much more.

Classic scrambles are climbed on all these courses.

Rope work for Scramblers and Climbers.

One of our more popular courses for those of you wishing to become more independent and confident in the mountains.

This course develops the use of ropes and specialist equipment up to 'Difficult' rock climbing standards.

Aspiring to climb grade III's? Fancy the Cuillin ridge? Want confidence for the inaccessible Munroe's?

This is the course for you!

Sea Cliff Climbing - Courses and Instruction
Sea cliffs - we take you to some very exciting and beautiful places to climb. Rock climbing is always great fun, add some water and it's a fantastic and very addictive combination.

You can't beat the feeling of climbing above waves crashing onto rocks below, the smell of the sea and the odd bit of refreshing seaspray catching you while you wait on a stance to climb that awsome pitch.

A must for this spring / summer!

As seen in FHM magazines 100 Greatest Adventures!

Sea cliff climbing is run over 2-4 days in Anglesey, North Wales, South Wales or Cornwall, Skye and Scotland.

This course can easily be integrated with the introduction to multi-pitch climbing courses we run.

We try and cover the following, although we do tailor the course to suit the participants requirements on the day.

• Advanced belaying for difficult situations (keeping the rope dry)
• More knots
• Movement and technique
• Specialist equipment use
• Route finding from the top and the bottom
• Abseiling to just above sea level
• Sea level traverses
• Retreat from difficult climbs
• Advanced rope work
• Lots of climbing on classic routes
• Consolidation of lead climbing and ropework skills
• Self rescue techniques - crag evacuation - rescue a fallen climber

 

Stag and Hen Parties

We can help you arrange a successful and entertaining Stag or Hen event.

Outdoor activites for your Stag / Hen party could include rock climbing, abseiling, mountainwalking / scrambling, caving and potholing, mountaineering and more.

Ashbourne is close to Alton Towers, Derby, Sheffield, Manchester and Nottingham. Ashbourne is also located close to the the Peak District National Park.
There are tons of activities available such as mountain bike hire, paintball and windsurfing, sailing and kayaking.

By staying in this popular tourist area you have plenty of accommodation options too from camping sites to hotels.

Call Richard Hogan on 01335 344982 for more infomation.

As seen in FHM magazines 100 Great Adventures, August 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extreme Location Filming Services

Rock and Ice offer specialist support and technical advice for filming, film crews, news crews, cameramen, celebrities and special corporate / charity events.

We are technical experts in the field of rope work, rescue, rock climbing, mountaineering and related activities. We will provide all the technical support you need to film your production and work in extreme, adventurous and potentially very dangerous locations with confidence. We cover the risks so you can concentrate on what's important - the 'feel' of your film production.


Pictured on the left is the actress Hermione Norris, working with Rock and Ice instructors on the Drama / Documentary 'Falling Apart' ( shown on Channel 4 in October 2002) with actor Mark Strong (pictured on the right) for Century Films. This was produced on impressive cliffs at the beautiful Roaches Estate in the Staffordshire Moorlands area of the Peak District National Park.

Rock and Ice provide all the necessary training, technical support and overall safety for actors and film crews from conception to the final result.

We can supply anything from a single consultant to a whole team of qualified and professional people from a variety of backgrounds.

Rock and Ice were seen live on national TV recently, whilst working as safety advisors on a charity abseil ( Children In Need ) on East Midlands Airport control tower (see below)

For extreme location filming services and guiding services call Richard Hogan on 01335 344982 for more information.

Lead Climbing Workshops

Ready to push the grades? Ready to break out into new areas and feel the rock under your stickies? Sick of indoor sports climbing on bolts?

Join Rock and Ice on a course that will enthuse and enlighten!

Our objective is also yours, to ensure you climb better, place gear slickly and safely, to choose and create safe - and managable stances.

We will provide you with the knowledge of routes that will suit your style then let you progress to new heights. We will provide the experienced instructors who will watch your climbs and give you feedback both on each route you climb and afterwards. Lead climbing workshops are suited to climbers who want to get on and get better.

Maybe you want to gain a SPA (MLTE) or progress to multi - pitch climbing?

This course will be perfect for you, low instructor to climber ratio ensures flexibility and suitability. Book now

You may also find this course interesting: Touching Rock (indoor climbing to outdoor transitions)

Touching Rock - Indoor Climbing to Outdoor Trad Climbing

Are you sick of the crowded indoor walls where you learnt to climb? Feel the need for fresh air and excitement?

Take the climbing outdoors with Rock and Ice, we can show you how easy it is to do this safely, you might have heard how different it is outside? Its true! You need to learn the basics of ropework, trad gear placements, equipment limitations and much more.

Grade 4 indoors may equate to Very Severe (VS) outside but in reality the two have little in common, apart from the height you may fall from if you get it wrong! You won't get it wrong on one of these courses!

It really is possible to start lead climbing outdoors and take responsibility for others in 2 days. Bring some suncream!

Call us now ( 01335 344982 ) to chat about your requirements or book this course.