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PCIA Climbing Certifications

  • Climbing Site Belayer (CSB)

    The Climbing Site Belayer (CSB) course provides a nationally standardized curriculum of instruction for individuals who supervise and belay at climbing sites. It is designed to train staff in the key skills required to safely operate a climbing tower or serve as a climbing site assistant under a higher-level practitioner. The course curriculum helps participants develop professional climbing habits from the very beginning of their climbing instructor development. It also resolves common climbing myths.

  • Climbing Wall Instructor (CWI)

    The Climbing Wall Instructor (CWI) course emphasizes the instruction of fundamental skills to climbing gym participants, the formation of risk assessment and risk management skills, and basic problem-solving skills. Participants are assessed on their knowledge and their ability to effectively teach related skills.

  • Sport Climbing Instructor (SCI)

    The Sport Climbing instructor (SCI) course is designed to bridge the gap between indoor climbing instruction and outdoor climbing instruction. The purpose of this course is to allow CWI-Leads to be evaluated in outdoor, sport climbing instruction. It is designed to provide supplemental knowledge and specialized skills that will allow the SCI to effectively operate at outdoor climbing sites. The scope of this course is limited to sites where there is access to bolted top anchors via non-technical means or sport leading.

  • Top Rope Climbing Instructor (TRCI)

    The Top Rope Climbing Instructor (TRCI) course provides students with an in depth and standardized understanding of the skills essential to teaching climbing in an outdoor setting. The TRCI course prepares instructors to set-up and manage groups of climbers on technical terrain with non-technical access.

  • Top Managed Climbing Instructor (TMCI)

    Top managed sites hold different risks and require different skills from base managed sites to effectively manage climbing groups. The PCIA TMCI course addresses these needs in a one-day course designed to build upon skills acquired in the TRCI course. Like other PCIA courses, the course continues to reinforce the importance of teaching technically accurate information and debunks many common climbing myths.

  • Single Pitch Climbing Instructor (SPCI)

    The PCIA Single Pitch Climbing Instructor (SPCI) can be taken as a stand alone course. However, upon completion of all TMCI course components and demonstration of proficient 5.6 traditional leading ability, graduates are upgraded to a certified PCIA SPCI. There is no separate exam for this level unless an individual is challenging the exam.