Flash Foxy Education Program

*presented by Arc’teryx

  • Flash Foxy believes that all climbers deserve access to quality education that equips them with the skills they need to enjoy climbing. At Flash Foxy, we’re all too familiar with the kinds of barriers that women and genderqueer folks face when trying to access climbing education, and we know that these barriers are often compounded by intersecting identities such as trans, disabled, parent, Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and many others. Through Flash Foxy Education, our goal is to provide accessible, standardized learning opportunities for climbers to learn from accredited AMGA instructors. Our organizational roots call us to center the experience of women and genderqueer folks and create a program that responds to the unique needs of all marginalized genders. Thanks to our generous sponsor Arc’teryx, all Flash Foxy Education Courses are offered on a sliding scale. Full scholarships are available for all courses.

    All Flash Foxy Education courses are taught by women and genderqueer instructors.

    At this time, our education courses are only open to participants who identify as women or genderqueer climbers.

    Our goal is to create and maintain a safe and diverse space where consent and respect are our first priorities. Harassment of any kind (unwanted contact, verbal or physical abuse, racism, homophobia, transphobia, body-shaming, etc.) will NOT be tolerated. To anonymously report an instance of misbehavior please submit this form.

EDUCATION COURSE OFFERINGS

What kinds of courses does Flash Foxy Education offer? So many! Check them out via the button below. Note: not all courses currently available.

scholarships

All courses will be offered on a sliding scale starting at $50. To ensure our programs are financially accessible, full scholarships are also available for all education courses.

frequently asked questions

Got questions? Maybe we have the answer! If you don’t find the answer here, just email education@flashfoxy.com.

Upcoming Courses

*presented by Arc’teryx

*Please note schedule is always subject to change. All events are rain or shine.

COST All Flash Foxy Education courses are offered on a sliding scale.

Full scholarships are available for all courses.

Intro to Outdoor Top Roping + Anchors

in partnership with Rise Outside

Saturday 5/18 - Sunday 5/19

New Paltz, NY (Peterskill)

  • None. Beginners welcome!

  • Flash Foxy’s Intro to Outdoor Top Roping* + Anchors course is great for everyone from first-timers to experienced indoor climbers. Top roping is one of the most accessible forms of climbing, and this course will give you all the tools you need to build your own anchors and climb on them! We’ll cover basic outdoors skills, technical systems, and all the tips and tricks you need to have the best outdoor climbing experience possible.

    *Top-roping is roped climbing with an anchor already established at the top of the climb. Falls are virtually inconsequential since the rope will catch you almost immediately.

  • *Have a working knowledge of key equipment, including climbing shoes, harnesses, helmets, chalk, climbing rope, slings/cordelette, carabiners, and belay devices.

    *Experience and participate in common practices, including stretching, warming up, reading a route, and working a route.

    *Be proficient belaying a top-rope climber with an assisted-braking device, including setting up to belay, taking and giving slack, and lowering a climber.

    *Be proficient climbing up and lowering down a route, including tying-in with the figure eight follow-through and doing system checks with their belayer.

    *Practice building and cleaning common single pitch anchors.

    *Practice and receive coaching on basic and intermediate climbing movement.

    *Be knowledgeable about top-roping jargon.

    *Connect with other climbers interested in top-roping.

  • Lizzy Redlich (she/they) + Hann Smiley (they/them)

2-DAY BEGINNER COURSE

TRAD ANCHORS + RESCUE SKILLS

in partnership with Rise Outside

Saturday 6/22 - Sunday 6/23

New Paltz, NY (Peterskill)

  • Participants have top-roped a minimum of ten climbs on at least three separate occasions outdoors. Some experience placing and cleaning trad gear - for example, in Flash Foxy’s Intro to Trad course - is required. Some experience with leading sport (indoors or outdoors), and/or following trad climbs is helpful, but not required.

  • Flash Foxy’s Trad Anchors + Rescue Skills course covers essential anchoring and rescue skills for a successful outing at your favorite sport or trad climbing crag. This course gives you all the tools you need to support the act of climbing itself. We’ll cover setting and cleaning anchors, be it on bolts, with traditional protection such as stoppers and cams, or by using a static line with terrain features like boulders and trees. Additionally, we’ll cover solutions to common mishaps at the crag, be it getting hair caught in a belay device, a rope being too short for a route, ascending a rope to help a climber, or hauling a climber through a crux as the belayer.

    This is a skills intensive course, and we’ll focus on learning fundamentals on the ground, then practicing those skills in a low-risk vertical setting with review and feedback from our instructors. Most of our course time will be spent working on skills with very little rock climbing, so come prepared to spend time hanging in your harness!

  • *Have a working knowledge of key equipment, including climbing shoes, harnesses, helmets, chalk, dynamic climbing rope and static lines, slings/cordelette, carabiners, quickdraws and alpine draws, cams and stoppers, assisted and non-assisted belay/rappel devices, and friction cords.

    *Practice building common single pitch anchors on bolts and with traditional protection.

    *Practice building not-so-common single pitch anchors with terrain features.

    *How to safely manage a crag that’s accessed from the top.

    *Be proficient cleaning anchors via lowering + rappelling, including at least two variations for each and improvised rappel skills, including using two ropes for long single pitch routes.

    *Practice basic rescue skills, including belay takeovers, ascending (including improvised tools), hauling, and lowering with another climber in the system.

    *Be knowledgeable about anchoring (“rigging”) and rescue jargon.

    *Connect with other climbers interested in single pitch climbing.

  • Marian Perez (they/she) + Alexis Krauss (she/her)

2-DAY INT/ADV COURSE

Sport Climbing 101

in partnership with Sierra Mountain Guides

Saturday 7/13 - Sunday 7/14

Mammoth Lakes, CA

  • Must know how to belay someone on top rope. Participants have top roped a minimum of five climbs on at least two separate occasions (indoors or outdoors). Experience sport climbing indoors is helpful but not required. Instructors may ask that participants be able to climb a certain grade level or difficulty depending on the constraints of the venue; when applicable, this will be communicated clearly.

  • Flash Foxy's Sport Climbing* 101 course covers all the skills you’ll need to break into outdoor sport climbing or firm up the skills you already have. You will have time to practice essential skills like belaying and lead climbing in a low-risk mock setting, and our instructors will equip you with the skills you need to continue your practice even after the course. Ultimately, mock leading isn’t the real thing so we’ll also make sure you have the knowledge you need to break into live leading when you’re ready.

    *Sport climbing is a form of lead climbing. The climber and rope both start at the bottom, and the climber clips the rope to temporary anchor points (i.e. metal bolts in the rock) as they ascend the wall. At the top, the climber establishes a more robust anchor and lowers off. Climbers and belayers must be aware of a number of additional factors while leading and belaying leading, including the potential for more impactful falls.

  • *Have a working knowledge of key equipment, including climbing shoes, harnesses, helmets, chalk, climbing rope, slings/cordelette, carabiners, quickdraws, and belay devices.

    *Experience and participate in common practices, including stretching, warming up, reading a route, and working a route.

    *Practice (mock) belaying a lead climber with an assisted-braking device, including setting up to belay, managing the rope, taking and giving slack, catching falls, and lowering a climber.

    *Practice (mock) leading up and lowering down a route, including tying-in with the figure eight follow-through, clipping, finding and maintaining stances, managing the rope, falling, and doing system checks with their belayer.

    *Practice building and cleaning common single-pitch anchors.

    *Practice and receive coaching on basic and intermediate climbing movement.

    *Be knowledgeable about sport climbing jargon.

    *Connect with other climbers interested in sport climbing.

  • tbd

2-DAY NOVICE COURSE

Intro to trad

in partnership with Rise Outside

Saturday 7/20 - Sunday 7/21

New Paltz, NY (Peterskill)

  • Participants have top-roped a minimum of ten climbs on at least three separate occasions (indoor or outdoors). Experience sport climbing (indoors or outdoors) and/or following trad climbs is helpful but not required. Instructors may ask that participants be able to climb a certain grade level or difficulty depending on the constraints of the venue; when applicable, this will be communicated clearly.

  • Flash Foxy’s Intro to Trad Climbing* course equips climbers with the skills they need to explore the adventurous practice and spirit of traditional climbing whether you're new to the craft or trying to refine the skills you already have. We’ll cover the essentials like learning how to place stoppers and cams, and we’ll also have candid conversations about risk and how to manage it when the variables start to add up. Our instructors will provide low-risk environments for practice and review the skills you need to continue your practice after the course. Plus tips on how to go live when you’re ready!

    *Trad climbing is a form of lead climbing. The climber and rope both start at the bottom, and the climber clips the rope to temporary anchor points (i.e. removable protection placed in the rock like stoppers and cams) as they ascend the wall. At the top, the climber establishes a more robust anchor and lowers or rappels off. Climbers and belayers must be aware of a number of additional factors while leading and belaying lead climbing, including the potential for more impactful falls.

  • *Have a working knowledge of key equipment, including climbing shoes, harnesses, helmets, chalk, climbing rope, slings/cordelette, carabiners, quickdraws and alpine draws, cams and stoppers, and belay/rappel devices.

    *Experience and participate in common practices, including stretching, warming up, reading a route, and working a route.

    *Practice (mock) belaying a lead climber with an assisted-braking device, including setting up to belay, managing the rope, taking and giving slack, catching falls, and lowering a climber.

    *Practice (mock) leading up and lowering down a route, including tying-in with the figure eight follow-through, placing and clipping gear, finding and maintaining stances, managing the rope, falling, and doing system checks with their belayer.

    *Practice building and cleaning common single pitch anchors, including via lowering + rappelling.

    *Practice and receive coaching on basic and intermediate climbing movement.

    *Be knowledgeable about trad climbing jargon.

    *Connect with other climbers interested in trad climbing.

  • tbd

2-DAY INTERMEDIATE COURSE

Trad Anchors + Rescue skills

in partnership with IMCS

Saturday 8/3 - Sunday 8/4

North Conway, NH

  • Participants have top-roped a minimum of ten climbs on at least three separate occasions outdoors. Some experience placing and cleaning trad gear - for example, in Flash Foxy’s Intro to Trad course - is required. Some experience with leading sport (indoors or outdoors), and/or following trad climbs is helpful, but not required.

  • Flash Foxy’s Trad Anchors + Rescue Skills course covers essential anchoring and rescue skills for a successful outing at your favorite sport or trad climbing crag. This course gives you all the tools you need to support the act of climbing itself. We’ll cover setting and cleaning anchors, be it on bolts, with traditional protection such as stoppers and cams, or by using a static line with terrain features like boulders and trees. Additionally, we’ll cover solutions to common mishaps at the crag, be it getting hair caught in a belay device, a rope being too short for a route, ascending a rope to help a climber, or hauling a climber through a crux as the belayer.

    This is a skills intensive course, and we’ll focus on learning fundamentals on the ground, then practicing those skills in a low-risk vertical setting with review and feedback from our instructors. Most of our course time will be spent working on skills with very little rock climbing, so come prepared to spend time hanging in your harness!

  • *Have a working knowledge of key equipment, including climbing shoes, harnesses, helmets, chalk, dynamic climbing rope and static lines, slings/cordelette, carabiners, quickdraws and alpine draws, cams and stoppers, assisted and non-assisted belay/rappel devices, and friction cords.

    *Practice building common single pitch anchors on bolts and with traditional protection.

    *Practice building not-so-common single pitch anchors with terrain features.

    *How to safely manage a crag that’s accessed from the top.

    *Be proficient cleaning anchors via lowering + rappelling, including at least two variations for each and improvised rappel skills, including using two ropes for long single pitch routes.

    *Practice basic rescue skills, including belay takeovers, ascending (including improvised tools), hauling, and lowering with another climber in the system.

    *Be knowledgeable about anchoring (“rigging”) and rescue jargon.

    *Connect with other climbers interested in single pitch climbing.

  • tbd

2-DAY INT/ADV COURSE

rescue skills 101 - single pitch

in partnership with Arc’teryx Colorado

Friday 9/6 - Saturday 9/7

Boulder, CO

*This program is open to climbers of all genders! All proceeds from this program will be donated to a local non-profit.

  • Some experience top-roping indoors or outdoors is required.

  • Flash Foxy’s Intro to Rescue Skills course helps you prepare for those inevitable mishaps at the crag, and how to extricate you and your climbing partners from them so you don’t have to call for a rescue. We’ll cover basic methods of ascending a rope to help a climber, assisting a climber through a crux from both above or below, taking over a belay from someone else, and simple rappel techniques. We'll use scenarios to explore improvised solutions and best practices, instead of just teaching a few cookie-cutter drills that might not apply in the real world, and you’ll leave with a solid set of tools to handle most situations that could happen at a crag.

    This is a skills intensive course, and we’ll focus on learning fundamentals on the ground, then practicing those skills in a low-risk vertical setting with review and feedback from our instructors. Most of our course time will be spent working on skills with very little rock climbing, so come prepared to spend time hanging in your harness!

  • *Have a working knowledge of key equipment, including climbing shoes, harnesses, helmets, chalk, climbing rope, slings/cordelette, carabiners, and belay devices, and friction cords.

    *Practice basic rescue skills when belaying from below, including belay takeovers, ascending (including improvised tools), assisting a stuck climber, and lowering with another climber in the system, with coaching and feedback from instructors.

    *Practice rescue skills when belaying from above, including assisting and hauling a stuck climber.

    *Be proficient at descending and rappelling in the single pitch setting.

    *Be knowledgeable about rescue jargon.

    *Connect with other climbers interested in single pitch climbing.

  • tbd

2-DAY INTERMEDIATE COURSE

Intro to trad

in partnership with IMCS

Saturday 9/7 - Sunday 9/8

North Conway, NH

  • Participants have top-roped a minimum of ten climbs on at least three separate occasions (indoor or outdoors). Experience sport climbing (indoors or outdoors) and/or following trad climbs is helpful but not required. Instructors may ask that participants be able to climb a certain grade level or difficulty depending on the constraints of the venue; when applicable, this will be communicated clearly.

  • Flash Foxy’s Intro to Trad Climbing* course equips climbers with the skills they need to explore the adventurous practice and spirit of traditional climbing whether you're new to the craft or trying to refine the skills you already have. We’ll cover the essentials like learning how to place stoppers and cams, and we’ll also have candid conversations about risk and how to manage it when the variables start to add up. Our instructors will provide low-risk environments for practice and review the skills you need to continue your practice after the course. Plus tips on how to go live when you’re ready!

    *Trad climbing is a form of lead climbing. The climber and rope both start at the bottom, and the climber clips the rope to temporary anchor points (i.e. removable protection placed in the rock like stoppers and cams) as they ascend the wall. At the top, the climber establishes a more robust anchor and lowers or rappels off. Climbers and belayers must be aware of a number of additional factors while leading and belaying lead climbing, including the potential for more impactful falls.

  • *Have a working knowledge of key equipment, including climbing shoes, harnesses, helmets, chalk, climbing rope, slings/cordelette, carabiners, quickdraws and alpine draws, cams and stoppers, and belay/rappel devices.

    *Experience and participate in common practices, including stretching, warming up, reading a route, and working a route.

    *Practice (mock) belaying a lead climber with an assisted-braking device, including setting up to belay, managing the rope, taking and giving slack, catching falls, and lowering a climber.

    *Practice (mock) leading up and lowering down a route, including tying-in with the figure eight follow-through, placing and clipping gear, finding and maintaining stances, managing the rope, falling, and doing system checks with their belayer.

    *Practice building and cleaning common single pitch anchors, including via lowering + rappelling.

    *Practice and receive coaching on basic and intermediate climbing movement.

    *Be knowledgeable about trad climbing jargon.

    *Connect with other climbers interested in trad climbing.

  • tbd

2-DAY INTERMEDIATE COURSE

*Scroll through the calendar to see both upcoming and past programs!

*Wondering what course is right for you? Check out our Quick Guide to Courses!

*Where are our courses? Course locations change seasonally, and we will be adding new locations as our capacity increases!

  • California - Joshua Tree, Bishop, Mammoth Lakes, San Francisco/Bay Area

  • Utah - Salt Lake City

  • New York - New Paltz, NYC

  • New Hampshire - North Conway

  • Washington, DC

  • North Carolina - Asheville

Our Instructors

  • Carlin Reynolds (they/them)

    AMGA Assistant Rock Guide, AMGA Certified SPI, Wilderness First Responder

  • Marian Perez (they/she)

    AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • Lou Bank (they/he)

    AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • Danielle Johnson (she/they)

    AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness FIrst Responder

  • Narinda Heng (she/her)

    AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • Thomas Bukowski (he/they)

    AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide, AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • Lizzy Redlich (she/they)

    AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • Cindy Su (she/her)

    AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • Kat Grajales-Betancur (she/her)

    Assistant Instructor, Wilderness First Aid

  • Carol Garfinkel (she/her)

    AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • Madison Brandt (she/her)

    AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide, AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • Hann Smiley (they/them)

    AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • Shelma Jun (she/her)

    AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide, AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • LB Gunter (they/them)

    Assistant Instructor

  • Jenny Legaspi (she/they)

    AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • Sarah Yun (she/her)

    AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • Sean Taft-Morales

    AMGA Certified Single Pitch Provider, AMGA Certified Rock Instructor, AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

  • Sunni Ford (they/them)

    Assistant Instructor

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