Flash Foxy Education Program
presented by Arc’teryx
Our goal is to provide accessible, standardized learning opportunities for climbers to learn from accredited AMGA-certified instructors, centering the experience of women and genderqueer folks, and creating a program that responds to the unique needs of all marginalized genders. In order to stand by our commitment to making education accessible, all Flash Foxy Education Courses are offered on a sliding scale. Additionally, full scholarships are available for most courses. This program is possible thanks to generous support from our presenting sponsor, Arc’teryx.
At this time, our education courses are only open to participants who identify as women or genderqueer climbers. Select programs may be open to allies and will be specifically noted.
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Provides resources and opportunities for folks in our community to attend and participate and/or teach at our events and education programs.
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What kinds of courses does Flash Foxy Education offer? So many! Check them out via the button below. Note: not all courses currently available.
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Got questions? Maybe we have the answer! If you don’t find the answer here, email us at education@flashfoxy.com.
Upcoming Courses
presented by Arc’teryx
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2/21-2/22: Multi-Pitch 101 (Joshua Tree, CA) with Out in the Wild
2/28: Rescue Skills 101 (Joshua Tree, CA) with Out in the Wild
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Intro to Crack Climbing (Moab, UT) with Smile Mountain Guides
Trad Climbing 101 (Red River Gorge, KY)with Rise Outside
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*Please note schedule is always subject to change. All events are rain or shine. Lodging is not included.
COST Flash Foxy Education courses are offered on a sliding-scale starting at $50.
Full scholarships are available for most courses.
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Thanks to our generous sponsor Arc’teryx, all Flash Foxy Education Courses are offered on a sliding-scale! To ensure our programs are financially accessible, full scholarships are also available for most courses.
It’s up to you how much you pay, but here are some things you can keep in mind when deciding what price is best for you.
The average cost of a 2-day guided course is about $350.
All the tuition payments go right back into this program so that we can run more courses and provided more full scholarships!
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Here’s a loose guideline to help you decide where you might fall on the sliding-scale:
It can be hard to pay rent and cover other basic necessities > Apply for a scholarship!
I can pay for basic necessities, but I do not have extra income for things like a climbing gym membership > Apply for a scholarship!
I can pay for basic necessities and some luxury items like a climbing gym membership > $50-$100
I am able to afford or save up for occasional weekend trips and the costs associated with that (rental car, park fees, owning gear, etc) > $100-$200
I can afford regular weekend trips and the costs associated with that (rental car, park fees, owning gear, etc) > $200-$300
I am financially comfortable and able to help support scholarships for future course participants > $300-$400
*Please also consider that income is not the same as wealth. Income is the amount of money you make. Wealth is passed down from generation to generation and usually takes the form of inheritances, land ownership, and/or earning power. We ask that you take into account not only your income but also your wealth when choosing your price point within our sliding scale.
DEAF AFFINITY: AMGA SPI COURSE
DATES: tbd
LOCATION: tbd
*Includes opportunities for pre-course mentorship and tickets to the Flash Foxy Climbing Festival in Bishop, CA!
We are teaming up with Sonya Wilson and ASL Climbing Network with support from Arc'teryx to offer a FREE AMGA Single Pitch Instructor (SPI) Course for Deaf women + genderqueer climbers in 2026!! ONLY ONE SPACE LEFT!! APPLY NOW!!
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Are capable of comfortably climbing 5.8 outdoors while on a top rope.
Are active climbers with traditional anchor building and traditional lead climbing experience (leader placing pro).
Have traditionally led a minimum of 15 rock climbing routes (any grade).
Single pitch traditional lead climbing with traditional anchor building is preferred. A multi pitch route would meet one of the fifteen requisite route requirements and does not count towards multiple routes.
Have at least 12 months prior outdoor climbing experience.
Have a genuine interest in rock climbing and instructing on single pitch crags.
Are at least 18-years old at the time of the course.
Must be an active member of the AMGA.
Have access to personal climbing gear including a full rack of cams, stoppers, alpine slings, dynamic climbing rope, static climbing rope, belay devices, rappel devices, carabiners, climbing harness, climbing helmet,
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The SPI Course is a 27-hour training course that typically runs as three consecutive nine-hour days or a mix of day classes with evening sessions. This program is the first step in earning one’s SPI certification and completion of the SPI Course is required prior to pursuing the SPI Exam. To ensure ample time for communication the Flash Foxy Deaf Affinity SPI Course will be hosted as a 4-day program.
The SPI Course has a sunset time of two years. After two years, if the SPI Course graduate has not passed an SPI Exam, they will need to retake the SPI Course prior to pursuing the SPI Exam.
There is no minimum time frame between successful completion of the SPI Course and when you can participate in the SPI Exam, as long as the candidate meets the prerequisites for the SPI Exam. Most successful candidates practice their skills for 3-6 months prior to taking the SPI Exam.
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FREE 3-day AMGA SPI Course (typically $450-$700 per person)
Location: tbd
Dates: tbd (will be coordinated with scholarship recipients)
All Deaf women and genderqueer participants!
ASL Interpreters provided
FREE 3-day festival pass to the 2026 Flash Foxy Climbing Festival!
March 13-15, 2026 in Bishop, CA
ASL Interpreters provided
ONE day of skill practice/mentorship with Flash Foxy Managing Director and certified-SPI, Lou Bank.
Mentorship days can be organized in Bishop, CA or Las Vegas, NV before or after SPI Course.
ASL Interpreters NOT provided for 1:1 mentorship. We will use our phones and write on white boards to communicate!
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*This is a 2-day course.
Flash Foxy’s Multi-Pitch 101 course equips climbers with the know-how to climb and descend from routes longer than one rope-length. This course covers essentials like building multi-pitch anchors, taking the roles of leader and follower, rappelling from a multi-pitch route, staying safe and organized during transitions at anchors, and solving basic problems on routes. Our instructors will provide low-risk environments for practice and review the skills you need to continue your practice after the course. We’ll also discuss navigation, what to bring, and how to plan for your adventures. 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 with comfortable but capable shoes!
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Must know how to belay someone lead climbing. Some experience lead climbing (sport or trad) is required. Participants have led a minimum of 5 climbs (sport or trad). Must be able to comfortably top rope 5.9 indoors or 5.6 at the course venue.
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Have a working knowledge of key equipment, including climbing shoes, harnesses, helmets, chalk, climbing rope, slings/cordelette, carabiners, quickdraws and alpine draws, assisted and non-assisted belay/rappel devices, and friction cords.
Practice building common multi-pitch anchors on bolts and with natural features.
Understand techniques to add safety for both a leader and a follower in multi-pitch terrain.
Be proficient in belaying a follower from an anchor at the top of a pitch using a variety of belay devices.
Practice (mock) leading and following a multi-pitch route, including clipping gear, managing the rope, building anchors, securing oneself to anchors, belaying a follower, cleaning gear from a pitch, and communicating as a team.
Practice multi-pitch transitions when alternating leaders and when leading in blocks (same leader on consecutive pitches).
Practice transitions from climbing to rappelling, as well as transitions for multiple rappels in a row.
Be proficient in rappelling using an extended belay device and third hand.
Be knowledgeable about route planning, navigation, and what to bring on multi-pitch outings.
Connect with other climbers interested in multi-pitch climbing.
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Carlin Reynolds (they/them) + Heather Smallpage (they/them)
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*This is a 1-day course.
Flash Foxy’s Rescue Skills 101 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, 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!
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Must know how to belay someone on top rope. Some experience top rope climbing, indoors or outdoors is required.
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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.
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Carlin Reynolds (they/them)
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*This is a 2-day course.
Flash Foxy's Intro to Big Wall course will cover the essential skills for ascending walls that are too hard to climb without aid - that's placing and pulling up on gear, rather than making upward progress with just our hands and feet. We'll go through basics of aid climbing with and without ladders, "jugging" or ascending a fixed rope, big wall anchors, hauling your food and overnight gear in a haul bag. This course will include time for students to practice aid climbing with instructor feedback.
You will have the opportunity to practice jugging and aid climbing techniques; however, 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!
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Must know how to belay someone lead-climbing. Participants have led a minimum of 5 traditional rock climbs. Experience multi-pitch climbing is required. Experience with single-pitch rescue skills including hauling, load transfers, and rope ascension, such as Rescue Skills 101 or SPI Course, is required.
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Practice aid climbing by placing trad gear and using ladders, daisies, and fifi hooks to make upward progress.
Learn how to ascend a fixed line with ascenders/jumars, daisies and ladders.
Be proficient at “lowering out” – following a traversing pitch of climbing on jumars safely and efficiently by lowering yourself on a fixed piece of gear with a gri gri.
Practice hauling with a progress capture device and learn about safety considerations around hauling.
Best practices at setting up big wall anchors and keeping them organized.
Learn about more advanced big wall gear, such as portaledges, hooks, beaks, copperheads, and more.
Be proficient around big wall difficulty rating and jargon.
Connect with other climbers interested in big wall climbing.
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Carlin Reynolds (they/them) + Heather Smallpage (they/them)
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*This is a 2-day course.
This course equips climbers with the fundamental movement techniques for crack climbing from thin to wide sizes. This course covers essentials like, warming up, taping, body positioning, jamming, friction, rock assessment, and route reading. Our instructors will provide low-risk environments for practicing and to review the skills you will need to continue climbing in different cracks. We’ll also discuss the desert environment and how to plan for your adventures with a leave-no-trace mindset.
This is a climbing-intensive course. All of our course time will be spent either climbing or belaying at a single pitch crag. Come prepared to choose your challenge and support others!
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Must know how to belay someone on top rope. Some experience top rope climbing, indoors or outdoors is required.
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Have a working knowledge of crack climbing.
Understand size of cracks, correlation to physical anatomy and sizes for gear.
Practice efficiency with jamming thin to wide cracks.
Improve footwork, body positioning, and energy management.
Learn resting, sequencing and transitions.
Connect with other climbers interested in crack climbing.
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coming soon!
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*This is a 2-day course.
Flash Foxy’s Trad Climbing 101 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. We'll practice lead belay techniques on tube-style and assisted breaking belay devices, and finish up with the basics of building and cleaning anchors on bolts.
You will have the opportunity to (mock) lead traditional climbing routes; however, 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!
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Must know how to belay someone on top rope. 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.
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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, 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, and doing system checks with their belayer.
Practice building and cleaning common single pitch anchors, including via lowering + rappelling.
Be knowledgeable about trad climbing jargon.
Connect with other climbers interested in trad climbing.
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Genevive Walker (she/her) + Cat Runner (he/him)
*Scroll through the calendar to see both upcoming and past programs!
*Wondering what course is right for you? Check out our Guide to Courses!
