outdoor rock climbing for kids

My kids love climbing and are pretty good at it. Not being a climber myself, I was wondering if anyone knows of good outdoor natural walls we could do. My kids are 7 and 8 and can climb around 5.9
Any info is greatly appreciated.

There are easy access areas in Squamish suitable for kids but you need to know how to set up a top rope and supervise ?

Sugarloaf in Murrin being one of them, easy walk around to set up rope. As far as I know there is nowhere outside that does not require at least the knowledge to set up your own rope. There are however many parents to climb who would probably happily bring your crew along. My little guy is only five months and probably not ready for the real thing yet.

… what exactly are you looking for ?

not sure of exact routes , but I think there are some bluffs at lighthouse park in west van where you can walk safely to the top , set your anchors , belay the kids down , and then they climb up .

smoke bluffs in squamish has routes like that as well .

If your totally green sugarloaf at murine is better than lighthouse park. More knowledge required to get the kids safely down to the base of a lighthouse park climb.

Smoke bluffs actually has a kids wall right in the center near the composting outhouse.

I'm ok to set up ropes. I'd like to expose them to real climbing, not just indoor gym. My oldest loves exposure, heights, walking on the the side of cliffs etc…she does freak me out sometimes. Going with other kids and parents would be great, none of their friends climb.

We'll then murrin park would be good, start with the sugarloaf making sure to set up a rope on orphan, not not as a first it's a fun airy graded 5.8 but much more like a 5.9 or 5.10. Get a copy of squamish select the guide book, another good spot would be lumber land in smoke bluffs .

It's been over a decade since I've been there, but there is a crag near the Calcheak campground that has a bunch of short and easy (5.7-5.9) face climbs.

The biggest challenge for kids (or anyone) making the transition from the gym to outdoor climbing, especially in Squamish, is that dealing with cracks is a whole new ballgame.

At the other end of the spectrum, kids love slabs, and most could easily do the low end routes on the Apron of the Chief, but you'd need two experienced climbers to make the logistics of leading and belaying work.

Came across this in my recent travels in Cuba. Why don't we have something like this in the city?

20150605-DSC01265 by letsridebikes.ca, on Flickr

Oh wait…we have that pesky liability thing.

Would be interested in hearing how you get on and where you end up. My daughters 5 and really keen (climbs anything she can find). We're taking a course together this summer and I guess we will go from there.

My kids love climbing and are pretty good at it. Not being a climber myself, I was wondering if anyone knows of good outdoor natural walls we could do. My kids are 7 and 8 and can climb around 5.9
Any info is greatly appreciated.

Simplest just to buy an up to date guidebook. Murrin, Smoke Bluffs, Chek all have a huge number of separate crags with climbs for any ability, but you never know what will be busy and what will be free. Not a good idea to go up there armed only with internet forum advice and a fixation on doing one specific route because somebody here told you so. At best you might end up waiting in line to climb, at worst you might end up having a major epic because you don't end up on the route you thought you were on.

Guidebooks are searchable by grade and by area - hunt through one until you find an area with lots of routes that are around the grade you are looking for so that there's a better chance of finding something available when you get there.

Some of my favorite areas for beginners in the Smoke Bluffs were Penny Lane, Octopus Garden, Pink Wall and of course Burgers and Fries - took my daughter there when she was 4 or 5 and she had a blast. But all these areas tend to get crazy busy on a dry sunny weekend.

The only thing missing from the guide books when it comes to planning beginner family trips is a rating on the kid friendlyness of the base of the route. Have a look at this crag (neat and cool) the classic Cat crack is a nice easy climb, it was my first trad climb but the base of the route is already up a scramble.
http://www.squamishrockguides.com/neat.htm

The smoke bluffs areas listed are pretty good but crazy busy. The walk around on burgers and fries may or may not feel exposed to you. I think call it a day had a nice walk around. In general the further away from parking the crag is the less busy.

Lumberland has very easy access to the top of a few of the routes and is slabby, the same with sugarloaf in murrin.

I highly recommend forking over for a guide to teach the basics when starting as there is a lot of sketchy stuff that goes on when people wing it.

I have not been here yet but it says access to the top is via a bolted 5.5. So that should wait until you find climbing friends to go with or learn to lead climb.
http://gripped.com/news/new-squamish-crag-is-family-friendly/

oh and climbers in general are not morning people, be at the crag for 8am and you will likely be able to get on the route you want show up at noon and wait in line.

thanks. A guide would be good specially if there's other kids. Can you recommend anyone in or around Squamish? They had around 10 weeks of classes at the Edge in NV. What I like about outdoor walls, is it seems like they actually have to think about where the holds are, not just grab anything. My main goal for them is to get in with a small group of like minded kids. My kids get along with pretty much anyone and any age.

Would be interested in hearing how you get on and where you end up. My daughters 5 and really keen (climbs anything she can find). We're taking a course together this summer and I guess we will go from there.

I find so far the hardest part is to convince their friends to come along. They all seem to be scared of it. I'd really like to find some sort of group of cool kids to hang with every so often.

thanks. A guide would be good specially if there's other kids. Can you recommend anyone in or around Squamish? They had around 10 weeks of classes at the Edge in NV. What I like about outdoor walls, is it seems like they actually have to think about where the holds are, not just grab anything. My main goal for them is to get in with a small group of like minded kids. My kids get along with pretty much anyone and any age.

I have used Crosby Johnston and Paul Mcsorley http://altusmountainguides.com/ both were good, anyone at Squamish Rock Guides or Altus is probably good.

The edge kids program seems great and if your kids end op on the team they do go outside sometimes. Indoor and outdoor both have their advantages in my books, the holds may be more visible inside but typically your climbing much harder so the physical movement aspect is more challenging.

I was thinking the guide would be for the mostly to get you and any parents up to speed on what safe outdoor behaviour is. I haven't climbed outside since almost a year ago when morning sickness shut down my wife/climbing partner. I am currently fairly busy with our own little guy but if you run in to obstacles getting your kids out there climbing let me know, my itch to get outside might be your gain. However its always best to learn from a guide! so that should be the first move.