Mentorship Program
Mentorship is a two-way relationship to grow valuable skills by being vulnerable, open-minded and committed to learning.
Who can apply to our mentorship program?
Our mentorship propgram serves people of equity-deserving genders including people who identify as agender, nonbinary, transgender men and women, gender nonconforming, genderqueer, other gender minorities, as well as cisgender women.
Don't fit into these categories? Check out our Community Events!
At program intake, we consider other identity-related barriers and strive to make our programming safe and accessible for people who navigate multiple systems of oppression. This includes, but isn’t limited to, racialized and Indigenous individuals, people in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, immigrants, people with disabilities, neurodivergent individuals, and people with financial constraints.
Program Structure
Mentees
A mentee is someone who has a desire to learn and grow their climbing skills, whether that be getting started in the sport or focusing on growing a certain aspect of climbing. A mentee asks questions, engages in problem-solving with the mentor and is open to learning, refining and advancing their climbing skills and knowledge.
Mentors
A mentor provides guidance, shares knowledge and feedback and engages in problem-solving with the mentee. A mentor finds value in ethical and safe practices at the crag but they don’t need to know all the answers or be climbing hard grades. If you are confident in your skills to safely manage anchor and belay systems, explain gear choices, and communicate clearly, then you already have a lot to offer to a mentee! As a mentor, you will likely realize through the process that you have more knowledge and insight to offer than you might think!
Who
What
Skaha Bluffs offers top-rope, sport, trad, multi-pitch sport climbing, and bouldering at all grade levels. The type of climbing will be dependent on the interests of mentees and availability of mentors. There is the possibility of mentor groups engaging in multiple types of climbing as desired. This program is not for multi-pitch trad climbing.
When
Our program runs once a year from May to October. We ask that all participants commit to attending at least 1 outing per month with their mentorship group (environmental factor dependent). In addition, you will be able to attend optional instructional workshops or social climbs organized by Rock On Collective.
Where
Most of the climbing courses and workshops will be happening in tu?ikən (Skaha Bluffs). Please be prepared to travel to Penticton for most organized events. Participants are not restricted to the Skaha Bluffs and for informal meetups with your mentorship group you may choose to go to another climbing area that better suits their needs or the weather.
Our rock climbing program is open to gender-diverse people and women in the Okanagan, running from May to October. The program structure includes climbing outings with your mentorship group, competency-developing workshops and courses, and social climbing events. Through peer-to-peer learning, we are looking to cultivate a space of belonging, respect and community where we engage with each other, the sport, and the land in a reciprocal way.
Program Structure
Mentees
A mentee is someone who has a desire to learn and grow their climbing skills, whether that be getting started in the sport or focusing on growing a certain aspect of climbing. A mentee asks questions, engages in problem-solving with the mentor and is open to learning, refining and advancing their climbing skills and knowledge.
Mentors
A mentor provides guidance, shares knowledge and feedback and engages in problem-solving with the mentee. A mentor finds value in ethical and safe practices at the crag but they don’t need to know all the answers or be climbing hard grades. If you are confident in your skills to safely manage anchor and belay systems, explain gear choices, and communicate clearly, then you already have a lot to offer to a mentee! As a mentor, you will likely realize through the process that you have more knowledge and insight to offer than you might think!
Who
What
Skaha Bluffs offers top-rope, sport, trad, multi-pitch sport climbing, and bouldering at all grade levels. The type of climbing will be dependent on the interests of mentees and availability of mentors. There is the possibility of mentor groups engaging in multiple types of climbing as desired. This program is not for multi-pitch trad climbing.
When
Where
Most of the climbing courses and workshops will be happening in tu?ikən (Skaha Bluffs). Please be prepared to travel to Penticton for most organized events. Participants are not restricted to the Skaha Bluffs and for informal meetups with your mentorship group you may choose to go to another climbing area that better suits their needs or the weather.
Our program runs once a year from May to October. We ask that all participants commit to attending at least 1 outing per month with their mentorship group (environmental factor dependent). In addition, you will be able to attend optional instructional workshops or social climbs organized by Rock On Collective.
Our rock climbing program is open to gender-diverse people and women in the Okanagan, running from May to October. The program structure includes climbing outings with your mentorship group, competency-developing workshops and courses, and social climbing events. Through peer-to-peer learning, we are looking to cultivate a space of belonging, respect and community where we engage with each other, the sport, and the land in a reciprocal way.
Step 1 - Apply
People interested in being a participant apply - either as mentors or mentees.
Step 2 - Matching & Intake
Accepted mentors and mentees get matched into groups based on their experience, skillset and objectives. These groups will be responsible for arranging their own climbing meetups.
Step 3 - Meet & greet
Join our kick-off session in which we get to know each other, create our community agreement, discuss expectations and get the stoke up!
Step 4 - Participate in a summer of growth!
The fun begins! Climbing meet-ups within mentee/mentor groups, climbing workshops or skill clinics with experienced guides and other get-togethers throughout the summer!
How does the program work?
Step 1 - Apply
People interested in being a participant apply - either as mentors or mentees.
Step 2 - Matching & Intake
Accepted mentors and mentees get matched into groups based on their experience, skillset and objectives. These groups will be responsible for arranging their own climbing meetups.
Step 4 - Meet & greet
Join our kick-off session in which we get to know each other, create our community agreement, discuss expectations and get the stoke up!
Step 4 - Participate in a summer of growth!
The fun begins! Climbing meet-ups within mentee/mentor groups, climbing workshops or skill clinics with experienced guides and other get-togethers throughout the summer!
How does the program work?
Contact Us
Rock On Collective Climbing Association
With respect and gratitude, Rock On Collective would like to acknowledge that the land across which we live and climb is the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the syilx and nlaka’pamux Peoples. Furthermore, we recognize tu?ikən (Skaha Bluffs) as a culturally and spiritually significant site for the Okanagan Nation Alliance and commit to our role in respecting and interacting in a reciprocal relationship with tmixʷ (the land and all life forms which interact on it).