Career Profile
Job Summary:
To set routes or boulder problems at an indoor climbing or bouldering wall. You may work independently or as part of a route setting team. As a full-time freelance route setter you will set routes all day on every day that you are contracted. You will often work around the country at different indoor centres to re-set their roped and unroped climbing routes. As a centre-based route setter you may work one day a week or less, while doing other work, as part of a portfolio career.
Job Tasks:
You will be involved in:
- Stripping holds from climbing walls
- Creating routes from climbing holds on a climbing or bouldering wall
- choosing suitable holds and bolts
- Setting up rope systems for safety
- Carrying equipment to and from routes
- Storing and caring for equipment and holds
- Cleaning holds
- Selecting holds for new routes
- Staying safe at height
The number of routes or problems you would set in a day varies depending on a number of factors including the amount of volumes used, the layout of the building, the pinning policy of the wall, the length of routes, the complexity of the setting. Different walls will have slightly different set ups and operation procedures.
The professional says: “A lot of route setting is manual labour. It can be creative and the creative side of it is fun and I really enjoy it. Working in a team with other setters is rewarding and a good laugh but there is no avoiding the heavy lifting and hard work. The increase in use of volumes in boulder setting and pinning every hold means that you may put 1000 screws in the wall as part of a day’s work.”
Experience required:
Climbing Experience: this will give you an understanding of how people move on the wall, so you set well-considered and appropriate problems. Usually you would expect to climb harder than the routes you set, so if you climb at 7b, you might set up to 7a or if you boulder a V8, you might set up to V6. This is because you need to make reliable judgments about the difficulty of problems to grade them appropriately.
The professional says: “You don’t have to be a top level climber to set good routes.”
Skills & requirements for the Job:
- Competence working with a drill/impact driver
- Comfortable working at height, both on a ladder and on ropes
- Creativity: The creative side of route setting can take practice and is something that you often perfect on the job
- Spatial awareness: You need this skill to be able to set routes which are interesting & challenging
- Drivers licence and car
Personal attributes
- Stamina: the job is physically demanding, so you need to be fit
- Able to lift own body weight: lifting your own body weight will be important, as you need to be able to repeatedly jumar to the top of the wall
- Good level of fitness: you may be expected to haul buckets full of climbing holds up stairs and up a wall, which could be 7metres – 30metres
Working Hours:
Typically your job would start between 8:00am and 9:00am. Freelancers work all over the country so your working day could start at 4:30am depending on travel time. A day may end at 2pm or 6pm depending on the job. If you work for a wall and set for them as part of your job, you will set routes when the centre ask you to, during your working hours, which are usually between 9am – 10pm.
The professional says: “I tend to not regularly travel more than 120miles from home, some setters travel a lot more. If I am two or more days in one place then I will stay there, either sleeping in my car or with friends. No wall will provide accommodation, so route setters are expected to have vans and sleep in them or to organise their own accommodation.”
Income:
Rates vary from £50 to £250 per day depending on level of experience and the type of route-setting job. Jobs at the top end of the scale are not common. Full time route setters will be self employed, which means no sick pay or holiday pay and submitting your own tax return. You usually have to provide your own equipment and tools. Typically, equipment can add up to £2000 or more to your costs. More about self-employment below.
The professionals say:
Full time highly-experienced route setter: “I charge between £160 and £250 a day, though almost everyone pays me £180 minimum now. I will only do £160 for jobs I know really well and can get done quickly.”
Part time route setter, just starting out: “Starter rate – £80 per day, with the potential of up to £150 per day.
Training & Qualifications:
Training is usually built up on a period of climbing experience and starts with in-house training for climbing instructors. The Route Setting Association (RSA) runs route setting courses. To attend a level 2 route setting course you would be expected to comfortably lead climb at grade f6b. There is no formal requirement for you to hold this qualification, although some centres may prefer it. Before committing to a course, speak to your local wall or the RSA.
Find out more:
UKC Article: Top Tips for Route Setters
Information about becoming self-employed by Citizen’s Advice Bureau
Outdoor Careers 