Published November 13, 2026 12:20PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
On October 22, hundreds of climbers of all skill levels descended upon Yangshuo, China, for the long-awaited\u00a0 2026 Arc\u2019teryx Climb Academy. Participants say the remarkable thing about the weekend wasn\u2019t just the climbing or even the new skills they learned\u2014it was the magic of the remote, fantastical landscape, and the opportunity to connect with people across cultures and continents.<\/p>\n
The Arc\u2019teryx Climb Academy<\/a> is a roving international climbing school\u2014and one that offers some of the most advanced mountain education in the world. Since 2007, academies have been held in global climbing epicenters like Squamish, Chamonix, and Mammoth Lakes. Some focus on climbing while others offer backcountry or freeride skiing education. Each installment is a complex undertaking, bringing together world-class guides and athletes to pass on their knowledge in a highly efficient, structured format. Dozens of courses\u2014ranging from alpine overnights to big wall workshops to mental resilience clinics\u2014are designed to meet participants where they\u2019re at. At each academy, students can learn skills from scratch, drill fundamentals, or significantly boost their skills, even within just a few days of instruction.<\/p>\n While there are tons of events in the climbing universe, Arc\u2019teryx Climb Academies stand out for just how seamlessly they\u2019re run and how well integrated they are into the local community. Unlike some climbing festivals, which tend to put more emphasis on socialization than education, Arc\u2019teryx has figured out how to nail both without compromising either. All day long, participants of every skill level take hands-on courses on some of the best rock in the world, each one packed with pro-level hacks, technique drills, and actionable tips for continuing your education after the trip ends. Each evening, a five-star lineup of films, speakers, music, and parties makes it impossible to tear yourself away. Every chapter of the event buoys you along to the next. The weekend passes in a flash. And you return home with more phone numbers, more new climbing partners, and more stoke than you could have imagined possible.<\/p>\n In 2023, the series brought this special blend of inspiration and education to the limestone cliffs of Yangshuo, China\u2014and the event was a runaway hit. In 2024, the Academy returned with even more courses crafted specifically for the local community, including rescue and evacuation clinics tailored to China\u2019s uniquely rocky landscapes. The 2026 Academy further expanded the course menu, offering beginner trad clinics, bolting workshops, and masterclasses in big wall climbing. Over four days, hundreds of climbers participated in 37 clinics at more than a dozen crags across the stunning Guangxi region. It was the region\u2019s biggest Arc\u2019teryx Climb Academy yet.<\/p>\n While many of the Academy\u2019s participants came specifically to experience Yangshuo\u2019s world-renowned karst spires, the crags aren\u2019t just a backdrop here; they\u2019re the heart of a thriving and longstanding community of climbers, route developers, and outdoor businesses. Since international climbers first arrived in the late 1980s, the zone has grown to nearly 2,000 routes across 74 crags on world-class limestone.<\/p>\n \u201cYangshuo means a lot to me,\u201d says Peng Zhou, renowned Chinese mountaineer and Arc\u2019teryx athlete. \u201cI completed both my first 5.12 and 5.14 routes here, and it has left me with many wonderful memories.\u201d He loves getting an opportunity to share this place with newcomers; it\u2019s one of the reasons he comes back to teach year after year.<\/p>\n Given Yangshuo\u2019s robust existing climbing scene, the event offers more cultural exchange than top-down discourse. Here, international visitors learn just as much from their Chinese counterparts as locals learn from the global pros.<\/p>\n Take it from Arc\u2019teryx athlete Quentin Roberts. This year, he taught his third Yangshuo Big Wall Climbing clinic in a row. Each time, he\u2019s astonished by how much the climbing community has grown since his last visit. \u201cEvery year I feel like I have had to level up to meet the growing ambitions and skills of the participants,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to see how eager everyone is.\u201d<\/p>\n But for Roberts, the best part about climbing in China is the profound and indescribable warmth of the Yangshuo community.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always have a big, Chinese-style, round-table dinner with all the instructors before the event,\u201d he says. It\u2019s an evening filled with laughter between old friends. Jokes and stories fly across the table like sparks, and Roberts leaves feeling filled up at a soul level. \u201cMany of the people in that room are at the forefront of climbing in China. It\u2019s special to feel that sense of family, and to see the passion everyone has for what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s that sense of connection that makes the Yangshuo event\u2014and the other installments of the Arc\u2019teryx Climb Academy\u2014so invaluable.<\/p>\n \u201cComing to China over the years and connecting with people through climbing has really reinforced something I believe deeply: we are all more similar than we are different,\u201d says Roberts. \u201cClimbing has an incredible ability to bring people together. Sharing a rope, trusting one another, sharing our experiences\u2014those connections transcend language and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Arc\u2019teryx\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Progressing-Your-Trad-Climbing-1-scaled.jpg?width=3840&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\"\/)
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