Climbing Merit Badge
Thirteen requirements, and three of them add up to eighteen separate turns on a rope: three climbers belayed, three climbs backed up, three rappellers belayed, three rappels backed up, three routes climbed and three rappelled. Twelve of the eighteen need somebody else on the other end of the rope, which is the fact the requirement text never states.
The plan behind this
Count the rope sessions before you start
Requirements 10, 11 and 12 are short to read and long to do. Added up:
| requirement | what it asks | turns |
|---|---|---|
| 10(b) | belay three different climbers on three different routes | 3 |
| 10(c) | serve as backup belayer on three different climbs | 3 |
| 10(d) | belay three different rappellers on three different routes | 3 |
| 10(e) | serve as backup belayer on three different rappels | 3 |
| 11(b) | climb at least three different routes | 3 |
| 12(c) | rappel three different rock faces or routes | 3 |
Eighteen turns on a rope. And the twelve in requirement 10 all need somebody else to be climbing or rappelling while you hold the rope: three different climbers and three different rappellers, named as different people.
That is a badge earned in a group, on a supervised site, across several sessions. Book the sessions first and fit requirements 1 to 9 around them.
Requirement 4 is about your site, not about climbing
Two of its four parts only have answers once you know where you are going:
- 4(a): apply the difficulty classifications **to the rock faces or walls where you will demonstrate your climbing skills**.
- 4(c): evaluate the safety of a particular climbing area. Neither can be answered in the abstract, and neither can be answered before the venue is settled. If your climbing is booked at a wall on a fixed date, requirement 4 is waiting on that booking.
The signals are equipment, not a talk-through
Requirement 11(b) is climbing using verbal signals with a belayer. Requirement 12(c) is rappelling using verbal signals to communicate with a belayer. Both say so in their own text, which makes requirement 5 something you need in working order before you leave the ground rather than something you discuss afterwards.
Requirement 5 also covers boulderers and their spotters, and requirement 4(b) asks you to explain bouldering. Note that nothing on this badge asks you to actually boulder. Both are knowledge requirements.
11(a) and 12(a) are the same sentence
Show the correct way to directly tie a belay rope to your harness appears twice, word for word, once under Climbing and once under Rappelling. That is how it reads on the official page and in the 2025 requirements book, so it is not a slip on this site. Ask your counselor how they want it handled. It is their call whether showing it once covers both, and it is a fair thing to ask before your session rather than during it.
What this page is
The Climbing merit badge, drawn so that the eighteen rope sessions and the people they need are visible before the badge starts. It is not a copy of the requirements: each step is a short label with a link to the official requirements, which are what actually governs and which change from year to year.
Sources for this page
- Climbing Merit Badge Requirements, Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-09-19 · The requirements themselves, and the free official pamphlet linked from them.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.0.3 · The process every merit badge is earned through, which this page does not repeat.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.4.3 · Which version of a changed requirement applies to a Scout who has already started.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 4.0.0.1 · Why the requirements are not in the Guide to Advancement and are expected to change annually.
Last checked against its sources on .