You’ll begin your day of rock climbing by meeting your certified guide at a pre-determined rendezvous point. Sometimes this is the trailhead to the cliff while other times it’s a local cafe back in town where you can connect, meet and possibly even carpool (and grab a coffee: an essential piece of the climbing day for many).
This is where we get to know each other and review the details of our adventure together, including goals and timing of the day, while getting you prepared with everything you’ll need for a safe and rewarding day in the mountains.
Once at the cliff we’ll quickly move into the climbing – but not before spending some time on safety. If you’ve never climbed before, this is where we’ll teach you all the basics. While a guiding day is all about the climbing, you can count on learning quite a bit too. From how to properly put on and use your gear, to the knots you’ll need, how to belay, communicate and create a safe climbing environment. If this is all familiar to you, we’ll do just a quick review to make sure we’re all on the same page. While we haven’t started climbing yet, this period of time is very engaging, especially for those that have never done it, and will get you excited for what’s to come.
Of course, the bulk of the day is spent climbing! Be it a full day of single pitch climbing at a local crag, a day spent tackling lengthy adventure routes in the backcountry, or anything in-between, we’ll have a great day on the rock together.
We’re here to support your goals for the day. We’ll lead you up routes that are appropriate to your level, coach you on movement skills if you’d like, even give you pointers on how to stay mentally cool when things get tough. All against the backdrop of the Northeast, our beautiful cliffs, dense forests and stunning mountains.
Our guides are prepared to coach and instruct where there’s interest, and can even tell you about the history of the climbs in the area.
While there’s typically no designated lunch time, you should bring a lunch! We encourage you to eat and drink as necessary, taking it as easy or as intense as you like. That could be during a natural break point, between climbs, or even high up on the side of a cliff!
We usually aim to be back at our starting point by about 5pm unless otherwise discussed.
Your day will be full of amazing sights, incredible challenges, personal victories, learning experiences and yes, plenty of opportunity for incomparable photographs to share with your friends and family.