I have climbed throughout the US and world and it does not get any better than Joshua Tree and the Joshua tree Rock Climbing School! Our guide was Steve Gerberding and he was A#1. Steve is obviously an accomplished world class climber, but more importantly an excellent guide and someone you will enjoy spending multiple days with in this amazing National Park.
Our family has intermediate to advanced indoor-heavy climbing experience, but less outdoor. Our private half-day guiding session could only have been better if it had been a full day. Steve provided EXACTLY the experience we were looking for - additional instruction on setting safe anchors, climbing tips and got us to places that we never could have gotten ourselves. JT has great climbing, but is a little hard to reach if you aren't a trad climber (for rope climbing) armed with a guidebook (for ropes or boulders). Go for the full day!
Recently took the 2 day basic climbing course. Have some outdoor experience and was looking for more of an advanced type course. Talked to he owner, mark, and described exactly what I was interested in and he was adamant that this course was the right fit despite the course description being spot on. The first day was cancelled because of the weather, but we were never notified. We traveled 40 minutes from our hotel to be at the park at 8:00 only to find out there was no class. Second issue, the class size was too big. There were 7 people in my group which left time for 2 climbs for some and 3 for a few. We would have gotten more for our money to have hired a private guide. I would only reccommebd this class for for someone with no experience, otherwise you will feel like its mostly review. Scott the instructor was the highlight. He is very safety conscious and patient. He has years of experience which was evident.
For our "family holiday gift," we decided to go rock climbing for the first time during our visit to Joshua Tree. A private class for five was not cheap, but the prices seemed consistent with other schools. I did my research and Joshua Tree Rock Climbing School got good reviews online and was featured in Sunset Magazine. Obviously, a solid reputation matters for this kind of adventure.Making the reservation was easy and it was a pleasure talking with owner Mark, who spent a long time on the phone with me, asking about our family and answering all my questions. I filled out the online form and got confirmation of time and place right away.Arriving for our session, our guide Don was EXACTLY the right match for us. He was fun, knowledgeable, patient, experienced .... just perfect. He brought all the gear, gave us some intro training, and soon enough we were on the side of a wall! For our half-day lesson, we did two climbs and my husband and kids made it to the top anchor of each climb. One of us (*cough*ME*) has a great fear of heights and Don respected the maximum height that I felt comfortable going to. We learned technique, lingo ... my family LOVED it.I would definitely recommend this climbing school. It was a highlight of our trip.
Attended the 2 day intermediate course with Mark and he was exceptional. Learned so much both in climbing techniques and in setting anchors. Would highly recommend.
We seriously splurged on a full guided trip for myself and my husband, but we really enjoyed it a lot, and as a not super conditioned climber I can say that a full day was not too much climbing when you're splitting the rope between two people. Plus our guide took us through the chasm in Hidden Valley which was a great experience an a nice break from straight climbing.
I took the two day course, having had basically no climbing experience but a desire to learn. It was fantastic, I learned a lot and was challenged to do more then I thought I could. Our instructor Scott was awesome - very experienced climber who was patient and encouraged us to climb more. He could read each person and their ability very well, and the depth of his experience and knowledge came through again and again - he is old school in the best way. I would definitely go back .
I can only recommend Joshua Tree Rock Climbing school!After the Intermediate Rock Weekend with Mark Bowling, I am definitely a better climber; not only because I was able to climb many technically different routes but also because of the knowledge I gained (anchoring,, climbing techniques, proper choice of equipment and its use/ application and about safety).Mark is an extremely experienced climber who leaves nothing to chances. He quickly gained the trust of the group. I felt absolutely safe to try new moves and methods and feel confident to use them in the future.Mark is understanding and empathic which enabled him to help the attendees to overcome fears and struggles.If you are new to outdoor climbing, you could not possibly find a better adviser.I will be back to work with Mark on my leading skills!
A friend and I booked a private guide for a full day of climbing. We showed up on the agreed-upon date and time, then waited for an hour before realizing that our guide was not showing up (yeah, we were a little slow. It was early!). We drove around until we got cell phone reception, called the school, and spoke to the owner who, it turned out, had forgotten to schedule a guide for us. He was really nice and apologetic and offered to get somebody out ASAP, but by that point it was clear to us that there was no way we'd get a full day of climbing in, so we agreed to reschedule for the next day. The following day, we met our guide, Robert, and he kind of made up for the previous day's snafu. He was great--funny, knowledgeable, and really good at reading our comfort levels while still pushing our limits enough that we were actually learning and progressing (my friend and I are both new to outdoor climbing). It turned out to be a perfect day, and I'd give the school 5 stars *if* I were basing it solely on that day of climbing. But I'm not. I'm basing it on the entire experience, so I'm docking 2 stars because I don't like getting up early, and it turns out that I especially hate getting up early while on vacation to wait around in a parking lot out of cell phone range for an hour.
I learned to climb here many moons ago, I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn thebasics. instructors are some of the best climbers in the country.