Rock climbing continues to grow in popularity, particularly indoor climbing gyms. Indoor climbing makes sense for people climbing for the first time. It’s approachable and has low startup costs (you can even just rent gear). But eventually, most dedicated climbers want to try the real thing: climbing outside. If you’ve made friends at the gym, you might have a crew of experienced climbers who can lead a trip outside. If not, it’s always a good idea to seek professional instruction when venturing outside. Whether you’re looking for a day climbing outside or want to learn technical skills, a professional rock climbing guide can provide a safe, fun, and educational experience. To make sure you have the best experience, you need to find the best rock climbing guide. Follow our five easy tips to find the best rock climbing guide!
1. Look for an AMGA-Accredited Guiding Business
The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) is the most widely respected certification organization in the outdoor industry. They provide education, training, and certifications for rock climbing, skiing, and alpine mountaineering. Plus they certify whole guiding businesses as well. For a guiding company to become an AMGA-accredited business means its owners are committed to the highest standard of professionalism and safety. By hiring AMGA-certified businesses—or taking one of their courses—you can rest assured you’re getting the most up-to-date technical knowledge as well as hiring the very best professional rock climbing guides. Here’s the current list of AMGA-accredited guiding businesses.
RELATED: Most epic outdoor adventures festivals in 2021
2. Look for an AMGA-Certified Rock Climbing Guide
For a business to become AMGA-accredited takes a fair amount of time and money, which some smaller companies might not be able to afford. The most important thing is that your guide him/herself is AMGA-Certified. A certified guide has trained and passed exams appropriate for the terrain and situations in which they work. Hiring an AMGA guide gives you the assurance that they practice the highest safety standards, and have excellent teaching ability to maximize your experience. So if there’s not an AMGA accredited business near you, you can usually find an AMGA certified rock climbing guide by looking at the AMGA’s full list here. Often you can hire a professional rock climbing guide by contacting them directly. Or they might refer you to a guiding company they work through.
Check out: 6 Reasons why climbers make better lovers
3. Look at online reviews (with a grain of salt)
Duh, right? Looking at online reviews is probably what you’d naturally do. But there are a few things to look out for in online reviews that might not be totally obvious. First, see if people refer to their climbing guides by name in their reviews. If it’s a positive review with a guide’s name, that’s always a good thing. It usually means the guide connected with their clients on a personal level and in a meaningful way. Second, distinguish between the front office and the guides themselves. Many companies hire out to independent contractors, so while the business might get poor reviews, the guides could still be top-notch (or vice versa). While not ideal, some businesses might struggle on the front end, but the actual class or guide might be great. Plus, you could always try to book the guide directly.
Read more: How to choose a rock climbing shoe
Finally, as with any review, try and figure out whether people’s experience reflects poorly on the guide, or just their own expectations. As a climbing guide, I find some client’s experiences are poor because of improperly set expectations—whether by the company or the client. For example, a client might not realize climbing outside means hiking, cold or hot weather, bugs, and just (sometimes) general discomfort. This could be a failure of the guiding company to properly set these expectations or just the client not thinking it through. Either way, a poor review of this nature is usually easy to spot.
4. Check out their social media
While guiding companies and guides may not have been the very first on the social media bandwagon, by now most have accepted that it’s important. So check out the guiding company’s Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. This should help you get a better idea of the actual experience of previous clients, as well as what your class or day might look like. Go a step further and find the social media accounts of your guide. Many professional rock climbing guides make sure to keep a professional social media presence that showcases their work. You can get to know their style and personality a bit, and even keep in touch after your course!
Check out: Best approach shoes 2021
5. Look into price and class size
The old adage holds true here: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Surprised at how inexpensive it is to hire a professional rock climbing guide or take a climbing course? Possible red flag. Usually that means the class size is large, the guides are underpaid or inexperienced, or they’re cutting corners somewhere. How much you should expect to pay depends on the length, topics being covered, and where you’re climbing. Shop around to get an idea of how much is normal. Next look at the class sizes—a ratio of 5:1 clients to guides is the maximum you should expect. Anything higher than this and you aren’t getting the attention and climb time that you should expect.
RELATED: Check out our Destination Guides for everything you need to know for your next climbing trip
Conclusion
When you want to try climbing outside, there’s no better way than with a professional rock climbing guide. And finding a great guiding company or guide isn’t too hard these days, especially near any good climbing area. Follow our easy five tips for finding the best professional rock climbing guide and ensure that you have a great experience.
