joshua tree rock climbing school

I had never done any rock climbing before so I signed up for a beginner class with Joshua Tree Rock Climbing. It was a great experience. They supplied all of the equipment. Steve was a terrific instructor. I never felt unsafe. The class went from 8 until 3. The scenery was beautiful.

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.

We did the half day climbing lesson with our 2 teen kids. Everyone loved it. It was challenging, but not scary. It gave us a great excuse to see a beautiful park that we had not previously visited. Mark was a great teacher - very patient. And he was also patient in waiting for us when we were late arriving.

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.

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!

We had a 4 year old and an 8 year old with us and someone I never thought Id see get to the top of a mountain. Mark had pre-set up the ropes and was ready to go when we arrived at Hidden Valley to meet him. The kids tried on rock climbing shoes, belts and helmets. We ended up using their skateboard helmets - which were fine for the job. Mark sent me up first - told me how to get to the top, ring the bell and come back down. Next it was my 8 year old, she got half way up. Then the 4 year old. After a few stops he made it to the top. Mark said he was the youngest he had seen do it. Of course my 8 year old now HAD to do it - and she did. Then Mark took us to another rock area where he had ropes set up and off we went!It seems completely safe. Mark has a ton of experience and knows how to set the ropes. Once he has the harness in place and the belay on - he is able to control the descent of the climber. He had me hold the other rope - at the back of the kids. The kids climbed freely but you knew that you could hold them on the rope at any point if something went wrong.We will be back. We had the kids in pants - which Id recommend. I had shorts on and was fine - but think pants are probably a better idea. We also had lots of sunscreen, water and sunglasses

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!

I almost never write reviews but I was moved to write this one after spending two days with Scott Cole from the Joshua Tree Rock Climbing School. My friend and I flew out from Tennessee for a two-day course. This was to be the "intermediate level" class, but it was tailored perfectly to our different needs. After calling several other area services I was a little worried but after I interviewed Mark Bowling on the phone, I felt pretty good that we'd have a good time and learn a lot. The website was easy to use and we received prompt confirmations of our reservations.Scott is such a fantastic, fascinating guy and what a wonderful instructor! His credibility is built from a lifetime of experience and that made such a difference to us. I've been climbing for about 23 years, with an 8 year hiatus, and sometimes receiving instruction from young guys who might have a certificate or have been climbing hard for 5-6 years is a little difficult for me. They often cannot explain why something is done, just that "that's how it is" or "I learned that in a class last year". This is why I was pretty excited when I interviewed the business owner (Mark) on the phone, and he said the instructors were typically over 50. Since resuming climbing, I've sought out instruction from a variety of people and though some younger folks are good climbers, their instruction does not resonate with me in the same way as learning from Scott. In addition to having credibility, he is incredibly technically sound and had excellent reasons behind all of his "preaching" (his term). Scott was also a ton of fun to be around, professional and punctual. We truly enjoyed meeting and climbing with him, and will be employing much of what we learned very soon. The rock was superb too. I hope to come back another time.

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.

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.

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.

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've been climbing for 20 years and have had my daughters in the gym a few times but this was our first outdoor trip. I was not sure what to expect with a professional guide and three young girls (11, 8 and 6). Our guide, Steve, was PERFECT for the girls. He's been climbing a guiding for decade and teaches rock climbing to the military. I knew enough to see that he was setting up routes thoughtfully (fun for the girls with options for some challenges) and safely (3-4 anchors for each top rope). He was a great guide. Joshua Tree Rock Climbing School was great to work with as well - easy to make a reservation, easy payment, great directions to the meeting spot, plenty of shoes/harnesses to find the right fit. I would recommend JTRCS and Steve to anyone - novice to 5.11 free solo. We had a great time.

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 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 .