Reviews | The Climbing Life Guides

The Climbing Life Guides Reviews

TripAdvisor | Yelp

 

Rock climbing in Joshua Tree is a unique experience. But don't take our word for it, discover the reviews of many other experienced or novice climbers who have joined us in this unique adventure.

TripAdvisor reviews.

"Coolest Way to Experience Joshua Tree National Park. Doing a National Parks tour and decided to experience Joshua Tree via rock climbing. We met with our guide Nelson at 6am to beat the heat and it was well-worth the early rise. Nelson tailored a trip to our needs as novice climbers with some previous climbing experience. He took us out to an amazing multi-pitch climb that took a little over four hours from end to end. As unique as Joshua Tree is, nothing else we saw that day compared to our climbing experience with Nelson. I would highly recommend the Climbing Life Guides to anyone who’s going to be in the area. Nelson will do an amazing job of building a trip to meet your specific climbing goals!"

dalejadamson - Miami, Florida | Full review.


"Outstanding and attentive guide. Nelson is a full AMGA guide and is very attentive to safety and education. He also really loves to climb and share his passion for climbing. Great experience!"

Janie H | Full review.


"It is not easy to send your 15 year old climbing with a stranger... Nelson did a fantastic job from start to finish. He was very easy to get a hold of by phone, answered all my questions. Was very responsive and prompt with all e-mails. All of his gear was located in his home office which made it easy as we were traveling light and did not bring any of her gear. He was on time and ready to go. My daughter had an amazing time, climbing 10 routes and ending with a cave crawl. They arrived at our meeting spot promptly at the end of the day. Happy daughter, happy Mom, hopefully happy Nelson as well. Also, he was kind enough to take some pictures and send them to us via e-mail which we really appreciated, the photos are just amazing. Send your teens out with him...he'll take care of them."

527miir - Portland, Oregon | Full review.


"Excellent and highly recommended. Nelson Day is fun, experienced, safe, professional and awesome! My daughter, who is very experienced, and I, who have no experience, both had a great time. Highly recommended. We will definitely work with Nelson again."

hnh134 - San Francisco, California | Full review.


"Must do in Joshua Tree. Joshua Tree is a Rock Climbing Haven ... Perfect place for all levels. The Climbing Guides are simply the best. Nelson and his team was super encouraging and kept us safe and laughing. We were challenged and had the best day with them. I highly recommend."

Lisa M | Full review.


"Awesome, Reliable and Safe Guides in Joshua Tree. We have worked with The Climbing Life Guides for 3 years in a row because they are so awesome! Nelson is really patient, thorough and clearly knows his stuff! This year, the weather was cloudy and rain was in the forecast so The Climbing Life Guides brought an easy-up tent for our participants to sit under while they waited for their turn to climb which obviously was so thoughtful and nice! I would definitely recommend them if you're looking to climb in Joshua tree!"

brookebarry2018 - Denver, Colorado | Full review.

Yelp reviews

"Where do I begin ? This was by far the most spontaneous thing I have done lately & boy was it a good one! My husband & I totally enjoyed this experience! We booked a 6 hour tour our guide was super big on safety and skill level . We learned a lot and got a great workout! Highly recommend for anyone looking to push the envelope and get outdoors and experience the beauty around us."

Jamilet Z. - Jurupa Valley, CA | Full review.


"We are experienced indoor climbers but haven't been outside all that much, but once in Joshua tree we had to go. We had a fantastic experience climbing with Nelson. Super knowledgeable, careful, and an amazing teacher. I can only highly recommend it!"

Richard T. - New York, NY | Full review.


"Stephen is a highly knowledgeable guide (with a good sense of humor) who provided great insight into leading trad and gear placement. I have made the move to SoCal from the Midwest and need hands on technical training. Stephen set up a mock lead and analyzed gear placement. I look forward to many more lessons and fun days at Joshua Tree with The Climbing Life."

David P. - La Cañada Flintridge, CA | Full review.


"It was my first trip to Joshua Tree and a friend suggested I do rock climbing there. Turns out Joshua Tree Park is the perfect place to do rock climbing, so I highly recommend doing rock climbing on your next trip to JT. The Climbing Life Guides and Nelson were very accommodating and friendly. Nelson helped me not only to get down the basics , but also coached me through some challenging climbs which I never imagined could be climbed and which made me want to take up climbing on regular basis. I suggest doing rock climbing with Climbing Guides on your next trip to JT Park."

Max N. - Toronto, Canada | Full review.


"This company offers instruction by guides who are nationally certified by a recognized certification organization. That is comforting when your safety and expertise are in the hands of a professional.
Not arrogant or unfriendly, these guys make an effort to meet you where you are on the formation. They are lively and full of empathy, knowledge and humor. You can count on it!"

Jean D. - Hinsdale, IL | Full review.


"My 11-year old son and I did a 4-hour session with Nelson. This was the highlight of our weekend in Joshua Tree! Neither of us had any climbing experience, so we were compete newbies. We meet Nelson at his home/The Climbing Life Guides main office, and he equipped us with all the necessary gear.
He has plenty of kid-sized equipment all the way through adult sizes. He was careful to safety check all of our equipment, and give us enough information so we could double-check out our equipment on our own.
It was about a 30-minute drive from the office to get in to the park (including getting through the pay station entrance) and to the boulder we were going to climb, though I understand that sometimes the line is longer to get in, so this could impact the amount of time you have to climb. But his office is very close to the West park entrance, so any delay is just the unavoidable delay associated with getting into the park.
Nelson clearly knows the park well, and took us to an excellent beginner spot that offered 3 relatively easy climbs and at least one more challenging one. Being a novice and scared of heights, I appreciated Nelson's careful instruction around safety inspections, and felt secure that we were in good and capable hands throughout.
We did two "easy​" climbs (not sure my sore muscles agree with that easy categorization!), and Nelson instructed us on different climbing techniques, demonstrated them, and offered encouraging coaching while we were climbing. Especially with my 11-year old son, Nelson was particularly encouraging, and my son was engaged the whole time.
We then did a more challenging climb, which was pretty tough, but gave a nice picture of the challenges of more real rock climbing.
After the challenging climb, we were pretty tired, so Nelson set up a rappel for us - backing down the side of the boulder from the top was scary, but fun, and again, Nelson made us confident that we were safe. And we ended with an easier climb that made us feel successful.
Nelson is a total pro, obviously knowledgeable, encouraging to the novice, and skilled enough for probably the most technical climbers, too. Definitely check him out!"

Nathan B. - Monrovia, CA | Full review.

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