Guided Rock Climbing in Garden of the Gods: Everything You Need to Know
Interested in rock climbing at Garden of the Gods? Here is everything you need to know from our experience with the Front Range Climbing Company. I hope this helps you plan your own climbing adventure!
Trip Details:
Booked with Front Range Climbing Company
The total cost of a full day (6 hours) guided climbing trip for two people was $421.00. The day started at 9:00am and ended at 3:00pm. I definitely think a full day trip was necessary to get the most out of the experience as opposed to a half day.
The guide will provide all the gear you need, although we brought our own shoes, harness, and helmet since we feel comfortable in our own gear.
What I loved the most about this trip was that the guide lets you decide what you want your climbing experience to look like. My partner and I are already experienced indoor climbers, so we were hoping the guide would teach us the need to knows about outdoor climbing and then practice them, which is exactly how our trip played out.
The guide will call you the day before to discuss what you want to get out of the experience. Have an idea in mind of what you want your day to look like so they can cater the day to your specific criteria.
Depending on your skill level, your climbing adventure may look completely different! The guides will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you might have, so don’t hesitate to call them before booking your trip if you have any questions.
My Experience:
I was very pleased with our experience since it was everything we hoped it would be. Obviously there isn’t enough time in the day to learn EVERYTHING about outdoor climbing , but my partner and I left more informed than when we arrived. Essentially, our day was split into two sessions, with a learning and practicing session in the morning and a climbing session in the afternoon.
During the first half of the day, our guide taught us how to set up anchors and clean a route, which is exactly what we were hoping to learn. We spent a good chunk of time practicing in mock scenarios.
Once we felt comfortable with cleaning a route, we concluded the morning learning session and began climbing and applying what we learned in the afternoon.
The first climb my partner and I did was a 5.8 route on the twin spires. The climb wasn’t that challenging physically, but climbing outdoors, in addition to applying techniques I hadn’t used before, added a new level of intensity. It took longer than I usually would climb a route just to make sure I was properly applying what I had learned.
Our guide did all the lead climbing, since my partner and I are not experienced in lead climbing. I did however learn how to lead belay someone, which I hadn’t done before. We each ran that route once before moving on to the last climb.
The last climb was an easy, fun climb with excellent views, and included repelling down. It was one of the tallest rock formations in the park, so we had amazing views of Garden of the Gods and the Rocky Mountains in the background.
Climbing Trip Review:
Our guide was great - very knowledgeable and super easy to communicate with. I never felt uncomfortable asking questions. He pretty much let us decide what we wanted out of the experience and was flexible.
Garden of the Gods is an incredible place to climb with excellent views and unique rockface. The only downside is that it’s quite touristy, so it can get busy. Be sure to leave extra time to find parking. Also, expect crowds of people to gather around and watch you climb.
We got super lucky with the weather, since the weather in Colorado in early May can be a hit or a miss. It was cloudy and cool in the morning, but the sun came out in the afternoon reaching about 60 degrees. Although it was very windy, so bring some sort of windbreaker or jacket with you just in case.
We didn’t have enough time to have a proper lunch break, so I’d advise bringing snacks that are easy to eat, like Cliff Bars. We packed sandwiches, but never got to them because there was so much we wanted to do within 6 hours.
Overall, I had an awesome climbing experience with the Front Range Climbing Company in Garden of the Gods and would recommend them to anyone looking to climb in the Colorado Springs area. Check out their website to learn more!
