Home What to Bring Medical Form Participant Agreement 2010 Va. And Pa. Camp Climbing Staff Seminars Canoeing Adventures Caving Adventures Hiking and other Adventures Ideas to Ponder Links WILD GUYde Adventures, LLC 1047 Stuart St. Harrisonburg, VA 22802 (540) 433-1637 lester@wildguyde.com

Rock Climbing and Rappelling Adventures “Summits are a place between heaven and earth” (Gaston Rebuffat) “From death in the valleys, O deliver us, good Lord” (Vincent O’Conner) Top-Roping at Hidden Rocks, Virginia: This is the rock climbing trip for the adventurous beginner – you don’t have much experience, but you want a great outdoor day with your family or special friends. Thirty minutes west of Harrisonburg, we’ll park just inside George Washington National Forest, gear up, and hike a scenic 20 minutes through rhododendron and hemlocks and across some mountain streams to a secluded sandstone cliff. There will be pink and white mountain laurel in June, and wild huckleberries in August. You’ll be introduced to harnesses, knots, helmets, and the belay system; then we’ll try some easy warm-up climbs to remind you that the kid inside you still likes to clamber on things. We can go on to some harder climbing that invites you to try new skills and movements. And we’ll finish the day with a rappel – backing over the edge, with nothing between you and the ground below but 60 feet of air and a great view! Closer to Luray or Northern Virginia? We’ll visit Waterfall Mountain in the Massanutten range, or Little Stoney Man on the Blue Ridge for TALL climbing and spectacular Shenandoah Valley panoramas! ($175 for 1-3 people; $45 for each additional) Beginner Climbing At Seneca Rocks, West Virginia: After 90 minutes of curving mountain highway (okay, country two-lane), you’ll gasp to see a spectacular blade of Tuscarora Sandstone, whose summit sits almost 1000 feet above its North Fork Valley floor. Seneca Rocks is a scenic place for the beginner or family to learn the rock climbing basics, top-roping and rappelling to an awesome West Virginia backdrop. Easy routes guarantee early success, but more challenging climbs also wait to test your skills. Seneca Rocks is an awesome place to climb, just beyond the sign that reads: “Here ends the realm of the hiker!” ($200 for 1-3 people; $45 for each additional) Multi-Pitch at Seneca Rocks, WV: A little more experienced in climbing? Maybe you tried it at camp or the local rock gym? Ready for the next step? Join me for the multi-pitch experience, seconding the route as we lead-climb to the top of the fabled South Summit! This is the only technical summit in the U.S. east of the Mississippi. Seneca has routes at all ranges of difficulty, from starters like Old Ladies Route (5.2) to mid-range classics (West Pole 5.7) to old school hardman routes like Crack of Dawn and Madmen Only (5.10). Every one of them will give you a new appreciation for the expression “high and vertical.” Register your accomplishment and ruminations in the summit journal, wave to tourists way down in the valley, and then head down to terra firma via the three-pitch rappel. Finish the day with a splash in the North Fork River swimming hole at “Gravel Beach”; then pick up a cold drink and a West Virginia memento at Harpers General Store before sleeping the ride back to Virginia and “the Burg.” (1/2-day: $125 1^st person; $95 each for 2^nd and 3^rd/ Full-day: $200 1^st person; $125 each addl.) Instructional Climbing: This is a tutorial for those who have a little exposure to climbing, and want to gain eventual autonomy. Lots of instruction in current best practice and hands-on practice for you in rigging top anchors, belaying skills and equipment alternatives, movement coaching, and rappel setup and protection. There will be individualized attention and repetitive practice, as well as some exploration of the historical evolution of climbing equipment and protocol. You will finish the day with a lot more confidence in your basic skills. ($150 1^st person; $100 each for 2^nd and 3^rd) Design Your Own Adventure: Numerous other options exist, including hiking and climbing guiding along Virginia’s Blue Ridge, rock climbing and the amazing Via Ferrata at the Nelson Rock Preserve (WV), group orienteering challenges in the National Forest, and flatwater paddling instruction for beginners and children. We can customize to meet the interests of your family, scout troop, or youth group. Call to talk about your needs. (540-433-1637 or Lester@wildguyde.com ). “To those who have struggled with them, the mountains reveal beauties that they will not disclose to those who make no effort. That is the reward the mountains give to effort. And it is because they have so much to give and give it so lavishly to those who will wrestle with them that men love the mountains, and go back to them again and again. The mountains reserve their choice gifts for those who stand upon their summits.” (Sir Francis Younghusband)