Rock Climbers Train to Go Up in the World

Few sports test courage, strength and finesse as completely as rock climbing. It is a difficult and ultimately solitary activity that combines the rigors of dance, weightlifting and chess--challenging the mind as much as muscle.

While the sport’s popularity has grown in recent years, the number of Southland organizations able to teach it has decreased because of the difficulty of obtaining liability insurance. Many are banding together under the aegis of the American Mountain Guides Assn. in an effort to certify instructors, make mountain guiding safer and thereby stabilize premiums.

A national certification program will not be in place until 1989, so investigate the qualifications of Southland instructors before signing up. Write for a list of the association’s members and guides from AMGA secretary Katherine Kemble, P.O. Box 699, Leavenworth, Wash. 98826.

Following is a list of 10 places that teach climbing:

Vertical Adventures, 511 S. Catalina Ave., Unit 3, Redondo Beach, Calif. 90277, (213) 540-6517. Bob Gaines and his staff run a full climbing program. After two weekends, Gaines said, a novice should feel comfortable leading a moderately difficult climb. Two-day courses take place every weekend from November through April at Joshua Tree National Monument, and May through October at Tahquitz Rock in Idyllwild. The $112 “rockcraft” seminar covers Basic rock climbing on Saturdays and Intermediate I climbing on Sundays. Two instructors teach five to 10 students. The $135 Intermediate II seminar covers anchor systems and techniques for multipitch climbing on Saturdays and the fundamentals of leading on Sundays. Most students camp free overnight at Joshua Tree. Others stay at a motel in Yucca Valley or Joshua Tree for about $30. The classes are also available individually: $58 for basic rock climbing, $69 for Intermediate II and $75 each for Intermediate III and IV. After the two seminars, Gaines sets up a program for students, telling them what equipment to buy, how to train, where to climb and with whom to climb. Guides also teach by appointment during the week at Stony Point in Chatsworth and Mt. Rubidoux and Big Rock in Riverside. The company has five full-time guides and also offers a four-day alpine seminar at Sawtooth Ridge in the Sierra Nevada and a three-day waterfall ice-climbing seminar in the winter for $289 and rock climbing tours in Great Britain, France and Switzerland.

Sierra Club, Rock Climbing Section, Margo Koss, safety chairman, 4225 Via Arbolada, No. 557, Los Angeles, Calif. 90042, (213) 222-0319, (213) 227-4973. The RCS, a special-interest section of the Sierra Club, was founded in 1934. It conducts an annual rock-climbing course from mid-December through March. Application deadline is Oct. 15. The course consists of one orientation seminar, five to seven practice sessions at Stony Point in Chatsworth and Mt. Rubidoux in Riverside and a bus trip to a major climbing area. After instruction, students are invited to join the RCS on multipitch climbing trips to Idyllwild, Joshua Tree, Yosemite and Tuolumne. There are 40 to 50 people per class, with a 2-to-1 student- to-instructor ratio. Cost is about $85 for everything, including textbooks. “The price is low because all RCS instructors are volunteers--not professionals. We want to introduce people to climbing safety and to recruit people for the club,” Safety Chairman Koss said. “We don’t set any standard on technical abilities for membership, just safety.” To become an RCS member, applicants must pass a test of safety skills and demonstrate their ability on four multipitch climbs. RCS plans a trip about every other weekend throughout the year, and every weekend in the summer, including some to the Palisades and the Minarets in the Sierra. The club also holds meetings at 7:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month at Griffith Park Ranger Auditorium, where there usually is a slide show or a movie about climbing.

Best Mountain Guiding, 24775 Fern Valley Road, Idyllwild, Calif. 92349, (714) 659-4796. Owner Malcolm Best said he decided recently to make all classes the same price and duration to avoid bookkeeping headaches. It is $120 for a full day of basic, intermediate or advanced instruction, $80 for a half day. Courses have no more than three students per instructor, and all are taught on weekends at Joshua Tree from fall through spring and Idyllwild in the summer. Best also teaches private advanced classes in big-wall technique for $120 a day.

Sports Chalet, 920 Foothill Blvd., La Canada, Calif. 91011, (818) 790-2717. Mountain shop manager Eugene Mezereny said the climbing class schedule is not set for the summer, but there will probably be two to three classes a week, for both novice and intermediate climbers. Depending on the availability of permits, classes will be at Joshua Tree or Idyllwild and include no more than six people. Basic instruction, including a two-hour evening class in the shop and a day in the field, is $50. An intermediate weekend course is about $65. The company supplies climbing gear and lunch. Students supply camping gear and transportation.

Adventure 16, 4620 Alvarado Canyon Road, San Diego, Calif. 92120, (619) 283-2374. The chain of retail shops offers three classes out of its main San Diego store. Its $45 basic course is taught twice a month at Stonewall Peak, near Cuyamaca Lake. Intermediate seminars are offered once a month, for $95 a weekend, in Idyllwild. The firm also offers a “bouldering-skills social” once a month to bring together people with some climbing experience. A-16 supplies equipment and refreshments. Instructors for courses at Idyllwild are supplied by Alpine Expeditions of Bishop. Students who want to advance their skills are funneled to Alpine Expeditions’ mountaineering courses.

Alpine Expeditions, P.O. Box 1751, Bishop, Calif. 93514, (619) 873-5617. Alpine Expeditions emphasizes instruction in back-country moun-

taineering, not just rock climbing. In conjunction with Adventure 16, Alpine offers weekend rock- climbing classes in Idyllwild to prepare students to go into the high mountains. “We do this to make it easier for people to learn where they live--then come climb with us here,” co-owner Allan Bard said. After completing the intermediate courses, Bard said, a student can do a weekend peak climb at Bear Creek Spire or Mt. Humphries, near Bishop, for about $75. A five-day, basic mountaineering course takes students from basic climbing through ice climbing and into natural hazards. The $375 cost includes all community gear, food and technical equipment. The course starts at Bishop Creek drainage and goes into the Gilbert-Thompson Cirque near South Lake. The company also offers intermediate and advanced courses in the Mt. Whitney and Palisades areas for about $75 a day. Alpine Expeditions also offers many private, guided tours for groups that want to climb Mt. Whitney or North Palisades. The cost is $80 to $200 a day.

Palisades School of Mountaineering, P.O. Box 694, Bishop, Calif. 93514, (619) 873-5037. The eastern escarpment of the Sierra is said by many to be one of the most remarkable rock formations on Earth: 100 miles long and more than 10,000 feet high. The Palisades region above Big Pine in the Owens Valley, has several glaciers and five peaks higher than 14,000 feet. John Fischer, owner of the climbing school, said 40% of his students come from Southern California, 20% come from Northern California and some come from overseas. The four-day basic mountaineering course, including instruction from fundamentals to route finding, usually has four students per instructor and costs $395. The price includes meals, camping equipment, technical equipment and permits. The $455 intermediate course has three students per instructor and emphasizes multipitch climbs, ice climbing and glacier travel. It culminates in a climb of one of the region’s 14,000-foot summits. The $495 advanced class has two students per instructor and is tailored to the needs of aspiring expert climbers. It emphasizes high-angle technical climbing and expeditionary climbing with a view toward overseas climbs on big walls. Four to six people a year take the three courses consecutively in the Complete Alpinist Series, Fischer said. “A lot depends on an individual’s commitment,” he said. Fischer also offers private, guided climbs for $125 to $315 a day. In spring and fall, he also offers basic rock-climbing instruction on the Buttermilk outside Bishop on any two consecutive days for $95 a day for a maximum of four students. Palisades also conducts up to eight overseas expeditions a year.

Yosemite Mountaineering School, Yosemite National Park, Calif. 95389, (209) 372-1335 from June to August in Tuolumne Meadows; (209) 372-1244 fall through spring. Courses on basic rock climbing are $30 a day, $35 for Intermediate I and $40 for Intermediate II, which is a prerequisite for guided climbs. Yosemite also offers several seminars. The $185 alpencraft, or high-mountain work course, includes five days of basic to advanced climbing instruction, plus a guided climb. Students must provide their own ice axes, shoes and camping gear. A $180 snow and ice seminar for two people includes an ascent of a long ice gully. The $270 alpine climbing seminar includes three days of alpine climbing in the North Peak-Mt. Conness area. Dinner, breakfast and camping equipment are provided. A $240, five-day course on advanced free climbing includes three days of multipitch climbs.

Sports Country, 222 North G St., San Bernardino, Calif. 92401, (714) 825-2973; branch facility at 6422 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, Calif. 92506, (714) 683-2200. These mountain shops offer one-day basic training classes once a month for $25 a day, intermediate and advanced classes for $35 a day each. It supplies all equipment, including shoes, according to manager Mike Orland. Two instructors handle 20 to 25 students in the all-day courses at Running Springs and Idyllwild.

Wilderness Institute, 22900 Ventura Blvd., Suite L-10, Woodland Hills, Calif. 91364, (818) 887-7831. According to a spokeswoman, this private, nonprofit organization is dedicated to “outdoor adventures and personal growth” for all ages and all physical ability levels. Proceeds from open programs go toward programs for the disabled. Basic rock climbing is taught once a month from May through August for $39 at Stony Point east of Topanga Canyon Blvd., south of California 118 in Chatsworth. Intermediate climbing is taught in July and August over a weekend at Idyllwild for $90. There are also rock-climbing workshops on Wednesday evenings once a month in the summer for $17.