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comorg
Jun 8, 2011, 2:13 AM
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I'm looking to take a group of high school aged guys with limited experience climbing out on a 2 day 1 night trip somewhere here in Idaho but am new to the area myself and not sure where I should be looking. easily set up top rope routes would be preferable for my own comfort with this being one of my first trips to lead, but my research hasn't really turned up anything of the sort so any fairly simple sport routes I could make into a top rope climb for the kids would be great too... Thanks for any help you can give and for patience with me being new to all this!
Cody
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j_ung
Jun 8, 2011, 11:57 AM
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Hi Cody,
I can't help with Idaho beta, but I do have some advice. Have you guided before? If not, you should know, it isn't all that easy. A guide's day at a TR site can best be described as detail oriented, and it requires a major shift in your thinking from climbing with rational people to climbing with a bunch of zombies. Somebody on RC.com once described it thus: "Assume your clients are suicidal and bent on taking you with them." So, my advice is... every second of every day, one or more of your clients is doing something ill advised and deadly. Search for it constantly. Find it.
Also, make sure you satisfy whatever permit requirements might exist for the site you visit.
Good luck!
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erclimb
Jun 8, 2011, 12:52 PM
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sorry to rain on your parade, dude, but i suggest you postpone these plans indefinitely until such a time as you are no longer "new to all this"...that phrase is the key ingredient to a disaster
first, your primary responsibility as the "leader" is the safety of these kids...one way to minimize risk is by taking them to an area that you KNOW like your own kitchen--not just where the climbs are but where the potential hazards are (tricky terrain, rockfall, poisonous plants and critters, etc.); you also need to know the climbs so you can avoid sandbags and unsafe belays, etc...whatever advice you get about an area cannot replace actually investigating that area yourself
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notapplicable
Jun 8, 2011, 6:34 PM
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comorg wrote: Where to lead group of beginning climbers? Cody
To their death?
(This post was edited by notapplicable on Jun 8, 2011, 6:35 PM)
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healyje
Jun 8, 2011, 6:42 PM
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I feel compelled to pile on the bandwagon and say just the thread title made me very uncomfortable. I'm sure it all seemed innocent enough and doable to you when you took it on, but as others here are telling you this is just a bad idea all the way around.
In essence, 'beginning climbing', really isn't a 'group' activity, it's a one-on-one deal if you are doing it right.
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kovacs69
Jun 8, 2011, 7:06 PM
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comorg wrote: I'm looking to take a group of high school aged guys with limited experience climbing out on a 2 day 1 night trip somewhere here in Idaho but am new to the area myself and not sure where I should be looking. easily set up top rope routes would be preferable for my own comfort with this being one of my first trips to lead, but my research hasn't really turned up anything of the sort so any fairly simple sport routes I could make into a top rope climb for the kids would be great too... Thanks for any help you can give and for patience with me being new to all this! Cody
I would have to agree with everyone else here.
I got an idea for you though. Since you didn't state where you were located in Idaho I am going to take a shot in the dark. If you are too far from either of these places just find someplace else to do the same thing. There are plenty of areas in Idaho for you to explore.
Go to City of Rocks and camp out. Get there early in the day, set up camp and go for a nice long hike through all the formations. This could take more than most of the day and you will learn the area for the next time you want to take the group out. Then the next day load up all your camping stuff and drive back through Almo to Castle Rock State Park and hike the area. Again this will give you the "Lay of the Land" for your next trip. City of Rocks is a wonderful and beautiful place to camp. Make reservations ahead of time because the park is often full. Don't be surprised if you show up and find someone else in your camp site...squatting is quit common there and I have shared my site with some unfortunate people that didn't make reservations ahead of time.
This will also allow you to see how all the high school guys are going to act when you have them out of their normal element and without as much risk as climbing in a "new to you" area.
My 2 cents.
JB
(This post was edited by kovacs69 on Jun 8, 2011, 7:07 PM)
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comorg
Jun 8, 2011, 9:33 PM
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Well thank you all for your comments and advice. I meant new to all this more referring to using this forum, but your info has been humbling. JB your suggestion is right on the money, thank you.
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