Free Rock Lessons: Fox Guides at Red River Gorge

I got a call from my friend Adam Beck at Fox Mountain Guides informing me that they were looking for "clients" for an AMGA Climbing Wall Instructors Assessment being hosted at Red River Gorge, KY.  So basically I could get a free day climbing with soon-to-be rock instructors.  "Cool, I'm in."

Karsten Delap was the overseeing AMGA Certified Rock Guide (top of the AMGA food chain) completing the assessment (that's him in the picture and I jacked the photo from Fox's website).

From the "client" perspective, the climbing and instruction was very beneficial for a newbie - proper techniques, belaying, gear review, etc.  I've had the benefit of climbing many times with my friend, Adam, who is also AMGA certified that this served mostly as a refresher course.  Being there also allowed me to observe the assessment part and to learn a little more from a candidate's point of view.  Any type of learning is good, especially if I venture down that path one of these days.

The three and a half hour drive and sleeping in my Jeep (and consequently peeing in my cooler because I couldn't get out of the Rube Goldberg sleeping contraption I rigged up) wasn't worth the one 5.4 20ft. route I climbed all day (I let the other climbers get more rock time since I had just climbed the exact same location two weeks prior).  But it was completely worth it for meeting the people I met and for the couple new pointers I did pick up.  I met an aspiring mountaineer that's been on expeditions in Colorado and planning an Alaska adventure, a kayak guide from TN, a fellow climber from the Red that could always use another climbing partner, and Karsten, the most accomplished climber I have met.  Meeting such people would be worth twice the drive and such benefits make the participation worth it for climbers of many levels.  But the most that have to gain are novices or people interested in trying rock climbing.  There is no better way to get started than to find an opportunity like this.

Fox Mountain Guides hosts quite a few of these AMGA courses as well as other events.  I encourage you to checkout their website periodically or follow them on Facebook for any upcoming opportunities for you to participate.

Oh, and don't keep a permanent girth hitch of your PAS (or anything else) to your belay loop - weakens it up to nearly 40% and will wear down your loop over time.