Description

Cody Crux: After School Climbing Program for Park County Youth

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Overview:

The Cody Crux is an after school youth climbing program serving kids grades 4-12 in Park County, Wyoming.  The mission of the Cody Crux is to help youth in Park County to develop their skills in a variety of climbing disciplines and explore world class climbing areas in northwest Wyoming.  Weekday after school sessions take place at the Crux climbing facility at Club Dauntless in Cody and optional additional weekend sessions take place at outdoor climbing areas in Shoshone Canyon.  

The Cody Crux is unique among after school youth climbing programs in that it involves both indoor and outdoor climbing.  Indoor climbing in a gym setting is very useful for skill development, gaining fitness, and challenging oneself athletically.  Additionally, outdoor climbing provides kids the opportunity to explore the vertical wilderness in a fun and meaningful way.  Park County is home to some of the best climbing in the country and the program provides a way for local youth to explore this amazing resource in a supervised manner.

Cody Crux programs are coordinated by Wyoming Mountain Guides and its staff of professional climbing guides.  Our guides provide professional instruction and mentorship to youth at a fraction of the cost of our regular guided climbing programs.  Thanks to Club Dauntless, we have a state-of-the-art bouldering facility for kids to train indoors.  All outdoor climbing programs occur in locations for which Wyoming Mountain Guides is permitted to guide by the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service.  

Program Curriculum: 

The Cody Crux curriculum prioritizes 1) safety, 2) providing a supportive environment for kids to develop their skills, and 3) encouraging kids to challenge themselves in ways that foster personal growth.

Our indoor climbing curriculum focuses on the following topics:

• Bouldering safety
• Responsible use of training equipment (especially the spray wall and Kilter Board)
• Warming up for climbing
• Climbing technique drills
• Bouldering workouts
• Core strength development
• Climbing games
• Setting and working toward indoor climbing goals

Our outdoor climbing curriculum focuses on the following topics:

• Outdoor climbing equipment
• Outdoor bouldering safety
• Toprope climbing safety systems
• Outdoor climbing techniques
• Partnership
• Environmental stewardship
• Setting and working toward outdoor climbing goals

While Crux climbers learn fundamental skills in a group setting, which helps kids connect with each other, our instructors also scaffold their instruction to challenge everyone regardless of ability or experience level.  All participants set individual goals for their own climbing development and they are paired with partners of comparable skill level to help in the learning process.  The process of setting and working toward specific, individualized climbing goals is great not only for kids becoming better climbers, but it also helps them learn how to push their limits in other areas of life.

Program options:

We offer programs for three age groups: upper elementary (grades 4-5), middle school (grades 6-8), and high school (grades 9-12).  We also offer two levels of membership for all participants: 1) weekday indoor climbing only and 2) weekday indoor + weekend outdoor climbing sessions.   There is a significant price difference between these membership options because of the expense of labor for additional guides on the weekends.  For indoor programs at Club Dauntless, upper elementary sessions take place once a week while middle and high school programs take place twice per week.  Outdoor programs take place every other Sunday for a total of four outdoor climbing sessions during the term.  

Upper elementary:  Grades 4-5

• Indoor-only rate: $125/7 week session
• Indoor + outdoor rate: $275/7 week session
• Weekly indoor schedule: Tuesdays 4-5pm @ Club Dauntless in Cody
• Outdoor schedule: Every other Sunday 1pm-5pm in Shoshone Canyon

Middle school: Grades 6-8

• Indoor-only rate: $250/7 week session
• Indoor + outdoor rate: $400/7 week session
• Weekly indoor schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays 5-6pm @ Club Dauntless in Cody
• Outdoor schedule: Every other Sunday 1pm-5pm in Shoshone Canyon

High school: Grades 9-12

• Indoor-only rate: $250/7 week session
• Indoor + outdoor rate: $400/7 week session
• Weekly indoor schedule: Tuesdays 6-7pm @ Club Dauntless in Cody
• Outdoor schedule: Every other Sunday 1pm-5pm in Shoshone Canyon

GYM MEMBERSHIPS MUST BE BOUGHT SEPARATELY: When considering overall cost, please note that these rates do not include monthly membership to Club Dauntless, which is to be paid directly to the gym.

Spring 2026 Program Schedule

Our inaugural session will start with an orientation meeting at Club Dauntless on April 6th at 6pm.

Indoor programs will start Tuesday April 7 and end Thursday May 21.  Upper elementary climbers meet at Club Dauntless every Tuesday 4-5pm.  Middle school climbers meet at Club Dauntless every Tuesday and Thursday 5-6pm.  High school climbers meet at Club Dauntless every Tuesday and Thursday 6-7pm.

Outdoor programs will take place April 12 & 26 and May 10 & 24.  In case of bad weather, we will try to make up outdoor programs on alternate Sundays or offer a field trip option to Steepworld Climbing Gym in Billings, MT.

Equipment

All technical climbing equipment is provided by Wyoming Mountain Guides at no additional cost.  That said, we do recommend purchasing climbing shoes for your child eventually if they are passionate about the sport because the performance of climbing shoes depend a great deal on an individual’s foot shape.  We do not provide standard hiking equipment or food for outdoor programs.

Transportation

We do not provide transportation to the gym or outdoor climbing areas, so we encourage members to coordinate with each other and carpool if possible.  We understand this may be a limiting factor, but luckily Shoshone Canyon is a very short commute compared to most climbing areas in the country.

Registration and payment

We require payment in full to finalize your child’s registration.  This payment includes a $100 non-refundable deposit and the remaining balance is non-refundable in case of last minute cancellation within two weeks of the start of the program.

Questions

Have any questions about Cody Crux programming?  Please send us an email with your name, phone number, and any questions you might have.