Vedauwoo, Wyoming – Intro to Rock Climbing Course

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Learn the Fundamentals of Rock Climbing in Vedauwoo, Wyoming!

Our Intro to Rock Climbing Course in Vedawuoo, Wyoming is a great way to learn the fundamentals of rock climbing and explore the amazing rock climbing opportunities in the Pole Mountain area located between Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyoming.

In this course, our professional guides will teach you the foundations of rock climbing movement, safety systems, and sustainability  in a welcoming and supportive manner.  We believe that rock climbing is a unique, challenging, and rewarding activity that should be inclusive of people from all walks of life.  So our intro courses are available to people of all backgrounds and ability levels!

In addition to teaching you new skills, our guides will help you explore some of the world class rock climbing in Vedauwoo, Wyoming!  With over a thousand climbing routes on wind-worn granite monoliths towering over the high plains of southeast Wyoming, Vedauwoo is a great place to learn to climb and explore this incredibly unique environment!

Why climb in Vedauwoo with us?

We are currently the only Wyoming based guiding service that guides rock climbing in Vedauwoo, Wyoming.  Our rock climbing guides are experienced professionals, talented climbers, and good teachers.  They are also humble, personable, and overall great humans to be around in the mountains.  Our guides are experts at providing safe, supportive, and inclusive climbing experiences for people of all backgrounds and ability levels.  Additionally, our rock climbing guides live and climb in Vedauwoo throughout the year, which is a major advantage because they know the places they guide extremely well.

Locations:

Our Intro to Rock Climbing Courses in Vedauwoo available in several locations in the Pole Mountain Area between Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Dates:

Our Intro to Rock Climbing Courses in Vedauwoo are available upon request June – October depending on guide availability.

Lessons:

Our Intro to Rock Climbing Course includes personalized instruction on the following topics and techniques:

• Gearing up for rock climbing
• Objective hazards and risk management
• Foundations of top-rope climbing safety systems, including knots, belaying, and rappelling
• Fundamental rock climbing movement and techniques
• Leave No Trace and “Beyond Leave No Trace” practices
• Lessons on the area’s geology, ecology, archaeology, and history

These hands-on lessons are accompanied by top-rope climbing on routes of your choice.

Course options and itineraries:

• 1 Day Itinerary

Our 1 day Intro to Rock Climbing Course is a great option if you only have a single day to climb but you want to make the most of it!  Your guide will work with you to select an exciting venue that is appropriate for your group size, suits your goals, and features fun, high quality climbing in a beautiful setting.  This one day course will typically last 7-8 hours but can be customized to fit your schedule.  The following is a sample one day itinerary for Vedauwoo, Wyoming:

• 8am – Meet at Lincoln Memorial on I-80 for gear check and safety orientation.
• 8:15am – Drive to climbing area in Vedauwoo
• 9am – Arrive at climbing area and start hiking to the crag
• 9:30am – Learn tie-in knots as guide sets up top ropes
• 9:45am – Learn safety checks and communication for rock climbing
• 10-11am – Top rope climbing accompanied by footwork and body movement lessons
• 11am-12pm – Top rope climbing accompanied by fundamental top-rope belaying lesson
• 12-12:30pm – Lunch break
• 12:30-2pm – Rappelling lesson
• 2pm – Hike out and debrief
• 2:30pm – Start driving back to Laramie
• 3pm – Arrive back in Laramie

Alternatively, we can start this one day course at 12pm and end at 7pm.

• 2 Day Itinerary

Our 2 day Intro to Rock Climbing Course is a great option if you want to push yourself to new heights!   The first day of the course is focused on learning foundational skills (see the sample itinerary above) and the second day is focused on applying those skills and climbing a more challenging objective.  Your guide will work with you to select appropriate venues for this course.  Both days of the course will typically last 7-8 hours but can be customized to fit your schedule.  

Course guides:

Our talented team of Laramie-based climbing guides includes some of the most prolific climbers in the area who are at the forefront of rock climbing in Vedauwoo.  Most importantly our guides are skilled teachers who are patient, kind, and helpful to people from all walks of life as they learn new skills.  Their top priority is making you feel safe and supported as you take on a new challenge.  Feel free to request a particular guide for your course.

Chris “Slim” Murray is a longtime Laramie resident and Vedauwoo trad climbing aficionado.  Slim is one of the most experienced trad climbers in the area, having redpointed up to 5.14 on gear, and he knows Vedauwoo like the back of his hand.  Slim is an amazing guide as he’s able to combine his climbing prowess with his love for teaching, building on his decade of experience teaching special education in Laramie.  As Slim puts it, “I love the act of imparting my knowledge to someone in a way that they are able to understand. I know that sounds weird but it is my favorite thing about teaching someone how to climb. The challenge with teaching for me is being able to be dynamic enough to be able to teach all different sorts of people. Of being able to recognize how the individual best learns and then being able to respond well enough to teach them to the best of my ability.  I especially love teaching crack climbing because of the technique needed. It is not just simply grab a hold and pull hard, it is about how to best and most efficiently fill the space in the crack and then also how best to place protection. Vedauwoo cracks are so nuanced, even in lower grade numbers, that it provides an ideal learning space for an aspiring crack climber and that gets me excited.”

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Zach Lentsch is an avid climber, guide, and owner of Wyoming Mountain Guides. A Bighorn Basin native, Zach has been exploring wild parts of northern Wyoming for as long as he can remember. In addition to running the business and designing Wyoming Mountain Guides’ suite of climbing programs operating across the state, Zach works extensively in the field and guides a wide range of trips ranging from introductory programs to advanced rock, ice, and alpine trips on challenging terrain. Zach is also a passionate developer of new climbing routes with over 100 first ascents across Wyoming, including the longest ice climb in the state (Ultralight Beam WI3+ 1000m) in the Wind River Mountains, the longest sandstone rock climb in the state (The Fall of Satan 5.10 C3 250m) in the Bighorn Mountains, and a high concentration of rock, ice, and mixed climbs in the Cody area up to 5.12, WI6, and M9 in difficulty.  Zach is an experienced teacher and works hard to integrate as much technical and environmental education into the climbing experience as possible while also prioritizing safety and having a great time together.

Booking and payment:

You can view each of our guide’s availability on the calendar above.  To book your course directly via our website, you need to first select a guide and choose from available dates.  Then to finalize your booking we require a 25% deposit, which is non-refundable.  The remainder is to be paid two weeks before the course and is non-refundable if you cancel within two weeks of the program.  If you do cancel last minute on your own accord and want to transfer your credit to another course or trip, we do charge an additional 30% rescheduling fee.  However in case of bad weather or a medical emergency we will waive the rescheduling fee.

Contact Us:

Interested in taking an Intro to Rock Climbing course in Vedauwoo, WY?  Please send us an email with your name, contact info, and a brief description of when and where you’d like to take the course. Feel free to ask us any questions you might have about the course!