Self Rescue & Risk Management Clinics // Joshua Tree National Park

Ever find yourself in a precarious situation 100+ feet off the deck and wondering what to do? Looking to acquire the skill set and knowledge to handle unforeseen circumstances that can arise on the rock when in a multi pitch and/ or alpine environment? Then our Self Rescue and Risk Management Clinics this Fall are exactly what you are looking for!

Golden State Guiding will be hosting multiple Self Rescue and Risk Management Clinics this season in Joshua Tree National Park. Click the button below to learn more and to register for one of our SRRM clinics today!

Gym 2 Crag // July Series Wrap Up

We just wrapped up another Gym 2 Crag series for the month of July and had nothing but happy participants at the end of the course! Knots and Hitches, Top Rope Anchors and Rappelling skills were taught throughout the 3 weeks at our partner gym Vertical Hold then we took it to our local crag, Mission Gorge, where our students put their newly acquired skills to the test! Big thanks to everyone who attended the G2C for the month of July we couldn't be more pleased with your success! Also, big thanks to our newest apprentice Scott Iwamoto for helping facilitate the day out!

Advanced Gym 2 Crag // April Series

Another round of our Advanced Gym 2 Crag just wrapped in Joshua Tree, NP and what a great day out it was! All our participants built multiple Joshua Tree Anchors then rappelled into our climbs using their own anchors. From there we placed gear on mock leads, explained the fundamentals of gear placements and spoke to scenarios they may encounter when on the wall. All of our participants did a great job, we couldn't more pleased. Looking forward to our next round of the Advanced Gym 2 Crag program coming up in June! 

Advanced Gym 2 Crag Wraps Up

We just finished up with our first round of the Advanced Gym 2 Crag series for 2018 and we couldn't be more pleased with the outcome! Participants learned to place gear and build advanced anchors in a controlled environment then took their newly acquired skills to the outdoors in Joshua Tree for a fun day of mock leads with gear, anchor building with static lines and of course some fun climbing! Nothings more satisfying then watching our students grow their toolboxes and begin to feel more confident in their abilities. Great job to everyone who participated in the first AG2C course of 2018! Keep up the good work!

First Round of Gym 2 Crag for 2018 Wraps Up

The first round of participants of 2018 for the Gym 2 Crag program finished up their course this past weekend at the local crag Mission Gorge. Temps were perfect, stoke was high and everyone left the program feeling confident in their knots and hitches, anchor systems, rappelling practices and overall climbing abilities. BIG thanks to everyone who came out and kicked off the year with us, we couldn't be more pleased with your progress! Special thanks to our partner Vertical Hold Climbing Gym and GSG guides Tyler Dandurand, Lauren Breitenbach and Tim Sweet for making this a success. Looking forward to starting up our Advanced Gym 2 Crag next month! Stay tuned! 

Gym to Crag with the American Alpine Club & Golden State Guiding

Great day out at Descanso guest guiding with the @sandiegochapter_aac. Students today were enrolled in the Gym 2 Crag program where they learned how to clean an anchor and rappel as well as build top rope anchors. Crag etiquette was discussed which involved "leave no trace" discussions and overall common cutesy. High stoke levels out there today, great job American Alpine Club!

G2C is BACK!

Gym 2 Crag is back in October at Vertical Hold San Diego and Poway. Click the flyer below fore more details! 

G2C June Clinic Series Wrap Up // Mission Gorge

Another fun weekend at the local crag with our June G2C students! Stoked to see the level of climbing that went down and the advancements of individual skill sets. Big thanks to GSG guide Greg Davis for facilitating a great weekend. 

GSG x Vertical Hold Climbing Gym Day Outdoors // Mission Gorge

Another great day out at the local crag with stellar company for the GSG x Vertical Hold, Mission Gorge outing and G2C (Gym 2 Crag) wrap up. Fun climbs, first rappels and projects being added to the tick lists, what else could you ask for?

G2C May Clinic Series Wrap Up // Mission Gorge

Well that officially wraps up the first round of G2C (Gym 2 Crag) with Golden State Guiding and Vertical Hold Climbing Gym! Thanks to all of our participants that signed up for a month of outdoor climbing education and fun! We couldn't be more pleased with the outcome and progress each of you had! Here are a few shots from yesterday's outing at Mission Gorge. Special thanks to GSG Guides Greg Davis and Kelvin Nguyen for facilitating some of the outings. Also special thanks to AMGA SPI aspirant Tyler Dandurand for helping out and Albert Cheng (aka Jimmy Cheng) for all the great photos. Looking forward to getting the next round of G2C participants outdoors!

G2C May Clinic Series Outdoor Day // Mt. Woodson

Another HOT but great day out on Woodson for the G2C day outdoors! Many more firsts were had including everyone's first time on a rope outdoors, some great crack climbing and multiple reviews on how to build an anchor utilizing bolts. Thanks to all who came out and supported the cause! It was another memorable day! 

G2C May Clinic Series Outdoor Day Kick Off!

We kicked off the first round of outdoor rock climbing with the May G2C participants this past weekend at Mt. Woodson and Joshua Tree. We put our newly acquired skills to the test, climbed some fun routes and had lots of laughs along the way! Many firsts were had including some great crack climbing, first rappels, hardest grades being sent and we even had our first traditional Lead climb go down! Thanks to everyone who came out and participated in the first round of the G2C. We're looking forward to the next couple weekends outdoors as we wrap up the first round so stayed tuned!

G2C May Clinic Series Wraps Up

And that's a wrap! We've officially finished up the first round of the G2C clinic series being hosted by Vertical Hold. Thanks to all our participants who came out 4 consecutive weeks to learn how to safely and efficiently build top rope anchors, rappel, learn self rescue techniques and lead climb outdoors. The only thing left to do is put your newly acquired skill sets to the test outdoors which we'll be doing this month! Thanks to everyone who came out, it was a blast having you all!

G2C // Gym 2 Crag Program Week 3 Update

3 down 1 to go! Just wrapped up the Self Rescue skills course and 3rd week of G2C clinics at Vertical Hold. Looking forward to the final week which will be the Lead clinic followed by our day outdoors!

G2C // Gym 2 Crag // R2

The May G2C program hosted by Vertical Hold climbing gym in San Diego and facilitated by Golden State Guiding is underway for the month of May and has been well received by all! 24 participants enrolled in the May G2C series where they've been undergoing technical clinics taught by certified AMGA instructors involving top rope anchor building, rappelling, self rescue and lead climbing. These important skills are what's needed most to climb safely and efficiently outdoors and we couldn't be more happy with our participants progress! 

That being said, the first round of G2C was such a success that Golden State Guiding and Vertical Hold are offering another round of the Gym 2 Crag series to Vertical Hold members for the month of June! Clinics are limited to the San Diego and Poway locations and spots will fill up quickly so make sure to sign up early! Visit any of the Vertical Hold climbing gym facilities for inquiries and registration or email Golden State Guiding to sign up direct. Looking forward to another fun month of courses!

G2C // Gym 2 Crag Program Update

We're well underway for the G2C (Gym 2 Crag) program for the month of May at Vertical Hold climbing gym in San Diego! Last week (week 1) students were taught the fundamental skills on how to construct 3 top rope anchors and were given the necessary tools to decide when and where to apply each anchor outdoors. Week 2 just wrapped up and students were taught how to safely rappel by extending their rappel device and applying an auto-block backup as a third hand. We couldn't be more pleased with the progress of all our participants! Thanks for the support and we'll see everyone next week for the Self Rescue course!