Climbing Instruction - Getting Started

If you're new to climbing, there are a number of ways you can get started with Earth Treks based on age, interests, and goals.  All of the options below are appropriate for beginners.

Open Climb

While we highly recommend an instructional program to get started, some folks just want to be able to walk in and try out climbing without signing up for a class.  Open Climb is appropriate for kids and adults and does not require any reservations. We're confident you'll have so much fun you'll want to come back for a class. (Open Climb is available on weekends only).

Kids & Teens

Visit Kids & Teens for all of Earth Treks' youth and family program options.  Kids age 6-12 will have a great first time climbing experience in Friday Nite Rox .  If you just want the family to "try it out" first before signing up for a class consider Open Climb.  Another popular entry level program for youth is a Private Climbing Party.

Adults and Teens Age 13 and Up

Learning the Basics:  There are some important safety skills that you need to learn if you want to start climbing independently at an Earth Treks Climbing Center or outdoors.  You can learn the basics with the Introductory Package or outdoors in the Introduction to Rock Climbing course.  Both of these options deliver a great climbing experience and lay a solid foundation of safety skills, including harness use, knot tying, and belaying.

Indoors or Outdoors:  One of the first questions to ask yourself is whether you want to start climbing indoors or outdoors.  Many climbers started indoors and later move outside, but there is no reason you can't start outdoors right away.  Earth Treks offers beginner courses indoors and outdoors and the basic skills you learn are the same and can be easily transferred.

There are some differences between indoor and outdoor climbing to consider...

• There is less you need to learn to start climbing indoors. Outdoor climbing requires the climber to set up anchor systems at the top of the climb where the anchors are already set up for you at Earth Treks' Climbing Center.   Everything you need to know is taught in the 3 hour indoor Introduction to Climbing course.  Getting started quickly is one of the biggest reasons many people start to climb indoors first.

• Outdoor climbing has a connection to the natural environment that indoor climbing just can't match.  You can't replicate a beautiful sunny day, the feeling of natural rock, or the vista enjoyed at the top of a long hard climb.

• Indoor climbing offers a comfortable climbing environment long after the sun goes down, rain starts to fall, or winter sets in.  Earth Treks' Climbing Centers in Columbia, Timonium, and Rockville are also easily accessed from the Baltimore / Washington metropolitan area.