Vertical Adventures

Joshua Tree, United States

4.9

Closed now

11 reviews

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 949-854-6250
Website:
www.verticaladventures.com
Address:
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
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Bussiness info

Bike Parking
No
Good for Kids
Yes

Today

Today 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Joshua Tree) 2:47 AM Saturday, May 24, 2025

Business hours

Monday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Vertical Adventures Rock Climbing School offers rock climbing classes, private rock climbing instruction, group rock climbing experiences, rock climbing guides, and guided climbs year-​round at Joshua Tree National Park, CA.

In 2008 Vertical Adventures Rock Climbing School was voted #1 rock climbing school in America by Outside magazine in their list of best places to learn rock climbing in the USA.

Our summer program (June-​July-​August) offers rock climbing classes at and guided climbs at Tahquitz and Suicide Rock in the San Bernadino mountains near the mountain resort town of Idyllwild, CA.

Vertical Adventures Rock Climbing School’s 4-​Day Rockcraft class at Idyllwild was included as one of msnbc.com’s «top ten outdoor adventures of 2011.»

History

Established in 1983.

Owner/​Director Bob Gaines founded Vertical Adventures Rock Climbing School in 1983.

Meet the Business Owner

Bob G.

Business Owner

Vertical Adventures Rock Climbing School Director Bob Gaines began teaching rock climbing classes at Joshua Tree National Park in 1983, offering rock climbing classes, private group rock climbing instruction, and guided rock climbing.

Bob is an AMGA (American Mountain Guides Association) Certified Rock Instructor.

He has authored or co-​authored 12 books on rock climbing, including the guidebook Best Climbs Joshua Tree National Park, featuring 250 of the best rock climbs at Joshua Tree.

Bob has worked extensively as a stunt coordinator for film and television, coordinating over 40 TV commercials. He served as Sly Stallone’s climbing instructor for the movie Cliffhanger, and was chief safety officer for the cast and crew of Cliffahnger while on location in the Italian Alps.

Bob has trained a diverse list of military special forces, including the elite SEAL Team 6.

In 2011, Travel and Leisure Magazine rated Bob Gaines «Top Guide» for Joshua Tree, in their «Best Places to Climb.»

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DIETITIAN OF THE DESERT

11 reviews of Vertical Adventures

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Costa Mesa, CA
I did a Leading and Anchoring course last November with Erik Kramer-​Webb, it was everything I wanted it to be. Each day, from the second we met and until we departed we practiced techniques. If you weren’t setting anchors, you were practicing placements, or climbing and belaying while the other person makes anchors. Erik was very thorough and comprehensive breaking each thing down and accepting our different levels of experience. He taught us much more than just the basic’s allowing me to go straight into leading trad climbs without his guidance. I look forward to coming back
Place rating: 5
Upland, CA
Absolutely Amazing! I’m 54, get a little vertigo on a tall ladder, and am no athlete. So, why take a climbing class? Because sometimes you need to challenge yourself. Tony is an outstanding instructor/​guide and a great guy. Extremely patient, easy going and very very safety conscience. Now I find myself wanting to learn more and do more climbs. I will definitely be taking more courses from Tony and Verticle Adventures.
Place rating: 5
Brooklyn, NY
Its been two weeks since our trip out to Joshua Tree and we are still talking about it!
After weeks of trying to find climbing companies to guide us… I found Vertical Adventures! I first spoke with Bob and he was great… he gets things done! Both extremely personable and professional… I’d recommend Vertical Adventures to anyone looking to get out there!
We did a ½ day guided private lesson with Chris. and it was a blast. As the others have noted, Chris is knowledgable and an amazing teacher! We really cannot say enough about him as our guide; he was patient, encouraging, and hilarious! He made sure we got the most out of our time with him and his investment in making sure we had an awesome time was just so above any expectations. But, seriously… outside of the time we paid him to tolerate us… he spent his own time helping us find a lost wallet in the vast vast Joshua Tree. Now that fellow Unilocalers, is a stand up guy… and you definitely want a stand-​up guy to be leading you!
Cant wait to go back!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
My wife and I spent most of a week this month in Joshua Tree, and our main regret was not booking more then one day of climbing with Vertical Adventures.
We are newbie climbers, having started about 6 months ago in a gym and only having climbed outdoors once before (plus some bouldering in Joshua Tree when we arrived). We booked a full day of guided climbing and had a blast.
We happened to score a camp site at Hidden Valley so were just a few hundred yards from the meeting spot, but the confirmation paperwork included detailed directions on where to meet and when (which is important since there is little to no cell service inside the park). We showed up to find our guide (Bob, who happens to own the company and wrote «the» book on climbing in JT!) there a few minutes early and were quickly outfitted with helmets. We chatted a bit about our experience and what we wanted to get out of the day, but were new enough climbers not to really know what we wanted to learn.
We ended up doing a bunch of sport routes around hidden valley and were able to try a couple different types of climb, getting lots of patient instruction on the fine art of smearing and crimping — the gym definitely didn’t prepare us for outdoor slabs.
Bob clearly knows the park well, having written a guide book and developed many routes himself, and he was able to find ideal locations throughout the day (dodging an unusually strong wind as well as light crowds during a spring break week). Safety is clearly their top priority, and Bob was excellent at gently suggesting improvements as well as explaining the basics of sport climbing.
Highly recommended, and we’d love to go back for some more formal instruction.
Place rating: 5
Austin, TX
My husband and I had the pleasure of a full day of climbing with Vertical Adventures a couple of weeks ago. Chris was our guide, and he was the best! Made me feel safe and comfortable, yet gave my husband the challenge he was looking for. We had a wonderful day – not to mention all of Chris’ jokes! Looking forward to climbing with him again on our next trip.
Place rating: 5
Lake Forest, CA
We had an awesome day at Joshua Tree — even better than what we imagined. I booked a private full day of climbing for 2 family members + myself. The 3 of us have different strengths and weaknesses in climbing and we have only climbed a handful of days outdoors. Chris was our guide and he was funny, encouraging, and excelled at teaching. He found ways to «tweak» the climbs so it was challenging to all of us. For example, he encouraged me to try the easy 5.5 route with my approach shoes to work on my foot work and pointed out how to improve my technique. After climbing 5 routes, Chris offered to take us through the Chasm of Doom because he heard we liked canyoneering too. The 3 of us took A LOT of pictures and was laughing the whole time — Chris was super patient. In fact, he took some really good pictures of the 3 of us altogether. He knew the place like the back of his hand — he guided us through every step and genuinely had a big smile on his face. Oh and he showed up early too at the meeting point. What more can you ask for? Thank you Chris!
Also, Bob Gaines, the owner was really awesome to deal with. I emailed him to inquire about the reservation and he called me back that same day. There are some really scary bolted sport routes in Joshua Tree, but Bob’s bolted routes are really nice. It is a lot of work to setup the routes! So thanks!
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
These guys deserve more than five stars. I was guided by Chris last October and had such a great experience with him. He’s a naturally very gifted and dedicated teacher, and he’s the kind of guy that you want to be friends with ever after just spending one day with him. He’s patient, laid back, easy to talk to, and a super knowledgeable and experienced climber. I learned a ton from him. I had to cancel my second day with him at the very last minute due to my mom being sick and he couldn’t have been more supportive and understanding. (Bob Gaines was also very kind and understanding.) I climbed with Chris a few weeks later, after a two-​day anchoring course with Eric (which I also highly recommend), and we had another great day together. I had been pretty down about things with my mom but felt so much better once Chris and I started climbing. I’m definitely going to hire him again in the future and would absolutely recommend him to anyone, no matter how experienced they are.
Place rating: 4
Irvine, CA
Fantastic experience. I first hired these guys for a four-​hour climbing lesson with my two small boys (at the time) — ages 7 and 6. They had the kids scrambling up the Wave Rock at Joshua Tree in no time. The kids had an absolute blast.
Then, a month later, I took a three-​day class for top-​roping and that was really great. It was November — so not too many people, and that made the class even better. The last day was just me and the instructor! Great experience — Joshua Tree is amazing.
With the experience I learned in those three days, I have been taking my kids out to Joshua Tree ever since. Great service — and a very reasonable price.
Place rating: 5
Tucson, AZ
Absolutely terrific climbing lesson and one of the best values around. A Joshua Tree experience I won’t ever forget!
I took a ½ day, 2-​person intermediate rock climbing lesson with Chris. He was clearly very knowledgable and proficient in the field, while also being funny and approachable. What a great guide! He offered coaching and encouragement when necessary, but let us figure out some footing on our own.
The lesson went from 9am to 1:45pm, and included climbing 2 routes and a trip through the «Chasm of Doom.» The cave tour at the end was a great way to see a unique part of the national park while putting some of those climbing skills to good use.
The owner, Bob, was also extremely helpful and courteous. He returned phone calls and emails promptly, and generally gave great advice about the park.
Place rating: 5
San Clemente, CA
Took an intermediate rock climbing class with my two sons (16 & 17) with Erik as our guide. He was professional and proficient. We spent a good balance of rock time and instruction time. We climbed 5 routes on Intersection Rock. Class went from 8:30 AM until it was dark. Erik wouldn’t even let us help him pack up. I will definitely be back.
Place rating: 5
Marina del Rey, CA
Went for a 1 day intro to rock climbing in Joshua Tree. Excellent small class size, just 2 couples for 1 instructor. The instructor was very knowledgeable and provided us with all the information we needed to know for the day plus helped us learn more for future endeavors. The ropes were already set up on our rock when we arrived which was nice. We got about 5 climbs in per person, and although we were working on the same rock, each climb was a different route. It was amazing that the instructor knew all the footholds and hand holds from the ground so he could instruct us really well when we got stuck. Excellent day experience! All the gear is included including shoes, just bring lunch.