As a introduction to climbing, I was very pleased with the experience I recieved. My two sons (7), my wife and I all went on a intro together and were able to climb and also learn quite a good deal about it. Its harder than you think! Our guide, Doug, was very calm and collected. He was patient with our children and helped them not feel frightened when on the rocks, while offering information about the area and showing us cool things along the way. Definitely an experience to remember.
We booked a lesson and guided climb on our recent trip to the Black Hills, and LOVED it. I'm a solo dad with three kids (14,12,7) with almost no climbing experience. Our guide, Chris, was exceptional in keeping things on a very beginner level for us, but giving the kids a ton of confidence in what they were doing on the climb (Chris mentioned he's been doing this for 21 years!). On the way home my 12-year-old daughter was literally checking out where she can get into rock climbing in the Twin Cities, she enjoyed it so much. Plus, we climbed at Sylvan Lake, which is an incredibly beautiful setting. Booking was easy. Pricing was very reasonable for a half-day experience, and I mean... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ everything in the Black Hills is "tourist pricing," so if you're going to penny pinch, maybe don't come to the Black Hills. Could not have been happier with the experience, and we will definitely be back.
Fun, safe, and knowledgeable!
