The Climbing Life Guides

Nelson really knows his stuff when it comes to rappeling. He goes on his own for fun 5days/​week all year and has a lot of knowledge of the park and tips for each point in Joshua tree.
Our group was looking into learning how to rappel for future hikes and he catered exactly to what we needed to know. We learned how to set up a harness safely, tie autoblock knots, how to set up ATC descenders, anchor off of bolts, and how to safely descend.
We originally had a group of 8 people and one person dropped out at 2 am the day of so we were concerned about how that would effect our cost, but Nelson was completely understanding and just removed it from our total cost.
We also had bad weather that day and Nelson gave us a discount for that as well since it wasn’t optimal climbing conditions.
Highly recommend this!

I had an awesome experience climbing with Nelson this past Monday. I’m a fairly experienced indoor climber, having bouldered & top-​roped for over a year. I had never climbed outdoors before Monday. Nelson used this information to plan an awesome day for us, starting with a 5.7 and working up to a 5.10.
He did a very good job at assessing my ability, teaching me new skills, and trusting me when appropriate. He’s very careful. Note that this isn’t a walk in the park: you’re likely going to have to lead-​belay your guide, whose life will more or less be in your hands. It’s authentic.
Nelson is a great guy, who truly cares about his customers. From what he explained, he also treats employees very well, offering benefits rare to a business like his (He explained this without showing off).
I booked a 4-​hour session, because I thought I’d be too tired after that much climbing. Since so much of the time is spent setting things up (which is also fun), I definitely could have done 6 hours, maybe 8.
After we finished climbing (and our time was up), Nelson went out of his way to show me a nearby bouldering spot, which would be safe a safe place to climb alone & great place to meet people (It’s called Gunsmoke Traverse, check it out). I went the next day and had a great time with some cool people. Again, this guy really cares about his customers.

This was our first trip to Joshua tree and I wanted to do something super fun. I’m so glad I booked with The Climb Life Guides because Nelson was amazing on 4 hour guide. Couldn’t have asked for a more pleasant, educated, and enthusiastic instructor/​guide to ease my worries about climbing for the first time. Thank you for making our first trip to Joshua Tree something to remember.

This was our first trip to Joshua Tree and our friend who we like to call our event coordinator planned it. 3 out of the 4 people in our group have been indoor rock climbing and bouldering. She decided to schedule a rock climbing trip with Climbing Life Guides.
Our guide Nelson was AMAZING!!! He was very knowledgeable, friendly, and fun!
1. he was very responsive in his emails and messages
2. double checked everyone to make sure all our gear was on properly
3. went through safety instructions constantly through the whole experience
4. gave us facts on joshua tree and climbing
5. guided us up 100ft climbs after assessing all of our comfort and skill levels
6. made sure we were all comfortable with the climb and never pushed us on anything
7. went over climbing techniques in a ways that even the non-​climber could understand
I highly, highly recommend this company and especially our guide Nelson. Because of him, we plan on coming back again soon with a few more friends just to climb and enjoy Joshua Tree.

I am honored to offer my recommendation for Nelson and The Climbing Life Guides.
Just a short while ago, I flew across the country from NYC for a weekend excursion in Joshua Tree CA with a dear friend from high school.
Both of us, like minded in nature… decided to retain The Climbing Life Guides to assist us in a rock climbing excursion and help facilitate an experience we would never forget.
Here I am a year later counting down the days till we meet again. Ive already booked airfare from NYC and I cant wait to see Nelson and his team again in December.
While professional and family obligations remain pressing, I have made it a priority to find time in recent years to connect and invest in my passion for the outdoors. I can advise unequivocally that Nelson, and his team’s character is of the highest possible quality. Genuinely kind, compassionate individuals who command an astute eye for detail to both safety and making beginners (like me) feel comfortable. Their generosity is unparalleled in my experience, and the investments I continue to make in my passion for the outdoors are easily justified because of the quality experience I receive from Nelson and his team. A++

I had the pleasure of having Nelson as an instructor at the Friends of Joshua Tree: Climb Smart event. His deep knowledge, ability to answer any climbing related questions, and guidance through demonstration made the day with him fun and rewarding. I’d love to come back for a session to take my climbing to the next level.

Nelson is a amazing guide. We (my wife and I) had our first outdoor rock climbing outing and we couldn’t have asked for a better experience. He’s just a super down-​to-​earth guy and we felt like hanging out with a good buddy the entire time.
We plan to have another session with Nelson soon.

We signed up our Girl Scout troop with Climbing Life Guides this past weekend in Joshua Tree. Nelson and his assistant Emily were wonderful, patient, encouraging, and managed a group of 12 girls with varying levels of confidence like the professionals that they are. Each girl came away from the experience more confident and self-​assured. As their leader I was impressed with how much climbing time they had and how they staged it so that each girl was adequately challenged. They were great with the girls who were nervous but gave the girls wanting more a lot of experience. The rappelling at the end was a real bonus, too! Big recommend and very grateful to Nelson and his team!

Nelson was awesome! My boyfriend and I wanted to try something new & fun & boy did we get what we signed up for! It was so exhilarating!
At first I was nervous about climbing huge boulders, but Nelson helped me build the confidence I needed. My boyfriend was a little braver than me & wanted a more challenging experience… Nelson did a great job at providing us both with the level & type of climb that suited our individual desires. He made us feel safe and continued to encourage us along the way. He educated us thoroughly; offered great advice and safety tips. He was fun & friendly, as well as very informative. Not only was he a great instructor, he’s also very knowledgeable about JT National Park & its history. Also, very accommodating with schedule and was great at taking pictures of us! Overall, it was a great experience, we had a blast and I can’t wait to do it again!

How do you give a great experience to a seven year old boy, two teenage girls AND their parents? Nelson knows how. We went to a rock NOT overrun by tourists where Nelson taught us the basics of rock climbing, communication, techniques for climbing using balance and core strength. He was encouraging and supportive, and shared in depth information about the history of the Joshua Tree area. Then he took us the the Cavern of Doom. A great place to face any claustrophobia fears and have fun bouldering. Overall a fantastic experience. Can’t wait to come back!!!

It’s been three days since we climbed with Nelson and we’re still singing his praises. He’s a phenomenal guide. My husband and I joined him on a FULL day adventure in Joshua Tree. He planned an ideal tour for us that suited our climbing level and interests. We felt safe and encouraged each step along the way while climbing routes we would never have thought were possible. Nelson breaks down his instructions so they are easy to understand. By the end of the day we got experience and insights on handling ropes for multi-​pitch climbs and how to climb cracks, chimneys, mantels and smeary rock faces. He’s a fun and interesting guy to spend 10 hours with.

My boyfriend and I climbed with Nelson for a day in Joshua Tree. We had an epic time and learned more than we could have hoped for. We are just pushing into leading and Nelson encouraged us further than we had expected to go. We practiced lead falls, became totally solid on cleaning and led our first ever climbs outside. Nelson was a wonderful combination of instructive, relaxed, encouraging and just plain fun. Thanks Nelson!

My husband and I are total beginners when it comes to climbing. Nelson was super patient and very informative. We had a fantastic time out in the national park. I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone interested in climbing.

Super friendly, accommodating, patient, interesting and a great teacher! We went to JT on thanksgiving weekend and the park was really busy, knowing the place well he found a great spot that we effectively had for ourselves while many others were sharing walls.
My girlfriend and I both improved considerably by the end of the day and can’t wait to go back. We will be seeing Nelson again, can’t recommend highly enough!

Nelson is a gem. He’s fun, patient, careful and safe-​and he takes care to teach safe practices-​but what sets him apart is not just his instruction, but that he can articulate the rationale as to pros and cons of a given setup, knot, placement, route, fall zones, etc. His engineering background is a plus for those who want to understand the mechanics of force vectors and the like-​not something many rock jocks can readily explain.
I’ve used him twice to learn/​improve sport lead/​anchor/​fall techniques, and start trad leading, respectively (6 months apart). He keeps goals in mind, pushes just the right amount to help a climber advance.
I can’t say enough good things about him. Shoot me a message if you want more info…
Don

Nelson came out and created a program to take our Boy Scout troop climbing in Joshua Tree during an overnight trip.
Camping Merit Badge requirement 9B has a requirement that can be fulfilled in part by scouts rappelling. We planned this trip to specifically achieve this requirement.
I reached out to Nelson a couple of weeks before the trip and Nelson helped pick out a camp site right next to the rocks we would be climbing and shared some very useful information. He stopped by the site a few days before the trip and confirmed a good route where there would be shade to escape the afternoon heat and even sent me a photo of the campsite.
Nelson appeared in camp well ahead of our scheduled start time and took me up to the spot we were going to use to make sure I was comfortable with the path the scouts would take and to discuss rigging a few lines the boys could use to access the top where they would rappel from. Nelson then rigged up everything and then set up gear in the campsite so we could practice the skills on the ground before we headed up the rock.
Nelson provided all the gear which was in perfect condition with plenty of sizes to fit all the scouts ranging from 12 to 16 years old.
20 years ago, I used to lead this trip and activity with a few rock climbing friends and I was once a seasoned climber myself however time change and I am not the 20 year old I once was.
Nelson was a pleasure to work with and was great with the scouts. I felt very comfortable that all points of safety were covered. All the scouts rappelled several times and we even had a little time for some up climbing lessons.
A great time was had by everyone. Next year we will have to look to come down and work through the Climbing Merit Badge with Nelson.

Nelson is a great guide. First of all, his house is stocked like a climbing store and all his gear is new and very nice quality… I felt very safe using it. This was my first time climbing outside. I got a wild hair and decided to try climbing outdoors even though I couldn’t get past three pegs at an indoor climbing wall (wish I was kidding).
We drove into the park together and did a short walk to where we would be climbing. We stopped at the base and Nelson scurried up the rock and I stood there and thought to myself, «what the hell was I thinking? There is no way I can do this… I can’t even get up a damn rock wall at a gym». There were three of us climbing that day and I let them go first to save myself the embarrassment as long as I could of not getting a quarter of the way up before I had to give up.
It was my turn and I got on the belay and Nelson had the other end and told me not to worry and that he had me. He encouraged me and told me I’d be surprised of what I’ll be able to do. I was very nervous, but he was very nice and very patient. I started and he gave me some helpful hints about hand and foot placement and was there coaching me and cheering me on the whole way… And guess what? I actually made it! All the way to the top! :D This is such an accomplishment for me I cannot even tell you how good it felt– I had to do my happy dance!
Then we went to a great repel spot and as I dandled off a cliff I thought «I should be wayyyy more nervous about this than I am right now» I think it was because it was very obvious nelson knew what he was doing and made me feel very safe… I trusted him, which is very important when you are hanging off a cliff or wall.
So in summary, Nelson made it so I felt safe, he felt more like a friend or coach and we all had a great time. I had such a great time that I am already itching to go back and climb again– words I never thought I’d say :)

We had an awesome experience with Nelson at The Climbing Life Guides. We had no experience before we booked our time with Nelson, but by the end of our few hours together we felt like we had learned so much and enjoyed the time learning immensely. Nelson was patient, friendly, and explained everything well. We couldn’t have enjoyed our experience more, and highly recommend The Climbing Life Guides.

It was so much Fun climbing with Nelson! He is so experienced. Rock climbing is such an adventurous experience and it’s even more fun when you have a climbing guide that picks out awesome spots to climb and takes adequate time to explain how to go about climbing the rock. Thank you, Nelson for such great experience!

You can’t do better than a climbing session with Nelson. He’s an excellent guide, teacher and host. Highly recommended to anyone looking to have a fun day climbing or learn some new skills. Would definitely hire him again and will be recommending him to my friends.
I hired Nelson to teach me sport lead climbing (I was a gym climber, with little outdoor experience). I went from knowing zero about sport lead to confidently leading my own routes in one session with him. He was a patient, efficient teacher but also pushed me to get the most out of the sessions.
Nelson really impressed me by going the extra mile … bringing extra food (and beer) for me to eat while we camped, providing some introductory background on the climbing destination, and even gifting me some anchor gear at the end.
Also importantly, Nelson is a funny, chill dude and great to hang out with. Those times in between climbs are just as enjoyable as the actual climbing.
Message me if you want to hear more. Happy to give a reference.
Phil