nicollem152
My husband and I signed up for the two hour climbing session at Chimney Rock State Park. We were intimidated by the cold, overcast skies but our instructor Anthony immediately placed us at ease. The level of difficulty and types of climbs provideda great range of beginning climbing experiences. Anthony's expertise, patience and passion for the sport enabled us to muster the courage to complete the climbs. We are glad we added this to our list of confidence building challenges!! Definitely worth the time and money!!
SiliconCellOut
My girlfriend and I climbed at Chimney Rock with Anthony of Fox Mountain Guides recently!I've had a lot of climbing experience, and my girlfriend is just starting to get into the sport. Anthony made sure that both of us had a challenging, rewarding, and successful day! At one point, he ascended the feature to walk her through some of the cruxes, and help her make it to the top! We climbed 4 features that day. The final two were a crack climb, and a face climb. Both were rated at 5.8, and were great climbs!He also worked in a safety lesson on outdoor climbing, anchoring, rappelling and pointed me in the direction to better educate myself knots & anchoring.I would definitely climb with one of their guides in the future!
Harveylaw
Went with 7 friends to climb on looking glass for a bachelor party. Cody and Aziza (sp?) were great and patient with a group of hungover guys. Fun climb and great guides. I'll be booking them again when I'm in the area again.
Z9973NPdavidc
I climbed with Karsten at Looking Glass rock and had a great time. He was helpful, super competent, full of knowledge, and fun to climb with. I learned more in a day than I have in years. One of my best climbing experiences ever!
72rk
I did a half-day climb at Looking Glass and my guide (Ron) was very experienced so I felt 100% confident in his ability. I've been climbing for a while and looking to get some outdoor gear, so he was really helpful in answering all my extra questions.While it's not a really technical climb, being completely surrounded by green forest in all directions makes for some fantastic scenery. Don't forget to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway afterwards to the overlook and get a photo!
pgcoles
My son and I went to Looking Glass last week and climbed with Karsten. He was knowledgeable (extraordinarily so!), safety oriented, and fun to spend a half day with. It was very easy to sign up on their website and then I received a phone call to confirm the plans. We learned climbing safety, basic bouldering, and good climbing body mechanics and then we had a chance to climb and rappel on Looking Glass. FMG was the organization that consistently had positive reviews when I looked for climbing opportunities in North Carolina and we were very pleased with our experience. I HIGHLY recommend this group.
cristinah2013
Fox Mountain Guides provided us with a great morning. Our guide was really nice and helped all of us feel comfortable. Our kids are great climbers and the climb was fun for them and I even made it most of the way up!
692julieh692
Rock Climbing had been on my to do list of adventures for awhile and I wanted to make sure I selected the optimal guide service to use. Fox Mountain Guides and Climbing School far exceeded my expectations. Travis, our guide, was well-trained, encouraging and patient with our group of novice climbers. He went out of his way to make sure we felt safe and comfortable with our climbing. I had a phenomenal experience from booking to follow-up! Whether you are a novice looking to try climbing or a more seasoned climber seeking to improve your skills, I highly recommend Fox Mountain Guides and Climbing School!
Michaelbw1998
We researched ½ day rock climbing trips on TripAdvisor and Yelp! Fox Mountain Guides and Climbing School came up repeatedly with several favorable reviews. Fox Mountain Guides is also the only climbing company that is AMGA accredited and their guides are AMGA certified. Booking a trip was easy…we called with specifications of our climbing abilities, distance we wanted to travel and length of approach. The woman who helped me suggested Table Rock in Linville Gorge, about an hour and forty-five minutes from Asheville. It was well worth the drive. Our guide, Wes, was waiting for us when we arrived and he was a pleasure to work with. He was professional, gave solid climbing tips, and encouraged us throughout the climb. Our climb included Jim Dandy, a brief foray on Lunch Ledge and finished on My Route. Originally, we thought we were going to do a 3-pitch climb finishing at 300 feet, but were really excited to send a 4-pitch climb, summiting at 500 feet. We would certainly book with Fox Mountain Guides again, requesting Wes, of course, and highly recommend this company overall.
twizad
I have been climbing off and on for a while and recently found myself with a spare weekend and no partner. I looked around the internet looking for a guiding company and found that Fox Mountain Guides were having an "Intro to Climbing" trip at Looking Glass Rock in Pisgah National Forest. I immediately signed up and began packing.Upon arriving in Asheville to meet our guides I was greeted by Karsten Delap and Susan DeBruin and the 5 other climbers in our group. The group consisted of three people that had never been climbing, two that had been climbing indoors for a few months, and myself. At first I was a little worried about how much I would be able to take from this clinic but Karsten and Susan assured me I would learn something.After the meet and greet we went to the campsite and sat around a fire telling stories before returning to bed.The next day we woke up, ate breakfast and went over basic climbing safety and knots. We then drove out to Looking Glass Rock for some climbing. Before starting Karsten went over some pointers about technique. Despite having climbed before I learned some very helpful pointers. We then finished out the day improving upon what we had just learned on some low grade rock climbs before returning to camp for dinner and more stories.The second day we again had breakfast and headed out to the climbing area. Climbing this day consisted of harder routes and more building on the fundamentals we had established the previous day.Whether you have never climbed a single route or used to climb and are trying to brush off the cobwebs, I HIGHLY recommend Fox Mountains Guides. The basic principles and techniques covered in this class greatly improved my climbing and more importantly my confidence in my climbing. Karsten and Susan were very encouraging, open to questions, and very approachable.I hope to use Fox Mountain Guides again in the near future.
CRKurth
My family did the full day climb with Wes and Russel. There were 8 of us ranging in ages from 7 to 43, with limited climbing experience (a few visits to the rock gym). We actually got to the storefront a little late and they were very understanding and patient. After they got us fitted for gear we started on our drive to Looking Glass when it started to rain. They offered to take us to another spot an hour away and not take it out of our climb time. We ended up climbing at Grumbling something (can't remember the name) and it was awesome! Both Wes and Russel were very very patient with the children and the terrified adult climbers. Wes helped guide my mom while climbing so that she could overcome her fear and make it to the top. We all had plenty of time to climb and learned different techniques to help with the experience. They offered more difficult climbs once we experienced the initial lines set up for us. The hike and view were both awesome. The experience overall was great. Very professional and I would definitely recommend for a great active outdoor activity for the family!
81Mike
Looking Glass Mountain, one of the most unique mountains in the area, a "must visit". One of only two mountains of it's kind on the planet, its formation has baffled scientists and geologist alike. And to make sure you get the most of your visit, contact Fox Mountain Guides and Climbing School. Their guides have a superior knowledge of the area (some are the on-call rescue team for any emergency's that happen on the mountain) and an expert knowledge of the sport of rock climbing. I have been to two classes with them at Looking Glass and one in Kentucky! They showed us the in's and out's of rock climbing as well as the importance of maintaining and preserving the environment of such a beautiful destination. I would highly recommend Fox Mountain Guides as a first and only choice for a spectacular guiding service!
sofias974
I went with a venture scout group of 15 and had a fantastic time. Our guides were amazing, the view was beautiful, and the climbs were challenging but very fun. It is something that I would definitely do again, and undoubtedly recommend to others.
Kate1001100
These guides are rated G and fun for the whole family! Experts at everything climbing, highly certified, excellent models of behavior for the kidos, and have an emphasis on safety so all you have to do is enjoy the great climbing! What I like best for the kids is giving them a sense of accomplishment and building confidence, which is also great for adults. But, I think the younger you start building confidence, the better. Climbing outdoors can bring up fears that once conquered will create emotionally stronger youths who can carry that strength into all their activities. Confidence building has also been shown to improve academic performance.I was a Martial Arts Instructor for 8 years, teaching children as well as adults. Now I teach in elementary schools. I climbed with Fox Mountain Guides with a small group that included children. They inspired me to continue climbing during my first experience.
Mark52354184
I had an awesome experience with Fox Mountain Guides! Actually this was my second time around, and had the time of my life climbing up and looking out over God’s creation at Looking Glass. I was perfectly safe at all times. It was worth the money. My guide was Wesley Calkins and he was outstanding.