Rock Climbing in Camden, Maine
I LOVE to do things that scare me. As you know by following this blog, I love to hike. One of my favorite parts of hiking is scrambling over boulders, so I assumed rock climbing would come naturally, but I was so wrong. So, when my friend Noah from Equinox Guide Service in Camden, Maine invited me out for a day on the slab, I was totally stoked. My first experience with rock climbing was with Maine Yoga Adventures, shout out to our girl Holly who coordinates those trips. We went climbing in Acadia National Park with Acadia Mountain Guides, and I quickly found out that rock climbing was not as easy as I anticipated, and I knew a one on one lesson would be in my future. The group setting wasn’t really my jam, yet – I need a lot of attention, hands-on, one on one instruction, especially while I am learning a sport where I could REALLY hurt myself. I knew immediately that I wanted to continue this challenge, and my next step was to hire a guide. I had connected with Noah Kleiner on IG earlier this year, and we’d been planning a trip for months. It was the perfect early fall day when we both had clear schedules and we decided to meet up in Camden, Maine, about an hour and 20 minutes from Bangor, Maine.About my guide, Noah Kleiner
Noah Kleiner started climbing in 2006. He fell in love with climbing and went on to become a licensed Maine Guide and Single Pitch Instructor as well as an Aspirant Moutain guide. Noah has been working for three summer seasons as a guide for Atlantic Climbing School. He is a passionate traditional climber and fortunate enough to have had climbing adventures across the country. Remembering all the while, that “the best climber is the one having the most fun”! Noah is an extremely patient guide. He walked me through EVERYTHING, giving me all of the information that I needed to know about HOW IT WORKS. That was like the most important thing for me. I need to know all of the info. He helped me understand everything, all of the tools, all of the movements, and what I needed to know to not die. It was incredible!The Climb
Noah took me up a few pitches up to get me used to the movements. (Pitch – Each section of a climb between stops at belay stations is called a pitch. The leader ascends the pitch, placing gear and stopping to anchor themselves to the belay station.) I was feeling pretty great after my instructions from Noah. I even made the claim to be “fearless” so we decided to head up the rock slab.