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.

Noah went up first and set the ropes up so he could belay me. He showed me where to put my feet (even though he’s like a foot taller than me) and marked the arm and footholds with chalk for me. When I lost my confidence on a pretty challenging slab, he helped me take a break, lean back, and get my bearings again. Noah began to pull me up a bit when I was starting to get exhausted. Noah – you’re a top-notch climbing instructor!

I couldn’t tell you how far up we went, but I know that Noah was going to take me up further if I was willing. I thought I could pull it off, but my legs were shaking, and I didn’t feel safe. We bailed about 10 feet above the resting spot you see above, and watched as Noah lowered himself down. I can tell you that I was not afraid of rappelling down this time! In fact, I enjoyed it. And I look forward to doing it again soon! If you’d like more information about hiring Noah and his team to give you a beginner rock climbing lesson, you can contact them directly here – https://camdenclimbing.biz/bookatrip/. I highly recommend it! Pin this post so you can read it later!