Any Chattanooga-area Climbers That Could Help a Couple of Newcomers??

My girlfriend and I will be traveling to Chattanooga for spring break from March 10-15 to do some bouldering/climbing. We are in our mid-twenties: I am a law student in my last semester and my girlfriend is a nurse at a local children's hospital. We are new to the sport, having only climbed in the gym and done a little light outdoor "bouldering" (quotations b/c it was an old bridge outside of Cincinnati). That said, we have been climbing 4-6 times per week for the last three months and are excited to get outside to say the least.

The folks that have a ton of outdoor climbing experience that we were going to Chattanooga with may not be going anymore and my first priority is being safe.  I was hoping that someone may be willing to link up with us for a day or two for a little outdoor sport climbing. I am taking an anchor cleaning course through a local climbing school and will have completed my lead climbing certification course by the middle of February, but I can't help but be cautious about our first experience outside.

If anyone is available, please drop a comment or shoot me a message and maybe we can talk about linking up while we are down there. We have our own bouldering pads for Stone Fort but are hoping for a little bit of help in the expertise department so we could squeeze in a bit of sport-climbing action. Of course, we will bring the post-climbing beer and food! Cheers!

your humility is refreshing and i, for what it's worth, appreciate your honesty. you handled this better than most. if you don't get any takers here in the forum, if you want to take another shot in the dark, you may try the Chattanooga chapter of the American Alpine Club (you can at the least find them on FB/Instagram). While they are a relatively new group, these chapters are usually made up of welcoming, experienced, and mellow folks that may be able to offer you some guidance. other than that, you may want to hire a guide to take you out for the day. if you end up going in that direction, i know a few that i can recommend... we can talk later via pm. good luck and stay safe, bud.   

If you don’t find help you can top rope a few fun climbs at sunset park. 

Quentin, any chance you have funds for a guide? It's the best way to go and you can email me at pjmfish@gmail.com for his information. A good friend of mine is an AMGA certified guide and has been guiding in that area for 20 years. He knows that area very well and he's truly an excellent guide and instructor. He can not only show you the climbing areas, but help with all your rigging and safety. It would be money well spent.

Wes Whitaker wrote: your humility is refreshing and i, for what it's worth, appreciate your honesty. you handled this better than most. if you don't get any takers here in the forum, if you want to take another shot in the dark, you may try the Chattanooga chapter of the American Alpine Club (you can at the least find them on FB/Instagram). While they are a relatively new group, these chapters are usually made up of welcoming, experienced, and mellow folks that may be able to offer you some guidance. other than that, you may want to hire a guide to take you out for the day. if you end up going in that direction, i know a few that i can recommend... we can talk later via pm. good luck and stay safe, bud.   

Thanks for the tip on AAA, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. I will definitely PM you if we start looking for a guide.

I live in the Chattanooga area, and would be game for meeting up; depending on my work schedule. PM me and we can chat.

Thanks.

I can probably meet up with you for a day of bouldering or sport climbing later in the week (13-15), weather depending. Shoot me a PM.

My fiancé and I would be happy to climb with you. Experienced sport climbers here and we both work in healthcare, I'm also in nursing school. Yall sound like good folks! My email is cameronccunn@gmail.com if you want to hit me up. 

If you need a guide book for LRC/StoneFort or any of the local areas, I have most of them. I'm not the right person to help you with ropes, but if you want somebody to show you around LRC, I'd be happy to. It can be a bit overwhelming your first trip.

badcarp wrote: If you need a guide book for LRC/StoneFort or any of the local areas, I have most of them. I'm not the right person to help you with ropes, but if you want somebody to show you around LRC, I'd be happy to. It can be a bit overwhelming your first trip.

Mine came in a couple days before the trip. Stone Fort was unbelievable! Went three days in a row and hit upper and lower leda as well. First time sport climbing outside, leading, and bouldering outside. Out of all of them, I honestly enjoyed bouldering the most, although leading was great as well. 

That's awesome! I'm glad the weather held up for you. You started planning your next trip?

badcarp wrote: That's awesome! I'm glad the weather held up for you. You started planning your next trip?

Possibly a weekend in the fall! We live under 4hrs from the Red so that’s where we will do most of our sport climbing. However I fell in love with Stone Fort and want to go back to project.