Fox Mountain Guides and Climbing School

I took the 201 Course (Foundations — Anchors and Gear Placement). It was 2-​days, 1:1 student to teacher ratio. Travis Weil was my teacher for the weekend.
First off, I planned this pretty last minute. Fox Mountain Guides worked with me. They were able to put together a package that delivered exactly what I was looking for. They also offered me options, some that were more cost-​efficient. I took that as a good sign — their ultimate goal is that I learn good, solid skills — not making as money off of me.
Travis contacted me a few days before the class and we discussed my previous climbing experience and some of the things that I wanted to learn.
We met around 9 am on Saturday morning at their office. I brought a harness, shoes, water, food, sunscreen. Fox Mountain supplied helmet, pack, and gear for me.
We drove together to looking glass. Travis was really energetic, friendly, easy to talk to. He is intelligent, has a good sense of humor, and he had a lot of great knowledge about climbing and non-​climbing topics.
We spent some time on the ground going over the mechanics of building of anchor and understanding how these things work to make sure the climber is safe. Travis had me build probably 10 anchors on the rock that morning. After a bit, we climbed some and built more anchors from a safe ledge. It was nice to build anchors with added pressure of being many, many feet up. Travis was patient with me. He let me mess up. He let me figure out why I messed up. He let me figure out how to do it better. For someone like him who frequently has to do things in a very time sensitive manner, this freedom to let me learn from my mistakes was huge.
I should also mention that although there were many other climbers at this popular spot, I never felt crowded or unsafe because of others. Travis knew many of the people there and this familiarity built rapport and friendliness. Following a few climbs that were challenging but still within my skill level, we returned to Fox Mountain and Travis had me build anchors in their classroom for the last hour. I think I built a total of 20 anchors that day! This was super valuable because I could really start to put it together (*without the pressure of being of ~100ft up in the air).
The next day, we built anchors again to make sure the skills were still fresh. We went to the Nose this time and we climbed up the first pitch. I set up an anchor which we used and we I cleaned gear and anchors along a few routes. Overall, I feel like my skill level and knowledge has increased tremendously. Travis has a firm but friendly style of teaching. He really showed me how to do things the right way and understand the reasons behind every step. He gave me a really helpful gear list and reading list.
I would definitely recommend this course for anyone who interested in climbing and learning the crucial steps and skills for leading. I would definitely recommend Travis as a teacher as well. Although this was not a guided trip — watching the efficiency and skill that Travis has whilst setting up our routes — there is no doubt that you would get an awesome, action-​packed day with Travis. 5+ stars.

The time we spent climbing with Fox Mountain Guides was awesome — we went out with Doug and he was funny, friendly and made the trip a blast. Wish I could give 5 stars based on his expertise and personality, but the logistics of the trip were a downer. We paid for a half-​day, 4 hours ($ 85/​person even with 4 in the group) and having done other trips at a similar price, I expected about 3 hours on the rock. However, we spent an hour getting out to the site, an hour getting the ropes set up and running through the climbing basics, and half an hour hiking back to the car at the end. All of these were on the clock, so we only wound up having about 90 minutes actually climbing — we spent more time driving and hiking than we did climbing.
There isn’t anything Fox Mountain Guides could do about the distance — the climbing site is a long ways from their office — but they could try some solutions that the other companies I’ve gone with have employed: 1) Meet the climbers at the site and bring along gear to put on at the climbing site rather than at the office. 2) Start the 4-​hour clock once we’ve reached the climbing site, rather than 1 hour away. 3) Inform the clients about the situation. I read their website beforehand and talked to someone on the phone, but in neither location was I informed that 1.5 of the 4 hours are spent in transit. The only time I received this information was after scheduling a climb and paying a deposit — then I received an email with details that should have been posted on their website.
In summary, the climb itself was fantastic and our guide was great, but I felt gypped by the amount of time spent in transit and preparation. That information should have been communicated beforehand.

We had a great time. Our guide kept us safe and we enjoyed his company. Our kids are great climbers and they were challenged and I was able to make it up a slab or rock too! It was fun for all.

We researched ½ day rock climbing trips on TripAdvisor and Unilocal!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.

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.