Plan the Perfect Climbing Trip

Now where? It's time to choose your destination and make sure you're appropriately excited about the undertaking. This is where some good bathroom reading comes into play. Browse guidebooks for areas within your reach, and finger through the climbing rags for something that catches your attention. Pick a place you've never been, or a site where you left unfinished business on a past trip.

Once in a while, I'll end up on a climbing trip without having taken the time to familiarize myself with the area beforehand. I arrive and waste precious time learning that there are only a half-dozen routes in my ability range and they're all at a different trailhead.

Reading the guidebook not only helps you motivate for a few routes you'd like to do, but gives you an overall sense of the area and its history, rounding out your wholesome experience. Who pioneered the crag? What's the hardest line on the cliff? Is there a certain etiquette of style that you should respect when climbing here? It's also nice to have a plan B. Should the rock be wet and your aiders left at home, is there another worthwhile activity or nice hike nearby?