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[darwined]

Was it gratifying?  What lessons were the most important to you?  Did you learn anything from the noob?

[DMan]

Long before I was a guide, when I was 16 (1994), I started climbing almost every night at Mill City Rock Gym and got a job at the Salem EMS. I basically devoured the popular John Long book and that other one I love but will not say it's name because someone has mentioned it WAY too many times on these boards...

I would recruit whoever I could get to skip school with me to drive up to Cannon for multiple failed attempts at Lakeview on Cannon. I hadn't heard of the smaller crags in NH yet so I figured that was the best route to learn outdoor climbing based of a Rock & Ice magazine article...

I guess I mentored this one kid, 14 years old, met him at the gym and he was my partner for Whitney-Gilman... I was 17 now, and thought I knew everything... LOL... we had an epic on that route I probably shouldn't have walked away from...

Then, while in the military I started dragging platoon mates to Pilot Mt. NC, the closest climbing just 5 hours away from Camp Lejeune...

It was always gratifying... introducing people to the sport is awesome... I learned that patience is probably the most important skill if you wish to teach noobs... I learned people learn concepts many different ways and that learning from books is a rare way to learn climbing these days, except for me and Champ...

Gratifying enough I decided a couple years after leaving the Marines I wanted to work at becoming a guide...

Absolutely love my job!

[lucky luke]

Was it gratifying?  What lessons were the most important to you?  Did you learn anything from the noob?

I had monitor many climber. Bringing them at their limit and on easy climb to let them understand their progress. When it was time for me to have plaisir in a climb, they disapear. After a while, I brought them on an hard route the first day, so if I don't see them the next one it was not too important.

I saw the trad mentality where the new climber respect the difficulty of the climb and the sport mentality where the climbers praticly found annoying to belay in a 5.8, but were unable to lead a 5.4 and cry to have standard technique and to know all the movement of the route so nobody see there lack of technique.

As I didn't have money and a car, I trade a 100$ guide route for the transport to the cliff. I also pay half the gaz. Some climber was so bad that they asked me to pay all the gaz. I finished to go alone and solo the route.

Note that I had some good friend and partner. Some are still climbing and they lead. I remember that I was on antibiotic, went out of the hopital four days before the climb, and I led a 5.6 under the rain because I didn't want to disappointed a partner.       

[strandman]

DN- Lejeune  That explains a lot     A long time climbing bud of mine spent some time at Khe San... I figured we would be safe anywhere.. like Joshua Tree

[DMan]

DN- Lejeune  That explains a lot     A long time climbing bud of mine spent some time at Khe San... I figured we would be safe anywhere.. like Joshua Tree

Yes, but spent most my 4 years deployed, 18 countries... a great 4 years 96'-2000

[sneoh]

Yes, but spent most my 4 years deployed, 18 countries... a great 4 years 96'-2000

Good timing!
Which countries?  If you do not mind sharing (and total thread drift!).

[DMan]

Yes, but spent most my 4 years deployed, 18 countries... a great 4 years 96'-2000

Good timing!
Which countries?  If you do not mind sharing (and total thread drift!).

It was... I was 0311 so lots of great training, but never had to really use it.

Haiti
Okinawa, Japan
Seoul, S. Korea
Columbia
Ecuador
Peru
Chile
Argentia
Brazil
South Africa
Namibia
Ghana
Cote D'Ivoire
Ireland
Greece

huh, guess it was only 15... damn busy 4 years though