Summer 2018 Newsletter
Yoga and Climbing Come Into Balance!
We are very excited to offer our first Yoga and Climbing Clinic this fall! The dates of the clinic are October 19th-21st. There are only a few spaces left, so act quickly if you want to join us!
Esteemed yoga instructor Brianna Allen will lead the yoga sessions. Brianna teaches yoga and climbing at Modo Yoga, Cliffs of Id, and other climbing gyms and yoga studios in LA. We have taken her class and we think she is an amazing yoga teacher! Plus she is a climbing instructor who has put a lot of time researching the connections between the two subjects.
Also instructing the clinic will be Szu-ting Yi, Theresa Walsh, and Erik Kramer-Webb. Includes 2 nights camping, veggie/vegan/omni food, live music, campfire, and professional instruction. All yoga and climbing equipment provided at no extra cost.
Student/instructor ratio: 12 students – 4 instructors
Here’s a snapshot of Brianna’s journey into yoga and climbing in her own words:
“It wasn’t until a decade after I began my yoga practice that I learned about rock climbing. During just a short period of time climbing and practicing yoga with climbers, I knew that I wanted to share yoga with them, so I became a teacher. Yoga parallels and compliments climbing. Flexibility, balance, strength, and a clear meditative mind are all shared aspects that draw me just as much to climbing as to yoga. I am so excited that I can combine these two disciplines in one of my favorite places in the world, Joshua Tree National Park, with the knowledgeable, experienced, and cool cats of California Climbing School!”
Kids Climbing is on the Rise!
Our Kids Climbing Classes in Joshua Tree National Park are filling up! Check out this link for class dates and times. We are also proud to offer a new Teen Climbing Class and Teen Climbing Club. We are vendors for Valiant Prep and Inspire Charter Schools.
The Kids Climbing Class is open to kids 5-17 and is held on certain Fridays from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. Class is $40 which includes rental of shoes, harness, and helmet.
Here’s what a couple kids said after attending a bunch of Kids Climbing Classes last year:
Abby (9): “I like rock climbing because it’s exciting and fun. I think Mr Erik and Ms. Tee are the best teachers too.”
Izzie (6): “…I like Ms Tee because she makes me feel safe when I’m climbing and Mr Erik helped me down when I was scared.”
Teen Climbing
Our Teen Climbing Class, on October 5th from 1:00-4:00 pm is a one-day preview of the Teen Climbing Club. Teen Climbing Clubis held once a week over 4 weeks. Teen Climbing Club members will learn climbing skills such as belaying, rappelling, knots, and commands. $160 for 4 classes, 1:00 – 4:00 pm in Indian Cove, Joshua Tree National Park.
Private climbing lessons for youthare available. Inspire and Valiant voucher funds can be used for private lessons as well as for classes.
- 3 hour private lesson: $150
- $100 each for 2 kids
- $75 each for 3 kids
- $60 each for 4 kids
- $55 each for 5 kids
- $50 each for 6 kids
If more than 6 kids will be climbing, then another guide is required.
New Instructor Profile: Szu-ting Yi
California Climbing School is proud to have Szu-ting Yi, also known as “Ting-ting” as one of our instructors. Szu-ting does it all when it comes to climbing: alpine, big wall, bouldering, trad, sport, ice, gym, etc. In between doing first ascents on remote big walls in Patagonia and linking nearly all the named summits along the Continental Divide of the Wind River Range in one expedition, she finds time to teach others how to climb and take care of the environments they explore.
A native of Taiwan, Szu-ting is fluent in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Taiwanese.. She and her husband, Dave Anderson, live out of their custom van and they spend a good portion of their time on climbing road trips.
Szu-Ting also runs her own guide service, called LittlePo Adventures, because of a desire to encourage cultural exchanges between the East and West. Based in the United States when she’s not traveling, Szu-Ting understands both cultures, and has organized and guided tours in Western China and the Tibetan Plateau for many years.