Rock climbers love to talk about the Zen of the sport, testing one’s self against the rock. The purest form of climbing is known as traditional-style, or trad-climbing, and involves climbing unbolted routes, placing protective gear as you go, gear that will halt your fall should you slip. But it’s more a test of nerves—trad-climbing is trusting your gear, and yourself. For more than 50 years California’s Joshua Tree National Park has been one of rock-climbing’s top trad destinations, producing some of the world’s best climbers and numerous innovations in the sport. Today the Park boasts over 8000 climbing routes and draws climbers from around the globe.
The winter months are the best time to climb in Joshua Tree, with blue skies and warm temperatures. So I headed to Palm Springs in late November to take a trad-climbing course with a Joshua Tree Rock Climbing School and report on it for The Globe & Mail. The week was amazing and tiring and the Park was a truly magical place.
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