40 YEARS OF TEACHING EXPERIENCE

meet our guides

Jarad Stiles

Co-Owner

  • JARAD STILES is from Lake Tahoe California. Jarad’s guiding career started in 2009 by gaining his Single Pitch Instructor certification. After climbing and guiding for a decade, and 26 days of rigorous training and examination, he earned his AMGA Rock Guide certification in 2019. His rock climbing foundation started in the Lake Tahoe area and quickly progressed to the big walls of Yosemite. Multiple ascents of El Capitan, Half Dome, Washington Column and The Leaning Tower taught Jarad the skills needed to move efficiently through difficult terrain. His passion for alpine rock climbing led him to the High Sierra classics, Clyde Minaret, the Incredible Hulk, Merriam Peak, Mt. Whitney, Mt. Russell and Bear Creek Spire. Jarad’s love for wild places inspires his passion for teaching others. He’s known for his patience, understanding, and compassion, giving aspiring rock climbers the confidence to explore their limits.

CHRIS BAUMANN

Co-Owner

  • CHRIS BAUMANN began rock climbing in 1985 in Lake Tahoe California. Chris has been an AMGA-Certified Single Pitch Instructor since 2006. Known for his patient teaching style, Chris especially enjoys introducing novices young and old to the sport of rock climbing. Chris’ kind demeanor and wealth of knowledge are the perfect combination for an amazing instructor. Known for his mastery of crack climbing techniques, his rock climbs in Yosemite include Astroman, a 13-pitch, 5.11c that is the goal for many crack climbing aficionados, and a one-day ascent of the Nose Route on El Capitan.

TONY STARTIN

  • TONY SARTIN’s background includes exotic locales, from sea cliffs in Thailand to the huge sandstone spires of Monument Valley, AZ, and Moab, UT. His big wall climbs include Mexico’s infamous Trono Blanco and a first ascent on Rainbow Wall at Red Rocks, NV. Tony is regarded as one of Southern California’s strongest and most talented sport climbers, with 5.13 ascents to his credit. Tony has been guiding professionally since 1997.

BOB GAINES

  • BOB GAINES is the former Director of Vertical Adventures ROCK CLIMBING SCHOOL, which he founded in 1983. Bob is an AMGA (American Mountain Guides Association)-Certified Rock Instructor (since 1995). Bob is the co-author of Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual, the textbook for the AMGA’s Single Pitch Instructor program. Bob is also the author of the rock climbing instructional textbooks Rock Climbing for the Outdoor Beginner, Rappelling, and Advanced Rock Climbing. He is one of the country’s leading experts on rock climbing anchors and rigging and the co-author of Climbing Anchors, How to Rock Climb, and Rock Climbing: The Art of Safe Ascent.

    Bob’s latest rock climbing guidebooks are Best Climbs Tahquitz and Suicide Rocks and Best Climbs Joshua Tree National Park.

    Bob began rock climbing at Joshua Tree in the 1970s. Since then, he has pioneered over 500 new routes at Joshua Tree National Park and over 130 first ascents at Tahquitz and Suicide Rocks, Idyllwild. A former member of Yosemite’s search and rescue team, Bob is a veteran of Yosemite’s big walls.

    Come climb with Bob today and learn from a living legend.

GRATUITY

Many clients ask us if it is appropriate to tip their guide. Absolutely! As you will see, your guide will be working very hard to provide you with an enjoyable climbing experience. If you feel they did a good job, please feel free to tip your guide.

Testimonials

“Can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed climbing with you.”

Many thanks for the entire experience. I’ve made a lifetime memory with your help. I can’t remember when I’ve had more fun. All the best!

My buddy and I booked a two day guided session in Joshua tree last month to learn how to trad climb and it was an absolute blast!

We’ve climbed outdoors but this was our first time climbing trad, and we wanted to learn how to place gear from an expert. Jared was our guide for the trip and he was amazing. Jared is a wealth of knowledge and broke things down in a way that made things easily digestible. He was able to ascertain our skill level and competence right off the bat and kept us challenged in a way that that enabled to build a solid understanding of the fundamentals while learning things we never thought we’d get a chance to try out on our first trip. Book Jared! He’s the best.

Brian B

We spent the day with Chris, one of the most amazing caring, encouraging instructors I've ever had.

He knows his stuff!!! And he can encourage you to go for something you never in your wildest dreams would think you had it in you. From the very start of booking this during Covid, Bob was the consummate professional. He met us to go through sizing, equipment etc and followed meticulous covid guidelines, before handing us over to Chris who was our guide for the day. When I first saw where he was taking us, I thought "there's been a mistake, I'm a total novice." But Chris, through patience and humor and just generally such a cool guy had all of us climbing. His instructions were spot on, calling out where you might want to consider placing a foot (yes he knows the routes that well, he can tell out a foothold). Pacing was perfect, I worried we'd be overly exhausted but Chris paced it wonderfully

I loved the day! My only regret? That I don't live nearer to be able to do this again and again and again...

To Bob and Chris, thank you!

L.A.

Our day in December with Tony was one my family will recall with such joy!

My 12-year-old daughter said this past family trip was her favorite, and that is a lot because of the climbing experience with Tony. (She is trying out Sender One today!) He was so patient with our various abilities and comfort levels. He also took time to teach us the basics. The routes seemed perfect for our group, and then he treated us to a hike thorough the Real Hidden Valley Chasm. It was a once in a lifetime adventure! Tony's love of climbing is evident, and that spirit helped build our confidence as well. Thank you and Tony for setting us up for a very fulfilling family day of rock climbing. We will be back and highly recommend to others.

Kristen I.

This was an absolutely incredible course, Jarad was fantastic!

My climbing partner and I wanted to refresh our knowledge and learn new tips and tricks related to building and cleaning anchors, rappelling, and multi pitch climbing. We not only learned a lot, but we had so much fun doing it! Jarad was knowledgeable, patient, enthusiastic, encouraging, and super safe. We can't wait to take another class on self-rescue, additional safety, and learning and redoing more techniques.

It was wonderful! This was our 10-year-old daughter's first time climbing outside.

Jarad was out guide. He was terrific with her- patient, confidence-boosting, didn't talk down to her at all. She went up and down about 5 times; I (mom) did twice. It was great for her confidence and she said it was her favorite day ever.

Thanks to Jarad for making it happen. I would definitely recommend him to anyone looking for a special adventure.

We had the best time climbing with our guide, Chris!

Our group had a mix of experience levels. My husband and I have been climbing for 4 years but hadn't done much slab climbing. Our friend had never climbed outdoors before. Chris was an excellent teacher, and he did a great job maintaining the balance between challenging us but not pushing us to do something we weren't comfortable with. He emphasized and taught safe climbing techniques, and we loved learning about the park and surrounding towns from him! He's also a great photographer! Thanks for an absolute awesome time Chris! Also, shoutout to Bob for being flexible and helping us reschedule when a storm was predicted for our climbing day!

Hilary D.

“Climbed with Vertical Adventures this weekend - it was awesome!”

Our Chris was knowledgable, personable, and helped us all feel very safe on the rock, but also encouraged us on increasingly challenging climbs. He was an excellent teacher giving technique advice throughout the day. By the end of the day we had all improved a ton and were way more confident. Bob and the office staff were clear communicators, always available, and a total class act. Can't wait to climb with these guys again!

Thomas G.

“Jarad was a best-in-class example of what Vertical Adventures has to offer customers.”

I joined several members of my Search & Rescue unit in a training with Vertical Adventures, focused on basic repelling, rock traversing, and belaying skills for Class 3 and Class 4 terrain searches. Jarad, our AMGA-certified instructor, was a best-in-class example of what Vertical Adventures has to offer customers. He was thorough, calm and and extremely positives as he took our team through a comprehensive and focused two day training block. Thank you, Vertical Adventures!

David G.

“Chris was super knowledgeable and friendly.”

He helped us all feel very safe on the rock, but he also encouraged us on increasingly challenging climbs and this helped our skill tremendously. He was an excellent teacher and gave great technique advice throughout the day. By the end of the day we had all improved a ton and were feeling way more confident.

“I wanted to say thank you again for the incomparable time in JT.”

Your instruction came through precise, informed and professional. I enjoyed our conversations and you knew exactly when to give a little advice or when to let me or my dad just enjoy working it out on our own. You really made the whole experience as I got some perspective not just of the rock but the plants and the wildlife surrounding us. I felt your love of the place reflected. Now I love it there too. Thanks again. I always say there's 1000 days in your life that define it. This was one of the 1000 for me. Hell- it was one of the top 10.

“Jarad is super patient and so knowledgeable”

Just wanted to let you know what a terrific job Jarad did as our guide last week. He is super patient and so knowledgeable, he made my first outdoor climbing experience as enjoyable as possible considering it’s a big change from climbing in the gym.

ROCK CLIMBING courses

Experience the thrill of rock climbing with Vertical Adventures! Choose from 1 or multi-day courses. We offer basic, intermediate, and advanced rock climbing instruction to suit every climber's needs. Our expert guides ensure personalized and comprehensive training for all skill levels.

ONE - DAY COURSES

Our one-day rock climbing courses cover essential techniques, safety, and equipment use for all levels. Beginners learn fundamentals, while intermediate climbers advance skills like edging and crack climbing. Courses offered include Basic Rock Climbing, Intermediate Rock Climbing, Climbing Anchors, Lead Climbing, Crack Climbing Technique, Climbing Self-Rescue, and Big Wall Skills. Personalized coaching ensures safe progression.

multi - DAY COURSES

Our multi-day rock climbing courses cover a range of skills for all levels. From Basic & Intermediate climbing to Anchoring, Leading, Self Rescue, Crack Climbing Technique, and Big Wall Seminar, each course provides in-depth instruction and hands-on practice. Perfect for mastering traditional climbing, lead climbing, and advanced aid techniques.

advance COURSES

Our advanced rock climbing courses, led by AMGA-certified Rock Guide Jarad Stiles, cover goal setting, gear selection, belaying strategies, advanced anchor rigging, rope management, rappelling efficiency, and self-rescue techniques. These customizable courses are designed to meet your experience and climbing goals, providing comprehensive preparation for challenging climbs and enhancing your climbing skills.