Climbing Camp

Climbing Camp is for campers entering Grades 6-10. Climbing Camp takes the independence of Adventure Camp and adds extra focus on the sport of man-made top-rope climbing, bouldering, as well as outdoor, real-rock climbing. Climbers sleep in tents in our remote Adventure Village. Instead of being near Youth Camp, they have their own area of camp to explore. Dedicated bathrooms at their campsite as well as modern bathrooms and showers at the Barn provide the same comfort of the other Adventure programs without compromising a wilderness-style experience. Climbers participate in some of the classic camp favorites like waterfront activities while spending at least half of their days doing ropes and climbing activities. Climbers get this specialized experience on top of outdoor skills included in other Adventure programs like fire-building and shelter-building.

Your camper does not need to have participated in an Adventure program before in order to participate in our Climbing Camp, however previous climbing experience is highly encouraged. 

Please refer to the Parent Camper Guide on our website for the Packing List, but know that we provide the essentials to make sure your camper can join in the fun without needing to buy expensive outdoor gear. Campers will do more outdoor activities than Youth campers, so be sure that they bring clothing for both chilly mornings and hot afternoons, as well as footwear made for walking. Please note that temperature variance at Y Camp can be wide. Sometimes our nights can be chilly. You know your camper better than anyone else; please be sure to check the weather before you check in to camp and add additional clothing/footwear as you see fit (search Cascade, ID for best weather results).

All campers at Y Camp participate in a cookout over a fire at some point during their week, but all meals except for that one are prepared for them in our commercial kitchen. For Climbing campers, everything is the same with the exception of 3 dinners during the week that we cook out over a fire. All adventure campers will participate in the meal planning, preparation, and cooking. After all, when one is out exploring the woods a well-cooked meal over the fire is the finest of luxuries!

Because Climbing campers do special things, staff that work with these campers get additional training and maintain a high supervision ratio, 1:5. While the woods are lovely, dark, and deep, we uphold our promise to you that we will approach every situation with your camper through the calculated lens of risk management. At times, this means we will scoot inside to avoid an electrical storm, and other times it might mean we spend more time reinforcing tick checks. All this is to say that our campers’ safety is our top priority. We spend ample time with our staff training and drilling scenarios so that we are prepared and methodical whenever a difficult or dangerous situation arises.