How do I pick my trip date?

For our climbing courses and events, the date is planned in advance, and you sign up for certain dates and locations.

For our private rock climbing trips, we plan the trips around your schedule. When you add the trip to your cart, you will have a chance to fill in your date and location preferences. After you sign up for your day, we will reach out to you and gather some more information about you, your goals, and your availability. We will then pick a date based on your preferences.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We need a minimum of 5 days to plan your trip, and at certain locations a 14 day heads up is required to get the proper permitting. If you ever want to try a trip sooner than 5 days ahead, please reach out by email first.

What is the difference between a “course”, “event”, and a “private day”?

Our climbing courses are pre-planned days with a set rock climbing curriculum in mind. The courses have slots that anyone can sign up for on specific dates. This means that you will be learning the content alongside other climbers that are signed up for your course. The size of the group will depend on your course. This can range from 2-8 people per course.

Our rock climbing events are 3 hour sessions of outdoor climbing. You can sign up for a specific date and location. Events are totally focused on climbing top rope outside and having fun climbing.

Our private climbing days are one-on-one days for your group with an instructor. Since these days are private, the date and goals of the day are completely up to you. You can use these days to take one of our courses privately, learn custom material not offered in one of our courses, or just have a fun day of climbing under the supervision of one of our certified instructors. The private days can also be adjusted to your personal skill level. There is no limit on group size for our private days. You will need to contact us directly for groups of 9+ climbers to get special pricing.

What age is appropriate for your climbing packages?

There is no hard age cutoff for any of our private climbing packages. Our private guided days can be customized to be appropriate for any age, and we love to see kids come rock climb outside with us.

For most public courses and events, we require an age of 13+. Sometimes we will offer rock climbing events for kids that allow climbers 6-14. We only offer our trad climbing courses to climbers 16+, and we recommend an age of 18+ to learn trad climbing.

What happens if there is rain or bad weather?

For private trips, your instructor will reach out to you during the week leading up to your trip, and we will be in constant communication about weather forecasts. If the day you scheduled does have weather that prevents climbing, you will be given priority in rescheduling an appointment to another day that works into your schedule.

Public courses and events WILL continue through light rain. If the weather is severe enough to prevent climbing, a rain date will be selected and you will be given the option to opt out for a refund, minus a 3% transaction fee.

Can I bring my own climbing gear? Or is gear provided?

Climbing gear rental is included with your purchase, so you do not need to bring your own. This gear includes:

• helmet

• harness

• belay device

• shoes

• third-hand/prusik

Other equipment such as rope and anchor material is also brought by the instructor. For our trips that teach trad climbing, all trad climbing equipment is also provided.

You are free to bring your own gear as well. Note that your instructor will inspect your equipment at the start of the day. If any equipment is believed to be unsafe for use, you will be asked to use equipment provided by Greater Boston Climbing School.

What is your cancelation policy?

You can cancel your trip for a refund up to 5 days before your trip. Cancellations 4 days or sooner before your trip are not eligible for a refund. No-shows are also not eligible for a refund. Refunds will cost 3% of the trip cost to cover transaction fees.

Can I bring my pet on my trip?

For our public climbing events and courses, pets are not allowed. We at GBCS love animals and love seeing them when we are outside, but bringing pets like dogs add an additional layer to the risk management of the group for the day. Managing pets, even those on tether or with a handler, can take attention away from our instructors who are suppose to be managing you, the climber. In addition even if your pet is mild-mannered, they can attract unwanted attention from other animals in the area and create challenges for our instructors and other members of the group. We also have no protective equipment for your animals to keep them safe from potential rock fall or other natural hazards. To be fair to the other climbers and your instructors, pets need to stay at home. If you arrive at the crag with your pet, you will not be allowed to climb until the pet is returned home and refunds will not be given if you cannot return to the crag afterwards. The only exception to this policy is for service animals, but you still need to reach out beforehand in this case.

For private days, if you are aware of the additional risks and have had a discussion with your instructors, you can bring your pets. Note that we still strongly recommend not bring animals to the crag. Be warned that bringing an animal may disrupt your climbing day and affect our instructor’s abilities to help you reach your climbing goals. We are also not responsible for the risk management of your animal including protecting them from natural hazards, other animals at the crag, or escaping into the woods near the crag. If you bring your animal, we expect you to follow LNT principles, which means you are expected to clean up after your animal uses the bathroom and prevent them for activities that would alter the crag like digging holes.