Locations: We only offer half days at Wintergreen, VA, Great Falls, VA, Richmond, VA, and New River Gorge, WV.

Duration: Half days are 4 hours from your meeting time.

Meeting Times: At Wintergreen, Richmond, and the New River Gorge, half days start at 8:30am or 1:00pm.

At Great Falls, VA, half days start at 8:30am or 1:00pm on weekdays and non-holidays, and 8:30am, 9:00am, or 9:30am on weekends and holidays.

Locations: We offer full days at all or our locations.

Duration: Full day(s) are 8 hours from your meeting time. With the exception of Old Rag Mtn which is 10 hours and AMGA SPI Courses which are 9 hour days.

Meeting Times: Our standard meeting times are 8:30, 9:00, or 9:30am for full day trips. Ice climbing, backcountry skiing & riding, and AMGA SPI Programs meet at 8:00am.

For rock climbing you can select your preferred start time when booking, where available. On weekends and holidays, start times may be limited to 8:30am due to crowds and limited parking. Since most of our programs are private, we can sometimes accommodate other start times. Let us know if something would work better for you.

​Due to land agency regulations, we must adhere to strict trip sizes and guest-to-guide ratios. For this reason, we cannot issue equipment to anyone not on the trip (defined by the number of guests in your booking) or allow them to complete our paperwork.

We don’t have a minimum age requirement for rock climbing. However, from our experience the average age to begin rock climbing outdoors with no prior indoor experience is 6 years old.

For ice, alpine climbing, and backcountry skiing & riding 12 years old is an average minimum age. Our guides will scale your adventure appropriately according to age and ability.

Guests under the age of 18 are required to be accompanied by an adult who is on the booking.

Our standard meeting times for rock climbing are 8:30, 9:00, or 9:30am for full day trips and 8:30am or 1:00pm for half day trips. For rock climbing you can select your preferred start time when booking, where available. On weekends and holidays, start times may sometimes be limited to 8:30am due to crowds and limited parking.

Ice climbing, backcountry skiing & riding, and AMGA SPI Programs meet at 8:00am.

AIARE avalanche course field days meet at 7:30am via Zoom.

Alpine climbs are objective dependent. Meeting times are shown during online booking and listed in confirmation emails. Start times may need to be adjusted depending on conditions.

Since most of our programs are private, we can sometimes accommodate other start times. Let us know if something would work better for you.

Trips and courses meet in the parking lot of either the climbing area, a visitors’ center or park office, or a nearby coffee shop. You will receive Google directions in your confirmation email. Your guide(s) will have a BRMG logo on their driver side door.

AIARE Avalanche Courses meet virtually via Zoom for at least 30 minutes prior to traveling to a trailhead.

Included:

• Equipment:
  - Rock climbing: harness, helmet, and climbing shoes if you don’t have your own.
  
  - Ice climbing: harness, helmet, and ice clippers if you don’t have your own.
  
  - Alpine climbing: harness, helmet, ice clippers, micro spikes, and trekking pole if you don’t have your own.
  
  - Backcountry skiing/riding: no equipment included.

• Climbing/skiing instructor(s)/guide(s) for your group

Available for Rent:

• Mountaineering boots

• Ice tools

• Mountaineering axe

• Crampons

• Avalanche rescue gear

Touring skis and splitboards can be rented from Ski the Whites or REI.

Unfortunately we only rent gear for our programs. We cannot rent out equipment for personal trips.

Not Included:

• Food (lunch, snacks etc), Water, Sunscreen, Bug spray

• Backpack for carrying personal items (including food, water, medication etc) and your climbing gear (shoes, harness, helmet, ice tools, crampons) to the climbing area

• Transportation (during the winter AWD or 4WD may be essential)

• Guide gratuity
  

See your confirmation email for further details of what to bring

Upon booking you will receive a confirmation email that includes everything you will need to know prior to your trip. Note that you will need to forward the confirmation email to others in you party.

If you don’t receive the confirmation email, please check your spam folder.

Your confirmation email will include:

• Meeting time (as chosen during booking, if applicable), date and location

• Google directions to your meeting location

• A link to your guest terminal so that you can complete pre-trip paperwork (each person in your party must complete their paperwork no later than 48h prior to your trip)

• Details of what to wear/bring

• Any additional information specific to your trip/course and location.

BRMG provides a variety of options for your trip whether rain, snow, or shine is forecasted.

• Let our guides deliver a quality experience rain, snow, or shine. In case of rain, our guides can find dry terrain, a sheltered area to learn technical skills, or an objective appropriate to climbing/skiing in wet conditions.

• With so many locations, we may be able to move your trip to another destination with a better forecast.

• If you prefer to reschedule per our cancellation/rescheduling policy, contact us at least 48 hours in advance. Due to the uncertainty around weather forecasts, we leave it at your discretion as to if you would like to utilize the reschedule policy. See details in cancelation/reschedule policy below.

In the event of severe weather your guide/BRMG may deem that rescheduling is necessary and we will contact you.

Can you lead climb on a guided trip/course? The short answer is yes. However, just like taking the belay test at the gym, you need to show proficiency. We require that anyone wishing to lead demonstrate the ability to correctly clip bolts or place gear on a route and construct an anchor at the top. You must also comfortably top rope at least two number grades above the grade you wish to lead.

Our guides can create a customized climbing experience at any of our locations regardless of your prior climbing experience. All of our courses can be taught at any of the locations with the exception of sport and trad leading. We do not recommend focusing on sport climbing at Wintergreen, Seneca, Moore’s Wall, or Stone Mountain. The best sport climbing in our region is at the New River Gorge and Pilot Mountain. We do not recommend focusing on trad leading at Wintergreen.

Standard

At the time of booking, a 50% deposit is due. Deposits are refundable 14 days or more prior to your trip start. NC State Park Fees are charged at the time of booking and are non-refundable and non-transferable. Your deposit is transferable once within the calendar year if requested at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled trip start. Once a deposit is transferred to a new booking, the full trip cost is due and is non-refundable and non-transferable. Within 48 hours of all scheduled trips, the full trip cost is due and is non-refundable and non-transferable. In the event of severe weather or other circumstances out of BRMG’s control, or if parks and forests close or are not able to issue permits, it may be necessary to reschedule or change the location or objective of your trip.

Groups of 7+, AMGA Programs, AIARE Courses, and all WA & NY Programs

At the time of booking, a 50% deposit is due. Deposits are refundable 90 days or more prior to your program start. NC State Park Fees are charged at the time of booking and are non-refundable and non-transferable. Your deposit is transferable once within the calendar year if requested 30 days prior to the scheduled program start. Once a deposit is transferred to a new booking, the full program cost is due and is non-refundable and non-transferable. Within 30 days of all scheduled programs, the full program cost is due and is non-refundable and non-transferable. In the event of severe weather or other circumstances out of BRMG’s control, or if parks and forests close or are not able to issue permits, it may be necessary to reschedule or change the location or objective of your trip.

Insurance

We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance from an insurer such as IMG, Travel Guard, or Red Point if you would like financial protection beyond our cancellation/reschedule policy. Take care to ensure that your specific trip is covered.

Blue Ridge Mountain Guides, LLC does not cover rescue or evacuation expenses. For remote rock climbing, backcountry programs such as avalanche education, alpine climbing, mountaineering, and backcountry skiing/riding, we strongly recommend you purchase rescue/evacuation insurance from an insurer such as Global Rescue or Red Point. Both companies offer combined rescue and travel insurance.