Our Story…
And We’re Stickin to it!
Our Story
Cliffhanger Guides is a culmination of the work and life experiences of Seth Zaharias, Sabra Purdy, and our amazing staff.
We are the only rock climbing guide service in Joshua Tree to have a brick and mortar presence located in the heart of the community on Park blvd directly across the street from the JTNP visitor center. We have built a upcycled Conex shipping container building that is 70% recycled materials, solar powered, all art project on the outside and all business on the inside. Please see the above image.
At Cliffhanger Guides we believe that anybody can rock climb. We play with kids age 3-103, all shapes, sizes, and ability levels. We are dedicated to expanding people’s horizons and giving them a chance to connect with the natural world and all that it has to offer.
Rock climbing is a great medium for discovering the outdoors, building strength and flexibility, and cultivating life-long friendships. Rock Climbing is exciting, rewarding, and highly adventurous; all attributes we believe contribute to happy, satisfied people.
This is a good thing.
Founders Seth & Sabra
Our Guides
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Cliffhanger Special Forces
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Why We Chose Joshua Tree
There are many wonderful places to rock climb around the globe. California alone has thousands of amazing climbing areas ranging from world class bouldering to 3,000 foot granite monoliths. We’ve sampled a fairly good portion of these offerings, not just in California, but around the world.
After all our travels, we decided to make Joshua Tree our winter home base and the International Headquarters for Cliffhanger Guides. The desert of Joshua Tree National Park is an amazing place full of surprises. At first glance it can seem desolate, but with a little deeper exploration, the Mojave desert becomes magical, particularly with a bird’s eye view from one of the many rock summits in the park. Joshua Tree National Park is one of the premier rock climbing areas on the planet, with some 9,000 climbs to choose from.
From October to April, Joshua Tree becomes an international rock climbing destination and the scene of many a fine adventure.
We also believe that just because we’re out adventuring, we don’t have to suffer unduly. Just the right amount.
All Cliffhanger Guides trips come with gourmet food, hot or cold beverages, and tall tales. Come rejuvenate your spirits, sweat, grunt, and laugh with us. We hope that you choose to have your Joshua Tree rock climbing adventure with us and we hope to share our love of this beautiful national park with you!