Vertical Ventures Rock Climbing & Wilderness Programs

04/11/2026

Well I thought this was kinda well done. So, sharing it with you here. Hope it adds some moves to your knot repertoire. Be safe.

12/18/2025

Bah Humbug

12/08/2025

An annual tradition. Please watch and share. Beware the ice.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16YGdcWn1M/

09/08/2025

Well, ain't that somethin' ?

08/11/2025

URGENT - For anyone heading to Pukaskwa National Park in the near term, the park service has instituted water restrictions due to suspected blue green algae which is toxic to humans, pets and other critters. Be advised not to drink, swim or touch the affected areas. This algae is nothing to toy with, seriously.

🚨 Potential Blue-Green Algae Alert – Hattie Cove 🚨
We are currently testing for the possible presence of blue-green algae at the canoe beach in Hattie Cove. Blue-green algae can produce toxins that are highly dangerous to people, pets, and wildlife.

⚠️ Until further notice:
- Canoe Beach is closed
- Do not touch the water at the beach
- Do not drink campground water

Please help us protect everyone’s safety by sharing this information with fellow visitors. Signs will be posted in the campground shortly.
We will provide an update as soon as test results are available. Thank you for your cooperation and caution.

07/25/2025

In need of some old school map and compass skills? This ain't a bad place to begin your journey. Happy trails kids.

07/18/2025

Well, hell everyone's got somethin' flashy to put online these days. As for me, I'm still a sucker for good, clean, simple rope work. Always have been and I suppose I always will be. Enjoy.

07/15/2025

I don't generally post on these types of incidents, however this tragic event which was apparently made much worse by the actions of the camp director touch me deeply not just as a camp director myself but also as a long time risk-management consultant for outdoor adventure programs. Full disclosure - The camp direct at Camp Mystic drowned attempting to save some of the younger campers. Twenty-seven campers and counselors at Camp Mystic died. After doing much research and private deliberation, it is my strong belief that no one at this camp needed to have died from what I would say was a horrific and tragic weather event coupled with the abject failure and utter absence of any kind of effective local response at every level. So many red flags here were ignored. So much bad and ugly politics. Such arrogance, apathy and buck passing to go around and so little responsibility was or is being taken. Lots of finger pointing though. Meanwhile they are still pulling bodies of dead children and others out that damned river. My heart is with these families and the survivors who lost their cabin mates, friends and sisters on this night of sheer terror. May they learn from this tragedy and these lives, all of them, lost too young.

Executive Director Richard ‘Dick’ Eastland, 70, drowned while trying to rescue some of the youngest girls

02/11/2025

🔗: https://l.mlive.com/dwj9n8
Excitement is building in the Upper Peninsula as trail conditions are looking promising for the UP200 dog sled races.

The last two years, all three races that are part of this event were cancelled due to poor trail conditions. February rains caused the cancellation in 2023 and above-average warm temperatures halted the 2024 races.

02/11/2025

Let it snow

🔗: https://l.mlive.com/dwj9n8
Excitement is building in the Upper Peninsula as trail conditions are looking promising for the UP200 dog sled races.

The last two years, all three races that are part of this event were cancelled due to poor trail conditions. February rains caused the cancellation in 2023 and above-average warm temperatures halted the 2024 races.

08/26/2024

For those of us of a particular era he was an inspiring and larger than life soul and spirit. Cut from a different cloth than most of the rest of us. He will be missed and we wish him godspeed on his next journey.

Tom Brown Jr., who was considered the country’s foremost authority on wilderness survival, and who taught thousands of people how to track deer, fletch arrows, forage for food and generally thrive in the great outdoors, died on Aug. 16 in Neptune, N.J. He was 74. His son Coty confirmed the death, ...