Still Rockin'

Does Al Gore rock climb? If he did, he wouldn't need lessons in being an alpha male. With climbing, it goes with the territory. Climbers have a certain confidence. A feral grace that's developed as you move fluidly from hold to hold. A viselike grip you get from clinging to small crevices. And less tangible, but unmistakable, is what climbers call the North Wall look, a cast to one's eyes that says, Don't mess with me, I've been there and I'm back. But climbing is different from other risk sports. There are no restrictions. No one to check your rating, go over your gear or question your qualifications. The stone is a cruel mirror--if you don't have what it takes, it lets you know.

A bonus of climbing is the spectacular view you get from a cliff hundreds of feet high. Many of the classic climbing areas are situated in national parks--wilderness reserves selected for their awesome beauty. The equipment has gotten remarkably user-friendly--harnesses don't come untied, ropes don't break and shoes stick to the rock like glue--making the sport accessible to anyone with the drive to rise above the crowd.

That's Still Rockin' (continued from page 100) not to say climbing is no longer dangerous. It can be. But the sport's adventure quota is relative to the individual. The 3000-foot face of El Capitan, normally a three-day jaunt for a roped-up team of experts, was recently climbed in an afternoon by Dean Potter--solo and mostly unroped, with no protective gear. ''It depends on how you define adventure,'' explains Potter, the reigning king of risk takers. ''If you want to push the envelope, the possibilities are endless. But you can go easy.''

The Basics

Whether you're going extreme or mainstream, there are two ways to rock climb. During a ''free'' climb, you ascend using only your hands and feet. ''Aid'' is when you climb using rope assistance or hardware embedded in the rock face.

Equipment includes pitons (steel spikes), spring-loaded aluminum camming devices and aluminum wedges called nuts, which are placed by hand into cracks and are easily removable. Shoes, a harness and a belay device cost less than $200, but a complete rack of quick draws, cams and nuts can cost three or four times as much.

There are several ways to go when free climbing. Bouldering, which involves scaling boulders without a rope, is exhilarating and low on the death-risk scale. The only gear you'll need is a pair of sticky rubber shoes and a chalk bag. Sport climbing is also relatively safe because the protection, usually in the form of stainless steel bolts, is permanently affixed to the rock. In traditional, or adventure, climbing, the protective gear is placed and removed during each ascent. Soloing--free climbing alone without a rope--is considered the ultimate quest. It's also the most dangerous type of climbing. One slip and it's over. (Like white-water rafting, rock climbing has its own rating system, which ranks climbs according to duration, difficulty and danger. Called the Yosemite decimal system, it ranges from 5.0 [easy] to 5.14 [the hardest].)

Climbing Action

As the sport of rock climbing has grown around the globe, so have the number of climbing areas. In the U.S. alone there are thousands of destinations. Here are the jewels, rated according to their pucker factor.

Easy Does It

The Gunks (Shawangunk Mountains, New Paltz, New York): Less than two hours from Manhattan, this spot provides the country's best introduction to rock climbing. Huge overhanging sections of rock, called roofs, make the Gunks' cliffs appear formidable. But ladder rung--size holds give climbers a hidden advantage.

Eldo (Eldorado Canyon State Park, Colorado): This is the ideal urban crag. It's close enough to Boulder that you can tick off a quick route after work and still make happy hour. Bastille Crack, a route that's considered the quintessential crack climb, towers 200 feet over Clear Creek, which tumbles down Eldorado Canyon. Despite the intimidating relief of the face--it's nearly vertical--the rock yields good rests at critical intervals. The hardest part of the climb is only 20 feet off the ground.

Lose the Training Wheels

Cathedral Ledge (North Conway, New Hampshire): There's a reason New Hampshire is known as the Granite State. Cathedral Ledge is the Yosemite of the East--400-foot walls crisscrossed with arching cracks and knife-blade corners. This is probably the least crowded major climbing destination in the country. Midweek, your only company on the cliffs might be peregrine falcons. Cathedral Ledge is true adventure climbing, with few preplaced bolts. Take plenty of protective gear, since long falls are a real possibility.

The Tower (Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming): Aliens used this 500-foot volcanic plug as a landing pad in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but you don't need a spaceship to reach the summit. Standing 1267 feet above the wandering Belle Fourche River, it was first climbed in 1938 during the daring rescue of a parachutist who was stranded on top. Although the smooth sides of the Tower appear unclimbable from a distance, closer inspection reveals intricate cracks that carve their way to the summit.

The Valley (Yosemite National Park, California): This is ground zero of the American (and world) rock climbing scene. Although there's abundant opportunity to risk your neck, this is the place to have a five-star adventure with some semblance of control. Be warned that although temperatures at the valley floor may be sizzling, a ledge several thousand feet up can get chilly, especially if you're stranded overnight.

Red Rocks (Red Rock Canyon National Monument, Nevada): Climbing and wilderness are not what most people have in mind when heading to Sin City, but a mere 20 miles from the Las Vegas Strip lies one of the most popular climbing areas in America. The user-friendly sandstone at Red Rocks has an abundance of holds that make it one of the planet's least intimidating training grounds. There are plenty of short, well-protected sport climbs within a casual five-minute stroll of the scenic loop road. But for those wanting some altitude, the canyons offer it up with more than 1000 multipitch routes to choose from, some nearly 2000 feet long.

Expert Grip Required

The Black (Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado): The Black has a reputation as a playground for climbing's lunatic fringe. Climbers are cheek to beak with peregrine falcons and eagles as the birds swoop down the tight canyon. Rock quality ranges from hard as steel to snow-cone consistency.

Fischer Towers (Moab, Utah): Sandcastles are sturdier than some of the towers you'll find here. While protection placed in granite is generally solid, the cat box--grade sandstone of Fischer Towers can crumble in a strong breeze. The rock's facade is so bad, many climbers wear goggles.

Learning the Ropes

So you'd like to climb Red Rocks or the Black, but you don't want to spend the next 20 years training. The answer? Hire a guide and jump on some of the world's classic vertical faces, getting the thrill of a lifetime on routes that unguided climbers spend years trying to bag. Of course, you'll have more fun if you already know the basics of the sport. Here are some top schools that will teach you rope craft and rock technique. They also employ first-rate guides who are comfortable on summits around the world.

Boulder Rock School (Boulder): Boulderites have long regarded their town as the center of the universe, and the city's climbing community is no exception. But there's no arguing that the rock is out of this world. The $69 half-day class is a true bargain. The point of the class is fun, which means quickly jumping on the rock and getting a lot of air under your feet.

Diamond Sports (New Paltz, New York): Owner Al Diamond taught climbing for 14 years. Guides work equally well with novices as with clients wanting an expert partner for local test pieces. Beginning classes are $100; private guiding is $190 per day, gear included.

The International Mountain Climbing School (North Conway, New Hampshire): JFK Jr. learned to climb in North Conway, for good reason. The scene is mellow, the rock is world-class and there are no crowds. Guides specialize in international trips, including 26,000-foot peaks. Introductory classes start at $85 per day, private guides at $195.

Jackson Hole Mountain Guides (Jackson, Wyoming): The Tetons have great adventure climbing--high rocky faces and long approaches. Don't miss Irene's Arete, one of Tom Brokaw's favorite climbs. The school also specializes in trips to Red Rocks, Mount Whitney, the Wind River Range and Devils Tower. Group lessons start at $80; private guiding is $250 per day.

Vertical Adventures (Newport Beach, California): Director Bob Gaines taught Sylvester Stallone to climb (well, sort of) for Cliff Hanger. Courses are taught at Joshua Tree National Park and Idyllwild, California. Basic rock craft starts at $85. If you're serious about the sport, the four-day courses are quite a bargain at $315.

The Fake Take

Indoor climbing gyms are probably the best place to learn to climb. There's no worry of falling rock, poison oak or getting lost, leaving you to concentrate on developing strength and technique. You can take those basic skills outdoors and apply them to real rock--or not.

At last count, there were 400 to 500 artificial climbing walls in the U.S. Here is a nationwide selection of the best.

Boulder Rock Club (Boulder): If you want to see the stars of rock climbing practice their skills, hit this spot. Day pass: $14. Annual membership: $440.

The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers (New York City): Central Park has awesome bouldering, but the best roped cragging in the Big Apple is on the climbing wall at Chelsea Piers, a game park for contact sports, golf and horseback riding. The day fee is $40 for nonmembers. Beginning climbing classes, with a total of nine hours of instruction, are $150.

Rockreation (Los Angeles): Where the real Hollywood stars hang. A big plus is the fully equipped locker rooms and weight machines, while a minus may be the occasional celebrity photo shoot. Walk-in fee is $15 per day; annual passes are $600.

Stone Works Climbing Gym (Carrollton, Texas): When the owners heard someone else had built a taller wall, they dug 11 feet into the ground to remedy the situation. The new route is 121 feet tall. Outdoor walls are 80 feet. First-time climbers pay $22.73, which includes gear and a one-hour class. Day rate: $10.73. Annual rate: $350.

OKC Rocks (Oklahoma City): This gym gets the award for most surreal location. Climbs are routed up the inside and outside walls of 15 abandoned grain silos. Outside routes are 145 feet high. The walk-in fee is $10. Beginners can get started with a 15-minute orientation.

Vertical Stronghold (Appleton, Wisconsin): Seven artificial crack climbs help gym rats prepare for the real thing. This is the only gym in the country with its own ice-climbing area--a nearby quarry 130 feet high. Gym rates are $9 per day; an annual pass is $325. Seasonal ice climbing starts at $25 per day.

Upper Limits (Bloomington, Illinois): This old grain elevator features 110-foot-tall routes and has both indoor and outdoor climbing areas. Day rate: $10. Annual membership: $299.

World's Toughest Climb

You've mastered all of our recommended destinations and are a regular on the indoor scene. So what's the ultimate climbing challenge for a rock star? Action Direct in Frankenjura, Germany. An unimposing 25-foot climb from flat ground, the razor-sharp rock is virtually blank-faced. Climbing Magazine calls Action Direct the sport-climbing achievement of the century. First conquered in 1991 by Wolfgang Gullich (who was Sylvester Stallone's climbing double in Cliff Hanger), the route has been repeated only once since Gullich's ascent. Not awe-inspiring to look at, but it'll earn you powerful bragging rights.