My 17, 15 & 13 year old were not thrilled I booked this excursion, to be honest I wasn't either ;) 3 of us are sort of afraid of heights and we had NEVER rock climbed before. My 13 year old had some exposure on a rock wall in gym and did very well. The rest of us were successful because of our guide JEFF. HE WAS AMAZING! Kind, patient, encouraging, helpful, reassuring. We NEVER would have accomplished what we did if it wasn't for his unfailing motivating guidance. My son went 1/2 way up the 1st rock came down and said, " I don't want to do this anymore." Then when he got to the second rock, through Jeff's encouragement, he went all the way up and it was MUCH harder than the first we climbed. He even WANTED to climb the 3rd and got to the top there as well. At 49, I felt very accomplished that I got to the top of the 2 rocks I climbed and am so glad we did this. We all had those ah ha moments where we were like... WE DID THIS! So beautiful and such a fabulous experience. I recommend the early am climb because garden of the the gods is less crowded and not so hot! So fulfilling!!!! ASK FOR JEFF HE ROCKS! :)