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Still green water of the Rock Pool beneath pocketed volcanic cliffs at Malibu Creek

Our story

About First Pitch

A small, local guide service run by a local climber, on the rock close to home.

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Photo: Connar L'Ecuyer / National Park Service (Public domain)

Who we are

Small on purpose

First Pitch Climbing Co. is a small, local guide service started by a longtime LA climber, Jack Nixon.

There's no front desk and no fleet of vans: just small-group trips, planned around who's coming and led by someone who knows these crags well. The person who replies to your request is the same person who'll be checking your knots at the crag.

Why we stay close to home

Los Angeles has a remarkable amount of rock within reach of the city: sandstone at Stoney Point, volcanic pockets at Malibu Creek, conglomerate in Texas Canyon and granite slabs at Big Rock. We focus on these crags because we know them well: which walls get shade on a warm morning, which routes suit a nervous first-timer, and when the sandstone needs a few more dry days after rain.

Staying local means less time in the car and more time on the wall. When summer heat settles over the city, we head up to the cool granite of Idyllwild and the San Bernardino Mountains.

See where we climb

Sandstone outcrops above chaparral at Stoney Point
Stoney Point Park, Chatsworth
Based in
Los Angeles, California
Groups
Small and personal
Ratio
Up to 4 climbers per guide
Close-to-home crags
40 to 75 minutes from downtown

The name

Why “First Pitch”?

In climbing, a pitch is one rope-length of rock: the stretch between the ground and the first anchor. Every climb starts with the first pitch, whether it’s your first day on a rope or your five-hundredth. Our trips are single-pitch, so you get a whole day of first pitches on LA’s best rock.

Pitch
One rope-length of climbing, from the ground (or a belay ledge) up to the next anchor.
Single-pitch
Routes no taller than one rope-length. You lower back to the ground from the anchor. Most of our trips.
Multi-pitch
Taller routes climbed in stages, pitch after pitch, like the granite above Idyllwild. By request.
Topo diagram of one pitch: from the start, past five bolts, to the anchor. ANCHOR BOLT START 1 PITCH ≈ ONE ROPE-LENGTH

How we work

What you can count on

  • Small and personal

    Small groups at your pace, with up to 4 climbers per guide. If your group is small we may pair you with another small group, and we'll always tell you first. We pick the crag and the routes around who's coming, whether that's a family of first-timers or a gym regular ready for real rock.

  • Safety first

    We work to AMGA standards. Every anchor is built with redundant systems, every knot and harness gets a double-check, and we'll change plans for heat, fire weather or wet rock without a second thought.

  • Stewardship

    We practice and teach Leave No Trace: we stay on established trails, pack out everything we bring and give other climbers room. We never climb wet sandstone: it breaks easily and the damage is permanent.

  • Permits, done right

    We only guide where land managers authorize commercial use. That's why we don't guide at Echo Cliffs, a popular crag on National Park Service land where guided climbing isn't an authorized activity.

    Crags we don’t guide, and why

Our backyard

  • The broad white granite face of Suicide Rock rising out of conifer forest Suicide Rock, Idyllwild
  • A helmeted climber with a rack of gear climbs a granite pinnacle, rope trailing below Holcomb Valley Pinnacles, San Bernardino National Forest
  • Malibu Creek and a valley oak with the volcanic Goat Buttes behind Malibu Creek State Park
  • The granite spire of Tahquitz Rock (Lily Rock) above pine forest Tahquitz Rock, Idyllwild
  • Granite hills above the shore of Lake Perris Lake Perris State Recreation Area
From volcanic rock at Malibu Creek to the high granite of Idyllwild and Big Bear.