Skagway Rock Climbing or Horseback Riding

[bstrayer]

My 20 year old daughter is interested in possibly one of these two excursions. Anybody had experience with either one? Did you book through the ship or with an independent (if so, who)? :rolleyes:

[OutdoorsPro]

I think your 20-year old daughter would really like the rock climbing. It's much better suited to younger, fitter folks and most young ladies really like the guides.

[dyeadave]

But before we get to the poor guys' delemia out on the rock face, let me reveal that little known other factoid re. Skagway in the summer. Contrary to that more conventional [and usually inaccurate] myth, left over from that very gold rush which is resposible for the literal overnight creation of this and several other places, we males [of all ages] no longer outnumber the ladies by that bandied about six to one ratio! Most of the state is now on or about the parity found elsewhere in the country of about 52 ladies to 48 men. [sorry about that, ladies, but the alternative to this slight margin of gender is to simply stop outliving us!?!] But I digress. What else is new?!?

Meanwhile, back in Skagway, in the spring, not just the swallows, but the birds [of British slang} begin to arrive! About 1500 of these young people in that date&mate age group of 18 to "going on" 30. This logarythms the town population by @>4, but we old guys don't mind!......because you soon see that the young ladies outnumber the young guys by 2 to 1! So even though they are all about half my age, and no longer do I chase after the fair gender. [i probably couldn't catch any of them anyway and I have pretty well forgotten what I would do if I did succeed in catching up with any of them..........] Nevertheless, let me just say that scenery improves for we old guys whose eyes don't focus so well on all of those mountians and glacers around us anymore.

So let us weep not for OP and his companion guides out there on the rock wall north of town. Perhaps there are more male visitors inclined to climb the incline, but the guides get to come home to their housing at 4th and State every evening and I notice an adequate balance in the crowd which usually congregates on that corner!

There is also a nice horseback outfit which takes you out through the old townsite of Dyea and onto those historic flats where the hapless stampeders were dumped off with there piles of supplies when they were headed for the Klondike. I think you can book that on the ship as well as the dogsled excursion which is out in the same area. Check with the National Park service on other activities out that way, and we promise to get your daughter back with time enough to pitch a few horseshoes with OP and his gang, now that there intown location has been revealed by the "four estate"..............DD

[dyeadave]

I forgot the irony that the rock climbers have a horseshoe pit in their front yard! I wonder if the horseback guides end up climbing the walls out in Dyea after a day of wrangling?!? Go figure! DD

[OutdoorsPro]

Greetings Dave from a former neighbor (Green Haus)!

 

Oh sure, there is now parity in the world of Alaskan men and women, but the guide business still tends to lean towards the male. Besides, what 20-year old lady could resist Sean and those other smooth characters?

 

Hope you're having a great winter!

[klauer]

My husband and I did rock climbing with a Radisson tour. After doing some climbs, we hiked up a trail and had beautiful views from the top. Then we rappelled down. The van dropped us off in town, and we had plenty of time to do a self-guiding walking tour and look at the shopping. I think your daughter would love this excursion!

[bstrayer]

Thanks. That is the kind of response I was hoping for!