"Cliff Camping": The Latest Bucket-List Tick

WHILE WE CLIMBERS only camp hanging on a wall when we have to, for many in the non-climbing public, portaledge camping ticks a box on their bucket list.

- Johanna Flashman

Three years ago, Kent Mountain Adventure Center (KMAC) in Estes Park, Colorado, began offering one-night Cliff Camping excursions ($800–1200 per person). The idea, says KMAC’s founder Harry Kent, is to spend the night on a portaledge 150 feet up nearby Deville Rocks while a guide takes care of logistics. (Clients can either climb to the ledge or rap down.) Meanwhile, they offer a scaled-down version called the Cliffnic ($425–850 per person), a picnic lunch on the ledge. KMAC typically leads around six to eight Cliff Camping and Cliffnic trips each throughout the summer. We caught up with Kent to hear his thoughts about wall-side camping.

What gave you the idea?

Charley Boorman, with the UK show