FAQ - About Wayne Busch

• The path to climbing
• Climbing history
• Current
• Places we've enjoyed climbing
• Enlarge Teton photo

The Path to Climbing

I spent my youngest years in the farmlands and seaside towns of Long Island, New York. The family was in to boating and fishing. Many of my fondest early memories are of winter fishing trips off Montauk Point. When the family moved to Juno, Florida, in the early 70's, we made two trips - one by car and one down the coast by boat. I spent my teen years in South Florida, surfing, diving, fishing and exploring the undeveloped interior of the state, the Florida Keys, and the Bahamas. I attended Florida Atlantic University, then Palm Beach Junior College before I moved to Gainesville in 1980 to attend the University of Florida. It was here that I met my wife Jackie. We graduated with degrees in Nursing in 1983 and settled and worked in Gainesville for the next 20 years.

During our time in Gainesville we continued to enjoy watersports including trips to Jamaica and Belize, but now living away from the coast, we began to explore the inland of North Florida. We covered many miles on dirt bikes, fished the rivers and lakes, and camped in the forests. We also started making trips to Blue Ridge, Georgia, to spend time at Jackies' family cabin "Rebel's Rest" on Lake Blue Ridge. We enjoyed many hiking trips in the area which led Jackie to convince me we should get into backpacking. We started exploring mountains across the southeast, the Smokies, the Blue Ridge, and many sections of the Florida Trail, Benton McCay and Appalachian Trails. Our first big western adventure was a four day trip in Bandolier National Monument, Arizona. One of our favorite trips was in Glacier National Park, Montana. But the trip that changed things for me, was 3 days on Mt. Rainier, Washington in 1991. It was my first exposure to the true alpine environment, and I was drawn to go higher and see more of it. I returned from the northwest with a desire to climb Mt. Rainier.

Show larger picture of Monkey Face Pillar

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Climbing History

The desire to climb Mt. Rainier persisted. I discovered our local Santa Fe Community College offered an "Introduction to Rock Climbing Class". Through this class I met Jim Waldrop and eventually became involved with a group of people who called themselves the Flatliners Adventure Club. My wife, Jackie, attended the rock climbing classes with me. She had no interest in climbing. She just wanted to check it out to be sure I wasn't going to die. For a year and a half she was content to hike while I climbed with other partners. Then, one day at Stone Door, Tennessee, I looked up to see her rappelling over the edge of a 150 foot cliff. She put her climbing shoes on soon after, and together we have traveled the United States climbing.

My aspirations of scaling Mt. Rainier took a back seat for many years as I enjoyed growing in the sport and developing my climbing skills. I learned from those I climbed with, but also learned the value of hiring professional guides for instruction. Guides Dan Flowers, Burton Moomaw, and Steve Longenecker have contributed greatly to my growth as a climber (link Guides Online).

 In 1997, my mother called me to announce she planned to climb Mt. Rainier. She too had affected by the pull of the mountain during a visit. This was the motivation for me to return to Rainier with her and fulfill the desire that ignited my interest in the sport of climbing. In August of 1998, we ascended the mountain. I stood atop the summit on August 12. (link Mount Rainier Trip Report)

Jim Waldrop and I climbed together for several years. I helped him teach the Introduction to Rock Climbing classes. Together, we introduced hundreds of beginners to the sport. Many went on to climb with us for a few years before they moved on. With time, I was climbing much more then Jim, who had discovered whitewater kayaking. I became the principal instructor of the Introduction to Rock Climbing Class in 1997.

But Jackie wasn't always available and I needed partners to climb with. By this time I was taking a lot of people climbing on both group top roping trips and multi-pitch routes. But now, I was getting paid to teach climbing, and was taking some of these people on their first climbing trips. At this point I felt the responsible thing to do was to get trained to be sure what I was passing on was good advice. I completed an AMGA Top-rope Instructor Course in 1998. I formed Black Dog Expeditions Inc. Guide Service in 1999. Though we ran enough trips, the distance commuting from Florida was too much to overcome. After a year end evaluation, I abandoned the effort in 2000.  In 2002, the long history of Introduction to Rock Climbing Classes at Santa Fe Community College came to a close. There was no longer enough student interest to fill a class.

Mount Rainier Washington Trip Report

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Current

Most recently, our climbing adventures have gone International. September 2002 saw us climbing in Italy and France.

In February, 2003, Jackie and I moved to Waynesville, North Carolina to be closer to all the things we love to do - hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, whitewater kayaking, and of course, climbing. We're still getting settled, but already I'm out exploring new climbing areas soon to be added to the web site. We're looking forward to many visits from our out-of-state climbing friends. I hope to be able to show you many new and exciting areas.

Enlarge photo of Wayne on Mount Blanc

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Places We've Enjoyed Climbing

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