Testimonials

Yajaira Perez 2023

RANDY is the GOAT!

When my indoor rock climbing loving daughter asked for a road trip to Austin for her 17th bday …I said ” Yes! ”
I’m so glad I found Randy with Austin Ascents to be her guide for her 1st time outdoor rock climbing. Randy did a great job of making me feel at ease. I couldn’t have asked for a better person for the job.
Highly recommend!

Here’s what my daughter had to say:

*This was my first time doing anything outdoors and just from the way things were explained to me by Randy he made everything smooth and easy. I felt very safe and I knew I was in good hands. If for some reason I messed up he would clarify and make sure that everything was okay.
He taught me the Correct way of communicating, how to make knots, and just a lot about lead belaying and outdoor climbing.*

Oh and when we returned and she went back to her indoor rock climbing gym and mentioned Randy. Everyone knew who he was … and called him the GOAT ( Greatest of All Time ).
With over 30yrs of experience, knowledge, and great personality, I can see why.

My daughter is already looking forward to her next experience with Austin Ascents.

Thank you, Randy! You made it a Birthday to remember!

Charlie Daniels 2023

First time climbing with Randy. What a great person. Made us feel extremely safe, was personable and the rates were more than fair. Have already planned our next outing. Highly recommended!

Trey S. 2023

Austin Ascents is an amazing resource for all levels of climbers. I am somewhat new to the sport and have taken two courses with Randy, the owner. Learn to Lead Sport & Learn to Lead Trad were both great courses that helped me gain confidence while doing so safely. Having completed these two courses, it has opened up SO MUCH climbing ability in the US and abroad. I feel confident and competent. It is great to learn from a qualified guide, like Randy, so I can help get more friends into the sport and have confidence that I am passing down correct and safe practices to them.

Randy is a great guide with tons of experience and all the certifications that make a newcomer feel confident in their instructor. A perfect mixture of teacher, mentor, storyteller, and someone who will help you push your limits (if that is what you want).

I will continue to use Austin Ascents to build upon my Rock Climbing knowledge and look forward to completing more courses. Next up, Multi-pitch climbing!

Christopher Papachristou  2023

Randy went out of his way to accommodate me for a climbing trip out at Milton Reimers Ranch Park on bet short notice. My flight was delayed and he again was very helpful. Once we got to the climbing site, it was apparent Randy really knows his stuff and shared a ton of cool tips, tricks, and gear recommendations along with beta tips on the routes.

There was another guide there that I was listening to him coach a young couple and even I was concerned about his recommendations to them. He didn’t have several of the gear pieces that Randy had.

Geoff Mann 2023

WFA and Trad Class
I took a Wilderness First Aid course with Randy and really enjoyed his teaching style. He is knowledgeable, confident, has a wealth of experience, and knows how to apply all of this in a way that allows you to learn and have confidence in yourself to know what to do in a real-world situation. The WFA course was an educational, positive, and memorable experience.

Levi Crighton 2022

Fast forward almost a year, I bought some trad gear and wanted someone to show me how to use it, the right way. Randy is an AMGA Certified Rock Guide, which is the highest certification you can get in the rock guiding world and requires an expansive amount of experience and training in the mountains to be able to achieve. Coupling that with his teaching style, it was a no-brainer for me to choose Randy to be the one I would trust to guide me through the art and science of climbing with traditional protection and how to stay safe. We did the Trad course in Arkansas, at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch and I must say, it was a fantastic experience. I knew from the start that I was in good hands with Randy. I felt confident and safe knowing I had someone like him watching my every move.

I will be taking his multipitch trad course in the future and I would highly recommend using Austin Ascents to help you achieve your goals in the outdoors.

A friend and I took Randy’s 3-day trad course at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Arkansas at the end of March. Randy was incredibly knowledgeable, experienced, and personable. I really appreciated his straightforward, no-nonsense teaching style and his ability to know where our limits were and how to push us.

We both came away from our course confident in our trad leading skills, enough to tackle routes on our own the next day. Randy gave us an incredibly solid foundation in trad leading that we will be able to build on for the rest of our climbing lives.

If you are gonna get into trad leading, this is the way to do it.

Season Massey November 2021

“If you want to get started in the world of climbing, you’ve found the place! I recently started climbing indoors this past May and wanted to take it to the next level with some outdoor instruction. Being totally new to the sport, I needed an EXPERT that I could trust. I found the solution in Austin Ascents and with Randy Judycki as my guide. Randy is a complete professional with the certifications (AMGA) and experience that you will need to meet your climbing goals. He will teach you what you NEED to know and what you want to know to achieve whatever climbing dreams you have. Incidentally, I also took the Wilderness First Aid Course through this organization, with Randy as the teacher. I learned so much about how to respond appropriately to anything unexpected that might happen out there on my adventures. If you are considering taking the WFA course through Austin Ascents OR hiring a guide through them, DO IT! You won’t be disappointed! Climb on!”

• Season Mussey, November 17, 2021

Matthew Montagne June 2021

Randy is the best. This was my first time Rock Climbing and Randy was a great instructor. Randy taught me a lot about rock climbing and made it fun. I will for sure hire him to take me rock climbing again.

Nuala Odonnell June 2021

Our group had an amazing day of climbing at Enchanted Rock with Randy Judycki. He set up climbs that were fun, and at times challenging. We felt safe and in great hands with Randy. I highly recommend Austin Ascents for beginners or experienced climbers!

Wassim Drissi May 2021

If you want to learn how to climb outside, Randy can get you going from the ground up! My wife and I had zero belaying experience and in three days, we were lead climbing and practicing falls. We’re already planning our first climbing trip, and we couldn’t recommend Randy enough!

Kathleen Shapley (Girl Scout Troop) May 2021 

Austin Ascents led our girl scout troop on an intro to rock climbing course. We had a fun adventure at Reimers Ranch and the girls learned about challenging themselves. I know they are all going to ask to go rock climbing again next year!

-Andy L. (Troop 842) April 2021

We used Austin Ascents for a guided climbing trip at Enchanted Rock. We had an absolute blast! Our
guides were knowledgeable, friendly, and a joy to be around. They created an open and welcoming
environment for all our participants, no matter their age or climbing ability. They found routes that
challenged us without being too hard or scary and quickly made adjustments to fit our group's needs. All
the climbing gear they had was in perfect condition and all the routes were properly built and backed
up. Austin Ascents was easy to organize and communicate with, they reached out often and worked
with us to build the perfect adventure for us. I highly recommend them to anyone and we will use them
again!

Bryan Smith April 2021

We brought our Scout troop to Enchanted Rock and Austin Ascents lead a climb for us.  They were excellent with the Scouts, teaching technique, providing encouragement, and arranging options for youth of differing skill levels. Safety was a key concern for many of our parents and Austin Ascents made sure everyone had a good time while staying safe.  We look forward to making climbing with these guys a regular event for our troop.

Sean Greenwalt April 2021

Highly recommend Randy with Austin Ascents as a climbing guide/instructor.

I have been climbing for over 7 years. Started in the gym, top rope outside, and then to sport climbing. So naturally, my next progression would be to trad climb. I have done a handful of cleaning multi-pitches but never learned to set pro. This is where Randy has educated me.

My partner and I decided to take the leap into trad climbing and signed up for Austin Ascents 3 day Learn to lead TRAD course at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch. I cannot express the value this course has supplied. Not only did Randy teach us how to set pro, but through the course, he instilled the confidence and mental aspect of trad climbing. He taught us additional knots to know, to rock features that can be used for protection, chicken heads!! He even took us to another nearby climbing area in Arkansas to get additional climbs.

By the end of the three days, my partner and I were confident enough to lead trad on our own.

Jim Emmons – Private Trad class  January 2021

I took a two-day trad course from Randy at Enchanted Rock. Randy not only is extremely knowledgeable, but he has a gift for teaching. He presented the information in a logical progression and worked with me to build my confidence to the point of doing my first trad lead. I can’t recommend Austin Ascents any more highly!

Katie Nolte – Private client September 2020

FANTASTIC ADVENTURE! Randy is so skilled and has the best climbing stories. He is super knowledgeable and fun. I took a class out at Milton Reimers Ranch (beautiful) and had the best time! Randy taught me the language of “on-belay”, as well as taught me the knot tying and even to belay him while he went up to set a rope. Such an incredible experience! It is definitely challenging, both mentally and physically. It was such an adventure and since it was just myself in the “class” he let me advance to the levels I was comfortable at. I doubt there is a better guide out there that knows how to have as much fun as Randy, while always keeping safety first.

Milton Heath III – Trail Life USA Adventurer June 2020

I owe Randy Judycki and his daughter a big THANK YOU for making our Trail Life USA Adventurer Climbing event a huge hit. This past June, I researched on the web for climbing outfitters and reached out to Randy. He responded quickly and communicated effectively providing me all the information on short order convincing me early on he was worthy of our business and trust for a planned climbing event. Well, we did that just several weeks later and had a combination of 10 Trail Life Adventurers and Adult Leaders from Missouri City, Sugar Land and Richmond, Texas (Troop 1:1) participate in a very exciting early morning climbing event staged at the magnificent Enchanted Rock State Park. Thank you Randy for your preparedness, expertise, training, and exceptional customer service. Very much looking forward to another climbing event with your company in the future. You helped these young men along their journey of overcoming fear, trusting in themselves, their equipment, and enjoying God’s creation. Sincerely, Milton W. Heath III.

Chris Bellamy, Two-day Multi-pitch sport climbing, June 2020

Reece Snyder, AMGA Single Pitch Instructor student – January 2020

I took the AMGA Single Pitch Instructor Course last November with Randy and I can honestly say that it is some of the best climbing instruction I have received. Randy’s emphasis on safety and efficiency makes for an excellent learning environment that maximizes the time allotted for the course. His course has lead me to be a much safer climber while also increasing my ability to quickly work through the complex problems sometimes encountered in the climbing world. I acquired much of my foundational climbing knowledge through the military and Randy showed me ways to improve on all the skills I had learned. Most importantly he teaches you all the knowledge required but also takes your personal goals into consideration.  For instance, one of my climbing goals was always to be competent at setting tricams and in one afternoon Randy was able to pass on his tricam knowledge to me in an amazing way.  I would highly suggest Randy for any course he teaches or as a guide for any climbing trip you can imagine.

TOP NOTCH CLIMBING INSTRUCTION! A MUST BEFORE BUYING YOUR TRAD GEAR!

Trad 101 Course – April 2019

Randy impressed me with his vast knowledge of climbing and instructing. I knew immediately that he’d been doing this guiding thing for a long time. He was very efficient with time management and multi-tasked with ease. He is serious when he needs to be, and funny and laid back whenever possible. We had many “teachable moments” where I had the opportunity to learn from his experience. I couldn’t have picked a better instructor to critique me and be an example of the model instructor/guide I strive to become. Thanks, Randy!

I took both the Wilderness First Aid course and the Single Pitch Instructor course through Austin Ascents and loved every second of it.  Learning new rope techniques and skills to apply to outdoor excursions and first aid skills to keep the group as safe as possible while having a great time.  The instructors were knowledgeable and made the classes fun.  Can’t wait to take more courses… I will definitely be back.

After a couple of years of bouldering and sport climbing, my husband and I hired Randy Judycki for a trad, anchors, & multi-pitch course. On his suggestion, we did our course in Arkansas. We had an excellent experience. He is prompt, professional, and fun to spend time with. His teaching style was very hands-on – i.e. we started by placing gear at ground level right away. He also had a very natural way of introducing/demonstrating new skills then allowing us to practice with increasing independence. I never felt out of my comfort zone and he always welcomes questions. Since our course, my husband and I have been trad climbing by ourselves which we feel completely prepared for.  For anyone looking for a guide or instructor, Randy has an incredible amount of knowledge and breadth of experience. He’s also the only AMGA rock guide in Texas (a very high-level certification backing up his expertise). I have also seen him working with adolescents, and he shifts to their skill level and needs with ease.

Andrew Childs, SPI Certified Instructor

I didn’t realize that when I signed up for the SPI that I was gonna learn as much as I did.  Randy did such a great job of teaching the skills to become an instructor that it also made me a much more confident climber! He structured the class to where everyone was always hands-on and in a different scenario without any downtime! He quickly recognized where each of our struggles was and adapted to our individual needs. I learned so much and hope to learn more from him again one day!

Jackson Smith, Multi-Pitch Sport