Guide Bios
Red River Outdoors guides are safe and experienced and love what they do. Climbing is not just a job or a sport, but a way of life.
Matt on Toxic Avenger, RRG
Matt Tackett is the owner and senior guide for Red River Outdoors. Matt has been climbing for over a decade, and he’s been lucky enough to climb in many of the great climbing areas of the United States, as well as France and South America. No matter where he’s been though, he still returns to the Red River Gorge. He loves the Red River Gorge and knows the area and its climbing better than most anyone. If you were to look through the guidebook, you would undoubtedly see some of the over 60 climbs that Matt has done the first ascent of. There’s not much he likes more than bushwhacking through the rhododendrons to find new lines to climb. Between climbing and running Red River Outdoors, he still fines time to replace anchors on old routes, do volunteer trail work, and organize events with the Red River Gorge Climber’s Coalition.
Dan Beck
Dan Beck has been an adventure guide since 2006. He’s guided dog sledding in
Wyoming, while summers have often found him guiding white water rafting in
Wyoming, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Rock climbing, however, has remained his
biggest passion and he has guided in both Kentucky and West Virginia.
While Dan has climbed all over the country, the Red River Gorge remains his favorite
place to climb. It shows, with over 600 ascents of routes ranging from 5.1 to 5.13, and
over a dozen first ascents of climbs both sport and traditional. When he is not climbing
or guiding, he loves to hike for fun and to find new cliffs, and Dan knows the area and
the climbing better than almost anyone. He occasionally writes reviews of climbing
gear or articles about great hikes that can be found at http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/
496691/daniel_beck.html.
Some of Dan’s favorite climbs around the country are The Great White Behemoth in
Ten Sleep Canyon, Wine and Roses in Fremont Canyon, Serenity Crack and Sons of
Yesterday in Yosemite, the Gold Face Variation of the Complete Exum Ridge on the
Grand Teton, and Under the Milky Way in the New River Gorge. His favorites in the
Red are far too numerous to list, but include Orange Juice, B3, Prometheus Unbound,
The Inhibitor, Prime Directive, The Quest, 8-Ball, and the next line he finds worth
bolting.
Dan holds a certification as a Single Pitch Instructor from the American Mountain Guide
Association. He is also a certified Wilderness First Responder.
Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams has been climbing for over 10 years. He has climbed in over 40 different climbing areas in 15 States and Provinces. Ryan has been involved in the local climbing community for many years. He served as Treasurer in the Red River Gorge Climber’s Coalition for 3 years. He also supports the area with his continuous help with trail days and various fund raising events. Ryan is a great guide and a professional in the Outdoor Recreation field.
