Preserve climbing's past, protect its future
Help build the National Museum of Climbing, a living symbol of stewardship, community, and respect for the natural world.
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Our vision
The National Museum of Climbing will be the first institution in the United States dedicated to telling the full story of climbing: its people, its places, and its impact. It will celebrate the evolution of modern climbing from the humble beginnings of early pioneers to the world stage of the Olympics, while safeguarding the values that have always defined climbing: stewardship, community, and respect for the natural world.
A museum built by climbers
Phase 1: Build the foundation
We are now establishing a strong organizational and digital foundation while launching our first major storytelling projects. The first film will capture climbing’s history, values, and cultural impact, bringing the museum’s mission to life. This allows climbers across the country to participate. Through early oral history collection and community-driven storytelling efforts, supporters are invited to help preserve local knowledge, personal experiences, and regional climbing histories that might otherwise be lost.
Phase 2: Share the story
Next, we'll expands our public presence through digital exhibits, partnerships, and the release of our inaugural film. We'll amplify climbing’s stories nationwide while inviting climbers to contribute their voices. We'll also expand our oral history collection and develop early frameworks for documenting America’s climbing landscapes, laying the groundwork for a future national record of climbing areas, routes, and the communities that shaped them, ensuring that history reflects our full geographic and cultural diversity.
Phase 3: Establish a home
As participation, partnerships, and resources mature, NMoC begins the transition toward a permanent home. This phase includes growing the national collection, advancing community-informed documentation efforts, exploring long-term site possibilities, and laying the groundwork for a future physical museum—guided by responsible planning, shared stewardship, and long-term sustainability.
Message from the founder
Climbing has shaped my life for decades, especially here in the Red River Gorge. Over the years I’ve come to understand how important our shared stories and landscapes are—and how easily they can fade if we don’t take care to preserve them. Our history deserves a home where it can be honored, explored, and passed forward.
I started the National Museum of Climbing to help create that home. My goal is to steward this project with transparency and care, working alongside climbers, historians, partners, and supporters who believe in protecting the culture and meaning of climbing. This museum is a collective effort, rooted in the idea that our community’s story belongs to all of us.
Thank you for being part of the beginning of something lasting and important.
Shannon Stuart-Smith, Founder
I started the National Museum of Climbing to help create that home. My goal is to steward this project with transparency and care, working alongside climbers, historians, partners, and supporters who believe in protecting the culture and meaning of climbing. This museum is a collective effort, rooted in the idea that our community’s story belongs to all of us.
Thank you for being part of the beginning of something lasting and important.
Shannon Stuart-Smith, Founder
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