Dan Brayack started climbing at the age of 13, when his grandmother took him to The Rock Wall in Pittsburgh. He began top-roping at McConnell’s Mills with mentor, Bob Value, the author of McConnell’s Mills’ bouldering guide. From Value he learned both traditional and sport climbing.

Later, as an Engineering student at WVU, Dan started spending a lot of time bouldering at Coopers Rock and became a member of the climbing club and outdoor adventure club, which both saw a lot of growth during his junior year when the WVU climbing wall was built.

Between undergraduate and graduate school Dan started photographing climbing while spending a summer at the New River Gorge. He says making a guidebook was the next step in a natural progression that was influenced by his mentor, Bob Value.

In Dan’s last six months at WVU, or as he calls it “Coopers Rock University,” Dan wrote the Cooper’s Rock Bouldering Guide with fellow student, Tim Keenan. The two spent many afternoons climbing, mapping and writing boulder descriptions .

The guide was met with mixed feelings; many locals being concerned with the implications. Despite receiving some threats, Dan enjoyed writing the guidebook and is in the process of publishing two more guidebooks for Rock Town, GA and Grayson Highlands, VA.

A link to Dan’s portfolio