Climbing guides crossword clue
12 Down · WSJ Crossword, July 17, 2026 · 7 letters
Explanation
The answer to “Climbing guides” is SHERPAS. It appears as 12 Down in the Wall Street Journal crossword of July 17, 2026, a Friday puzzle titled “Oh, Grow Up!” by Aaron Ullman, and it fills 7 squares running top to bottom from row 1, column 13 of the 21×21 grid.
A plural clue takes a plural answer, which is why the entry ends in S. The entry begins with S and ends with S, and contains 2 vowels and 5 consonants. If you are working from the crossings, two or three confirmed letters from the Across entries should be enough to lock it in. Friday puzzles are the Journal’s contest crosswords with a hidden meta answer, so expect the rest of this grid to be pitched at the same level.
Past appearances
SHERPAS has not appeared as an answer in any other WSJ puzzle in our index, which runs from May 2026 onward. It will be listed here the next time it turns up.