A deep look into the breadth of climbers that come to the AAC's Craggin' Classic Series each year, and how they make the most of each unique event.
Bishop Craggin' Classic
AAC: How did you get into climbing?
Andrew Kang: I moved to the Bay Area about three years ago. I am originally from the East Coast, mostly the Philadelphia area, and then later I moved to New England, and living there, I didn’t really see climbing around—didn’t really have access to it. But moving to the Bay Area, and California in general, it's basically impossible to not know what climbing is. I happened into a gym at one point, and I just fell in love with the sport, the culture, and the community. So I’ve been climbing for two years at this point.
AAC: What does climbing mean to you?
AK: The first year, you’re stumbling around and trying to find your feet, and you set your own personal goals and in many ways it's like any other sport. But then after you meet people within the community, and start to understand the culture, hear about the good and the bad, you get really immersed in it.
Climbing is such a unique community. There is such a focus on the inclusion of so many different groups, and in parallel, a focus on environmental protection to protect the landscapes we recreate in, and so, climbing is this really cool positive light in such divided and troubling times, and so for me, climbing is a hope of what things can be. There are so many facets to it–environmental advocacy, inclusivity, and breaking down barriers to make climbing more accessible, it’s really cool.
AAC: What type of climbing do you love the most?
AK: So I actually started out with ropes—sport climbing—but never really broke into trad too much. I still think leading scares me a little bit, so I started gravitating towards bouldering, and I became what I was trying to avoid haha, I kind of became a boulder bro. I love bouldering. I try and take trips out to Yosemite as much as I can, sometimes I’ll make it out to Bishop, I absolutely love the rock there.
AAC: Who are you besides a climber?
AK: I do Maritime Search and Rescue, with the Coast Guard. Outside that, I really enjoy any outdoor activity–I love backpacking, and I recently got into fly fishing. I’ve caught maybe one fish so far, so not the best yet, but that’s another fun activity and I’d love to see more diversity in that sport, especially as its a non-traditional sport/activity that you don’t see a lot of people of color doing, so it would be nice to see a lot more people who look like me in fly fishing.
I’m also a first generation Korean-American. Coming out west, the outdoors really opened up for me, I feel really safe and supported by the community to get outside, and I feel really thankful for that community that is so supportive.
AAC: Why did you decide to go to the Craggin? What drew you to it?
AK: I actually went last year and I just found out through an email! I hadn’t even realized there were climbing festivals. I wasn’t too comfortable with being outside yet, and didn’t totally feel like I belonged in a climbing community, but I went to the Climb United Meet-Up and I felt really safe and connected, and felt at home in that group. After that, I decided I wanted to do this every year because it's so fun, and it's great to feel the stoke and support each other.
AAC: You’ve already alluded to this a bit, but what motivated you to participate in the Climb United Meet-up? Why is that a space you value?
AK: So I grew up playing a good amount of sports—cross country, skiing, soccer, even surfing, and all these spaces have predominantly not included people like me. So I never felt 100% comfortable, not like the comfort I feel when climbing. So to see the Craggin Classics putting in the effort to make sure everyone feels comfortable to climb, you just don’t see that in other sports as much. For climbing there is such an effort to make the community more welcoming and inclusive—of course there are negative things that do happen, for example a lot of trans climbers don’t feel welcome because of some current events— but at the same time you see the effort to come together and agree upon making it more inclusive, and that’s really special.
AAC: Describe the Climb United event. What was it like?
AK: It was really similar to last year’s gathering, on the Saturday of the Craggin’ we gathered with a bunch of people who are all on the same page, who are there for similar reasons and identify with the Climb United community. We introduced ourselves, talked about lighter topics and got to know each other–it’s like hanging out with friends at the gym. And then when we found people who had similar projects or things they wanted to climb in the Happies, we gathered our pads together and marched over to get some climbing in. It was just really casual and fun.
AAC: What’s a standout climbing memory from the weekend?
AK: Every single time I’m at Bishop and in the Happies, I have an amazing time and make so many great memories, whether it's the climbs I do or the people I meet. I’ve really only been bouldering for 2 years, and so it’s reassuring and makes me feel good that I was able to progress on techniques and try a few moves on Atari, given that last time I could barely climb v2s and v3s. I know grades don’t mean everything, but getting to climb on the cool harder climbs that I always see and wish I could climb on, and seeing that progress, was a really good feeling.
AAC: Any last memories you’d like to share from the Craggin’ weekend?
AK: Last year I only came with a few friends, but this year I was able to entice more friends to come, and it was fun to see them enjoy the Climb United Meet-Up and spread the joy for this great community. It was also great to bring more representation into that space, that’s what really stood out to me this time around. I also loved meeting up with people I had become friends with last year too.
AAC: What do you wish more climbers were talking about as a community?
AK: We shouldn’t shy away from talking about increasing inclusivity and breaking down barriers for more people to join in, and we should also at the same time recreate responsibly. I think we should never tire of that topic and we can be a trailblazer and set the example for any other community out there and truly make this a welcoming space for everyone to enjoy.
Moab Craggin' Classic
AAC: How did you get into climbing?
Katrina Le: I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, and I did my undergrad in Salt Lake, so I was always surrounded by climbing, but not directly immersed in it. During undergrad I had a few friends who climbed, and I tried it with them, and it was really hard! It was a really cool way to challenge myself and learn a new thing, and also to be outside in a new capacity.
I had a slow start in climbing. I took a course at the University of Utah, where we climbed for a couple days in St. George. It was my first time climbing outside in general. That was maybe around 5 years ago. And then I started climbing consistently around 3 years ago.
AAC: What does climbing mean to you?
KL: Even though I grew up in Salt Lake, my family wasn’t really outdoorsy at all—in fact they really feared being outside. I had a lot of associations linking the outdoors with danger. And so it’s interesting with climbing, because it is inherently dangerous, my parents had a fair point. And for a while I had a fear of going outside, but now, climbing is a way for me to connect to that and connect with the outdoors, but also to practice risk mitigation and conquer that association I had with fear and the outdoors, because it was really scary for me.
Another reason why I love to climb is to challenge myself. I really love the way I move when I’m climbing, I feel really badass.
The other thing is the community, which is kind of complicated. Part of the reason I got into climbing slowly, and what made it a slow burn, was because I almost had a love/hate relationship with it at the very beginning. Initially it was very difficult to find community where I truly felt like I belonged, especially as a queer woman of color.
Truth be told, climbing is historically, and often still is, not a very diverse space—but ever since I've found that community it's been magical. I found that community both organically, but also I intentionally sought out affinity spaces like Color the Wasatch, and SLAQC—and they have been monumental in finding that sense of belonging in climbing.
AAC: Who are you besides a climber?
KL: I am currently an engineer at a biomedical device company, I was a student for a long time. I like to do aerial dance stuff as well. I am just a person, and also a daughter of two immigrants, and a woman in stem, and those are just a few things I could say!
AAC: What’s your favorite climbing discipline?
KL: I tend to be a boulderer. That’s what I usually gravitate towards. I also like rope climbing but sometimes it's harder to find people to do rope stuff, and it takes a bigger level of trust from me because there is so much more risk mitigation involved. I have done a little bit of ice climbing too, I like everything!
AAC: What drew you to attend the Craggin?
KL: I’ve never climbed around the Moab area for one, and when I first started climbing I tried crack climbing and it was really really difficult. I wanted an opportunity to try it again in a more formal setting, so I was excited about the Crack Climbing 101 clinic I was taking.
AAC: What were your perceptions of trad and/or crack climbing going into this?
KL: Crack climbing is just so different, such a completely different modality, and really scary and difficult. And in general I tend to fear trad climbing. Sometimes I have a hard time trusting gear, and I’ve led a couple times but it's been really scary. I also think it can be pretty intimidating because it often seems like a really bro-y space.
AAC: Tell us about your experience of the Crack Climbing 101 clinic with Mary Eden! What was the clinic like?
KL: There were 12 of us and then our guides, Mary and Hannah. We went through the basics of crack climbing movement, like ring locks, and rand smearing, and the variety between finger cracks, tips cracks, offwidth–and all the rest. And from there, we hopped on a few routes to try it out for ourselves. I really struggled at first, and I was really intimidated at first. But the guides were amazing, and the community there was very supportive. They would ask for permission to give beta and suggestions, and I needed it in that moment. At first I really struggled, but with some help and tips I started to feel the flow of things and the sequence of movements. It wasn’t so much about getting to the top, it was about learning from the crack moves, really getting a taste of the basics, and taking the clinic has made me more comfortable trying crack climbing again. There was definitely a moment during the clinic where it really clicked, where it became more intuitive.
It was an interesting environment in the sense that I was probably the only person of color, and it takes me longer to feel comfortable in those environments, but everyone was very welcoming, and my qualms about it went away by the end.
AAC: What year of your life did climbing change the most?
KL: When I started climbing consistently that was a huge thing for me, that was during 2020, and so being able to be outside was really transformative. So climbing outside was something I could do and still be safe, at least from covid.
But my more solid answer would be 2021. That's when I started to feel more belonging within the climbing community. I found the affinity groups, went to All In Ice Fest, and did a trip with Climbers of Color in Washington, and having those spaces was really impactful for me. I saw people like me, and felt more comfortable. So that's when it really transformed for me. And it makes sense but it's really crazy to see how much progress in climbing I had and how it parallels that sense of belonging. I felt like I was really gaining a lot of skills once I felt like I belonged in the space. Like an exponential increase. The other big thing is that progress also parallels fun—the more you enjoy it, the more you do it, so having that space really made a huge difference in my climbing.
AAC: What do you wish more climbers were talking about as a community?
KL: First, just how important it is to keep climbing fun. I’ve definitely have had moments where I almost didn’t have fun because I got so caught up in pushing myself, and so taking a step back and trying to prioritize being as safe as possible and still having fun.
And I think the climbing community has started having a discussion about being more inclusive, and there has been a lot of progress, but the reality is it's still not a fully inclusive space. I think the climbing community needs to really be honest with itself and really interrogate the lack of diversity. I’m really appreciative of the efforts for that so far, but really a lot has to change. It’s not just seeing new faces in climbing, but making sure those communities actually feel welcome. Because it can’t just be tokenization of a few people–that’s not real inclusion. We need to create a space that makes people actually feel like they belong, and not just on a surface level.
AAC: Any last memories of the Moab Craggin you’d like to share?
KL: I just loved the energy of the event, everyone was having a blast, everyone was having a lot of fun. I really got to get to know some new people. Even when we weren’t climbing, we were having a blast. So just connecting with that community was my main takeaway.
Shelf Road Craggin' Classic
AAC: How did you get into climbing?
Stephen Lyter: Most people get into climbing through gyms, but my introduction to climbing is a little different than most people. In 2016 I was working on the Grand Canyon trail crew and search and rescue team, and I had a co-worker who was obsessed with climbing, and who climbed 5.14 trad and wild stuff like that. He asked me if I wanted to go climbing with him. He said I was strong already, so he taught me how to lead climb from the get go—so my first experience climbing was lead climbing a 5.7 outside in the Grand Canyon.
From there I started getting into deep water soloing..I wasn’t good at it by any means. I just kind of jumped into it pretty quickly without knowing much about the safety element, doing it all on my own. It was very “ignorance is bliss” for my climbing at first. I didn’t know about all the dangers of climbing. That’s when I found the community by joining a gym. I started learning all the safety stuff, started taking classes and making friends who knew about the proper systems, and that’s why I’m so into the education stuff now. I realized really quickly, after my unusual start with climbing: “Oh wow I was doing things really unsafe, let’s change that.”
AAC: What does climbing mean to you?
SL: Definitely community. I was in a work situation that was very solitary for a while when I first started climbing. I was working as a packer, transporting loads, and I’d barely see humans for 6 months at a time—besides this grumpy old cowboy who was helping with the packing work. I started going into town to the climbing gym in my free time, and people were really welcoming. I started making friends in the gym, and it brought me out of my comfort zone, and it brought me out of a dark place of that loneliness. Climbing also teaches me to see the bigger picture. Climbing teaches you skills that you can bring to everyday life—motivation, planning, safety. It taught me to be very aware of the hazards around me and how to mitigate them, and how to be okay with things that are out of my control; but for things that are in my control, how to mitigate and control them in the most strategic way.
AAC: Was there a particular moment that awakened you towards the importance of climbing education?
SL: I had several close calls that really hit home the importance of climbing safety and education for me. The first one was when my friend broke a big hold, and was only attached to the first bolt. He was tumbling into a pit below, and I had to grab him with my hands, I wasn’t even belaying anymore. The second close call was because I got into things really fast, and so I was going to do this multi pitch route. I didn’t research the route much, and I ended up taking a 30 ft whipper on a rusty piton and a 13 size nut, and that was quite the scare. I realized I needed to research my routes better, to avoid getting off route and into really bad situations. Those were the two biggest ones that really woke me up.
My background is also in search and rescue and I did 3 years on a hotshot crew, mitigating fire—so in a very short period of time I was experiencing a lot of near death experiences and scary experiences where my adrenaline was pumping all the time and if I had made the wrong decision, I wouldn’t be here…it really compounded and made me really reevaluate where my priorities were and how to manage safety.
AAC: Who are you besides a climber?
SL: I’m a firefighter, a big family person, and very involved in my church.
AAC: Why did you decide to go to the Craggin? What drew you to it?
SL: So I’ve been climbing at Shelf ever since I got to Colorado. My girlfriend got invited to a Craggin’ a couple years ago, and I got to do an onsight clinic with Will Gadd. It was so fun, the things I learned in that clinic have really skyrocketed my climbing. It was really transformative and I knew I wanted to come back and do more clinics.
And since I’m so into this search and rescue stuff, I wanted to sign up for this Rock Rescue clinic but it sold out last year before I could. But this year I was able to get a spot in the clinic. I’m an EMT, I've been involved in a lot of rescues, even with ropes and high angle rescues, but what I don’t know is how to perform a rescue with only the stuff on my harness when I don’t have all the specialized SAR equipment and a team with me. I didn’t really have the knowledge of how to get myself or a friend out of a scary situation.
AAC: Describe your experience of the clinic. What are some of your main takeaways?
SL: Everyone was really excited and really motivated to learn how to be more versatile. The goal is to know every possible use of the gear you are putting on your harness, and therefore being intentional about what you bring to any given climbing scenario. For example we talked extensively about the uses of ATC guides and grigris, and also load transfers for say, when another climber is unconscious and you need to transfer them to a different rope system. I could go down my list of notes, because it was all so helpful!!
Friday we did ground school. But Saturday was heinous because it was 40 degrees and cloudy—we didn’t do much exertion because we were just practicing the gear, and everyone was bundled up trying to stay warm, sometimes doing squats to keep warm. But when our guide taught us how to ascend a rope, that was the warmest I was all day!
AAC: We know you had to deal with the “snowpocalypse” and freezing temperatures that weekend at Shelf, so not much climbing happened. But what is your favorite route at Shelf, from other trips there?
SL: I’ve been obsessed with two routes at Shelf recently: Blank Frank (5.12a/b) at Dark Side, which definitely deserves its name! It has a lot of mono pockets. The other one is Phase Dance (5.12-), at Contest Wall. That one is also very blank, but has two roofs you have to get through. I’ve been getting into more crimpy technical stuff, as opposed to how I used to love the more muscle-y big moves on overhung stuff, that’s what I’m normally really good at. But I’ve started to gravitate towards the more technical stuff. And I've been wanting to get better at footwork, and I think focusing on these types of climbs has really helped my footwork.
AAC: What year of your life did your climbing change the most?
SL: The biggest change where my knowledge and skills skyrocketed was the fall and winter of 2022 after the Craggin’ Classic, into 2023. Something about that onsight clinic really helped me. I got my first redpoint of a 5.12, and I noticed other ways I was getting better. I’ve been stuck on 5.11 since I started in 2016, but ever since I moved to Colorado, and I’ve been around a lot of psyched climbers who have a lot of knowledge and are strong too, I just fed off that energy and have really built up my skills.
AAC: What do you wish more climbers were talking about as a community?
SL: Mental health. I see and hear these accident reports where climbers are dying and it definitely really affects me, even though I’m not necessarily close with or know these people. Being a first responder, we’re starting to talk more about those things, the toll on our brains in just being around these accidents and deaths constantly, and climbers need that too. Our guide at the clinic mentioned this. We need to talk to each other about our close calls, share about losing a friend, and process all this stuff.
At the Craggin’s they do have those clinics with the AAC’s Climbing Grief Fund where you can talk about loss for example, and we need more of that—because everyone is dealing with mental health, and whether its big or small, it all matters, and we need to all take care of each other.
AAC: Any last memories from the Shelf Craggin’ weekend?
SL: A lot of people hightailed it out because of the cold and incoming snow, but it was kind of surreal on Saturday night…there were 20-30 people dancing as it snowed, the lights were making all the snow sparkly…nobody was cold anymore because we were all dancing so much. It was great to have such a fun time in what most people would consider adverse conditions!
Smith Rock Craggin' Classic
AAC: How did you get into climbing?
Alan Watts: My dad was a climber, doing mountaineering mostly and then he climbed a little bit at Smith in the 1950s. So I did a little mountaineering at first but I didn’t start climbing at Smith Rock until I was 14. I was always a climber throughout my whole life, that’s what I’ve always been and always will be, even if I’m not actively climbing that much. I’m 63 now, so I’m right on the cusp of having spent 50 years climbing at Smith.
AAC: Who are you besides a climber?
AW: I’m a husband, a dad, a community member, a sibling, family person—there is a lot of me that's apart from climbing, in fact it seems like there is a lot of me that isn’t a climber. But outside my family most of my community is climbers, that’s just core to who I am.
AAC: Most climbers know that you’ve dedicated your life to Smith Rock. Your name is so tied up with its beginnings, and you said just now you’ve been climbing at Smith for 50 years. But we’re curious, what’s your second favorite climbing area?
AW: Believe it or not, I love climbing splitter granite cracks—I’ve climbed a lot in Yosemite, although I haven’t been there in a long time. That very well might be my next favorite climbing area with all the good memories of doing all the classic cracks. I haven’t traveled much since my kids were born. I kind of missed the whole traveling to different sport climbing areas time period, because most of the best and famous sport climbing areas, there weren’t many routes back in the 80s or 90s, and by the 90s I was starting to have problems with arthritis in my fingers, and was moving on to other things.
Young climbers will ask me—“Have you ever done any trad climbing?”—not realizing that everyone from my generation was a trad climber, because there used to be a time when it was only trad climbing.
AAC: Our Hill to Crag advocacy event brings local lawmakers and other changemakers to a crag to connect with climbers and learn about the policy and advocacy issues that matter to climbers. Why did you decide to get involved with this event?
AW: I’ve had to have a relationship with Oregon State Parks for almost 50 years. But for the first 20 years of my climbing I just tried to go where the Oregon State Parks people weren’t; I just tried to avoid them and made sure I didn’t do anything that would ever get their attention. And that worked—but now with so many climbers and so many decisions that need to be made about the proper management of these areas, because these places are so popular, you have to make decisions about what to do to support these places. We live in a time where changes to Smith Rock get made with or without me. I simply can’t hide from these things–and so I should be involved, it's the right thing for me to do, and I’m finding that I’m enjoying the process. Again for a long time I tried to avoid involvement, because I knew the state parks had the power to shut down what I was doing, but it's less likely that things get shut down if you work with people.
AAC: Describe your experience of the Hill to Crag. What are some of your main takeaways?
AW: In the morning I did a walking tour of Smith Rock. I have a hip replacement coming up, so my climbing isn’t going too well. I did this tour with seven rangers who happened to come along, and several people who were participating in the Hill to Crag event, and told stories about the history of climbing in Smith Rock. It was very casual and fun. And then in the afternoon it was a more formal event where we listen to different stakeholders talk about their different points of view on recreation and its relationship to conservation, governance, and economic opportunity.
It feels like it's gaining momentum, building stronger and stronger relationships between climbers and the people who get to make political decisions.
AAC: What would you say to everyday climbers about getting involved in protecting our climbing landscapes?
AW: It’s the right thing to do. It just feels good to get involved in your climbing community. There is such a strong community in climbing—it's a natural extension of what we do out at the crags. It just makes sense. And it's always just kind of fun, and an excuse to spend time with friends.
AAC: This might be an especially hard question for you to answer considering the length of your climbing career, but that might also make it a particularly interesting answer… What year of your life did your climbing change the most?
AW: That’s a tough question. If I had to pick, it would probably be 1983. That’s kind of when sport climbing really started at Smith. I was doing new routes, cracks, that nobody was really interested in. And then all of a sudden I started bolting things like Chain Reaction, and you could just tell I was stepping into the future. It went from “this is not a very good climbing area and there isn’t very much potential” to “this is an incredible climbing area with unlimited potential.” Plus, once I started doing that, in the early sport climbing years, things for the next few years just worked really well, I met everyone I needed to meet and everything kind of fell into place.
I’d go back and live some of those days again if I could—just a few ;)
AAC: You were the vanguard of sport climbing in America, and the center of a debate about rap bolting, hang dogging, and pushing grades in that way. Do you see any similar climbing ethics debates emerging in our modern times?
AW: I don’t think there will ever be another debate quite like that in climbing, in the sense of a debate between climbers. It all worked out pretty well, but at the time it seemed impossible to resolve. Now, I think the controversies are relatively small.
However I could foresee access issues becoming a big thing…But that wouldn't be climbers against climbers, it would be the greater world debating with climbers. I don’t know, it seems like cIlimbers get along better now. It seems to me, wherever I go, that this is a really good community. Maybe it's just because people are nice to me because I'm old and have a history, but I see this community being really supportive to each other.
But the sport vs. trad climber debate was really silly honestly. It's hard to even explain to the younger generations what it was really about. But yeah, the only real rival debate I can imagine is a conversation between land managers and climbers about the very existence of climbing–and that’s a debate I hope I don’t have to see. But already, most places you need to get permission to put in a single bolt, for example, and so it could end up being a more contentious battle for the very existence of the sport.
Devil's Lake Craggin' Classic
Featured Climbers: Chad and Cooper Donahue
Devil's Lake Photos by: Laurel Myers @laureljmyers
AAC: How did you get into rock climbing?
Chad Donahue: Growing up I had a couple friends who were into rock climbing and so went a handful of times throughout high school. But my son Cooper and I really started getting into it last year, with Adaptive Adventures. My family found Adaptive Adventures, and hooked me up with Kat and Jesse and some of the other incredible people running it. My first trip with them I did some wakeboarding and I’ve tried a bunch of stuff from there!
There’s one rock climbing gym in Madison, and on every last Sunday of the month, Adaptive Adventures hosts an adaptive night for free. We’ve been going to these for a year. Any time I have Cooper, we end up going climbing if we can or doing something else active. They also have a couple times a year where they take climbers outside, and the clinic at the Devil’s Lake Craggin’ was one of them!
AAC: What does climbing mean to you?
CD: Rock climbing gives me an opportunity to share anticipation—like getting excited to go to the movies as a kid. It's sometimes not even about the rock climbing, it's just the whole process. There is no right or wrong way to do the moves either, so it's really cool how different people can do the same thing in different ways. Like Moe, who was also at the adaptive clinic, is in a wheelchair, and he was just campusing this overhung route that is so hard for me! And climbing is just such a cool way to share those moments of connection and love of the outdoors.
I had a traumatic brain injury in 2014, and if that hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t have gotten back into rock climbing. Because of the TBI, I have a visual impairment and I’m legally blind, but I can see kind of well for someone who is legally blind. It’s kind of like being permanently without your glasses, everything is really blurry. A lot of fine motor skills are hard, so tying the rope for climbing is really hard. Spacial awareness can be pretty challenging now too…
AAC: Who are you besides a climber?
CD: Well I’m a dad, a big music lover, our family has always been huge ice cream people, and I love being really active. I used to play a lot of sports—like basketball, tennis, lacrosse, and football.
Cooper is in 8th grade, I can’t believe he’s going to be in high school next year! He’s a really kind and thoughtful kid. He loves video games and anime, and he’s really incredible at art. And he likes climbing outdoors 5x more than indoor climbing. When we were wrapping up for the day on Sunday at the Craggin’ he didn’t want to come down.
We do a lot of active things together. Like we’re working towards a triathlon with Dare 2 Tri. Cooper likes biking but is definitely not a runner. When he was spacing out at the crag during a break from climbing, someone asked him what he was thinking about—and he said snowboarding haha. So we’re always getting up to something.
AAC: Tell us about the adaptive clinic at the Craggin’ event!
CD: We ended up climbing inside on Saturday due to weather, but it was still really fun! On Sunday, it was perfect weather out, and Cooper and I got to climb outside for the second time ever. The rock isn’t very grippy at Devil’s Lake, the handholds are weird. Climbing outside is in some ways so different than inside, it's kind of like starting over! But it was really fun to figure out a way up.
With every new volunteer that I climb with at Adaptive Adventures, I feel like I’m learning something new because they all have a different perspective. Like that day Jason was teaching me how to turn my hip in to extend my reach.
AAC: What’s climbing like for you?
CD: My vision is barely a problem indoors because the colors of the holds stand out to me, but outdoor climbing really levels the playing field. It’s a lot more challenging outside, especially to find the footholds. One technique I’ve been working on will help me spot footholds better, by dragging my foot up the wall as I move it, so I can feel the feet without seeing them.
AAC: What’s it like climbing with your son Cooper? Do you worry any extra about safety because you’re also worried about him?
CD: The nice part about working with Adaptive Adventures is that I know that Cooper is in good hands and we’re showing him the ropes in a safe way. I just appreciate the joy on his face, and how excited he is to go rock climbing. He’s always ready to jump in though. His first time out rock climbing he got to rappel!
AAC: In your opinion, how can the climbing community better support adaptive climbers?
CD: Just treat ‘em like any other rock climber and offer help. They might not need it, but you never know unless you ask. With rock climbing becoming more popular, I think that it's really important for everyone to know that groups like Adaptive Adventures or Dare 2 Tri exist. Just because you have differences or challenges doesn’t mean shit. The mind and body is limitless! It’s all mindset—like in rock climbing when you think you can’t go anymore, but you pause and realize you can go a little further, and you push through and do more than you ever thought you could.
New River Gorge Craggin' Classic
AAC: How did you get into climbing? What does climbing mean to you?
LCR: My journey into climbing began about a year ago when I decided to try something completely new and different. I was immediately hooked. When I first set foot on a climbing wall, I was instantly captivated by the combination of strength, technique, and problem-solving. Climbing to me is a personal challenge, a form of meditation, and a means of connecting with my community and the natural world. The DC Bouldering Project community is so welcoming and supportive. It is definitely the reason I have decided to stick with it and have made the leap to outdoor climbing now too!
AAC: What type of climbing do you love the most?
LCR: While I enjoy various forms of climbing, crack climbing is now my favorite. The combination of athleticism and the thrill of pushing my limits is incredibly fulfilling. It also offers a great balance between mental focus and physical strength. However, I'm always open to exploring new climbing styles and terrains as my skills evolve. This weekend, I even had the opportunity to venture into the world of traditional climbing during Heidi Wirtz's "Get your Trad on" Clinic.
AAC: Who are you besides a climber?
LCR: Outside of climbing, I am an adventure enthusiast with a deep love for traveling to our national parks and appreciating the beauty of our natural world. I currently live and work in Washington, DC. I work as a recruiter for a DC-based law firm and proudly serve in the Army National Guard.
AAC: Describe your experience of the clinics you took. What are some of your main takeaways?
LCR: "Get your Trad on" with Heidi Wirtz was such a rewarding and comprehensive clinic. We covered a whole spectrum of trad climbing essentials: setting up that first trad rack, optimal gear placement, mastering trad anchors, and honing our climbing efficiency. The clinic sparked intriguing discussions, particularly on the evolving landscape of climbing ethics. It underscored our responsibilities as climbers, both to the environment and our community, emphasizing the importance of upholding the sport's integrity. We also tackled a topic that hits close to home—finding climbing mentors. The surging popularity of climbing has created a high demand for new climbers looking for guidance, but a shortage of veteran climbers can make it difficult for newcomers to connect with experienced mentors.
AAC: Favorite climb from the trip? Give us the play by play!
LCR: My most thrilling climb of the trip was the exhilarating 5.10b route known as SpringBoard at Orchard Wall. Being new to crack climbing, I was eager to learn and grow. Heidi provided invaluable insights into finger and hand jamming, adding depth to my climbing skills. While the prospect of tackling a 5.10b initially seemed daunting, I decided to embrace the challenge. This climb offered a heart-pounding adventure on a slightly overhanging wall, challenging me from the very start with cruxy fingerlocks that demanded precision and focus.
As I ascended, the anticipation built, and without revealing too much beta, I encountered the move that gives this route its name —a sensational springboard move. It felt like a leap of faith, but it gave me the momentum to follow the crack towards the anchors.
What truly made this climb unforgettable was the support of others in the group. There were moments when my confidence wavered, but with their encouragement, I pushed through. This ascent was a hard-fought, with a touch of blood, a dash of sweat, and even a few tears, but I emerged victorious, having conquered both the climb and my own doubts—literally leaving a piece of myself on the wall.
AAC: How can the climbing community support climbers transitioning from gym to crag, or trying to progress in their personal climbing?
LCR: Transitioning from the controlled environment of a climbing gym to the rugged beauty of outdoor crags can be an exhilarating but daunting journey. As someone who has recently made that leap, the climbing community can play a pivotal role in supporting gym climbers by offering mentorship, education, community events, and access to information. Together we can make this transition more accessible and create a stronger, more united climbing community.
First and foremost, education and mentorship are powerful tools. Mentorship, whether informally arranged or part of structured workshops, can provide valuable insights, safety tips, and a genuine sense of camaraderie that eases the transition. Outdoor climbing introduces a whole new set of responsibilities, from proper anchor building to adhering to Leave No Trace principles—the community can play a vital role in educating newcomers.
To bridge the gap between gym and crag, we can also organize community events. These gatherings, like the Craggin' Classic, offer the perfect platform for gym climbers to meet experienced outdoor climbers. It's not just about the climbing; it's about fostering a sense of belonging and connection within the broader climbing community.
Access to information is another vital aspect. Newcomers often have a barrage of questions, from choosing the right gear to understanding crag-specific etiquette. By offering easily accessible online resources and guides, we can equip transitioning climbers with the knowledge they need to navigate the outdoor climbing world.
[We agree with Leanne! Check out these resources for new and old climbers alike!]
AAC: Describe other parts of the NRG Craggin' that really stuck out to you.
LCR: One of the standout moments was the glowstick bouldering party, a unique and vibrant celebration of climbing culture. It showcased the sense of community and fun that defines the Craggin' Classic. The energy was infectious, with climbers of all levels pushing their limits on boulder problems while laughing and dancing under the starry West Virginia sky. It perfectly encapsulated the "party with a heart" spirit of the event.
AAC: You’re clearly very active and involved, seeing as you participated in the stewardship event, two clinics, and attending the infamous NRG glowstick party…how do these pieces all fit together in your view of the climbing community?
LCR: For me, these pieces are all integral to a holistic view of the climbing community. Climbing is not just about ascending rocks; it's about the shared values and connections we have with each other and the natural world. Stewardship is our responsibility to preserve the places we love, clinics are our way of continuously improving our skills, and events like the NRG party are a celebration of our collective passion. These elements come together to create a supportive, passionate, and vibrant climbing community that shares a deep love for the sport and a commitment to its future. It's about more than just climbing; it's a way of life that emphasizes both personal growth and environmental responsibility.
Rumney Craggin' Classic
AAC: Do you identify as a climber?
Caper: I would say that I’m a climber. It’s not something that I'd rattle off right away, but I list it as my hobbies, and a profession I’m looking at getting into.
AAC: What discipline of climbing has your heart?
Caper: I’m most connected to trad climbing. I barely do any sport climbing. The Rumney Craggin was the second time I’d ever been to Rumney, and second time I’d used my quickdraws. Trad climbing is my one true love. I’m starting to get into ice climbing but I have a rough time with the cold because I have bad circulation.
AAC: What does climbing mean to you?
Caper: Climbing means so many different things to me. There are so many different lenses of climbing. It’s such a beautiful personal growth opportunity. Trad climbing is very unique, you get to go to places you’ve never been before and leave no trace that you’ve been there besides maybe some chalk. It’s a beautiful puzzle of your physical and mental abilities. It also means community. This summer and fall is really the first time I’ve found community in climbing. The Adirondacks are so spread out, it can often feel really desolate, you often don’t see other people at the crags. Its a hearty community in the Adirondacks, but spread out, so it can be hard to tap into the people who are there. I am actively trying to build an Adirondacks climbing community for myself.
AAC: Who are you besides a climber?
Caper: I’m a college student, freestyle skiing coach, rock climbing guide in Acadia for Acadia Mountain Guides, I am a learner, a lifelong student, avid cook, and I really like card games, especially cribbage.
AAC: What made you want to attend the Rumney Craggin?
Caper: I’ve heard about the Craggin for a couple years now. I’m a student in Expeditionary Studies at SUNY Plattsburgh, and you take 3 rock classes: Introductory Rock, Rock II, and Rock III. Normally in Rock III, we go on a trip to Red Rocks Nevada over Thanksgiving break, but our school won’t let us go this year, so we have been going on smaller trips. Our professor opened up this weekend at the Craggin as an opportunity to see the northeast climbing community, exploring sport climbing and for many of the students to try leading for the first time. So I’m here with a group of students from my program, in a leadership position.
AAC: Why were you interested in taking the Onsighting Clinic?
Caper: At the end of your time in Expeditionary Studies, you have to do a Senior Expedition. You dream up a trip and a goal, and figure out budgeting, meal planning, lodging; you write up a risk management mitigation plan, you do some substantial research on the environment and history and present of the place…You send all of this planning along with your resume, to see if your trip will get approved. And of course, you need to be capable of doing it. I’m in the process of writing up my proposal. I’m hoping to go to Mont Blanc and Chamonix as well as the Dolomites. And all the climbing I’m hoping to do is going to be onsighting. So, as someone who is newer to leading in general, a huge component I’m working on is my head game, and its difficult and wonderful and scary. The more information you know, the more you know. So I thought intentionally learning about strategies for onsighting might really help me work towards this project!
AAC: Tell us about the clinic! What is onsighting like for you?
Caper: I onsighted a 10c, Romancing the Stone, during the clinic! I’m not really into leading 10s consistently yet. I get really nervous about it. But everyone was really encouraging, my friend was really supportive, the route looked really inspiring. I don't think I would have tried it without the support.
One particular strategy that really stood out to me was the idea of making sure you look at your feet when it actually touches the rock. Most people look away once they see where their feet are going, but they don’t track it as it actually makes contact. Seeing your foot make contact allows you to connect the visual with the feeling, and to trust your feet more.
Onsighting is often really scary, but I also feel like its a really cool opportunity to learn and grow with yourself. I predominantly spend my time onsighting things, because it’s really cool to show up to a place you’ve never been before and get on rock and go for it, even when it's really challenging and intimidating in the moment, and trusting yourself that you are capable of doing it.
AAC: What else really stuck out about the Craggin?
Caper: It was really cool to see the climbing community of the east coast. Just that many hilarious and strong climbers in one location. You really don’t see a lot of people in the Adirondacks so it was good exposure for us in the Plattsburgh program. Some of our students have never climbed with people outside of our program.
One huge thing for me this summer working as a guide in Maine, and something I noticed at the Craggin as well, was seeing the presence of women climbing outside face to face. It’s different than seeing it on social media. I’ve had zero female climbing partners up until this summer, and I know two other women in our program were at the Craggin and we were just so excited to see and be inspired by this many women climbing.
AAC: What’s the most important technical and metaphorical lesson you’ve learned in climbing?
Caper: I’ve struggled a good bit with this, but being open to learning. Within climbing, everyone has their own opinion, and everyone really likes to be on their pedestal and thinks they’re right 100% of the time on how to construct X system. But there are so many different ways to do the same thing, and it's often situational. So being big enough to learn and being open to other ways of doing technical climbing systems.
Metaphorically, it’s been hugely important for me to learn that I’m very capable. I can sometimes get into the mindset that something is too scary or hard, but most of the time I am capable of doing it. And I see a lot of people second guessing themselves, and yet people are a lot more capable than they realize. Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of why we are outside and going climbing, easy to slip into comparison, but people are out here because we enjoy it, and sometimes we lose sight of that.
AAC: You clearly have a lot of formal climbing education, with your college major and recent SPI. Why do you value climbing education and progressing your skills that way?
Caper: I’m such a huge advocate for learning across the board, for no other reason than because it could save you or your friends. You never know when you’re going to drop your ATC on the first rappel of a multi-pitch, and have to figure out how to rappel off a munter or some other technique to get down. When that happened to me, I was lucky enough to have service and could look up a video, but most of the time we’re not that lucky when we find ourselves in bad situations.
AAC: Any last thoughts?
Caper: I very much look forward to attending the Craggin next year, it was really cool to be a part of so much joy and laughter. It’s really unique to come together to a place where everyone holds the same love of something (climbing) as everyone else. More people should come!