It’s 9:30 p.m on a warm, August night. The garage door is half open at Freestone climbing gym. There are several folks in the gym, training, climbing, or completing consecutive pull ups from the bowl shaped handholds on the wall. And they all have one thing in common; they’re men. Not surprisingly, not a single woman has checked into the gym today, except for myself.
My first climbing experience was a princess themed birthday party where my dad belayed me on the pizza wall in Olympia, WA. The summer of 2018, I began to boulder three times a week at the Circuit in Portland, OR. When school started, I went to the UM Rec Center Women’s Night at the climbing gym where I learned how to belay and soon began climbing three times a week.
A source of anxiety for women in the climbing community is the blatant sexism and divide of gender.
There is an inherent pressure seeing as part of climbing is hearing, “Don’t be a bitch. Just do the move,” “This sport is for men. Pussies aren’t allowed in this gym.”
Men hovering over your shoulder, especially when you’re climbing outside, “Can you explain to me what you’re doing so I know it’s correct.”
Working in a climbing gym, men have asked me how long I’ve climbed for when I give them a safety tip. Or they look at me, confused as if I’m speaking French when I tell them that having ten extra feet of rope out when they’re lead belaying isn’t the best method.
They demand to know if I actually know what I’m doing, because of my age and my gender. And, I stand there, holding my tongue because the last thing I want to be called is too emotional.
On August 8th, GirlzWhoClimb posted a photo from the City of Rocks in Idaho. Hazel Cramer climbing a 5.10a in the Lost World. This page is dedicated to the underrepresented female climbing community worldwide. GirlzWhoClimb strives to create an inclusive, safe, open atmosphere for anyone who identifies as a female to learn more about climbing.
“I used to be really into climbing a few years ago,” says Alyssa Enright, a dance and biology major at the University of Montana, “But, none of my friends are into climbing so I kind of gave it up. I miss it so much but at this point I know I’m weak and feel too intimidated. This page reminded me how good it is and made it feel more okay to be new again.”
Climbing has a history of being an entirely male dominated sport. Tying back to the late 1950’s in Yosemite Valley, men raced to set up routes on El Capitan before the others could.
There wasn’t a place for women. However, in the 1990’s, Lynn Hill shattered this stereotype when she became the first person to complete a free ascent of the Nose on El Capitan. Hill stated that part of her motivation was to show climbers that you don’t have to be a man to do something that’s ‘out there’ as a first ascent.
In 2018, Margo Hayes became the first female to climb a 5.15a which is the hardest grade climbed by a woman. Then, Pretty Strong came out which is a climbing film entirely about female climbers.
Irene Yee, also known as Lady Lockoff, has flaming pink hair and proudly demonstrates her own style of what a climber should be. She landed her photo on the cover of Climbing Magazine in Fall of 2020. Yee aspires to capture women, non binary, and women of color climbing to bring an authentic experience to climbing.
According to the Climbing Business Journal, “The net number of climbing gyms in the US grew by 5.21% in 2019. 34 new gyms opened their doors for climbing last year, the fewest since 2013 and a drop which follows the most successful year on record in 2018.”
More and more people are migrating to climbing gyms. The number of women beginning to push the limits and try rock climbing shows at Freestone climbing on Monday and Wednesdays when a group of teenage girls spend two hours practicing on the three different bouldering walls.
It’s evident that GirlzWhoClimb is inspiring young women in Missoula when a mother walks up to me at Freestone, “I’m so happy to see so many women in the gym tonight.” And when I tell her 12 year old daughter about GirlzWhoClimb, she sits there scrolling through photos and stories, “This is so cool. This just makes me want to climb more.”
And even more importantly, when messages flood through my phone every morning from women asking how and where they can learn more about climbing. They feel inspired to find their strength and passion from the outdoors.
I know that 50 years ago, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing today. My ability, lifestyle, and anxiety with lead climbing would be questioned and connected with judgement to my gender. The women who reach out to me on a daily basis who say they wish they were stronger would’t be met with encouragement.
It’s about breaking stereotypes, pushing yourself, and being comfortable supporting other women while being supportive of yourself. Everything about climbing is challenging and that’s why GirlzWhoClimb strives to support women by sharing our stories. Most importantly, it’s saying to yourself, just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I can’t do this. It means I can and I will.
We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!
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