facebookFiled under: Read the Gossip, Uncategorized | Tags: Carrie Cowan, Chicks Rock, Dawn Glanc, Kim Reynolds, Nevada, Red Rocks
Oh boy what a night – wind gusts up to 77 miles an hour at camp. In the moonlight, it looked like a refugee camp with flattened tents and people fleeing to their cars for shelter. I don’t think any of us slept. OK, maybe a little but it didn’t let up all night.
Dawn huddling with the Jetboils in the wind
In the morning, the Girly Guides huddled in Mattie’s car to make a plan….wind still howling. Our top priority was coffee, so we pulled the cars in close to the outhouse and brewed up in Dawn’s van while the breakfast buffet was set up in the outhouse overhang. Nice. We got it done and everyone remained cheerful despite that constant pounding of nature’s most amazing force. It was sort of a spa day with the added bonus of the exfoliation of our skin.
Mattie teaching at the gym
We decided that a great back up plan was climbing at Red Rock Climbing Gym instead of battling the wind since it was forecasted to last the entire day. The women were relieved to seek refuge and had a really productive day working on a variety of skills; including how to recognize the characteristics of safe anchors, building multi-pitch anchors, mulit-pitch rope management and transitions, lowering techniques and movement skills such as shoulder rolls and covering steep terrain efficiently. If you didn’t know better, it looked as if we planned it this way. The women took away a lot from this session at the gym.
Carrie Cowan
Our wrap up meeting took place in the bouldering room sitting on comfy mats giving the gals their certificates of completion and listening to what they are taking away from the experience. It was unanimous that Chicks Rock! went far beyond climbing itself and simply became a vehicle for camaraderie, support and digging a little deeper than each of them knew they could. Just that knowledge is useful in life….to push beyond perceived limitations and explore our internal resources. Plus, they learned a lot of hard skills and explored how to move their body in new creative ways.
Our Girly Group!
Three days goes really fast and I am always grateful that the women gain so much from climbing and learning from women. Our Girly Guides are top notch instructors and are perhaps, the best reason for being here! The gals dispired and two will stay on to take advantage of our Multi-Pitch day with Dawn Glanc. The rest of us will clean up and load the cars. End of a successful first clinic at Red Rocks!
Learning to heel hook
What a beautiful day at Calico Basin, land of poka dotted rocks. The Girly Guides set up a variety of climbs – jam cracks, chimneys, face climbing, over hangs and great heal hooking. It was like the poo-poo platter of rock climbing and the girls got a taste of a variety of difficulties and techniques. It was perfect.
The Classroom
Today offered the opportunity to really work the routes, watch and support each other, then try again. The gals got back on each route and really worked their new movement skills – it was great to see their improvement and increased body awareness.
After a full day everyone dispirsed for showers, beers and their computers. We met at BJ’s Brew Pub for a lively dinner. End of the day.
The Group Climbing at Calico Basin
Filed under: Videos | Tags: Angela Hawse, Chicks Rock, Devils lake, Marmot, video
Thank you to our Girly Guide, Angela Hawse, for this great U Tube video of Chicks Rock! It’s super fun and inspiring. Don’t miss it!
Filed under: Read the Gossip | Tags: Cat Holman, Chicks Rock, Chicks with Picks, Nevada, Red Rocks
Jetboil Coffee Bar
The perfect day at Chicks Rock! starts with a desert sunrise, the sound of Jetboil stoves humming and coffee dripping into my cup. Slowly, the girls emerge from their tents and trickle to the coffee bar and help themselves to the breakfast buffet. Life is good. A flurry of making lunch and packing for the day follows…these girls are eager and are on the road by 8:00 AM!
Cat Holman
Day One on the rocks took place at the Panty Wall with basic instruction, review, movement skills, climbing, rappelling and cleaning anchors. There is a lot to pack into three days of climbing clinics as we want these girls to leave with the skills needed to do this sport on their own. The Girly Guides are awesome at imparting their depth of skill and wisdom with the clients. I think brains were over flowing by the end of the day. Perfect.
Cocktail hour
Quitting time happened around 4:00 PM with plenty of time to shower, hang out drink a beer or practice a Karaoke number before dinner. The Girly Guides and I opted for the later with lead singer, Dawn Glanc, bellowing Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” across the desert with Mattie & I doing our “ooh, ooh” in the background. We are ready!
Dawn belts R-E-S-P-E-C-T with her back up singers
Ok perhaps the highlight of the day was not climbing itself, but rather, the retro Bonnie Springs Restaurant that felt like the Twilight Zone complete with Karaoke and a few very serious locals taking turns. A few burgers, fish and chips, BBQ chicken’s later – it was our turn to sing R-E-S-P-E-C-T (be sure to keep our day jobs!) and a group number of Mercedes Benz by Janice Joplin. I’m sure they are still talking about the twelve women who dazzled the crowd with our talent. Not!
Ok, we laid it down around 10:30 PM for the end of a nearly perfect day. One down, two to go!
Filed under: Read the Gossip | Tags: Anne Hughes, Chicks Rock, Chicks with Picks, Dawn Glanc, Head Chick, Kim Reynolds, Mattie Sheaffor, Nevada, Red Rocks
Pre-Clinic getting readiness…..
Hitting the road to Red Rocks
It’s a long drive from Ridgway to Las Vegas but with good music and the anticipation of our first Chicks Rock! program in Red Rocks, I’m stoked! There is nothing like the desert in October as the cool wind starts to bring the first winter snow to the San Juan mountains where i live. I arrived several days early to scope out where everything is….important things like free WiFi, good coffee, UPS, showers, rock sites, grocery stores and hot spots for evening entertainment.
Kim, Dawn and Mattie
Girly Guide, Mattie Sheaffor, drove from Jackson Hole and Dawn Glanc did some crazy cross country affair from South Dakota to get here to lead our pack of eight guests. Our participants are half Chicks with Picks alumni and half new to this Chick stuff. They traveled from Boston, Tennessee, New Mexico, Phoenix, Chicago and Colorado to get on this desert rock. Anne Hughes flew from Madison WI to be my base camp manager, photographer and tecnical advisor….new title “Head Chick’s personal assistant”, she’s invaluable.
The Girly Guides see the light!
Yesterday we checked out the climbing areas and made decisions where we would take these girls to climb…so many great choices. We showered, grocery shopped and got ready to rock cause that’s what we do. Our participants arrived in the late afternoon, set up camp their tents supplied by Marmot and got settled in. We started the clinic with our traditional opening circle of introductions and find out what everyone wants to get out of this experience. It usually sounds something like this “I want to be able to do this on my own”, “I love climbing with the girls”, “I want to learn from these amazing Girly Guides”, “My boyfriend is mean” or “I want to try something new in a safe and supportive environment.” Yup all that and more!
Opening circle and introductions
After intros, we hit the town for pizza – a short drive from camp and a great place to charge our computers and tend to technology after dinner. Yup, I’m trying to keep up on this social media stuff. Ok, I’m headed out to join the girls at The Panty Wall.
Later.
Filed under: Read the Gossip | Tags: Cupcake Mafia, Pemba Serves, Tali Koziol
Tali Koziol aka mycupcakemafia won the Pemba Serves
Tali Koziol
contest and got herself a free trip to the first Chicks Rock! women’s rock climbing clinic in Devil’s Lake. Lucky us, cause she wrote a great article on her fun Blog. Don’t miss her play lists!
The Rock Grrl
There is nothing like hearing about Chicks Rock! from the Rock Grrl herself who doubled as our trip photographer. Read this great article about her first hand experience at our inaugural Devil’s Lake womens rock climbing clinic and don’t miss her photos!
Filed under: Networking | Tags: Climbing Network, Climbing partners, Networking
This is created for those of you looking for a climbing partner. Post something and see what happens. Good luck!
Filed under: Read the Gossip | Tags: Angela Hawse, Anne Hughes, Chicks Climbing, Chicks Rock, Devils lake, Kim Reynolds, Kitty Calhoun, Pemba Serves, Vera Naputi, Wisconsin
Chicks Rock! Devils Lake, Wisconsin (of all places!)
Sept 7-10, 2009
The women who made this happen!
At the end the Chicks with Picks ice climbing season, a few guides and alumni sat me down to suggest that it’s high time to offer women’s rock climbing courses. It seems like a natural progression and what the heck, way more women rock climb than ice climb. What were we thinking when we started “ice climbing” courses for women…of all people. After ten years of offering topnotch ice climbing clinics, the Chicks decided to shed our down coats and don our favorite tank tops for our first Chicks Rock! program in Devil’s Lake Wisconsin.
Carrie Thompson alive and (very) well
I know what you are thinking “Why Wisconsin (of all places)?” That’s an easy answer….location, location, location. First of all, we had invaluable local connections who nudged us in this direction, it’s central to major metropolitan areas and there is great outdoor climbing. So with that winning combination, we decided to bless the Midwest with the unique opportunity to climb with our infamous Girly Guides. When Madison locals Anne Hughes, Vera Naputi (both Chicks alumni) and Brad Werntz at Pemba Serves offered to help with logistics, we couldn’t refuse and you can bet your sweet quick-draw that we never would have pulled this off without their enthusiast support. So off we went to the land of the cheese heads and since I grew up in the Midwest, I could practice my long lost accent.
After hours on the slack line
Our first Chicks Rock! event was a huge success and here’s what transpired: Kitty Calhoun and Angela Hawse lead the way with eight clients from New Hampshire, Nebraska, Minnesota, Colorado, California and of course, Wisconsin. Brad loaned us a bunch of cool Jet Boil stoves, kitchen stuff, his stack line and his wife Vera. Anne and Vera were the base camp managers and guides to our Girly Guides. They showed Kitty & Angela the climbs, anchor set ups and acted as their personal gophers. We would have been lost without them!
Our Girly Group
We offered a daytime package with climbing only (one woman took advantage of this) and the full package which included all meals, demo gear, clinics and three night of camping. Each morning we laid out a breakfast buffet, strong coffee and a pack lunch with catered dinners delivered to our campsite at night. For a slight variation, we hit the town for dinner and possibly doubled the population of women in Baraboo, WI. We had campfires, made Smores and told lies. We have always bragged that half the fun of our Chicks clinics is hanging out with each other after climbing which makes for a full experience that goes way beyond climbing.
Local Madison girl, Angie Aluerdorf, is Very focused
Oh, and we climbed too! We offered a three-day clinic with a 4-to-1 ratio for beginner to more advanced climbers. Devil’s Lake offers beautiful Quartzsite cliffs with easy access and classic routes. Looking down on the deciduous trees, the lake and rolling hills made me realize we were not in Kansas (Colorado) anymore. It’s a treat to be someplace different for a change. The women got a lot out of the clinic….more than just the skills that are learned…it’s the camaraderie of women and making new friends that extends beyond the obvious fun of climbing.
Thank you Sponsors!
Now a word to our sponsors! Thank you Marmot for sending tents and sleeping bags for everyone to use and best of all, flying Angela out so she could guide for us. Patagonia bought Kitty her ticket or she would not have been there either. Petzl for supplying ropes, harnesses, helmets and belay devices and Scarpa for those sticky shoes we need for climbing. And to Pemba Serves for all of the other things we didn’t’ have…and couldn’t live without. We’ll be back!
Filed under: "Hot" Topics | Tags: Climbing Mom, Jason Nelson, Lisa Nelson, Zane
Family ties
It is late afternoon when Jason and I arrive at the crag. Looks like rain, but we have decided to hike up the sleep slope to get a few pitches in before dinner anyway. We’re exploring a new area in our home state of Colorado, and Zane, our 14 year-old son, doesn’t want to leave the van. Arguing seems futile. The weather looks like shit and the hike looks like work, enforcing my decision to let him stay. Besides, our van is “home” many weeks out of the year and he is able to entertain himself quite well. Lately, getting him excited about climbing and spending generous time in the outdoors has become more and more difficult. When he was small, I looked forward to a time when he could keep up with me. Now that he is physically able to do just that he wants nothing to do with climbing. Last weekend he stayed home from a weekend trip for the first time. All went well. I climbed without distraction for two whole days and Zane got to hang out with friends. This has been a summer of letting go and realizing he is his own person.
Lisa & her son, Zane
It seems my life has always been about balancing climbing with motherhood. Although I know there was a time when Zane was not with me, I just can’t remember it anymore. I love being Zane’s mom and have no desire to trade lives with the 20-something climber living out of the back of a truck. But I love to climb, and I want to climb well. In my journey of balancing climbing with being a mom, I just wish I had met more women like me. How great it would be to have another family to go to Indian Creek with and trade off kids so the moms could rock those towers! Zane is not new to travel. He’s probably clocked more time in Indian Creek than most adult climbers, traveled all over the Western US as well as Peru, Thailand, Spain, Australia and Mexico. We usually spend several weeks, if not months, roaming the country in our van. Spending time together this way, without material distractions makes us a strong family and gives Zane a different perspective on life. We have been home schooling for the last three years, which allows us endless flexibility.
Today at the crag, Jason and I talked about going to Lotus Flower Tower next summer, one of many places I have dreamt about for years. Already I am thinking about how I can make this possible. My immediate family is busy and hard to pin down for childcare, so perhaps a camp. He will be 15 so there are lots of options. Better start planning and saving now, though.
The shared bond of climbing
Each summer Jason and I try to do one big trip together, but this takes lots of planning and coordination. Although I feel very lucky to be able to have those adventures to look forward to each summer, I often go into them feeling totally under prepared, both physically and mentally. I find it hard to train for big days like Half Dome when I usually need to leave the crag early to cook dinner or to entertain Zane. Finding both partners and time is always a challenge. Parenting often leaves me so completely spent mentally that I couldn’t imagine getting it together to lead a hard climb. I’m realizing motivation will go a long ways even if I haven’t been able to properly train, and in the end, determination plays a bigger part than preparation in the success of my big of adventures.
Over the years we’ve managed to experience many wonderful places; Elephants Perch, La Esfinge in Peru, Big Walls in Yosemite and Zion, The Incredible Hulk in the Sierras, several peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park, The Black Canyon. Yet even when I am in the backcountry or on a big wall, I’m concerned about being unreachable – a constant reminder that I’m first and for most “Mom”.
Zane
I feel so blessed to be living this life. I relish the adventures I have had because I have worked so hard to get them. The memories of those trips put a smile on my face and fill my heart when I’m frustrated with parenting and everyday life. I meet many women who have given up climbing to be a mom and when I hear them talk about how they used to be a climber it saddens me. While their husbands are off on climbing trips, they are content to stay home with the kids, finding other physical and emotional outlets. I guess my life would be easier if going to the gym and scrapbooking filled my bucket. My big adventures are why I can’t stop being a climber, and I listen longingly when other women talk about first ascents in far away countries.
I’m happy we choose to live our life a bit differently and want that to be an example for Zane. Even more than teaching him Math and Language Arts, I hope to teach him honesty, responsibility, and how to be happy in life. I want him to know the satisfaction and joy of working hard and digging deep to achieve a goal. I know he sometimes misses his friends in Ouray and part of him longs for “normal” life, complete with TV sitcoms and Kentucky Fried Chicken. He is doing great, however, learning and growing like me. When I watch him socialize with the other climbers and hear their comments about what a great kid he is, I’m proud of him and proud of me. I’m doing it, and doing it well. I’m joyful and raising a great kid, balancing the two things I love most; being a mom and a climber.
My tips, tricks, and a few ideas to make it easier:
*Pick areas that are kid friendly (however, these will be age dependent).
Western areas include:
Rifle
Shelf Road
Indian Creek
Joshua Tree
Ten Sleep Canyon
Bishop
Vedavoo
Red Rocks (single pitch stuff)
Pennitente
International places include:
Rai Lay Beach in Thailand
El Potrero in Mexico (single pitch stuff)
Grampians and Arapoles in Australia
Gandia and Sella in Spain
*Go easy on yourself. Do your best, but don’t beat yourself up if you’re having a bad day. I continually remind myself that I climb because I love it, not because of a grade.
*Don’t give up if you have a bad climbing outing involving children. The great thing about kids is that they change. What seems impossible (like taking a 2 year old to Indian Creek) will be fine down the road. At every age there will be both easy and hard times.
*Don’t push the climbing – gradually build on it. I would be psyched if Zane loved climbing like I do, but we have never “forced” him to climb. Bribed? Yes. The first time he climbed the Flat Irons we hid skittles in the cracks! Get creative and try to incorporate favorite games into this great learning experience.
*Climb in a party of three whenever possible. This will make it incredibly easier on everyone. Since you’re either belaying or climbing as a pair, three people allow a nice break when needed. This way I can enjoy time with Zane, reading or playing.
*Bring lots of entertainment to the Crag. Zane has a bag FULL of goodies…books, art supplies, hula hoops, juggling rings, juggling rings, poi, throwing knives, even those evil handheld devices. We recently added a unicycle and a mountain board to his bag of tricks.
*A two way radio has been a great investment. If Zane wants to wander down to the van early, I can still connect with him. In Thailand, we took one up on a multi-pitch. He thought it was a blast to talk to us while we were up there.
*Own a van. We own a campervan and although it’s not a cheap vehicle it has been our most treasured investment. I would sell my house first! This one thing has been the biggest reason we are able to live the life we do. Our life would just not work with a tent.
*Get out with the gals. Make sure you have time to yourself, away from the husband and kids. It’s great for me to be on the sharp end with no distractions.
*Have time alone with your significant other. We plan one trip together each year and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
*Be OK with a bored or grumpy kiddo. They are not going to be happy 100% of the time regardless of where you are. I would rather Zane be bored in a beautiful place than sitting at home in front of the TV. Downtime leads to creativity.
Lastly, relish the time you have with your children in these spectacular places. Some of my best memories are of hanging out in the van at camp with Zane at Indian Creek or Joshua Tree. There is no house to clean, no laundry to do, we are just spending time together. As he grows up, I cherish the memories we share and look forward to making more.
Lisa Nelson, Ouray Colorado
http://climbing.visualadventures.com/
