Chicksclimbing’s Blog

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!