The first time I ever climbed was in 1995, I was 12. It was at a outdoor summer camp somewhere in Colorado. My parents sent me there from our home in Michigan with a couple of my friends to hike, camp, raft, and climb. I remember touching the stone for the first time, being on the wall, and moving upwards. I didn’t understand what I was experiencing, but now, looking back through my memories, I can describe it. I wasn’t scared, I wanted each climb to go on forever, I did not want to come down. It just felt so natural.From that first day until 2000, I went climbing only a handful of times. In the Spring of 2000, I began climbing slightly more consistently with increasing frequency until the Spring of 2005, when I moved to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky to work at Miguel’s Pizza. From that point onward, climbing became my lifestyle.Before climbing, my life was consumed with alpine skiing and ski racing. I have skied for nearly 25 years now, since I was 2 years old. I began racing at the age of 12, and when I was 16, I moved from Michigan to Salt Lake City, UT to attend Rowmark ski racing academy. After that, I was recruited to ski race for the College of Idaho. I still ski frequently, both on and off piste. It is such a pleasure to be outside and in the mountains, and I experience a great sense of freedom and peace there.

I was introduced to climbing through sport climbing, and it is my main pursuit. However, I enjoy many styles; traditional climbing, bouldering, deep water soloing, and most recently ice and winter mixed (M) climbing/dry tooling. The quest to understand myself through climbing has deeply enriched my life, and for this I am eternally grateful. As a result, I feel a responsibility to continue to explore within the pursuit for as long as I am motivated and capable.

In addition to practicing as an athlete, I have had many fortunate employment positions within the climbing and greater outdoor industry. I have worked as an instructor and manager for a climbing gym, a retail sales floor employee, a ski shop manager, an inventory buyer for a specialty outdoors store, and as a tech rep. I have found that these opportunities bring a balance to my climbing life. They have allowed me a way to contribute back to the sport and the industry. I am a very strong advocate for not only climbing, but the outdoor industry as a whole. I believe firmly in the necessity of its function, and I am very proud to be a part of it.