Photo: Parker Alec Cross | Petzl
I started rock climbing when I was six. Like any other six year old in New York City, I was playing at a playground next to Rat Rock, which happens to be one of the most if not the most popular rock that you can climb on in the city. While I was running around and sliding down on the giant rock, I happened to see a few rock climbers.
At first, I was surprised because that was the first time I noticed people trying to climb up the rock, instead of simply having a picnic on top of it. But I was also intrigued — mostly by the movement of the climbers; it was as if they were dancing on the wall.
Soon, I began to try it out for myself. It took me a month to do the easiest climb on the rock. But I fell in love with everything about it — even the process of falling for that long was something I fell in love with. Inspired, I started to rock climb everyday with a few climbers, including the “zen of the rock,” Yuki, someone I am very grateful to be able to call my first mentor. Yuki was a humble old man who climbed everyday at Rat Rock and he was the person who taught me to climb in both mental and physical capacities. He taught me how to use my feet and how to move on the rock. And, as with falling, he was one of the reasons I fell in love with this sport.
Many things inspire me to keep on pushing my limit in climbing. It can be a picture of an amazing problem, or seeing someone finish their project. But my main inspiration is my own progress. Thus, for me, getting to the top of a climb such as Open Your Mind Direct. Sometimes I had to force myself to think that it wasn’t impossible. Open Your Mind Direct is a climb in Spain graded at 9a+, which I climbed over my spring break. In doing so, I became the first female and the youngest to climb this grade.
Photo: Parker Alec Cross | Petzl
It’s definitely an honor to be called “one of the top female rock climbers in the world” at the age of 13, but mainly because it was by the community — and it echoes the most important sentiment in climbing: that raw motivation to get to the top. 99% of climbing is falling and failing. Only 1% is getting to the top. That’s what makes it so special, and worth all the pain you go through when your struggling.
Sometimes, I feel as if people expect me to keep on upping my own accomplishments by doing harder climbs each year or to win every competition which is pretty stressful, but it also makes me push myself more so it can also help me. My goal is to keep on climbing and eventually establish climbs.
Climbing has meant a lot to me over the years. That being said, I occasionally have to sacrifice for the sake of it, like my “free time.” After all, it’s hard to juggle climbing and school, and I’m often awake till midnight or later doing homework. But it’s worth it. I get to travel around the world. I get to explore other cultures. And climbing has taught me so much, like staying motivated amid failure.
You are going to fall no matter what, there is no denying it. However, each of us have the ability to push through those times, and that is what we have to do.
Photo: Parker Alec Cross | Petzl
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