After the Red Rock climbing accident, I composed an accident report and sent it to a few of my NOLS […]

I signed up for Red Rock Rendezvous 2008 and headed to Las Vegas on Friday March 28. Since I had

The Story – I met Jon, Patrick, and Jason for the first time at Red Rock Rendezvous 2008. Since both

Since last September I have been working as a wilderness instructor at Thistledew Camp in northern Minnesota. Before I signed up for this job, I was not aware that their winter could be this brutal; for my last couple courses there, single digit in day time was common and forty and fifty below at night time was not unheard of. Since one of the main elements of the program is a therapeutic process to guide adjudicated youth toward self-recognition and self-confidence, a campfire is always necessary not only for cooking but also to encourage teens to engage in discussion.

Once we reach our campsite, before we set up our tents, we have to gather dead trees and saw them into burnable pieces. Sometimes when a piece is too thick, as an instructor equipped with an axe, I am responsible of splitting it into halves or even quarters. I was raised in Taipei and reside in Philly; even though I never call myself a city girl, splitting wood is certainly not my expertise. I remember I looked at the axe in my hand and the log in front of me, “this can’t be too hard.” I lifted my axe and “boom” the log laid on the ground intact like a sleeping beauty. I do not recall how many tries to get through the first piece. I only remember I got attached to the new challenge and woke up next morning with a sore lower back.

In late August 2007, Andrea Deaton and I were leading an AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) major excursion in Yosemite National Park. We were hiking and backpacking, nothing technical; however, I couldn’t resist checking out every single granite face we encountered. My long time climbing partner Yaroslav and I had started actively preparing for a Yosemite climbing trip in October and being a rock climber in the States, I know this simple fact-—Yosemite is the place to go.

I bought a rock climbing guidebook featuring climbs in Yosemite Valley and I studied it every night in the tent after each participant finished their dinner and got ready for bed. I remember I asked myself a question repeatedly “How come there aren’t many routes rated 5.7 and below?” I could follow up to 5.9+ or maybe 5.10a but I had a strong desire to lead and leading is a totally different story than following. In Wyoming, I had learned the theory of traditional leading, built many anchors and placed many pros; however, I did not lead even though I mock led two 5.7’s. I needed some real experience to be ready especially mentally; I could not afford carrying any moment of doubt when I stepped in the boundary of Yosemite again in another two months.

I started my quest to do trad-leads (traditional leading) in September. Not only did I want to boost my confidence, but I needed to familiarize with Yaroslav’s style in an outdoor setting. Ever since then I kept a climbing log for all my outdoor climbs, which is a suggestion I took from my instructor Jared Spaulding, and therefore I can monitor my climbing progress or simply indulge in my adventures.