Jan 27 2014

Climbing Pregnant: Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou Interview

Climbing, Interviews, Kids, Motherhood, Pregnancy
by Beth

This is the first of several interviews of women who climbed during pregnancy. If I've learned anything from climbing and pregnancy, it's that there is a huge range of how people feel. Some women have been able to maintain a high activity level throughout their pregnancy and others feel so terrible that they are sidelined for months at a time. Even different pregnancies with the same women can vary drastically. I know that I am climbing far below my "normal" climbing level and frequency well into my second trimester. Robyn...

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Jan 23 2014

Climbing Pregnant: Month One: How to Listen to your Body

Climbing, Pregnancy
by Beth

It's very interesting to me to look back on the first couple months and see how hard it was for me, what a different mind set I was in with the unknowns and worries, coupled with the sickness and physical changes. I'm glad that I documented this when I was going through it, even though it was a difficult space to be in.   We found out the day after Max died. The first pregnancy test read positive. Then so did the second. One of the saddest times of my life was crashing...

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Jan 21 2014

Climbing Past My Pregnancy Stigma

Climbing, featured, Pregnancy
by Beth

I'm pregnant! Wowza! Big adventures lie ahead, along with exhaustion I'm sure :) We've got a little boy coming end of April and we couldn't be more thrilled. When I first found out I was pregnant, I did a ton of research to see what other climbers experienced, and didn't find a lot out there. I want to help change this in the climbing community, to help make it an open discussion. If you research running while pregnant, the resources are endless from novice runners to professionals; but climbing while...

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Aug 27 2013

Lessons and Love from our Dog, Max

Climbing, Dogs, featured
by Beth

The scared light-brown dog, all skin and bones, hopped out of the rescue lady's van in the parking lot of this non-descript strip mall. One of his legs was bandaged after the surgery. His brown eyes opened, fearful and bewildered, and he seemed to be searching for his owners. "Max is totally in shock," said Elizabeth from the rescue agency, in her South African accent. "For the past two weeks he looked in every door, every corner, every vista for his home, not knowing that he'll never find it again." ...

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May 28 2013

Crux Crush Interview

Climbing, Interviews
by Beth

The lovely ladies of Crux Crush were kind enough to do an interview with me for their blog. They asked some very interesting questions that I am hardly, if ever, asked. To read their kind words, follow the link below...

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Climbing Back Video

Climbing, Injuries
by Beth

I had the pleasure of working with my good friends at Big Up Productions on this recent video on my past few years with injuries and climbing. As I've written on this blog, I've had my fair share of injuries over the past handful of years, but my passion for climbing is just as strong as ever, whether I'm climbing 5.10 or 5.14. It's great to be able to team up with such great folks to document the thick and thin of being a professional climber. I hope you enjoy the video!   ...

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Apr 22 2013

Alex Honnold on Food

Climbing, Food, Interviews
by Beth

I recently caught up with my friend Alex Honnold on something other than his most recent climbing exploits. While he is constantly pushing the climbing envelope, Alex has also been going through a bit of a food and eating revolution. Many of you know that aside from climbing and everything encompassing the professional climbing lifestyle, a lot of my free time and interest is spent around food. I love eating in the best restaurants Roanoke has to offer! I think I always fancied myself as someone who was really into...

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Mar 29 2013

Moderate Climbing in Catalunya Spain

Climbing, Travel
by Beth

  I wrote up a short piece for Petzl on moderate climbing in the Catalunya region on Spain. Each of my two trips involved going to areas that had a ton of 5.10's, 5.11's and 5.12's. We all know that there are plenty of 5.15's at Oliana and Santa Linya, but if you are looking for sun filled Spanish limestone, these are some good places to start. Click on the link below.   Moderate Spanish Climbing areas...

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Mar 18 2013

Spanish Five Hang Send

Climbing, Injuries, Travel
by Beth

My two hands crowded the partial jug of the limestone hole, shuffling back and forth trying to gain some relief of a pump. My forearms were full of lactic acid, barely able to close my fingers around the hold. My breath was rapid and my heart was racing. I knew I didn’t have much time before gravity won and I was hanging on the end of the rope. Contradictory thoughts swirled through my head: should let go due to the fear that I would hurt myself again? Or should I...

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Feb 19 2013

Climbing in Catalunya Spain and advice from Granny

Climbing, Travel
by Beth

The majority of my holidays have been spent in the Bay Area. With endless feet of snow in Yosemite and my inevitable knack to catch every cold or flu bug going around, it was a much more agreeable place to pass the gluttony of the holidays. A huge benefit to placing myself in the vastly populated urban center is the close proximity to my family. I carry a huge guilt when it comes to time spent with my family, always feeling that I could be doing more. I wonder if...

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