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Midsummer Ice Dream

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

We are really getting into the heat of summer, so let’s talk ice.

What? Yes, ice – well, of the plastic kind :)

Larissa Phillips of the CityRock Climbing Gym in Colorado Springs just emailed us about an upcoming event called “A Midsummer’s Ice Dream” which will be taking place Saturday, July 23 from 6-9 p.m. at CityRock Climbing Gym (21 N. Nevada Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80903).

Larissa said the gym has had lots of folks requesting more dry tooling routes to keep in shape for the ice season, which is why they decided to host the event. CityRock traditionally hosts an “Ice Night” every winter with demos and a comp, and thought it would be fun to have a demo night with no comp during the summer.

A $5 entry fee will get you climbing on all new dry-tooling routes, ice tool demos by Petzl, donations from IceHoldz for climbing on, a raffle ticket for give-aways, and free beer (a local home brew).

This “Midsummer” Ice Night is more social (it’s not a comp), so there is no experience needed.

If you have friends who are interested in the sport but not in the cold weather, bring them in to try it out and have fun!

For more information e-mail info@climbcityrock.com or call 719-634-9099.

And, for those who get bit by the ice climbing bug at the event, please check out our 2012 Chicks with Picks dates!  We are already psyched for January! :)

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Chicks alumna organizes Pink Ribbon climb

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Samaara is a Chicks with Picks alumna of several years, having climbed with us in the Complete Chicks program back in 2005 and 2006.

In 2009, Samaara (formerly known as Connie during her Chicks days) was diagnosed with breast cancer. Over the past two years she has had seven surgeries including a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, loss of all lymph nodes, and now endures a life-long battle with lymphedema.

Having lived with a commitment to philanthropy since she was a child, Samaara is now choosing to give back through an event to get breast cancer survivors climbing – something we’ve been told by other breast cancer survivors to be a great challenge to undertake while battling cancer (see more here in an inspiring post at Pemba Serves).

Samaara’s event, called Pink Ribbon Climbers, will benefit the organization Live by Living, founded in 2007 in memory of Julie Wrend, who died after a 19-year battle with breast cancer. The organization provides cancer survivors and caregivers a unique backcountry experience in the form of day hikes and weekend retreats.

Pink Ribbon Climbers is a Boulder-based event intended to be a day for survivors to climb, but it is also open to friends, sisters, wives, and partners to participate. All beginner and intermediate climbers are welcome to come, with the climbing focused on grades between 5.4 and 5.9.

Here are the details of Samaara’s Pink Ribbon Climbers outing:

Pink Ribbon Climb

When: July 16 and/or August 13 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Sign up for one day or both!

Where: Meet at The Spot Climbing Gym to pick up equipment before heading into beautiful Boulder Canyon for easily accessible beginner and intermediate rock climbing.  A 10- to 20-minute hike leads to the base of spectacular rock.

Cost: $100, includes:

  • - Harness
  • - Climbing shoes
  • - Helmet
  • - Transportation
  • - Goodie bag
  • - AMGA certified climbing instructors with a 5:1 ratio

Sign up online at The Spot

More Details: Call Samaara at (720) 470-3549

Want to know more about Samaara’s recent journey? We did too after she checked in with us to share her latest endeavor. Tomorrow we will publish some powerful words from Samaara who admits that despite everything she’s been through with cancer, she says: “In many ways, cancer was good for me.”

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Posted in Alumnae News, Events | No Comments »

Chicks Rock! Red Rock wrap-up

Friday, April 8th, 2011

Photo by Dawn Glanc

Girly Guide Dawn Glanc wrote about our first Chicks Rock! event of the season, last weekend’s intensive three-day clinic (with an optional multi-pitch day) March 31-April 3 at Red Rock Canyon, just outside of Las Vegas.

Here is Dawn’s recap of the event:

The Chicks rocked this weekend in Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas.

The three day program was full of fun and laughter.

Day one we went to Moderate Mecca to get familiar with the sandstone.

Day two we hiked an hour into First Creek Canyon to climb at the Romper Room Wall. It was a great day of Crack climbing. Most  women learned how to hand jam for the first time ever.

Day three we put it all together and Climbed at Ragged Edges. It was a great weekend.

Monday was an optional multi-pitch day, four women stayed to climb with Kitty and I. I climbed Physical Graffiti with Anne and Lisa. Kitty took her ladies up Wholesome Fullback. Everyone had an adventure on that last day. It was a perfect way to end our Spring clinic in Vegas.

Thanks Dawn! You can check out photos from the clinic  (all courtesy of Dawn) in the gallery here on our Facebook page or here in our Flickr pool. And we encourage all of our Red Rocks gals to submit your photos to the pool or group page as well!

Also, make sure you check out the week-long coverage the Outdoor Women’s Alliance has been giving to the Chicks Climbing program here! They will be posting testimonial from one of our Red Rock Chicks soon! And a huge thanks to Gina over there for giving us such great coverage all week long! :)

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Chicks Ambassador Poster Plaster!

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

It's missing a Chicks Rock poster!

Calling all ambassadors of Chicks Climbing! We need your assistance in getting our Chicks Rock! 2011 posters plastered across the country. Can you help?

How about if we tell you there is an Osprey Hornet 24 daypack, a pair of Julbo Guide Glasses, and a Princeton Tec Fuel headlamp up for grabs for three lucky Chicks ambassadors! Now can we count on your support??? ;)

This giveaway is open to everyone – men and women – since we know some of our biggest fans are the men who climb with the women who have been to a Chicks clinic!

The Chicks Ambassador role is an easy one to fill – all you need to do is fill out this form with your name, mailing address, and the number of posters you would like us to send you (the limit is 4).

Once you get the posters, please put them up at your rock gym, sports store, coffee shop, school, or yoga studio – basically wherever you think there might be Chicks who want to give climbing a try. Once it is up, take a picture of your poster plaster, then post that photo on your Facebook wall, tell us where you plastered it, and tag us at Chicks Climbing. That photo – with the Chicks Climbing Facebook tag – will be your entry into the drawing for the pack, glasses, and headlamp!

Each poster you plaster, photograph, and share will get you one entry into the giveaway – so you can earn up to four total entries!

The contest will run through May 31, so there is plenty of time to get your posters strategically placed. Please allow for up to three weeks for your posters to arrive (i.e. sign up to get yours now) as we work in batches for shipping!

Any questions? Let’s hear ‘em! Otherwise, get started by filling out the form here to get your posters!

And a huge thank you in advance to all the wonderful supporters of our Chicks clinics who will help us plaster our posters!

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Posted in "Hot" Topics, Events, Networking | 5 Comments »

Sue Nott scholarship available for girls 9-17 to learn to ice climb!

Saturday, March 12th, 2011

Sue Nott/Michigan Ice Fest

Have you ever wished you were introduced to the sport of ice climbing at a younger age? Are there any young women in your life you’d like to give that gift to?

I just came across an AMAZING opportunity for young women between the ages of 9-17 to be introduced to the sport of ice climbing at the Michigan Ice Fest. This opportunity is possible thanks to a scholarship from Down Wind Sports in honor of Sue Nott who passed away on the Infinite Spur of Alaska’s Mount Foraker with our dear friend Karen McNeill in 2006. Sue served as an instructor for two years during the Michigan Ice Fest, teaching women’s courses. The scholarship will include admission to the ice fest, instruction in the women’s course, as well as some other surprises! There will be 1-2 scholarships awarded each year.

For those who have not heard of Sue, she was a native of Vail, Colorado, and began climbing rock and ice at the age of 20. In the winter of 1998, Sue was involved in an ice climbing accident where she was speared by a large piece of ice, when it crumbled from underneath her. Suffering from serious abdominal injuries, Sue took only two months to recover and was out climbing as soon as she could. Over the next couple of years Sue focused on alpine climbing. She would winter in Chamonix, giving her access to many of Europe’s alpine classics including the famed Eiger. Then spend the spring season in Alaska, climbing on Hunter, Foraker and Denali. All of this was preparation for her major expeditions which took her all over the world, climbing in such locations as India’s Garwhal Himalaya, the Peruvian Andes, and the mountains of Patagonia to name a few (source: Michigan Ice Fest). It was Sue’s drive, focused direction and experience that led her to become one of the world’s top women alpine climbers.  Unfortunately, Sue was killed while attempting the Infinite Spur on Mt. Foraker in Alaska in the spring of 2006 with our dear friend and Girly Guide Karen McNeill.

We will forever miss these two amazing ladies that were truly pioneers in alpine climbing, and role models to many of us. We are grateful and thankful for the generous support of those who want to ensure we remember Sue by helping continue her legacy in climbing.

Do you know a young girl who might be interested in learning how to ice climb?  Please contact Michigan Ice if you would like details on how to apply for the Sue Nott Scholarship.  I hope those of you that can will take advantage of the opportunity to introduce a young girl to a sport so many of us love!

(The 2011 Michigan Ice Fest was held Feb. 2-5 in Munising, Michigan, festival dates for 2012 have not yet been announced).

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Angela wraps up CWP season as we prep for Chicks Rock! in March

Friday, February 25th, 2011

The Chicks with Picks 2011 season came to a close at the beginning of this month, and we are already looking forward to our first Chicks Rock! event of 2011 which is coming up at the end of NEXT month at Red Rocks!

Girly Guide Angela Hawse wrote a great wrap-up report of our 2011 CWP clinics with a look ahead into the rock climbing season. In her blog which you can read in its entirety here at Pemba Serves, Angela really captures the spirit of a Chicks clinic writing: “Opening circle stories range from quiet humble introductions, to tear-jerkers of personal tragedies and triumphs, to hilarious gut-busters that break the ice and testimonials from alums that always come back for more.  It is an inspiration to hear these women’s stories and an honor to help them along their journey to become better, more self-reliant and skilled climbers.  I look forward to this every year.”

We couldn’t have said it any better! It really is wonderful to hear the stories of triumph and inspiration, which we carry with us every day. It’s also fun to help facilitate women meeting new climbing partners – just this week we were able to connect a few women out in North Carolina who’ve been searching for other women to climb with. To top it off, we have had more Chicks sightings than ever, and hear about more and more of our alumnae going off on trips and climbing together which is EXACTLY what we want you to do :)

In concluding her wrap-up, Angela said: “Times shared together, tied-in, on ice, rock or snow can be sacred.  Words often can’t portray the experience, but those who have had them together know the significance.  Here’s to all this years Chicks that fledged in style and have been unleashed!  The world is a better place because you are out there doing your thing.  And we are glad you shared that with us.”

Indeed, we truly are! We look forward to meeting even more Chicks throughout the course of this year in our Chicks Rock! programs. Here’s what we’ve got on tap right now:

Do you want to know how the Chicks Rock! spring Red Rocks clinic has been reviewed by some of our participants? Check out Beth’s testimony from 2010 here, and Maria’s here. Both women credited the clinic with helping them break into a new level of climbing! Are you ready to do just that?

We are also doing a preliminary exploration of  potentially having a west coast clinic out at Smith Rock (Bend, Oregon) this fall, so stay tuned for more details!

In the meantime, make sure you keep reporting in those Chicks sightings :) we love to hear the reports of our Chicks out climbing together!

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Ice climbing with Majka

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

Krysia climbing with one tool while Majka belays

The following guest post was written by our friend Krysia about her experience climbing at the Michigan Ice Fest this past weekend, and more importantly, getting some proper instruction on technique! She wrote about the entire weekend event for Pemba Serves which can be found here, but read below to see what Krysia experienced having “a real ice and rock star” instructor help her get some technique under her belt on the ice.

I recently had the opportunity to ice climb with a real ice and rock star, Majka Burhardt.  It was my first time climbing with someone so accomplished; I didn’t know what to expect, how it would be.  I found myself being more at ease than I would have guessed.  I credit that to Majka.  Like most climbers I’ve met, she is really chill.  But it was more than that, I knew after spending just a little time with her that we were really going to get along.  Besides sharing the love of climbing and writing, we had two more things in common: A tenancy to swear and Polish names that are not phonetic in English=perfect!

Majka led a clinic called Women’s Introduction to Ice at the Michigan Icefest.  I signed up for it because I had only ice climbed once before and felt my technique was greatly lacking.

Majka began the class by having us move around in our crampons and using the axes on lower ice ledges just to get the feel of how to swing, giving us individual pointers.

We then hit the ice.  There were four top ropes for about eight climbers, which meant we got to climb a lot.  Majka suggested we climb our second route with only one axe.  She said it would help with precision.  Wow, was that good advice.  It really made you look for that sweet spot; knowing it was your only high hold, you made damn sure it was secure before moving on.  That was always her advice, make sure you have a solid hold before going on, don’t settle for a somewhat sketch placement and hope the next one is better while moving fast (I do it in rock climbing all the time).  She said it created a “Domino” effect and pretty soon you be off balance and would fall.

It also made me much more aware of my body placement. I leaned with my hips and balanced myself much more.  I also used my tool-free gloved hand at time to hold onto or lean on the ice for balance.  She said that was fair.  Majka was really good at assessing us at our personal level and challenging us individually.

By the end of the clinic, I knew I found a new passion.  Ice IS nice, like the “Chicks with Picks” always say!  I didn’t think I’d take to it so much, but I’m seriously considering Ouray next January and for sure Icefest next February.

Krysia Hepatica is a mother, climber and adventure seeker.  Her love for climbing was serendipitous; what started out as a hobby for young her son became a passion for her. She’s now addicted to rock and re-arranges her life around both the local climbing gym’s hours, and the all-important road trips to the Red River Gorge! Follow her blog on climbing and all of life’s wonderful adventures here at venturesome krysia.

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Chicks Climbing presents Danika Gilbert at community slideshow Jan. 31

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Got plans for Jan. 31? If you’re in the Ouray area you do! Come on out to the Ouray Community Center at 7 p.m. for a Chicks Climbing auction and slideshow by Girly Guide Danika Gilbert.

The $5 entrance fee will get you free beer, a seat at Danika’s Adventure in Southern Greenland slideshow, and a piece of the action at the Chicks Climbing auction to raise money for local women’s shelters and the Ouray Ice Park.

Adventure in Southern Greenland: Climbing Granite Spires Amid the Ice
In the summer of 2010, the small team of Danika Gilbert, Sarah Garlick, Dave Nettle and Jim Surette established new routes on a remote island in southern Greenland. Join us for an evening of images and entertainment from the team’s explorations of this amazing land to the north. Steep granite walls rising from the ocean, icebergs, whales and a few bugs with unbeatable views make this a must-see show.

About Danika
Danika Gilbert has made the San Juan’s her home since 2002 and is passionate about sharing her love of the outdoors with others, whatever the activity. She has traveled around the world both as a scientist and climber. She makes her living as a full-time guide now, leading people on adventures from rock and ice climbing to mountain biking and skiing. Danika lives above Ridgway, CO with her sweet dog Avellana who is a constant companion on runs, bike rides and ski adventures in the San Juan Mountains.

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Posted in Events, Trip Reports | 1 Comment »

Chicks, chicks everywhere in Ouray! See who we spotted and what else is going on in this week’s Gossip Report!

Monday, January 10th, 2011

Here on the Chicks Climbing Gossip Report you can catch up on all of the great gossip (articles, videos, and other assorted cool stuff) we talked about over the past week at Chicks Climbing! This past weekend was the 16th annual Ouray Ice Fest. Girly Guide Dawn Glanc won the women’s division of the mixed climbing competition, followed closely by NEW Girly Guide Jen Olson. Congratulations to both of you! The Head Chick was out at the festivities – did you see her? If you did, or saw any other Chicks out and about at the Ouray Ice Fest, please share your pictures with us! We love a good Chicks sighting after all :) So please post them on our Facebook wall, send them to us on Twitter, through e-mail to info(at)chickswithpicks.net, or post them in our Flickr Pool so we can feature you at Chicks!

We had a few Chicks sightings we reported over the last week including Amy J. and Cheryl W. who did some backcountry climbing together in Ouray before the Ice Fest started last week! The two ran into Girly Guide Danika Gilbert and the Head Chick down in the Schoolroom and sent us this great picture as well. The Head Chick spotted Heather Piper Musmanno in the treadwall competition! Thanks so much ladies for the photos and please keep sharing! It is so fun to see Chicks climbing together and having a great time!! :)

Also on the blog last week we posted a blog from Girly Guide Caroline George about her experience at the Bozeman Ice Fest last month where she got the opportunity to teach some awesome ladies. Caroline won’t be joining us at Chicks with Picks this year as she is on an expedition to Antarctica with First Ascent to climb Mount Vinson! You can follow her progress in Antarctica here on the First Ascent blog.

We also had a guest post from Krysia on how she experienced some “instant karma” while climbing and how it taught her to not rely solely on beta and lose situational awareness. Check it out here on the Chicks blog!

We announced our Chicks with Picks slideshow and auction dates this week – we have ski mountaineering extraordinaire Hilaree O’Neill who will be taking you around the world on skis Friday, Jan. 28 at the Ouray Community Center, and Girly Guide Danika Gilbert on Monday, Jan. 31 talking about her summer trip doing first ascents in Southern Greenland.

Finally, we cleared up some questions folks had about the number of women in the Ouray Ice Festival competition, which raised questions of why there aren’t more women climbing at the M9 level. This is a GREAT topic and discussion to have, one which we’ll be following up with in the future getting input from our Girly Guides on why they choose to compete in competitions like the Ice Fest – or opt to not do so at all.

All of the other articles we linked to this past week through either the Chicks Climbing Twitter account, or on the Chicks Climbing Facebook fan page (and some on both!).

We provide this wrap-up because we come across a TON of great resources each week, but understand that not everyone is online all the time, or even on both (or either) of these social media platforms. So you can check here each and every week for the latest and greatest in Chicks Climbing resources here on the blog.

However, we know WE may have also missed some cool stuff this week, so if there is something of interest we missed that you came across this week please, let us know so we can share with everyone else!

Climbing
- Excellent Ouray Comp coverage stories by Alpinist http://bit.ly/f5Q4h5 and Rock and Ice (@rockandice)  http://bit.ly/dUXddu
- Good info. for lead climbers from the American Alpine Institute (@AlpineInstitute) on the dangers of backclipping http://ht.ly/3xETa
- Check out this great ice climbing resource from Petzl (@Petzl): Ice climbing event schedule (all around the world) and info./links 2011 http://ow.ly/3zicB
- Cross-file this one under inspiration! Video of Portia Menlove sending the V11 Sunshine at Hueco Tanks http://ht.ly/3zzEn
- Great resource for ice climbers in the Catskills – do you know of any others for East Coast chicks?  http://ht.ly/3AfzK
- Elizabeth (@eliz_rocks) talks about how she worked on managing her fear of heights during multi-pitch climbing this past summer: http://ht.ly/3B6L9
- More work on the mental head game from Jenn Fields (@jennfields) who talks about knowing your own competition (you), something she discovered during a climbing competition this weekend:  http://ow.ly/3Bdyy
- Krysia (@ventrsomekrysia) writes a reminder for why you should ALWAYS do your safety checks before climbing! http://ht.ly/3yHJv
- The @splitterchoss guide to climbing etiquette: “Don’t be an asshole” http://ht.ly/3A9dT
- Great tips from Peter West Carey (@pwcarey) on taking better rock climbing photos http://bit.ly/ePj29t

News
- Interesting and newly announced partnership will have Mammut (@mammut) atheletes wearing 5.10 (@5ten) shoes http://ht.ly/3yoXa
- AAI (@AlpineInstitute) shares this week’s outdoor and climbing news: http://ht.ly/3zu6n

Gear
- A very cool way to clean your climbing ropes from a recent NOLS (@nolsedu) graduate: http://ht.ly/3y78Y
- Great review of the Evolv (@evolvclimbing) Rock Star shoe from @geargals http://ht.ly/3yE4E
- Gear review from @thegearcaster on the new Inov-8 minimalist road and barefoot running lines http://bit.ly/ebqUm4
- Great review of the new Elektra 12 Series by Sara (@theclimbergirl) on Pemba Serves (@pembaserves) http://goo.gl/fb/BwWiB
- A very informative post on Ice Climbing Gear 101 http://ht.ly/3ztNa
- Yet more information from Petzl (@petzl) on the proper use of the griprest on 2010 Nomic and Ergo ice climbing tools http://ht.ly/3yNJw

Training and Nutrition
- Great write-up on periodized training and how it can work in your climbing regimen: http://ht.ly/3zWZf

Fun Stuff
- Even the Narc! @climbingarc explains why you should “Give Ice Climbing A Try” http://ht.ly/3ztFS
- Rock and Ice (@rockandice) on “Climbing’s Hardest Job” (I think many will agree they hit the nail right on the head – especially in ice season!) http://ht.ly/3yILP
- Mariel Hemingway has recently taken up climbing – see why she loves to do it:  http://on.fb.me/glhrQX

Inspiration
- Very good write-up by Katie Levy (@k8tlevy) on perspective & the value in trip reports of all kinds – big and small: http://bit.ly/hYglzR

Other useful stuff!
- Great post by @alpineinstitute giving an overview of Wilderness Navigation: http://ht.ly/3A4rK

If you have a blog entry that you think would be of interest to the women of Chicks Climbing please let us know! We love getting contributed content from other women – anything from trip reports, nutrition and training tips, to videos. We want to share your resources with the community – much like we do with the Gossip Report and are more than happy to re-publish and share links on behalf of the women’s climbing community!

Posted in Chicks Sightings, Events, Read the Gossip | No Comments »

Chicks Climbing presents Hilaree O’Neill at community slideshow Jan. 28

Saturday, January 8th, 2011

Join us 7 p.m., Friday, Jan. 28 at the Ouray Community Center for a Chicks Climbing auction and slideshow by ski mountaineering extraordinaire Hilaree O’Neill.

The $5 entrance fee for the event gets you free beer, a seat at the slideshow as Hilaree takes you around the world on skis, and a piece of the action at the Chicks Climbing auction to raise money for local women’s shelters and the Ouray Ice Park.

The World on Skis
Come travel the world with Hilaree O’Neill as she takes you from north of the Arctic circle, to the mountains of Mongolia, and south to the penguins and crazy seas of the Isle of South Georgia.  Join her on her exploration of the corners of the earth on skis. These wild adventures include many first ascents and descents in uncharted regions of the globe.  Enjoy the many beautiful photos Hilaree has captured along with great stories of wild animals, culinary disasters and mountain enchantment.

About Hilaree
She has been named by Outside Magazine as one of the most adventurous women in the world of sports. She’s skied from the Himalayan summit of Cho Oyu in Tibet and climbed and skied several high peaks in Bolivia and Argentina. Elsewhere, she’s cut turns on remote volcanoes in the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia, in Mongolia, Pakistan, Lebanon, as well as many first descents in the tight couloirs of Baffin Island.

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Hilaree began skiing at age 3 at Steven’s Pass in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State.  Eventually she moved to the Chamonix Valley of France where she learned most of what she needed to know in order to take her skiing skills to the next level. In addition to her travels as an athlete for The North Face, she spent several years guiding for a heli-skiing outfit in Valdez, Alaska. Hilaree now calls Telluride, Colorado her home. As a mother to two young boys, Hilaree’s life has changed rather dramatically, yet her passion for the mountains has not abated.  She continues to work as a guide for the local heli-skiing outfit –  Helitrax and continues to travel and do ski mountaineering.

We’ve got another slideshow on Jan. 31 that features Danika Gilbert – who will get her own blog post as well :)

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Posted in Events, Trip Reports | 1 Comment »

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