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The long or short version? New York City via South Africa.

Two ice climbing clinics in Ouray and one clinic in the Adirondacks.

The first ice clinic was with Dawn Glanc, second with Anna Keeling and the Dacks was with Emilie Drinkwater.

15 years

A varied and diverse mix of climbing.  There is a fair bit of trad, a diverse mix of mountain and alpine, and a good bit of ice.  I resisted the gym until recently because I thought it was boring.   But now New York has some good gyms and I have friends who go, so now I go for the sociability. I know I should try harder while there, but I prefer to go and have fun.

I liked the idea of all women’s program – I heard the guides were excellent teachers and I wanted the best instructors.

I like the full immersive climbing experience. In addition, I also like to hang out and spend time with like-minded folks

It’s a “glimmery dream” that moves you towards something exciting. Adventure is the balance between fun and fear, uncertainty and hope. It’s the challenge of the unsure.

Stepping outside your comfort zone allows for personal growth.  It inspires and motivates to achieve things outside your wildest dreams – further than you thought was possible.

(she knowingly laughs with that leading question because it’s such a great story!)

I thought winter was for staying indoors until I discovered crampons. I strapped them on and stepped outside on the ice. And the ice went ‘kjieee kjieee kjieee’.

(I asked for her spelling of that sound: it’s the sound of the ice not the crampons because “ice has different sounds”)

It’s a gutteral sound. I realized I could run across the ice.

I was deliberately careful to be open to what was here… to see and discover what was here.

I’ve been surprised since I stepped off the airplane.  It’s weird, wild and wonderful!

So Louise responded:

I expected a wonderful group of women, but I didn’t expect them to be as weird, wild and wonderful as they were.

After a moment, without hesitation or wavering conviction, Louise responds:

I’m going to stop backing off the overhangs at the gym….(Perhaps she was considering our last pitch of steep ice she contemplated not climbing but did)

I would like climbing to make me more level-headed, more grounded. But also to feel more fulfilled and happy.

Wrong word: it’s a positive process: working thru fears, insecurities and self-doubt. Examining thoughts and feelings allows growth  to be on that path is a positive process.

What else would you like to say about this Iceland trip or reflections on Chicks, climbing, etc:

The wonderful things about climbing are … independence and self-reliance, which some times you cannot get with a guided trip. With Chicks, there’s a deep sense of equality within the group.