Sterling Rope presents 3rd Annual Women's Climbing Weekend at the New River Gorge September 29-30, 2007
Elaina Arenz-Smith warming up on Cottonmouth at the New River Gorge --Brad Nelson
It is that time again for another exciting Sterling Rope Women’s
Climbing Weekend, Goddesses on the Rocks! This will be our 3rd Annual
event at the New River Gorge, the backdrop for a great weekend of
climbing, socializing, and fun. Based upon the tremendous interest
shown by women climbers, we are looking forward to another large
turnout and a fun weekend of climbing. Please review this schedule - if
you have any questions, feel free to call Sonya Becker at 800-788-7673,
ext. 3104, or by email: sonya@sterlingrope.com
Payment
must be made in advance by check or Visa/Mastercard. Due to limited
space, registration for the event must be made in advance by September 21, 2007 (registrations made after this date will be space permitting only) – on-site registrations cannot be accepted. You can register online too!
Weekend Format:
Thank you to all who have provided feedback from previous events – we
heard ya’! This is our first event in New River Gorge that we are
offering specialty clinics and we are very excited about this change.
All the details on clinic offerings can be downloaded from the Sterling Rope website. COSTS: $125 – 1 Day $185 – 2 Days
Elaina Arenz-Smith, owner of New River Mountain Guides, was invited to instruct at the Joshua Tree event in April. Over 70 women came from both sides of the country to rake their tender skin against the granite rock at J-Tree. There was a heavy empahsis on instruction. So many women learn to climb from their male counterparts, that we felt it was time to put more women in the drivers seat. The greatest gift a guide can impart on her clients is to teach women how to be independant, and fully competent climbers who can critically think through any given climbing scenario.
Sterling Rope had many of their female athletes leading groups teaching everything from self-rescue, anchor clinics, trad climbing technique and bouldering. It was a killer weekend with beautiful weather, great company and lots of climbing. Thanks to everyone who attended and we hope to see you at our other Women's weekend events scheduled this year for the New River Gorge, WV and North Conway, NH.
2nd Annual Sterling Rope Women's Climbing Weekend at the NRG October28-29, 2006
Thanks to all the ladies who came out for the Second Annual Sterling Rope Women's Climbing Weekend at the New River Gorge. The first day greeted us cold and wet but we persevered despite it all! The inclement weather allowed us to do a ground school session with the beginner groups which as very well recieved, as many of the ladies had never climbed outside before. The second half of the day cleared up and the rock dried out, so we hit the rocks and put that ground school knowledge into practice.
That evening we all reconvened at Burnwood Campground for a slide show by Sterling athlete Chelsea Rude, who at the tender age of 17 has many hard sends to her name. Diane Kearn owner of the Gendarme and Seneca Rocks Climbing School wowed us once again with her slideshow featuring her recent trip to Greenland. Thanks so much for your inspiring slideshows! After the shows were over we consumed beverages around the campfire and swapped stories and phone numbers.
Day Two greeted us with a sunny beautful day and we hit the rocks once again. We fanned out across the Gorge and Summersville Lake in our groups and pulled down some more. Thanks to all the volunteers who made this event run smoothly and to JB, Sonya, and Kurt Smith at Sterling who made it all possible. See ya next year!
Christina Austin sending New Yosemite, photo by Dan Brayack
