Written/Photos by Emma Medara

Standing amidst 20 laughing and cheering women while another group photo is taken, I can see and feel the positive effect that the weekend has had. This was the second year of Chicks on Cracks, a climbing event organized for women who want to learn new skills, meet new friends, and instill the confidence needed to have independence in achieving their personal climbing goals. The weekend started with a mixer at the registration. Participants and instructors alike introduced themselves and traded dialog as to what they were hoping to gain from the weekend. Many participants were nervous, even to the point of apologizing in advance for the possibility of holding others back. By the end of the weekend, these women had been completely transformed, absorbing the endless positive and inspirational input from the guides and encouragement from fellow participants.E-mails and telephone numbers were exchanged with promises of future climbing adventures with newly formed friendships.

Chicks on Cracks started in 2003 when organizers Lisa Hathaway and the writer, Emma Medara, took the first tentative step in getting the ball rolling. With the support of Moab Desert Adventures, the ball quickly gathered speed and the idea was suddenly a reality. Neither of us had done anything like this before, and at some stages we felt like we were lost in the fog. Having no idea what to expect, it was very much a “we’ll see how it all works out” attitude. The first year’s event far exceeded our expectations. We had huge support from many sponsors, plus a star-studded cast of some of the world’s best female climbers as guides, known to climbers as “Rock Stars”. Nineteen women signed up, every one having a great time, and some promising to come back the following year. It appea red that Chicks on Cracks would indeed become an annual event.

So we embarked on another event. The impetus of the first year helped us achieve huge support from many sponsors. Moab Desert Adventures, a climbing guide service, was the presenting sponsor. Support also came from gear and climbing suppliers Sterling Rope, Patagonia, Metolius, Mountain Hardwear, Five-Ten and Climbing Magazine. Drawing on our experience from the first year, we realized that this was a labor of love, but we had clear primary objectives; first - teaching women the skills and technique specific to crack climbing and second - making women aware that they need to take responsibility for themselves and their climbing partners. To this end, the weekend included rope safety and self-rescue instruction. Of course, the emphasis was to have fun, make new friends and build self-confidence. As an added benefit, Chicks on Cracks was a fund-raiser for Seekhaven, a women’s shelter and family crisis center. The first year we raised over $800 and the goal the second year was $1300.

Climbing is a fast growing sport and heavily male dominated. With the many different facets of the sport evolving, such as gymnastic sport climbing and the easily accessible “bouldering”, more women are participating. Without doubt, some women are the world’s best climbers, having either matched or exceeded achievements of male counterparts. However, many women start climbing only because their male friends or husbands climb and they want to be involved. Women often find themselves in the role of second, not always having the confidence to take the lead. They’re frequently held back either by a lack of confidence or by the more dominating nature often present in more experienced and driven partners. Women’s events are becoming very popular for all types of activities. Participants are literally having life-changing experiences as they are empowered with new skills and discover that there are like-minded women who have similar ambitions.

Admittedly, I had always been a little skeptic of all-women’s events. Coming from Britain, which has a very traditional climbing history, I worked my way up through the grades with my climbing partners always being men. But climbing with men never held me back. I never thought anything about it until I came to America and experienced the huge positive gained from climbing with other women. Having been somewhat skeptical to women’s events, after organizing the first Chicks on Cracks, I was completely astounded by the effect it had on the participants.

After introductions and plans for the weekend, participants received welcome packs full of goodies from our sponsors. We had guest guides, famous in the climbing circles for their mountaineering achievements. Headlining the guest guide list were Kitty Calhoun and Heidi Wirtz. Kitty, with a wealth of experience and character, got one group under way by teaching them how to tape their hands - necessary for protection in cracks of all shapes and sizes. The other group started with rope safety and self-rescue. The actual climbing part this day was to focus on learning techniques necessary for climbing cracks. Groups switched at lunchtime and we continued until the ladies were ti red and muscles aching. We tried to get them to pace themselves so they had some energy left for the next day. But the atmosphere was so charged with encouragement and motivation that the climbers were giving maximum effort into getting to the top of all the climbs that we had set.

Saturday evening everybody got together for a barbeque. The participants were ti red but enthusiastically exchanged stories of their achievements and struggles of the day. We had a special participant raffle with some fantastic prizes donated from sponsors - ropes, tents, sleeping bags and many other items. Our guest guides, Kitty and Heidi, did a slide show open to the public with raffle prizes and a silent auction. The proceeds, over $1200, went to Seekhaven. The next morning, we headed to Indian Creek, a world- famous climbing area an hour south of Moab. This is where the participants could truly put their newfound crack climbing skills to the test. It was a beautiful day, and everyone was excited. The guides installed ropes on many routes, and participants climbed to their heart’s content. The climbing at Indian Creek is physical and most women had never experienced an adventure like this, and through their determination and other’s encouragement, they all climbed until, at least on this day, they could climb no more.

As I said my goodbyes to the women I had spent the weekend with, I really felt like we had done something worthwhile. People made new friends and most exceeded their own expectations. For some, the experience was really going to change their lives as they made resolutions and promises to themselves and to others. Though nearly exhausted, I felt it was all worth it and my mind immediately started whirring with plans for next year’s event.

Chicks on Cracks is presented by Moab Desert Adventures, and hosted by Emma Medara and Lisa Hathaway. It is a women’s climbing event to teach women how to crack climb and to learn invaluable rope safety and self rescue techniques in the beautiful surroundings of Moab’s canyonlands. You can find information on the past event and plans for next year’s event at www.moabdesertadventures.com or call toll free at 1-877 ROK-MOAB.