A year of climbing without men

I have been a “professional” climber for almost ten years. Last year my climbing boyfriend emotionally and physically abused me….so I embarked on a year of climbing without men. I didn’t want to be around them, I didn’t trust that they respected me or my climbing goals or my time. And I was RIGHT!

After a full year, not only have I climbed routes harder and more demanding than ever before, but more importantly I have discovered a fiery passion and focus for climbing that I’ve never felt even a fraction of before.

I wait for no one, I take shit from no one and I have become the climber I always wanted to be. No more men taking the rope out of my hands, telling me what to do, or even kindly being there when I thought I needed help. Everything is on me and I LOVE IT!

This year I repeated two of the hardest routes where I live, and had more fun than I ever knew possible.

Chime in if you’ve done similar, or want to in your field. I hope this post inspires you to leave men behind when you want to push your limits. https://i.imgur.com/obvyn7g.jpg

Update: I am looking for discussion before I publish the full article to a magazine. I posted this text in a subreddit for this activity and am being downvoted into oblivion 😂😂