I went on a side quest to get a bit better at invert offwidth climbing this winter, something I've always been interested in but hadn't made the time for until now. While I was really proud of the growth and accomplishment of climbing my first 5.13 in this previously foreign style, at the end of the day what Supreme meant to me was the same thing that all the best rock climbing experience do: spending quality time with good friends in beautiful places, while hoping to become a better version of myself somewhere along the way.
I can't leave it unsaid that I do not acknowledge the route's official name, "Supreme Manliness," because I refuse to celebrate (by labelling as "supreme") the trait of "manliness." It elevates the already unfairly privileged and alienates everyone else who already has to fight to feel like they belong in outdoor spaces historically controlled by the patriarchy. Glass ceilings and gatekeeping, even through something as seemingly innocuous as a name, do not belong in rock climbing. We can do so much better.
To me the route is Supreme Womanliness, Supreme, Supreme Humanness, Supreme Humanity, call it whatever makes you feel like you have the right to be there, because it's just a piece of rock on public land, it belongs to *everyone*
Supreme Womanliness 5.13-
Shot by @tradprincess
Here's a comical compilation of every time my fingers got stuck on the final 0.3 sized finger crack crux of the Tricks are for Kids extension, a project I put down earlier this season. My fingers have been swelling so much lately from all the crack climbing that they are a full size bigger than they used to be and it's presented a lot of weird and new challenges like what's happening here, but where there's a will, there's always a way!
Stay tuned for the full video eventually... 😉
@lasportivagram@lasportivana@petzl_official@deuter_usa #lasportiva #lasportivana #petzlgram #accessyourpassion #laspomoment #deuter #adventureworthy #climblyfe #climbing_is_my_passion #climblikeagirl #womenwhoclimb #girlswhoclimb #climb #climbing #womenonlead #climbinglife #tradisrad #unitedwesend #doyouclimb #liveclimbrepeat #climbing_lovers #leadclimbing #choosemountains #c_l_i_m_b #crackclimbing #creekfreak #indiancreek #desertmagic
In 2020 I went to war with a painfully beautiful finger crack called Stingray. Nearly 3 years later, I still think about Stingray often, because it remains the deepest I've ever had to dig to send a project. That route forever changed me, not just in the shape of one of my fingers, but in my understanding of what's possible. It brought me to the edge of everything I thought I was, and then pushed me into a fire that forged me into something more. It showed me that there were things inside me that I had only ever dreamt of being, but it came at the cost of intense vulnerability every step of the way. The idea of plunging that far down the rabbit hole of passionate obsession again scares me, yet simultaneously begs me to consider that I might be able to dig even deeper, and makes me wonder just what I'll find if I do. These are the kinds of things that make me want to project really hard cracks I guess...
The uncut version of this video is on my YouTube
"Travelled alllll the way across the world to climb more bullsh!t" -Mary
because of course we did
OR
In the winter of 2025 Sam, Mary, and I established a 3 pitch 5.12 offwidth roof crack in the mountains of Saint Catherine, Egypt. All three of us climbed the crux using completely different beta, with techniques varying from fists (Sam) to hand stacks (Mary) to inverting (which I had to do because I had crammed my XL hands into Mary's XS crack gloves that were so tight I couldn't close my hand into a fist). Climbing in a style this niche in a place so far away might be a classic case of "first ascent, last ascent," but it's out there for anyone with a sense of... who am I kidding, it's probably just us, but the adventure meant a lot to me, and sometimes that's plenty.
Parmesan cheese
One of life's greatest pleasures
Salt, protein, flavor, and fat
Make for nutritional treasures
Straight from the bag
As an easy crag snack
Always brightens my day
And keeps my climbing on track
Shredded, crumbled, or shaved
I love you in every style
My dear parmesan
You make each day worthwhile
This has been an ode to parmesan cheese.
Thank you for your attention to this matter
📸 By @tessa_oliver Of an authentic crag experience
A fun timelapse and summit shot of @mr.samuelforeman , @gorisb , and me climbing Zeus via Sisyphus.
Such a rad tower with awesome movement. It had been on the wishlist for a while and it was worth every second of anticipation.
Sam F styled pitch 1. I took pitch 2, and then we sicced him up the final and crux pitch where he did great, as expected, since he really excels in that style.
We fixed lines and shared a lot of laughs while Brittany rode the “Mikey T highway” in style, and Tessa told us to have fun while she enjoyed a sunbathing day away from our nonsense. Moses the day before and then Zeus the day after was tiring - but dang it was worth it! ❤️
It felt like a gamble to stay in Moab for the winter. Not because of the weather, or my projects, but because normally I get burned out after a few months in a place; the fire is gone, my body feels tired, and I simply can't get motivated even for my non-climbing passions. Packing up my van and driving somewhere new always resets the clock, and the cycle begins again.
It felt like I blinked and the entire fall went by. December hit and it was somehow still sixty degrees, and even more miraculously, I felt even more hunger for desert cracks than when I'd arrived. For once, I didn't feel ready to bail at the end of a season. It's always been my favorite kind of climbing, and my favorite place, with my favorite people, but how long would it last?
It scared me, to break my own rules. My 3 months was up and that meant it was time to leave... But what if I didn't? Would my friends get sick of me parking in their driveways? Would the stability give me time to rehab some nagging injuries, or would the harsh style of climbing only make them worse? Would I burn out like I usually do and not want to come back to the place I love most?
Why did the act of inaction hold so many unknowns, and was that a sign that it held answers I might not even know I was looking for? Come what may, I knew I needed to heed that calling.
It's March now, and I've been in the desert for 5 months. I haven't stayed in the same place for this long in 7 years. I'm going crack climbing today, and the next day, and next week, and the week after that, and I couldn't be more excited. Spring hasn't even started, and I already feel like I'm running out of time for all the things I want to do, because I'm so psyched on this damn place.
📸 @tony.archie of some maximum joy on a beautiful winter day, where we had what felt like all of Indian Creek to ourselves.
Overhanging purples and greens, does it get any better?
State of Becoming is a short and burly 5.12+ at The Beach that is a must-do for anyone trying to climb all the great ringlock cracks of the desert (all four or five of us out there...)
I did this one back in December when it was almost too hot to be climbing in the sun, which has been true for most of the winter! The desert season never really ended after that, so I never really left. How could I when another great off-fingers crack is always just around the corner?!
📸 🪄 By @tony.archie
Dry shoot your creatine and GO TO THE GYM! JUST GO!
AKA welcome to the nonsense that is going on in my brain when I'm training for my 2026 goals. Motivation comes in many forms, and mine is imagining a montage set to this specific metal screaming audio. You got this.
Now that I'm out of time in 2025 to pack in much more climbing, while reflecting on my year I realized I never shared this cool shot @lor_sabourin took of what was a major highlight, the first of two V11s I did in Rocklands: "X" (this was also my first of the grade, but it was a lot easier than the Kraken so I only ever talked about the latter).
After a fall that did not live up to my performance expectations, it's been too easy to forget that I otherwise had an exceptionally fun, adventurous, and successful year with my climbing, and that I'm really proud and grateful for all the places I got to go and things I got to do! This was just one of so many adventures that all added up to make for one of the best years of my life I've ever had.
(( I talk a lot more about this climb and the whole trip over on my blog, for those who missed it back when it was originally published in July. ))
I was gifted this wild boar skull some time ago by @flowstate.climbing and spent many months waiting for the right inspiration to strike. It was too special to just slap any old design on it, so I just let it breathe until the time was right. Finally it hit me, and after staring at a blank canvas for so long, I suddenly knew exactly what it was meant to become. It might be my new favorite!
Time- somewhere between 30-40 hours
#art #artist #painting #blackandwhiteart #skullart
