This past Saturday members of the LMC Competition Rock Climbing Team participated in the “Southern Comfort Bouldering Competition” hosted by the ASU Competition Rock Climbing Team. Walter Ford, the captain of the LMC Team said: “Competing at the Southern Comfort Bouldering Competition at ASU this weekend was a lot of fun and very challenging. My teammates and I all climbed really well and at the end of the day we were very proud. However, most of our pride came from seeing our two new members climbing in their first competition. It was nice to see Rebekah and Dillion climbing hard and giving it their all, especially since it was their first competition. They have only attended a few practices with the team so watching them diving in headfirst was awesome to see.”
Melissa Robertson was invited to be the new coach for the team beginning this past January. The team members are very happy to have Melissa share her knowledge of rock climbing as well as her experience of coaching on a college level. “My name is Melissa Robertson. I am excited to have the opportunity to volunteer as the climbing coach at LMC while completing my practium for my masters in College Outdoor Program Administration at ASU! Climbing has been an integral part of my life for 10 years now, and I am honored to have the chance to share my passion for climbing with such an amazing group of people. When I am not in class, working at ASU programs, climbing, or coaching, you can find me volunteering with different organizations in the High Country, playing my guitar around a campfire, trail running with my dog Rio, or traveling on some outdoor adventure somewhere in the middle of nowhere.”
Hear from some other students who compete on the Competition Rock Climbing Team:
“Hi, my name is Rick Carpenter. I’ve been on the LMC Competition Rock Climbing Team for two semesters now and this was my second ‘Southern Comfort Bouldering Competition.’ I must say that all of the climbers from Lees-McRae were looking very solid, especially our new members. We’re looking forward to our next competition at Western Carolina on March 10th.”
Rebekah on her first rappel during her "Fresh Tracks" trip!
“My name is Rebekah Harp, and I’m one of the newest members of the LMC Competition Rock Climbing team. I’m a freshman at LMC and I got my start in rock climbing over the summer when I went on a ‘Fresh Tracks’ LMC Outdoor Programs trip with Dee. On this trip I met Walter and Izzy, both already members of the rock climbing team, and I met Brad and Jordan, who both made the team the beginning of fall semester. After the trip, I fell in love with climbing and spent many Monday nights down at the open rock wall on campus. I also volunteered with the LMC Kids Rock Climbing Team, just for the fun of it. In January, I decided to try out for the Competition Rock Climbing Team, and I was accepted onto the team. Since then, I have been practicing and this past weekend I had my first competition. It was a lot of hard work, but the team was really supportive and made the competition a lot of fun. I can’t wait to work with the team and compete with them even more throughout the rest of the year!”
Members of the LMC Competition Rock Climbing Team include captain Walter Ford and team members Izzy Annas, Rick Carpenter, Jordan Meyer, Tyler Lucas, Brad Skinner, Rebekah Harp, Meagan Kelly, Dillion Cartwright, Michael Rogers, Zac Cummings, and Logan Richardson.
