npr baby!

I don’t know about you but I binge listen to This American Life and Radio Lab so NPR (America’s National Public Radio) is a pretty big deal to me. The other week I had the super wicked privilege of being a part of a panel discussion on San Francisco’s local NPR radio show, Forum. Joining the panel was Cloe Coscoy, USA National Climbing Team member; Jessie Conrad, lead route setter at a local San Fransisco climbing gym; Emily Taylor, founder and director of Brown Girls Climbing and little old me.

I think what was most poignant about this discussion is that consistently across all the various unique positions and experiences of women in climbing, the message remains the same, representation matters. And the success of this approach was immediately evident in the young girls who called in to share their own excitement about climbing and being a climber. The next generations of women climbers are going to achieve great things as we continue to bring attention to the unique accomplishments and perspectives of women who climb. Knowing that someone has gone before you, that it’s possible, opens the flood gates of possibility.

To this end, I continue to be so proud of the work we accomplished towards this goal through the American Alpine Journal’s, State of the Art Project.