The Cal Climbing team recently returned from Nationals at Mesa Rim Climbing & Fitness in San Diego. The student run and supported program groups Cal students for climbing trips, biweekly Berkeley Ironworks and Bridges sessions, and competitions in the Bay Area and in the USA Climbing Collegiate Climbing Series. “We’re a group of climbers of all skill levels and backgrounds, from people who have spent their lives competing inside to people who have climbed El Cap and Half Dome in a day to people who just rented their first pair of shoes at Ironworks last week. We get psyched on climbing in all of its forms and climb together regularly in the gym and on trips outside,” said Dustin Glasner, the Cal Climbing Competition Director.
The Mesa Rim comp turned out well with Anna Stirniman placing second in women’s bouldering, four other men placing mid pack and the team earning 14th out of the 50 teams at the event.
“The CCS nationals was a really good time and a great experience overall. It helped that it was held in San Diego this year, which was not an extraordinarily difficult trip for us to make mid-semester,” said Ana Stirniman, who has been on Cal climbing for the past three years. “I ended up placing second in bouldering, which is the division I chose to compete in because the format of the competition requires you to commit to a single discipline. Other Cal Climbing members didn’t manage to make it to finals, but still placed outstandingly well relative to the massive field of strong competitors. Although this was our first year at the nationals, we heard from many of the other competitors that the CCS series has grown a lot in the last few seasons and I think the environment that results when many hundreds of 20-something athletes get together in one place to climb and have a good time is hard to beat.”
The Cal Climbing team has been competing across California. Beyond the team members regular participation in the Touchstone Climbing Series, they have also competed at a local CCS comp at Stanford. The Cal Climbing team has also taken trips to Yosemite, Red Rocks and Bishop.
“I would say that the majority of our efforts are spent climbing outside and organizing big trips over vacations and long breaks. That said, for a team that would probably climb exclusively on real rock if they could, we had a surprisingly good time playing around with the competition scene this year and will probably continue to make it a part of the team routine,” said Stirniman.
The Cal Climbing team can be seen at Berkeley Ironworks on a regular basis, sporting their signature Cal Climbing T-shirts.
