In our ongoing segment – 15 minutes with Doctor Bove – Pipeworks staffer Jason Bove sits down with a member to get to know a little more about what makes them tick. “You can have 15 minutes with the doctor, but only YOU know what is prescribed for your life.” he says.
Tonight, I sit on the opposite side of a familiar round table to talk with someone who is a long-time Pipeworks member, an influential man behind the camera lens, a smile amongst friends, and a staple of a modern, Sacramento society.
You ask, “who’s that guy at the end of his rope?” A small play on words has hopefully caught your attention long enough to introduce you to Nicholas Wray. He is, in fact, not at the end of his rope, but sometimes, a rope. More than likely, he can be found smiling and joking over in the boulder cave while effortlessly sending most peoples’ projects.
Landing in Sacramento by way of Cincinnati in 2006, Nicholas was introduced to both climbing and the Pipeworks community through a friend and co-worker. Little did he know was that he was delving into a land that was completely different than the Civil Engineering world he was living in. With this introduction, Nicholas found a different cast of characters, new friends, and a whole new obsession…rock climbing.
Like most climbers, by way of projected goals and a focus on pulling hard both indoors and out, Nicholas found his new favorite vacation destination, Bishop, California. In this area of the world, things were different, and peoples’ love of nature overtook the necessity to tell you about their day job. Here, it didn’t matter, and it was through this ‘selfish act’ of climbing that everyone found reward. With Bishop being over 4 hours from Sacramento, there needed to be something closer to home to climb on though, so Pipeworks became a weekly ritual. The gym quickly became an escape from daily stress induced by work, and Nicholas says that when he is climbing, “everything else good or bad seems to take a back seat.”
From year to year, what we are seeing in the industry, is that climbing is becoming more mainstream, and increasing attention is being paid to the benefits of it. I asked, “Will this growth in popularity change things for you?” Nicholas responded, “We are drawn to the sport, because it is a very personal challenge, but also for the community. With a smaller, tight-knit circle of motivated individuals, one may find that friends become more like family members. However, I believe that it is the individuals’ personal struggle to climb better or smarter than the last time, and be more efficient, nobody else’s’.”
HUGE THANKS to Nicholas Wray for being such a big part of Sacramento Pipeworks. Amongst other things, he is a friend, a local photographer, owner of Sacramento Space, a human being, and a rock climber. Remember to say hello to him while he is busy sending all of those hard problems that we wish we could.
Stay tuned for next month’s installment of 15 minutes with Doctor Bove!
