About Me

Growing up in a small town in Central Maine may not seem to be the best way to get into rock climbing, but for me it worked out quite well. I began climbing at age eleven at the Alfond Youth Center  in Waterville Maine, probably at a birthday party. My sister and I enjoyed the sport so much that we were able to convince our parents to take us climbing at the AYC several times a week, where a knowledgeable local climber took us under his wing. By my mid-teens I was learning to lead at the bluffs in Clifton, Maine and had a few trips to Acadia National Park under my belt. Climbing was relegated to the back burner in high school, as playing three sports limited my travel time, but my time spent climbing was thoroughly enjoyed.

Going to college at the University of Maine in Orono put my close to my home crags in Clifton and Acadia with weekend trips to places such as Baxter State Park and other areas in the North Maine Woods, North Conway and Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire, and the Adirondacks in upstate New York. To the chagrin of my family, most school vacation time was spent traveling to climb in a variety of places: El Potrero Chico in Mexico, Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, Cochise Stronghold in Arizona, the Red River Gorge in Kentucky, and Joshua Tree and Yosemite  in California.

Summers were spent living on Mount Desert Island, initially working at Camp Beech Cliff in Somesville doing ropes course and climbing wall activities with campers, and most recently as guide for the Atlantic Climbing School out of Bar Harbor. Throughout my climbing career I have had the pleasure of introducing many friends to climbing, and working for ACS gives me the opportunity to pass on my climbing knowledge to a wider audience.

My second summer working on MDI, I fractured my ankle in a climbing fall, and after about a week of wallowing in self-pity, decided to look at the broken ankle as an opportunity to expand my climbing skill set. After being reassured by my orthopedist that I could do pretty much whatever I wanted as long as I had my cast on, I purchased a set of etriers and daisy chains and taught myself how to aid climb. Given my background as an engineering student, I took right to aid climbing, looking at it as a puzzle to solve. Learning to aid introduced me to big wall climbing, my current favorite climbing related activity, which has twice taken me up El Capitan in Yosemite, once via Lurking Fear 5.7 C2F and the other via Tangerine Trip 5.7 C3F.

As an avid explorer, my future climbing plans include going to as many new areas as possible, and attempting expeditions to unclimbed territory. I look forward to attempting more big wall routes in Yosemite, as well as exploring Zion, a climbing area I’ve never been to, but have always wanted to check out. Wherever my climbing takes me, I cherish each new experience and enjoy each new person that I meet.