Be a Climber
Trango's Making Climbing for Everyone
Like life, everyone approaches climbing differently. For some, alpine starts and first ascents are their driving force. To those people, climbing is a sort of meditation in motion—a departure from the goings on of everyday life, high above the ground. For others, climbing is all about experiencing something new. Attempting the unfamiliar. No matter how long you have (or haven’t) been climbing … how many epic routes you may or may not have sent over the years … the sport always introduces a new project, a new set of problems, every time you chalk up.
Trango believes that however you approach climbing—no matter the grade or discipline—you are a climber. That’s why they launched the Be A Climber campaign, which encourages anyone and everyone to give climbing a go—whether it’s highball bouldering, free soloing, rope, sport, apline or mixed climbing—you name it, there’s a rock for everyone. Drew Eakins, Trango’s Director of Marketing, told us a little more about the campaign, and how it’s changing the way people think about climbing.
“Trango launched the Be A Climber campaign because we are passionate about seeing climbers, old and new, experience climbing in whatever way is most meaningful to them.”
Like the roots of the sport itself, the Be A Climber campaign is about inclusiveness, support, and nourishing passion. Be it passion for the outdoors, for friendship, for a mental or physical challenge, or for a shared sense of adventure, it all fits the bill to make you a climber.
Getting Involved
So what do you need to Be A Climber? A sense of community, a want to inspire and be inspired, and the desire to seek self-growth. Climbing introduces all of those things into the lives of its participants. It has the capacity to positively impact the way people view themselves, others, and the world around them. For Drew, climbing’s role has been ever-evolving.
“When I started climbing, it was about experiencing something new,” he told us. “As I climbed more, it became a passion I shared with others and created this connection I hadn’t found in other activities. Across the world, there is a growing tribe of passionate and diverse people who share this common desire to climb.”
It’s because of campaigns like Be A Climber that this desire to come together, either in a group or within the confines of one’s self, and accomplish something bigger than you’d ever imagined, is gaining traction. In a sport that can be approached in an infinite number of ways, “Why look down on someone who approaches it differently than you do?” Drew asks. And we agree. In that sense, it climbing will always win out.
So What’s Stopping You? Start Climbing
Whether you find yourself daydreaming about that epic route you sent last weekend while sitting at your desk, or you’ve only just started getting amped for a trip to the gym after work, we can bet that it won’t be long before climbing is in your bones. It’s just one of those things—the smell of chalk on your hands, the welcome sting on the tips of your fingers—it all begins to pervade everything you do, plain and simple.
Climber Melissa Love, photo by Jeff Rueppel
Climbing is about confronting uncertainty, wherein at the end of every project lies a solution, and every step taken towards conquering that route or problem is a victory in and of itself. Now, if that isn’t a metaphor for life, what is?
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