I started climbing 7 years ago by taking an intro to climbing class at the Earth Treks gym in Timonium, MD. After learning the requisite basics of tying in and belaying, I continued to visit the gym with my girlfriend once or twice a week. While we both enjoyed the activity, climbing grew to become a much larger influence on my life and has heavily affected many of my subsequent life decisions. Since I started climbing and to this day, my motivations, rules and asperations have gone thru significant changes to the point that it can be hard to remember and understand just how I ended up in my present state.

After 6 months of top roping in the gym with my girlfriend, I took my first strides towards branching out to the larger climbing community and expanding my understanding of climbing. Against minor rumblings of protest from my girlfriend and a slight fear of interacting with strangers, I started approaching strangers in the gym and injecting myself into new climbing circles.