Author: Jeanne

How to Rock an Overhanging Roof

/ Jeanne / Leave a comment

Getting over overhangs might seem scary at first. After all, no one likes hanging upside down (unless you’re a bat), and falling off an overhanging roof while bouldering or on lead can be pretty precarious, and downright frightening. World-class climber Steph Davis once said,

“The hardest thing for new female climbers (especially those of us over age 12) is building upper body strength in proportion to overall strength/weight ratio.”

20150422_220735

There’s a common misconception that climbing overhangs is all about upper body strength. Steph is definitely on point about overhanging climbs being more difficult for women due to our needing to build more strength/weight ratio, but the secret to rocking overhanging roofs is employing a total-body strategy:

  • Avoid an arms-only strategy.Don’t campus it up, as tempting as it looks to pull your entire body weight up the entire wall. You will pump yourself out doing so.

Continue reading →

Girl Crush: An Interview with Natalie Siddique

/ Jeanne / 1 Comment
Every so often, we’ll interview extraordinary girls doing extraordinary things: this is Girl Crush.  This week, we’re thrilled to have caught up with bouldering babe and female entrepreneur Natalie Siddique right before she headed off to the Valley to get her climb on!
natalie3

Natalie Siddique

is a Russian-Bangladeshi climber, traveler, shenanigan-seeker, and co-founder of Moja Gear. She’s explored over 25 countries and 48 states, lived in both Russia and Bangladesh, and has found her happy place in California. Natalie’s ideal days involve early morning sunrises, crimping on small nobs, playing a round of Settlers of Catan, and drinking an IPA.

Continue reading →

5 Tips for a New to Outdoor Bouldering Girl

/ Jeanne / Leave a comment

It’s been a long, cold winter in the Northeastern United States,  and spring has officially sprung! We were stoked to hop on our first outdoor boulder problem of the season in New York’s very own Central Park.

image

We spent most of 2015 training at the gym, but now that it’s suns out, guns out, it’s time to get outside! Here are some outdoor bouldering tips for the urban lady:

1. Bring a crashpad and a spotter.

Bouldering outside is serious business,  and falls are much more risky and likely to happen. Have your gal pals and guy friends spot you while you are climbing in precarious positions, particularly at the crux or topout.

image

Continue reading →

Bouldering Babes First Ever Outdoor Climbing Clinic!

/ Jeanne / Leave a comment

Freshly pressed and totally stoked: we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our first Outdoor Climbing Clinic and invite you to boulder with our badass lady crew on Friday, April 17th!

Discover your inner adventuress and badass and take your climbing to the next level through our butt-kicking, confidence, and strength building Bouldering Babes Outdoor Climbing Clinic in Central Park! 

Have you ever heard that ‘I can’t‘ voice inside your head – you know, the one that tells you ‘it’s too difficult,’ ‘I’m not strong enough,’ ‘I can’t do this‘?

Change those voices from ‘I can’t’ to ‘I CAN!’ and join a community of women who empower themselves and each other through rock climbing:

I CAN do this. I CAN be strong.

I CAN do this. I CAN be strong.

Continue reading →

Become BFFs with Your Performance Plateau

/ Jeanne / Leave a comment

One of the reasons why rock climbing is so darn addicting is because we love to see progression. Whether it’s massive gains in confidence or improvement in technique, there’s nothing quite like gracefully sending your latest climbing project.

But what if you don’t send it, and you find yourself not-so-gracefully peeling off the walls? Congratulations, girlfriend, because you’ve just hit the performance plateau!

A performance plateau in climbing is exactly what it sounds like – a flatline in your climbing performance, where progression slows down or even comes to a complete halt. Suddenly (or slowly – then suddenly) improvement becomes imperceptible, and you find yourself frustrated as heck.

This is my frustrated climbing face.

This is my frustrated climbing face.

Continue reading →

Escape New York City Retreat | Daytrippin’ to Beacon and Back!

/ Jeanne / Leave a comment

I’m totally stoked to announce the launch of our first Escape NYC Retreat and invite NYC-based babes to join us on Saturday, April 25th to hike in Beacon, NY!  Retreat from hectic city life to the beautiful Hudson Highlands, where you will spend your day in the awesome outdoors!

Your perfect day trip from New York City starts with a scenic 90 minute train ride along the Hudson.  Once in Beacon, we will leisurely warm-up on a 25 minute walk to the trailhead.  Mount Beacon is a steep, rigorous, but worthwhile climb to the top (about 45 minutes), and an easy climb back down the mountain (about 30 minutes), before we head into town for a guided walk.

Your Escape NYC Retreat Package includes:

  • Expert-led scenic hike up Mount Beacon
  • Healthy and delicious hiking snack pack
  • Guided walk through charming Beacon

Saturday April 25th, $99 per person

 Rain date: Sunday, April 26th 

Please note that all participants must sign a waiver, and all retreats require a 4-person minimum to run

Early Access or Couples Specials! 

hudsonhike3

Beautiful views along the scenic Hudson River                  

Continue reading →

Girl Crush: An Interview with Allison Ong

/ Jeanne / Leave a comment

Every so often, we’ll interview extraordinary girls doing extraordinary things: this is Girl Crush.  This week, we’re totally stoked to have caught up with badass par excellence Allison Ong (en route to Yosemite, no less)!

Alison on Inti Watana (5.10c), Red Rock

Alison on Inti Watana (5.10c), Red Rock

I first met Allison during my climbcation to Vietnam, where she was working as a rock climbing guide on Cat Ba island a few years ago.  Allison has lived and climbed all over the world, from New York to Tokyo to a Subaru Outback across the United States.

Allison currently resides in East Palo Alto, CA, where she interns for a landscape architecture firm, and route sets at her local gym.  She considers herself a 5.10 trad climber, and some of her favorite ascents include: Liberty Cap & Half Dome, Yosemite; the Mont Blanc, France/Italy; Levitation 29!, Red Rock; Modern Times, The Gunks! (that roof is intimidating!!); and The Face, Vietnam.

Continue reading →

Making the Leap from Indoor to Outdoor Climbing

/ Jeanne / 3 Comments

8 years ago, I took a leap of faith: I’d been religiously climbing at an indoor gym for about six months and decided to take my passion outdoors.

image

I had no clue what I was doing.  While I’d been consistently climbing 3 days a week and making great progress in terms of grades, climbing outside was a whole different ballgame. Suddenly it wasn’t about just holds and tape; suddenly, a lot more was at stake.

Continue reading →

Be the #GIRLBOSS of Your Bouldering

/ Jeanne / Leave a comment

I recently picked up a copy of Sophia Amoruso’s #GIRLBOSS and read it all the way through in just over 48 hours while traveling across the country.  Bouldering Babes, I highly recommend reading it if you haven’t already, because the #GIRLBOSS vision for empowerment and autonomy is much like our own: bold, brazen, and badass:

A #GIRLBOSS is in charge of her own life.  She gets what she wants because she works for it.

image

Continue reading →