Cover: Emily Korth on “Beer Run” 13a, Rifle.

Photo by Sam Cody (@smuleco)

Emily might just be one of the most psyched climbers I’ve ever met. No matter how the day is, what the weather is doing or what the company is like at the crag, Emily will be getting super, super stoked on whatever is going on.

I first met Emily during an extremely cold (and poorly planned) climbing trip to Céüse in May of 2016. A mutual friend of one of my climbing partners at the time, we would all bail into his caravan to escape the rain and cold. Through a bunch of bottles of wine, bars of chocolate and countless games of “Cactus” (so… many…), it became apparent to me that Emily was a very driven, independent character. A characteristic memory I have is of a cold rest day when we went down to Gap to get groceries and escape the campsite. Emily stayed and went on a hike instead, ending up trudging through a snow storm on a neighboring mountain. She then cruised back, told us all about it and showed us photos she’d got from the top, then went back to crushing the next day.

Since then we’ve bumped into each other a few times in the states, namely Rifle and the RRG. Spending a bit more time around Emily only re-enforced my impression. No matter how she feels she’s climbing, she fully commits to the process. She’ll head out day after day, sometimes skipping rest days while the rest of us laze about at camp completely spent.

In addition to her climbing, she’s also a creative, having completed a degree in the visual arts. The rest days she does take will often see her jugging up fixed lines to get climbing photos of her friends.

These days you can find her putting away hard sport climbs in Rifle, living out of her car chasing the dirtbag lifestyle. You can keep up with her photographic escapades on her photography website:

https://emilykorthphotography.smugmug.com

Or her Instagram:

@emily.korth

How did you first become interested in climbing? I’ve been climbing trees for as long as I can remember, so being off the ground has always been a part of my life. It wasn’t until my brother came home from his first year of college that I was introduced to technical rock climbing. He taught me how to belay and we spent time in New England looking for rocks and bolted climbs. When I went off to university a year later, I discovered that the rec-center had a climbing wall. From there I started bouldering and traveling to other schools for bouldering competitions. Since then have you always been a climber? What is it that keeps bringing you back to climbing? Yes, I transitioned to sport climbing as a result of placing in comps and therefore acquiring enough gear to rope up outside. The community keeps me climbing. The more time you spend on the road and climbing in popular destinations, the easier it becomes. Suddenly you can show up to nearly any crag and see a familiar face. Many people worry that this lifestyle consists of me sitting alone in the woods for days on end, when in fact, this is the most socially and culturally stimulating activity I’ve ever engaged in. So these days sport climbing is your focus right? Do you train specifically for climbing at all? If so, what kind of ideas underpin your training. If not, how do you go about trying to improve or maintain?I find myself most compelled to sport climb. There’s something unique about trying moves that feel impossible at first, but slowly become more and more doable over time. It satiates the stubbornness within me. I don’t “train” but I do boulder to maintain and improve power while also plugging gear to diversify my skill set and add more tricks to my bag. I think that being a well-rounded climber in a variety of situations and elements will make you a smarter and safer sport climber. Going outside of my comfort zone is my method of training. At the end of the day, my goal is to be able to climb 5.12 on any rock in any country, on bolts or on gear. I enjoy traveling around the world knowing that I’m competent at a diverse range of climbing styles. If I can have fun anywhere, life is good! Seems like a pretty decent ambition! Do you have any other long-term goals or plans in your climbing?I’ve only just begun to break into the 13- range. I’d love to try some harder climbs. I hope to climb in more countries and I hope to bolt routes in the future. There are a lot of strong women out there climbing, but not so many who put the same amount of time into cleaning and creating routes. What would you say is your most memorable ascent to date? Whether it be because of difficulty or “type 2” fun factorI’d have to say that my first trip to Red Rocks in 2010 brought me the most memorable experience. A friend and I climbed “unimpeachable groping” and had a hell of a time descending. The climb itself went well but we couldn’t have botched the rappel worse. We had rope management issues, were benighted, ran out of water, got lost in the desert for two hours while attempting to make it back to the car. We didn’t expect or prepare for the cold desert night and I panicked. It was the first time that I felt pushed to my absolute limit mentally. Our friends were worried when we weren’t back and started to question our safety. I look back on it now and laugh. At the time, I remember thinking “we could die.” It’s a great benchmark because I’ve had so many other experiences since then that were much more dangerous or had the potential to be serious situations due to weather. Every new “epic” gives me a new perspective, a new benchmark. I look back on that experience and realize that we were fine and that things could have been much worse. Since then, I find it easier to stay calm in stressful situations. Being on a rock in the dark does not necessarily equate to death. I enjoy feeling challenged and solving problems as they come to me. For that reason multi-pitch or alpine climbing is appealing and serene in a one-on-one sort of way. When you’re climbing a full rope length pitch and you encounter a problem, it’s up to you to figure it out. No one can hear you, often your belayer can’t even see you, the wind could be howling. In that moment, you have to be confident in your intelligence and in your strengths. There is nothing more satisfying to me. Is there anything else that you think climbing has taught you that you might not have learned otherwise?Patience with myself. I used to put too much pressure on myself which actually hindered me in a lot of ways. I’ve learned how to relax when I’m fatigued in every sense. Yoga has never allowed me to successfully meditate but climbing has. Climbing allows me to enter a flow state where I’m fully engaged and present in the moment. Nothing else has kept my attention the way climbing has over the last 7 years. In addition, climbing has inspired me to travel. I don’t know if I would have ever visited places like Asia or Cambodia had I not been introduced to the community and to all the nomadic and fearless climbers on the road. And finally, clipping bolts is not curing cancer. Don’t take yourself or what you do too seriously. Support your friends and the family you have or make. Loosen up and enjoy the ride. So climbing is obviously a massive part of your life. How do you balance it with the “real life”?That is the real struggle. Balance is difficult when your passion requires an excessive amount of time and practice. Fortunately, I find satisfaction in a lot of other activities. I take pride in my work ethic and fully commit to whatever it is I’m doing. I don’t think it’s healthy to put all your eggs in one basket so I take on creative endeavors to stimulate my brain in ways other than climbing. I still haven’t found a job that allows me the freedom and flexibility I want but I’m continually learning and that’s all that I seek at this time in my life. Do you think that we as climbers are a force for good in the natural world? Or that we’re trashing these places just as much as the next recreational user?For the most part, I would say that climbers provoke more good than harm. However, some areas are sensitive. Erosion, access that threatens animals and wildlife should be avoided. There are numerous climbing organizations that fund-raise and buy land that is threatened by the government or by private buyers. Conservation is a huge part of belonging to the community Where do you take inspiration from in regard to your climbing? People? Places? Within yourself?I find I’m most inspired by the landscapes I see. A single photo is enough to convince me to buy a plane ticket and to start packing my bags. Hearing other people’s stories is also compelling and I enjoy hearing about the quirks that come along with traveling and climbing, whether solo or with others. How do you feel about the direction climbing is taking these days? Eg Olympics, more gyms, younger kids etcClimbing has evolved and changed in many ways. I’m torn about the direction it’s taken. As a gymnast who trained 40 hrs a week for 8 years competitively, I find solitude in belonging to a “sport” where I can challenge myself without the judgement or scorecards. Climbing is a unique experience for each person, and I’m happy to see young people climbing some of the hardest routes in the world. I do worry about the way in which gym climbing has affected the process of learning to climb. However, had it not been for my schools indoor climbing wall, I probably wouldn’t have discovered climbing. It saddens me to see that the process of mentoring others is becoming less common to new climbers and I fear for the beginners who are blissfully unaware of what they do not know when they go from the gym to the outdoors. I hope that this sport/activity/lifestyle does not become too serious because at the end of the day, we’re all just hamsters in a wheel, climbing up and coming down over and over and over….

If you know someone who inspires your climbing community and would be happy to be featured, drop me a line @ nick_ducker@live.com