Jeremy Blumel

My first introduction to rock climbing was a well-intentioned, but misinformed, adventure. I jumped straight into traditional lead climbing with no top-roping experience, no gym climbing background and barely any knowledge of belaying at all. The saving grace was that I took a course instead of learning from the infamous “Buddy.”

These days, with so many facets to climbing, we all have to “feel” our way through what we’re inspired to do and what we’re terrified to even begin. I love rock climbing in all its forms: Whether it’s the complexity of movement in bouldering, the deep effort of climbing at your limit on a long single pitch sport climb, the measuring of risk, fatigue and exposure on a long traditional route or just moving quickly over moderate ground, it all blends together to form my climbing experience.

Where do I hope to go in the future? Up, always up! I’ll continue the never-ending quests to see just how difficult a move I can do, how long I can hang on for, how many pitches I can do in a day or how terrible a jam I can place from, but there is always so much more. Aid climbing is going to play a big role in my future goals; not the ability to hang it out on A5 death-rides, but to learn the skills to climb big walls confidently with the intent on free climbing into the Wild Blue Yonder. Additionally, I have plans for more alpine rock climbing, some Spanish limestone and an extended foray into sandstone of the U.S. desert. These are just a few of the graph spikes that lie ahead for me.

For better or for worse, climbing is firmly rooted in my lifestyle and, in the end, the people we meet through these adventures are the real benefit of the sport. Who you climb with is truly more important than what you climb.”