Girls climb to new heights of self-esteem

By Maria Dolan
Special to The Seattle Times

MARIA DOLAN From left, Punneh Abdolhosseini, Lakieta Finister and Naomi Nelson climb the wall at Vertical World in Seattle's Interbay neighborhood.

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

Other links Sign up for Outdoors e-mail NWsource: Outdoors

"Go! Yes! Go!"

"Way to smear the wall!"

"You can do it!"

And after 10 weeks of hands-on study the members of the "Girls Rock!" spring class could do it, reaching for the pastel foot and hand holds with toes and chalked fingers. They wedged their skinny climbing shoes onto tiny ledges, and pushed up off strong legs, launching purposefully toward the grips above them. Before you knew it, they'd climbed 40 feet to the top.

To get there, they'd learned techniques with cool names, like "edging," "smearing," and "mantling." They'd also worked out some mental muscles.

"This is much harder than soccer," said Meany Middle School student Punneh Abdolhosseini, 12, adjusting the sweatband in her thick black hair. "This takes more thinking. You can't just keep going up; you have to think where you're gonna go or you're going to get stuck."

The Girls Rock! program, run by Seattle-based nonprofit Passages Northwest, is all about getting unstuck. With 10 once-weekly after-school sessions at Seattle's Vertical World gym, the program aims to give girls from 11 to 14 tools to combat the self-esteem and body-image woes that often plague adolescents. Some girls sign up just to learn a new sport, but others also face serious issues, such as transitioning in and out of foster care or living in a domestic-violence shelter with one parent. Seventy-five percent receive scholarships.

Stepping up

The program was started seven years ago to help girls "learn to conquer challenges and make positive decisions in their lives," said Executive Director Katie Hultquist. Each girl begins by setting a goal, whether it is to learn a difficult climbing maneuver, or to overcome shyness and make a few friends.

Girls Rock! mentor Kelly Fox called climbing an ideal way to teach courage. "It's a perfect metaphor for challenge, for overcoming x,y or z. You literally face a wall — It's in front of you and you can't go through it and you look up and it looks impossible."

Program coordinator Stacy Earlywine touted climbing's ability to increase concentration. "It's the only thing I've ever done in life where I feel 100-percent focused," she said.

One of the program's strengths is its emphasis on one-on-one learning. Unlike most after-school sports programs, this one pairs each girl with a female mentor. As instructors these women help with climbing skills, but mentoring is a more personal role.

"My mentor is like my older sister," said Naomi Nelson, 13. "She's like my friend and my role model."

"My mentor helped a lot," said Abdolhosseini. "She convinced me to keep trying instead of starting over."

And the adult climbers are encouraged by teaching the next generation.

"I can relate to the girls," said Earlywine, a livewire with a dance background who says she's always been somewhat afraid of heights. "Sometimes I'm climbing and I think 'I can't go on.' But I don't really have a choice."

Jennifer O'Neal, a biologist, former high-school science teacher, and Outward Bound instructor, said she's seen first hand the "social influences" that affect girls' courage, and believes activities like climbing can offer "tremendous benefits."

"The rewards of mentoring are great," she said. "I have had the opportunity to contribute toward building confidence in girls, both physically and mentally."

In 10 weeks, the girls were already sure-footed at the gym. Around them, adults just off work stepped into climbing harnesses and clipped on ropes without even a glance in the girls' direction. "Actually, they just look like members to everybody," said Vertical World assistant manager Kim Lambert.

The top of their game

As they planned for the next weekend's graduation ceremony in front of friends and family, the students pointed out favorite climbing routes marked on the gym walls, like the one called "Hug and Kiss" that Vinh-Khanh Hoang, 13, patted like an old friend because it's where she could "do a layback."

Climbing for kids Girls Rock! Passages Northwest offers programs for women and girls that build courage and leadership using physical activities and the arts. Girls Rock! is an after-school program open to girls ages 11-14. The autumn session begins Oct. 11 at Vertical World, 2123 W. Elmore St., near Seattle's Fishermen's Terminal. Tuition is $400; scholarships are available. Information: 206-286-8601. Other programs • Vertical World climbing gym offers its own youth climbing programs at three locations. Details: . Seattle: 2123 W. Elmore St., 206-283-4497. Redmond: 15036-B N.E. 95th St., 425-881-8826. Bremerton: 5934 Highway 303 N.E., 360-373-6676. • Stone Gardens climbing gym in Ballard has youth climbing opportunities for ages 6 and older, summer camps and a junior climbing team that competes at climbing competitions. 2839 N.W. Market St., 206-781-9828. • REI's Flagship store offers Kids Climb classes for ages 8-14 at the store's climbing pinnacle. Ages 14 and older can take the store's regular classes. 222 Yale Ave. N., 206-223-1944, Ext. 4086. • West Seattle's Camp Long offers beginning rock-climbing classes for ages 8 and older on historical, newly-restored Schurman Rock. Preregistration is required. Details: 5200 35th S.W., 206-684-7434.

They also recalled where they were a few weeks ago. "When I started I was afraid of heights," said Mariana Urban, 11. Just off a climb, she bounced on her toes with excitement. "Now I'm not afraid — just look up, never look down. When you look down it makes you, like, woozy."

At the beginning, said Nelson, "I could barely do the lowest climb, and now I can do up to a 5.7." She thought about it. "Maybe a 5.8."

Terra Williams, 15, thought the program may have contributed to her improving grades at school. She also learned something about trust from the experience of belaying — spotting another climber with ropes as they ascend. With this sport, she said, "you gotta be there, you gotta be on it. I hope they would do the same for me as I'd do for them — you treat people like you want to be treated."

She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk about her climbing triumphs, but her mentor, Catherine Gronlund, was gently coaxing.

"What about that 5.10c?" asked Gronlund, referring to a climbing route in the gym that is considered advanced.

Williams' face brightened as she recalled spending long minutes trying to solve the climb's "problems," as they are termed. "I had never climbed anything so hard, and I like to finish things if I start 'em. My arms were so tired but I had a great sense of accomplishment!"

Not one girl seemed stuck. They'd gone beyond their goals, headed for the hardest route they can manage.

Maria Dolan is a Seattle-based free-lance writer.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More travel/outdoors headlines...