Chelsea leading on Prodigal Sun, Angels Landing, Zion National Park, UT. Photo by Greg Epperson
Sometimes falling in love with your passion can easily happen, by just taking a simple vacation. This is how Chelsea Griffie fell in love with climbing. She decided to spend three months in Brazil, where she ended up climbing at Pao de Acucar, “The Sugarloaf.” Pao de Acucar primarily consists of sport and traditional climbing and is located on a peninsula at Guanabara Bay. Chelsea ended up doing a 5.4 climb in sneakers. On the way to the bottom she thought to herself “Oh, that was fun.”
While falling in love with a sport that tends to not showcase women of color, Chelsea was on her own mission. In 1996 Chelsea Griffie and climbing partner Kris Solem made the first ascent on 5.12a traditional, or trad, climb called Despairadoes in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park. This type of style is when a climber places all of the gear required to protect against falls and a climbing partner removes it when they follow the pitch. In 2001, she moved to Yosemite to be closer to the rock climbing capital. Chelsea spent her time working as business manager to Yosemite Guides, which mainly focused on hiking, fly fishing, and bird watching.
The same year, Chelsea took on El Capitan, one of the most famous cliffs in the world, making her the first African American woman to climb it. Originally established by Warren Harding in 1958, El Capitan is known world-wide among climbers. This magnificent granite rock is over 3,000 ft tall. To gain perspective, this formation is taller than the height of two Empire State buildings stacked on top of one another. “It was a little overwhelming to have that title,” Chelsea adds, keeping a relaxed manner about it. There have been a few women of color who have reached this goal as well. Her first climb on El Captain was with two other women, where the made the ascent in 26 hours. Most people, when aid climbing this wall, may spend at least two days climbing. After climbing each pitch, they hauled gear up that pitch. The haul bag climber’s use is often filled with things like food, camping gear, and water. On that first climb, Chelsea and her partners had less to haul, since they did not stop and sleep. They stayed up and climbed the whole 26 hours, only resting while someone else was climbing.
The view of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Photo by Andrew Browning
While spending time climbing in Yosemite, Chelsea gained much respect for climbers like Sean Leary, who was known for being one of the most talented Yosemite climbers of his generation. She also spent time with renowned climber Jacqueline Florine. The two women climbed the sixteen pitch Zodiac route together among other routes. Chelsea actually preferred to do “El Cap” routes with women partners because of shared interests like a healthy diet for example, “…With women, I have had smoked oysters or Brie or Tasty Bite meals. Men might have Dinty Moore beef stew.” Chelsea was one of the few women climbing hard and difficult routes within the male dominated sport. Specifically, she added that when women are climbing on the big wall with men, people tend to assume they do most of the work, which may not always be the case.
Chelsea and Kathy Dicker setting up their portaledge bivouac on Prodigal Sun, Angels Landing, Zion National Park, UT. Photo by Greg Epperson
Chelsea’s climbing style of choice is traditional climbing. Measuring in at 5’2”, Chelsea points out, “Partly because I am not that tall. With sport climbing, often people who are taller than me put in the bolts. I sometimes would have to do the crux, and then clip. With trad, I protect where I want to.” Many people have a climb they love to hate, but that’s not how Chelsea sees it, “There might be a really hard slab, but an easier overhang route, if you just keep moving.” When it comes to gear some of Chelsea’s favorite pieces to use is a regular trad double rack, “The most reliable pieces for aid climbing that I had were the Alien cams that were two sizes combined…I think they are called hybrids now,…I would never leave those behind.” She adds, “I would keep those on my harness, and just have them in use temporarily …They are perfect for pin scars.” For those that may not be familiar with the term, a pin scar is the remaining crack formed after a piton (or pin) has been removed.
Beyond her great experiences as a climber, Chelsea also has the passion for sharing knowledge about the outdoors. She has spent time with Outward Bound Adventures (OBA) and the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and, later on, started working as a program director of the Bay Area Wilderness Training program. The mission of the Bay Area Wilderness Training program is to create equitable access to outdoor experiences for youth of color and low-income youth by promoting the use of their local, regional, state, national parks through a professional leadership training for teachers and volunteers. Chelsea also expanded the model and created the Los Angeles Wilderness Training and acts as the Executive Director for the program. She has plans to head back to the Bay Area in the summer to continue her work. She also led an all women’s retreat under the Balanced Rock Foundation, which inspires health and wellbeing by different programs like day-hikes, workshops, and backpacking in Yosemite National Park. Chelsea has led this backpacking trip for thirteen years, specifically for women of color.
Chelsea and Kathy Dicker carrying loads across The Virgin River, on the approach to Prodigal Sun, Angels Landing, Zion National Park, UT. Photo by Greg Epperson
Her time in Yosemite was a stark difference from where she was raised. Growing up in suburban Chicago, Chelsea had always dreamed of the mountains. When starting out climbing, Chelsea’s mother was a little taken aback. She explains, “My mom reacted to climbing, ‘We don’t do that.’” Chelsea had spent time traveling and climbing around places like Kalymnos, Greece, Spain, and Thailand. After doing a few trips alone, Chelsea’s mother also caught the travel bug. Before this, Chelsea’s mom thought that women did not travel alone. Chelsea says the journey of introducing her passion to her family has been “circuitous” but her family, like many who meet Chelsea or see her photos, continues to be inspired by her spirit for adventure.
“The more you see it. The more you learn about it. The more you will be inspired to go after it.”
For many years in the Black community, we have been given many stereotypes in the outdoors. We can sometimes get discouraged when it comes to recreating outside. We may get told by friends or family, “We don’t do…” or it gets labelled like, “That’s a white person thing,” “We don’t hike, climb, swim,” and the list goes on. The world should know that we have been doing these activities for generations. Like Chelsea, many people may not talk about their high accomplished feats but we should celebrate and share them because these stories can act as a bridge for African American and other communities of color to view themselves as active participants within this sport and these spaces. Photos of Chelsea climbing in Yosemite have changed the way we see ourselves. With her braids hanging down, Chelsea’s image continues to inspire many women of color to climb. Chelsea’s journey into climbing is a reminder to novice and experienced climbers alike that dreams are still worth following and that even if you are the first, there will be people along the way that you will learn from and countless more that will learn from you.
Chelsea climbing Separate Reality, Yosemite National Park, CA. Photo by Greg Epperson
To the women of color who want to continue going out and exploring or working on leadership Chelsea Griffie has this advice, “Always have a goal. Keep looking forward. The more you see it. The more you learn about it. The more you will be inspired to go after it.”
To learn more about how you can help support initiatives Chelsea’s involved with, follow @lawildernesstraining
Thank you Chelsea for sharing your story and for the many other women willing to be the first in their community and special thanks to Greg Epperson and Andrew Browning for providing photography and media.
Brown Girls Climb
Author: Brittany Leavitt
1.https://www.mountainproject.com/area/107546222/pao-de-acucar-sugarloaf
2.http://www.rockclimbing.com/Articles/Introduction_to_Climbing/Climbing_Dictionary_528.html#p
Amazing article and woman! The first time I saw the photo of her on Separate Reality when I was newer to climb I was so surprised and happy; I had never seen a woman of color climbing trad before! Thanks for sharing an writing this piece!