Name:

How long have you been climbing?
Since I was in middle school, but not seriously, just a couple trips and rock gyms.
Where’s the best place you’ve traveled for climbing?
Strictly for climbing? Well I’d say probably Hueco Tanks.
What do you when you aren’t climbing?
I play soccer and run track for OBU
What do you run?
Well I run anything between the 400 and the 1600, but I’d say the 800 is my race. I’m not a big track fan, it bores me to run in circles, but it pays the bills.
Running is paying the bills? Are you all scholarshipped?
Well, actually soccer pays for pretty much all my school, but track helps out as well
What’s the best thing about climbing in Oklahoma?
I’d say the best thing is looking forward to climbing somewhere other than in Oklahoma…
Ouch!
No, Oklahoma isn’t that bad. There is more than you’d think actually.
What’s the best part about being a climber girl?
It’s a great way to chill with some really cool people and chill in some really beautiful areas just havin’ fun.
That’s the best part about being a girl?
Ha, I guess I couldn’t think of anything gender specific, sorry.
What’s the dumbest thin you’ve ever done under the influence?
I’m under 21 so you know I’m not supposed to be under the influence yet…
What did you think of Where the Wild Things Are?
Super trippy kids movie!!! Really one of the strangest i’ve ever seen.
What are you going to be for Halloween?
Well, I’m trying to convince my boyfriend to shave of his beard and keep the mustache and be goose and I will be Maverick from Topguna. We’ll see if it works out.
If you were going to be the hot heroine in a horror movie which one would you be ?
A horror movie,  that’s a tough one. Maybe Jessica Biel in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre because she’s the only one who lives, so she must be bad A.
What’s the best thing about Halloween and being in college?
Together or separately?
Together, you know like you can’t exactly trick-or-treat anymore…
I did last year and it was great, just a little awkward when you find a grump who thinks you’re too old, but they still give you candy. I don’t think I will trick-or-treat this year though. It’s hard to find people who are willing to do it with you.
If you had to choose one movie to watch on repeat for rest of your life which one would you choose?
I’m gonna go with A Knights Tale. It’s got everything you need: eye candy, comedy, love, drama and action.
If you could have one animal as a pet that would not normally be a pet what would you domesticate?
A hippo, so cute and chubby.
Like the full size?!
Well, if I could have a miniature that would probably be better.
Leave us with some great bit of knowledge.
This is cheesy but love is all we need, just like the song!

Name: Taylor

Age: 19

Location: Boulder, CO

Hometown: Richmond, VA

How do you like Boulder?

I love it!  it’s beautiful, and I feel like there is literally good climbing ten minutes in any direction except east. Then its about 22 hours to really good climbing
What kind of climber are you and where do you like climbing the most?
I’m a route climber, and I can’t get over crimpy, face routes…very girly…and I love the New River Gorge more than any other place that I have ever climbed
except I don’t climb very girly-esque…I just really like crimps.
What are your training plans for the winter. Are you gonna work on your fitness like the rifletards do?
Haha HELL yeah.  Actually I don’t know…climb everday?  Is that a training plan?  There are a bunch of stuff I want to send at the New, so I guess technique and

getting my endurance back after bouldering for a year. I also see people run sometimes. That’s inspiring, but not quite inspiring enough.
What do you think about Verve shorts?
Um,  I’d go with kind of awesome and not appropriate. I mean who doesn’t want to climb naked?  Honestly.
Men everywhere salute you i’m sure of it. How do you deal with boys that hit on you in the gym?
I talk about my boyfriend.
I’ve never actually seen that be an effective means of repulsion…
Yeah…i’m also good at being awkward, so that sometimes scares them off, and if that doesn’t work then I just get them to belay me. One time I told a guy my boyfriend would beat the shit out of him if he didn’t stop bothering me, but that was a special case haha.

Geeze. What did he say to that?
I mean, he stopped bothering me.   I’m not a jerk I swear!  He was just being really obnoxious.
If you could be any rapper for a day who would you?
Easy-E. Without a doubt. He’s a badass and the leader of N.W.A.  and I’ve always wanted to be from Compton…
Virginia to Compton… I don’t see it, but whatever you think. Do you snowboard or ski or anything?
I snowboard!
Which is your favorite mountain out here?
Thats I hard one, I’ve had my worst and best days at Vail, but overall I would say

that Keystone is my favorite, Breck is a close second.
Have you climbed out of the country yet?
Kind of.  It’s a little shameful.  I went to Greece with my mom and forced her to let me climb, but I only ended up doing a 5.5 multipitch route with a climber I found at a restaurant. It was multipitch though, which is always good, and we got an amazing view of Meteora, Greece.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not climbing?
Quite honestly?  Cuddling is my second favorite activity I literally spend atleast 2 hours cuddling a day.
I feel like that’s a lot of wasted time… two hours. I mean… come on.
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time at all…or something like that. Regardless its definitely not wasted!  It’s my 2nd favorite activity!

What are you majoring in?
Environmental engineering with a minor in geology.
You like rocks a lot huh?
I was literally just about to say that I like rocks.
Well, I can’t htink of anything else to ask you and this interview is really more of a formality anyway. Any words of wisdom you can leave us with? Anything really awesome we shoudl know about you?
I teach kids how to climb all summer and the most common words of wisdom I

give is telling middle schoolers to wear deoderant, so wear deoderant!  Climb routes, don’t boulder, go to the New and cuddle for at least 2 hours each day.

Name: Anna Kornke

Age: 21

Location: Albuquerque, NM

Is there anything good at all in Albuquerque?
Hmm, nothing too spectacular in Albuquerque, but we’re close to a lot of awesomeness. Oh! Except food. There’s good food here.
Like all the green chili? I heard you can get green chili on your McDonald’s hamburgers.
Heck yeah, man! Even McDonalds knows what’s up.
What’s your favorite Monopoly piece?
The boot for sure…or possibly the wheelbarrow.
Why?
I honestly don’t what the other ones are.
If you’re gonna get drunk. What do you like to get drunk off of?
Beer.
What’s your favorite beer?
Eh, I like the brown beers. The local Marble Brewery makes a sweet Nut Brown.  I like Heini too. However, I was just introduced to the White Russian. Now that is a sweet drink.
Are you familiar with the Dude?
The Big Lebowski. Oh yea apparently there is a Big Lebowski bowling festival and they make huge vats of White Russians.
What’s the best part about being a girl climber?
Well, I can’t deny that it feels good when I show up a guy at climbing.
Do you get hit on at the gym?
Sometimes. It can be pretty funny, but my boyfriend works there so usually no.
Why’s it funny?
This guy came up to me the other day while I was trying to find a route to climb. He asked me what I was doing standing there with I rope in my hands. I was nice, but on the inside I was like I’m at a climbing gym with a rope…I’M CLIMBING! He was clearly nervous.
What’s your favorite cereal?
Lucky Charms! My parents never bought it for me but when I moved out it was Lucky Charms all the time. I hate soggy cereal
What’s your favorite movie in the entire world? Only pick one.
Easy. Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  She’s so pretty and classy but wild at the same time.
Do you do anything else besides rock climb?
I go to school full time, and do some ninja work on the side.
Ninja work? Tell me more about that.
Well I dress in black, flip around everywhere I go, and throw flying stars at evil people.
What’s your favorite cuss word?
Well most often used would probably be the classic “shit.”  “I hate this shit.” “That was some badass shit”. My favorite I wouldn’t consider a cuss word, but it’s just fun to say: bajango.
Bajango? What the shit is that?
You’ve never heard bajango!?  Greatest word for the female anatomy ever!
For vag! Gimme the funniest example ever of that used in a sentence.
You’re asking too much. It has to come naturally.
What’s the grossest thing you’ve ever seen or heard?
Well, I got a finger in a cup at work the other day. That was pretty gross.
A finger in a cup? That sounds like a spin-off of the famous internet porn phenomenon. You’re going to have to explain that one a little better.
I’m working in a microbiology lab right now and some little old lady got her finger taken off so the docs put it in a cup and sent it to us to see if it was growing any microscopic bugs.
What do you want to say to all the boys out there drooling over you that check this site?
anna:  sings and dances my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, but seriously I would say I’m taken, so wipe that drool off your chin.
Hmm, does that sound bitchy?
Nope…

Name:

Well How’s it feel to be the first CCGOTW from South Carolina?
Hmm. This is a very difficult question.  Are they all going to be this hard?
No
It feels original… I suppose. It almost makes me feel cute.
What does a good night out look like for Lydia?
Well, here in Columbia a perfect evening would be a really good dinner at a friend’s house with a few close friends, and then a trip to a local brewery called the Hunter-Gatherer for a bit, then the Art Bar after that with accompanying Maker’s Mark.
You’re a whiskey girl then huh?
Yeah, though I try to get as wasted as possible on that before I drive somewhere, since it’s quite expensive at the bars. Bad joke. I have a flask.
Well what do you do when you’re not drinking aside from rock climbing?
I love to read, write, and drive. I love driving places, particularly to our close by Congaree Swamp to wander around.
You wander around a swamp for fun?
There’s a boardwalk through parts of it, and there’s all kinds of wildlife—owls, wild boars, deer, frogs, lizards, squirrels, spiders, snakes. You can call the owls and they will fly in and sit in the treetops above you
Can you make an owl call?
Yeah, my friend’s eighty-year old dad taught me.  This owl, the Barred Owl (I’m pretty sure) makes a call that sounds a lot like a monkey, so it’s a pretty fun call to make.
What’s the best part about living in South Carolina?
Well, the nature here is amazing, but my friends and family are here too.  The main reason I keep coming back besides those is that it’s really cheap to live. Apparently it’s one of the top 10 cheapest cities in the nation.
What’s the worst part?
It’s hot and humid as the armpit of a gorilla living in the tropics. Outside of this city, there are a lot of very ignorant, close-minded, insanely religious people. There are some inside too, but they are somewhat less dominant.
How are the dudes in Columbia?
Well, no offense to the dudes here, but . . .the pickings are slim. I don’t really have a whole lot in common with many guys here at least not in the dating respect.
What are they lacking?
Well, they’re great, really, and most of my friends are guys, but they tend to be a lot more stationary than me, not really all that healthy, and/or gay. I leave town so much I would rather go to a boyfriend than leave one behind.
Where’s the best place to climb on earth?
New River Gorge though I am biased. I lived there for three years, but have been climbing there since I started climbing nine years ago.
What kind of climbing style do you prefer?
I prefer crimpy face and overhanging crimps and jug hauls all of which can be found in abundance at the New.
So sport climbing?
Ha, more than trad. I like trad too, but I climb sport more often. Bouldering is great, too, but I have to do it with a group of highly entertaining people which is how I prefer to do most climbing or anything for that matter
That certainly helps.
Minus sex. Not into that group thing at this point.
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be?
Well, pizza is great, though it’s not my favorite thing, but if I had to eat it for the rest of my life, I would pick a pizza with stuff on it like salmon, garlic, chicken, onions, shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, cilantro, goat cheese and tomato sauce of course.

Who’s the best climber that ever lived?
Lynn Hill. Easy enough. Not only was she a badass a long time ago, she still is! She is strong as shit and tiny, tiny, tiny.
So are you one of those dainty southern bells?
I have never been called dainty in my life, and doubt I ever will be.
If you had to have a threesome with any celebrity couple who would it be?
Well, the obvious answer would likely apply to me Brad and Angelina, but they’re probably all tired from making babies.
Where’s the most exotic place you’ve been?
Patagonia, and I’m going back next week.
What are you doing there?
I’m going to follow the Patagonia Expedition Race around and write about it. I’m going with my photographer friend Michael Clark. It’s about the best thing I’ve ever seen. Patagonia that is.
So what else do you do?
I just started copy-editing for Dead Point Mag, and that makes me happy. The next issue that comes out will be the first that I really worked on!
What’s your ape-index?
I have a negative 3-inch ape-index. Rotten luck. More like a t-rex index.
Well is there anything final you want to say to all these people reading about you?
I can’t stop thinking about something this friend of mine wrote on a myspace pic:  “Keep on keeping on and keep your pimp hand strong,” but it seems a bit misogynistic.

Lead photo by Mike Clark. Please visit his website! He’s a great photographer.