Rockfest and Coopers Rock climb-a-thon 2015

Last summer the Coopers Rock Climbing Guides put on a fantastic event with their 3rd annual Coopers Rock Climb-a-thon, and I was extra excited to hear that they'll be doing it again this year on June 28th, since the Mid Atlantic Climbers will be holding their annual Rockfest event at Coopers Rock that same weekend.  Two of my favorite events of the year, and I don't even have to move my tent!

For anyone unfamiliar with these events, Rockfest is the biggest event on the MAC calendar, giving climbers the opportunity to give back to one of their favorite climbing areas with a variety of projects. Work typically includes trail maintenance, trash cleanup, graffiti removal, or whatever other tasks the park requests, with plenty of time leftover afterward for climbing and making new friends over food and drink provided by local businesses.  If you haven't been, I can't recommend it highly enough.

The Climb-a-thon, which I only learned about a couple of weeks beforehand last year, turned out to be equally exciting.  Participants compete with each other for vertical feet climbed (with difficulty factored in) on the many toprope routes that Coopers Rock has to offer, but what I like best about the event is that the fundraising remains the main focus.  Participants are encouraged to raise money in advance of the event, and all donations go to Paradox Sports to support their amazing work in the area of adaptive climbing and other activities.  As a special ed teacher, I appreciate the process of adapting activities to individual needs and capabilities, and am continually blown away by what Paradox is able to help people accomplish.

Unfortunately I pulled a tendon in my foot a few days before the event last year, and was unable to climb as a result.  That turned out okay though, with my mom taking my place and finishing as the top female climber, and Chris pulling off the overall win.

Barring any unforeseen injuries, I can't wait to get out and actually get to climb this time.  The routes looked so fun last year, and with the multi-hour traversing sessions I've been fitting in, I should be able to make the most of my time.  I'm even more excited to have eight times longer to raise money for Paradox than I did last time around.  Speaking of which...

Here's the link to my fundraising page.

If you have a few extra dollars sitting around, especially if you're not going to the Climb-a-thon yourself, please consider helping me support the fantastic work that Paradox does to give everyone a place in our climbing community.  In return, I promise to climb my butt off and earn every dollar that comes my way!