Stacia Glenn

Member since December 2012

How did you start climbing?

Stacia: When I moved to Washington state, I was blown away by the mountains and wanted to spend every free minute outside. A friend suggested I try rock climbing and drove me to Vantage for my first climbing session. I was hooked from my first Figure Eight.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks?

Stacia: Edgeworks is basically the heart of Tacoma for me. It’s where I go to play on ropes, sharpen my skills and conquer challenges. It’s where I meet new friends, introduce people to the thing I’m most passionate about and train for the next big thing.

Where is your favorite place to climb outside?

Stacia: Nothing beats Squamish for me. Though if you love sport and are looking to climb outside the PNW, I cannot recommend Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota or Ten Sleep, Wyoming enough.

What do you do when you’re not climbing?

Stacia: When I’m not climbing, I’m dreaming about climbing or planning a climbing trip. I also love trail running, hiking, traveling, cooking and curling up with a good book.

Which do you prefer: top rope, lead, or bouldering?

Stacia: Lead climbing, hands down.

What are some interesting facts that you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?

Stacia: I climbed to 20,000 feet only five months after I started mountaineering. I broke my tibia and fibula when I fell on a route in 2013 and now have a metal rod stretching from my left ankle to my knee. I typically eat healthy but cannot survive without 1,000 calories of chocolate daily. I moved here from San Diego and count it as the best decision in my life (Really, I don’t miss the sunshine)

What’s your go-to route grade?

Stacia: 5.11 tends to be my sweet spot, but 5.12 is what gets my heart racing. They’re all 5.Fun though!

Erin McGlothlin

Member since January 2015

How did you start climbing? 

Erin: I was looking for an activity for my niece and I to do while she was visiting from Houston.  I had some friends who  were members at Edgeworks and they gave us a good intro to climbing.  It was so much fun, I was a member within  a few visits.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks? 

Erin: I started because of proximity, but I keep going back for the friendly staff, the encouraging environment, the quality  route setting and the best climbing partner a person could ask for.  I’ve been to a few other gyms and that has given  me perspective, helping me better define what I like and don’t like through less quality route setting.

Where is your favorite place to climb outside? 

Erin:  I’ve only climbed outdoors a few times, so I can’t definitively say.  If I were to name a place I’d most like to return to,  it would be Vantage.

What do you do when you’re not climbing? 

Erin: Aside from the day-to-day adulting life requires of me, I keep busy with gardening, reading, cooking, roller skating,  and a new hobby of home brewing beer.  I travel quite a bit with my job, so I make it a point to visit breweries and  try out the local varieties.

Which do you prefer: top rope, lead, or bouldering?

Erin: Top rope because let’s face it, I’m terrified of heights and of falling.

What are some interesting facts that you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?

Erin: I grew up climbing fir trees and building tree forts with my brothers, so rock climbing came naturally.  I love the sport  because it incorporates problem solving and I find myself having to constantly challenge my beliefs about what I can achieve.  Some days are better than others; I have felt high achievement and I have experienced much failure, but the  challenging aspects of the sport and the support of friends keeps me coming back and pushing against perceived limits.

What’s your go-to route grade?

Erin: Depends on the day and motivation.  5.10 range when I’m feeling  lazy or want an easy win, 5.11 range when I want a challenge, and  5.12 when I’m feeling masochistic.

Steven Anderson

Member since 2013

How did you start climbing? 

Steve: Started climbing trees when I was very young.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks? 

Steve: I started climbing at Edgeworks because it is the closest gym to my house in Bremerton. I keep coming back because of the quality of the staff, the routes, and the fitness classes.

Where is your favorite place to climb outside? 

Steve: Leavenworth and Washington Pass.

What do you do when you’re not climbing? 

Steve:  Volunteer with the Kitsap Branch of the Mountaineers – Basic and Intermediate Climbing Programs.

Which do you prefer: top rope, lead, or bouldering?

Steve: Multi-pitch leading outside traditional protection.

What are some interesting facts that you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?

Steve: I moved to Alaska in the 2nd grade and consider that my home.

What’s your go-to route grade?

Steve: 5.10 Indoor Sport. 5.9 Outdoor Sport. 5.8 Outdoor Trad.

Michael Harlow

Member since 2013

How did you start climbing? 

Mike: After being an occasional hiker for many years, in 2010 I hooked up with some mountaineering buddies and one of our trips was to Vantage, for which I purchased my first pair of climbing shoes.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks? 

Mike: In 2012, I joined the Mountaineers climbing program and realized that it was going to take some serious  effort to strengthen my climbing skills, and “The Edge” was the perfect fit.

Where is your favorite place to climb outside? 

Mike: So far, Leavenworth.  I’ve done a large percentage of my outside climbing there.  It’s an awesome  location with lots of variety.  I did manage to get up to Squamish this summer, and wow!

What do you do when you’re not climbing? 

Mike:  Mountaineering, skiing, cycling, golfing.

Which do you prefer: top rope, lead, or bouldering?

Mike: Outside trad leading.  It’s where I get to utilize all of the skills that I’ve learned and is the most  challenging.

What are some interesting facts that you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?

Mike: A five hundred pound dog is a mighty big dog!

What’s your go-to route grade?

Mike: 5.10+ to 5.11 indoor and 5.7 to 5.8 outside.

Alex Nall

Member since 2016

How did you start climbing? 

Alex: I started climbing when I was a kid.  The most memorable summer of my life was after a hurricane hit my hometown in Alabama.  I  would visit my cousin and we would go into the woods and climb all the fallen trees.  Our parents probably would have killed us if  they knew how much fun we were-I mean-how dangerous it was.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks? 

Alex: What other gym helps you celebrate your first peeler?  The sense of community is fantastic, whether it’s the staff, regulars, or  people trying climbing for the first time; the encouragement and shared enthusiasm of this weird, beautiful, BA thing we do is as  inspiring as watching Meru (or The Sharp End) for the fifth time.  Also, the route-setting is baller. I’ve been to a few gyms, and I have  to say that the routes here are some of the most creative (and sometimes sadistic) I’ve encountered.  (Now hand over my five dollars.)

Where is your favorite place to climb outside? 

Alex: I’m new to falling outside, but I particularly like falling in North Bend due to its proximity to my bed.  Strip Clip was my first slab and  I still love it the most.  A Girl’s Best Friend is both aesthetically beautiful and wonderfully challenging; that’s the first climb I looked  back on and was like, “Oh, shit!  I did that!”

What do you do when you’re not climbing?

Alex:  When I’m not climbing, I’m probably thinking about climbing.  Or girls.  Or wizards.  Or inequality.  The order kind of changes  depending on the day.  I bartend at DOA and find myself in awe of the fact that I get paid to make craft cocktails and basically throw  parties.  I love reading/writing/watching fantasy, physics, and solving puzzles.  I always thought my number one love would be  running until climbing topped out over that priority center in my brain.  It seemingly uses every aspect of the body, and although  fleeting because I’m still a beginner, the sense of flow is unparalleled whenever I’m lucky enough to have it.

Which do you prefer: top rope, lead, or bouldering?

Alex: That’s kind of a personal question.  I like top-roping because I can go all out.  I like bouldering because it scares and challenges  me.  I would probably have to go with lead though; there’s a very real sense of danger and calculation.  I sort of like the masochistic  cycle of “YUSSSSS, I GOT TO THE QUICKDRAW!!!!” to “I’M ABOVE THE QUICK DRAW I’M GONNA DIE”.

What are some interesting facts that you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?

Alex: Fact: I can beatbox the Super Mario theme like whoa.  I love music and was in a few bands in East Nashville (one of which had over  20 people in it, and no, it was not the Polyphonic Spree).  Fact: Our solar system contains one star.  There are 100,000 MILLION  stars in our Milky Way Galaxy alone.  Lastly there’s an estimable one hundred BILLION galaxies in the observable universe (which is  technically expanding faster than the speed of light).  How cool is that?

What’s your go-to route grade?

Alex: The one that shuts me down, at the very least, temporarily.  That could be a 10+, 11, 12-, V3 or V4.  Anything that forces me to  learn a move or see the wall differently makes me very satisfied.

Laura Jones

Member since 2016

How did you start climbing? 

Laura: I started climbing at the rec center gym while I was in college in Ohio. It was during that time that I started going on regular weekend missions to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks? 

Laura: I really enjoy the variety of what I can do at Edgeworks from hanging out with great people bouldering or getting on the  ropes, to tuning out for a solo workout involving the hangboard/fitness room. Regardless, I always like to catch up with the strong community Edgeworks has created. Thanks!

Where is your favorite place to climb outside? 

Laura: Yosemite! Although that is a tough question as I have many more favorites than one. Granite cracks or overhanging limestone are my main haunts.

What do you do when you’re not climbing?

Laura: I also like to hit the ski touring scene, yoga, knitting, vegetable gardening…and I am an accountant, so I am most likely nose-deep in a spreadsheet during the day.

Which do you prefer: top rope, lead, or bouldering?

Laura: Leading 🙂

What are some interesting facts that you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?

Laura: My husband and I are re-vamping a 1910 house on the East side of Tacoma at the moment, so right angles and level surfaces are a consistent crux. On the climbing side of things…in the alpine realm I have climbed the South and North peaks of Denali, with a ski descent of the Thunderbird Couloir from the North peak. Of rock interest, a gal pal and I did an ascent of the Nose on  El Cap last summer in a single push (we were very thirsty at the end).

What’s your go-to route grade?

Laura: I like to throw myself at things that are a grade harder than what  I can get up without too much trouble. I don’t mind logging some air time with a little try-hard.

Dean Baggs

Member since 2015

How did you start climbing?

Dean: I’ve always been climbing. It started with escaping cribs, progressed to trees then rocks. Who knows what’s next!

Why do you climb at Edgeworks?

Dean: I like hanging out with everyone here and talking about past adventures and planning out new ones. It’s a great place to train, and I’m really excited for the new moon board that’s going in! (P.S. maybe don’t tell Dean but we think he received some bad intel on that last detail.)

Where is your favorite place to climb outside?

Dean: Smith Rock. It’s got a great spread of climbing styles off of everything from giant buckets to razor sharp monos. Plus multi pitching is epic there. Then cooling off in the Deschutes with a few local brews…can’t be beat.

What do you do when you’re not climbing?

Dean: Mountain biking. I’m doing a few enduro races this year and trying to get in more time on the downhill bike. I also like to backpack, mountaineer, hike, kayak, snowboard, and ski when there’s time.

Which do you prefer: top rope, lead, or bouldering?

Dean: Are you implying that I’m rockist? Lead and bouldering, I like climbing with or without rope, no discrimination here.

What are some interesting facts that you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?

Dean: I’m a bike nut so if you need help with anything bike related, feel free to ask. I’m happy to help. I like playing board games a lot when the weather isn’t ideal for being outside so if you’ve got a game you wanna play, let me know.

What’s your go-to route grade?

Dean: I’ve been projecting 11b/c and V4/5 outside on the try hard days. Otherwise, cruising up 5.8-5.10 multi pitch is pretty rad.

Shannon Seidel

Member since 2015

How did you start climbing?

Shannon: 3 years ago on a fateful trip to Barcelona someone staying in my hostel talked me into a multi-pitch climbing adventure that hooked me for life. When I got home from the trip to San Francisco where I was living at the time, a couple of wonderful friends showed me “the ropes.”

Why do you climb at Edgeworks?

Shannon: Edgeworks is where most of my favorite Tacomanians can be found! I’m sure everyone says this but I LOVE the Edgeworks community and truly can’t imagine my life in Tacoma without it. When I flew up to interview for my job, they gave me a tour of Tacoma and I actually made them drive me to the gym to check it out.

Where is your favorite place to climb outside?

Shannon: A lot of my early climbing trips were to the Yosemite Valley. As my friend Drew put it, “winter was canceled” that year so the sun was out, no snow was on the ground, and it felt like we had this magical place to ourselves. I’ve gotten to climb in a lot of inspiring places but with the climbing history and my own formative climbing experiences there, Yosemite is hard to beat.

What do you do when you’re not climbing?

Shannon: Hmmmm…. When I’m not climbing I guess you might find me singing in my car, gardening at Cush Cottage, grading papers, watching stand up comedy, or trying to convince someone to go climbing with me.

Which do you prefer: top rope, lead, or bouldering?

Shannon: I love it all! I really do. Before the Spring Bouldering Series I would have said anything on ropes but shout out to Jimmy for the awesome competition because now I really enjoy bouldering too.

What are some interesting facts that you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?

Shannon: I guess many people are surprised to learn that I’m a scientist and that I love viruses! If you want to know what makes viruses so cool, feel free to ask me about them!

What’s your go-to route grade?

Shannon: I’m going with V.Fun and 5.Fun because grade ain’t nothin’ but a number! If I get too hung up on the grade, expectations and ego get in the way so I try to just do whatever seems fun on any given day.