Naomi Maldonado Rodriguez (she/her)

Scholarship Recipient | 2022 Flash Foxy Climbing Festival - Bishop

Photo courtesy of the author

Hi, my name is Naomi and I was a scholarship recipient for the 2022 FlashFoxy Climbing Festival in Payahunnadü. This was my first experience at a climbing festival and I honestly had no idea what to expect. What I quickly learned is that the FlashFoxy team has created this incredible infrastructure to allow folks to meet, connect, and enjoy each other’s presence in a welcoming low-stakes environment. The festival was the experience I did not know I needed. It is powerful to be surrounded by folks who look like you and who share similar values and politics. It is even more powerful to reach a critical mass and be able to take up space at the crag with likeminded folks. My experiences in the climbing community would have been much different if I had started climbing in this kind of environment and I am thankful I have gotten to experience it now. While it is hard to name my favorite moments during this weekend, those that have stuck with me the most are the moments spent relaxing at the crag, hearing folks yell supportive words as I top out a [very scary] highball, and those spent around a table (or sitting in a circle) sharing a meal after a long day in the sun. Honestly, does it get any better than sharing a meal with beautiful people on the most beautiful land? 

Photo by Terrellyn Moffett (@pterrellyn)

I am incredibly grateful to have walked away from this experience with new friends, new memories, and quite a few lessons learned (about the struggles of sleeping at high altitude, proper sun protection, and many other things 😂). I am committing this experience to memory so I may try to find similar spaces at home. I think this is the beauty of this kind of festival: it provides you opportunities for connection and shows you the possibilities for a more welcoming climbing community and culture. Even a month after FlashFoxy, I am still unpacking my experiences at the festival and reflecting on how this might look in my own communities. In particular, I am reflecting on the conversations had at the panel around working in coalition in climbing. The work is always ongoing but I think it has to start with clear and loud politics which center the voices of those made marginalized.  A politic that works to acknowledge and dismantle the colonialism, anti-Blackness, and heteropatriarchy present in climbing and beyond. A more socially and politically engaged climbing ethic if you will. 

If you want to tag me on insta, it’s @naomi_mr_