“I am in absolute love with the out of the ordinary cracks. _My current obsession in rock climbing is any crack climb that is overhung, horizontal, or long. **” - Mary Eden
Bio
Mary Catherine Eden is a rock climber, photographer, painter, but mainly loves to spend time outside and enjoys a good laugh. Starting off as a hard core adventure climber, Mary now embraces all forms of rock climbing and enjoys making short climbing films.
The insights
Why / How did you start climbing?
Originally from Kentucky I grew up loving outdoor adventure sports such as riding horses, caving, skiing, kayaking, and hiking. I discovered rock climbing when I first moved to Moab, Utah and saw that climbing on rocks was another way to immerse myself in the surrounding landscape.
Favorite climbing destination?
It’s hard for me to choose a favorite climbing area. I absolutely LOVE climbing, and am happy as long as I’m touching rock. At the moment my favorite climbing areas are: The White Rim of Canyonlands, The Superstition Mountains in Arizona, and The Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
Memorable climbing achievement(s)?
I have had loads of fun climbing a lot of routes over the years but my favorite climbing achievements are: Belly Full Of Bad Berries 5.13, The Mechanical Bull 5.13, Tricks Are For Kids 5.13, The Crack House 5.13/V8, Iron Sharpens Iron 5.13, flash of What the Big Boys Eat 5.13, and Necronomicon 5.14a.
In 3 words what describes climbing to you?
Fun, funner, funnest
How do you train?
I train with Lattice Training and my coach Jen. I also nag Tom Paul Randall for workouts to do on my crack trainer.
You whip, you slip, you blow the move… What motivates you to try again?
When I fall off a route, cannot do a move, or encounter a style that I struggle with, I enjoy getting back on the route because I know that there are lessons for me to learn. I do not enjoy rock climbing because it is easy for me, I enjoy rock climbing because I like feeling challenged.
What do you do when you’re not climbing?
I have loads of other things that I like to do when I’m not rock climbing! I’m an avid reader, painter, photographer, videographer, I enjoy horseback riding, canyoneering, backpacking, and salsa dancing.
