Climbing to the Top

Taylor Hernandez, a freshman at Krum High, participates in indoor and outdoor rock climbing. She has been climbing for six years and trains at Denton Summit and Yoga Fitness. Hernandez is the first of her family to rock climb. Due to all her time spent in climbing gyms, a lot of her friends are on her climbing team, “Team Texas.” Hernandez competed in the Southwest Boulderfest competition on November 5th. This competition was where one of Hernandez's greatest achievements unfolded. This was her first time competing in the Female Youth A category and she placed first! “Rock climbing is a bit dangerous if you aren’t careful,” says Hernandez. On one instance, she was lead climbing, which is the head climber who doesn’t have their rope attached to the top of the wall yet. And her belayer, or partner who watches her ropes, wasn’t watching her and she fell to the ground. To prevent falling when climbing or making risky moves, Hernandez trains with ab workouts to keep stable on the wall, as well as leg and arm workouts to assist in pulling herself up the wall. In addition to training, special gear and equipment is needed when climbing. Rock climbing shoes use velcro to close the shoe and ensure normal laces don’t get in the way. A climbing harness and a chalk bag are also used to make the ascent as safe as possible. “It’s something that challenges me and I love the feeling when I am on the wall,” says Hernandez. This girl is totally one to look out for on the mountaintops in Nepal.