By George Yin,
Staff Writer
Juniors Elizabeth Hung and Annabel Lee’s palms were as tough as nails, calluses torn off and with chalk on their hands. They swing one foot on top of the other, swiftly moving from left to right and alternating between rock holds. Once Hung and Lee reach the top, they slowly descend with a sigh of relief and look up to see what they’ve accomplished.
Lee started off climbing as a hobby but it became a recreational sport and a stress reliever as she began to dedicate more time and effort. Lee enjoys the loving community, the support from family, friends and the lessons climbing teaches.
“Climbing revolves a lot around physical aspects such as strength, finger capabilities, muscle development and control of your weight while climbing,” Lee said. “There is also more of a mental side, like building a good foundation, including good technique, problem-solving, puzzle solving, decision making on your movements and getting over the fear of heights.”
For Hung, a close friend persuaded her to take on the next level of rock climbing at a local gym, and the supportive rock climbing community synergized with her goal to be stronger than her friends to push her further in climbing. Rock climbing grades are based on the V scale from V0, the easiest, to V16, the most difficult. Hung has yet to compete in a competition to conquer V5.
“I’m a pretty competitive person and seeing others climb made me want to try,” Hung said. “After a few tries, I could get to the top of the easy section, the medium and the hardest. Once I started climbing at Hangar 18, I wasn’t able to go past V3 until November 2021 because I didn’t have good technique. I go through trial and error, putting things into perspective and adopting the same approach as to other recreational activities in life.”
As both Hung and Lee continue their climbing journeys, climber Ashima Shiraishi serves as their role model. Shiraishi was the first ever Japanese-American to scale the biggest harness climb at Mt. Hiei in Miyazaki, Japan at the age of 14.
“Shiriaishi’s ways of problem-solving as a young person is fascinating compared to others,” Hung said. “She is a very talented individual, having matured in her rock climbing capabilities, and over years I’ve looked up to her.”