Elam and Natalie  As climber stewards, Elam and Natalie host events like climber coffees, micro-trash cleanups, and educational info. for responsible climber stewardship. New River Gorge Climber Coffee (begins Memorial Day weekend):
 Elam: 1) Born and raised in Seattle, I started climbing almost 15 years ago on the beautiful granite of Index, WA and Squamish, BC. After moving out to Connecticut for college I climbed all over the Northeast and all the way down to Chattanooga, taking almost every break from school as an opportunity to travel and climb. During this time I honed my love from scary gear lines, heinous off-width, and unprotected friction slab. After coming to the New for the first time in 2020 I immediately fell in love, finding opportunities wherever I could to come back and climb. I have a pretty varied background ranging from outdoor education, to farming, to theater and event production. This variety of work has involved a lot of teaching and education in different fields, which has given me great opportunities to develop and practice a variety of different teaching styles and skills. Much of this work has involved connecting people to the environment, either through creating access for them or through environmental education. 2) I was really excited to see the Climber Steward role posted for the New this year because it combines a lot of things I love and am passionate about. Besides the obvious perk of getting to spend the whole season in one of my favorite crags, this role also promised the chance to get to meet and make a lot of great community, to help connect people with an environment I love, and break into the world of climbing stewardship and education work. 3) I am super stoked on educating folks about the breadth and length of human history in the New and thinking about the ways that people have and continue to interact with the human and non-human communities within the region. 4) I think I would have to go with Biohazard as my favorite climb at the New. That first double crack section is super fun and engaging and then the roof is really a great punctuation to the climb (though the last time I got on it it was covered in bird poop that likely presented a literal biohazard and made it grippingly slick). 5) My favorite crag snack is a hard choice between some sour gummy candy and a good sandwich, preferably something fresh like a caprese.  Natalie:
1) I grew up outside of Philly, but didn't start climbing until I moved to Chicago for my freshman year of college. After a year of gym climbing, I transferred schools and ended up in Connecticut, where I started climbing outside at New England crags like Rumney and Ragged Mountain. I fell in love with outdoor climbing and met Elam, who introduced me to trad climbing. After graduating college, we built out our van and headed out to Washington state, stopping in the New for my first time along the way. While I loved climbing out West at Index and Squamish, I always looked forward to our cross-country trips when we would get a chance to stop in the New. My passion for building community and my background in education, farming, and visual arts, have helped me feel right at home in the New. Like Elam, most of my work has revolved around education--from teaching practical classes on farming, to academic philosophy courses, to horseback riding lessons whenever back home in PA. 2) The Climber Steward Program has in many ways the perfect combination of priorities for me: education, stewardship, outdoor recreation, and community. I always wanted to be able to spend more time in the New after the small introductions to the community and the climbing that I got every time I'd previously visited, and I am so grateful to have gotten this chance to. After a month in this role so far, I can pretty confidently say it's the best job I've ever had and one of my favorite places I've ever lived. 3) I love educating climbers about the local flora and fauna at the New and the impacts climbing has on it. I really enjoy helping people identify a really cool snake or bug that they encountered or teaching people about how food scraps left at the base of the crag threaten Allegheny woodrat populations and watching them connect the dots between their presence in a place and its impacts on the other inhabitants there. 4) My favorite climb at the New literally changes week-to-week with whatever I'm stoked on at the moment (right now I'm stoked on finger cracks after having a blast on Burning Calves). Come find me at Climber Coffee and ask me what I'm stoked on that week! 5) Definitely a gluten free Yumbel cookie.
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