Abbie Robinson (she/her)
Abbie Robinson is a visually impaired climber, coach and trainee sport psychologist based in the North East.
Abbie has been competing for the GB Paraclimbing Team since 2018, picking up 7 international gold medals, including 3 consecutive world championship titles, along the way.
Aside from competitions, she’s also keen to get outdoors, sending classic boulders up north!
Leanora Volpe (she/her)
Leanora is a 29 year old paraclimber based in London, and has been a member of the GB paraclimbing team since 2019.
Following a diagnosis of a rare condition that affects her movement and balance, she took up climbing in 2017 as a way to regain strength and fitness and slow the deterioration of her condition.
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Since then she has found a community in paraclimbing, and competes in national and international competitions alongside other disabled climbers.
She also coaches a team of young climbers in London and works with people across the climbing industry to promote awareness of inclusion and accessibility in the sport.
Zofia Reych (they/them)
Zofia is an anthropologist, writer, and founder of the Women’s Bouldering Festival.
They fell in love with the Tatra Mountains when they were three years old, and started climbing at the age of sixteen. After a decade-long hiatus, Zofia is now almost exclusively a boulderer and lives in the French bouldering mecca of Fontainebleau.
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In 2022 Zofia published their first book, Born to Climb: From Rock Climbing Pioneers to Olympic Athletes
Five years ago Zofia was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Their partner is photographer Andy Day and together they take care of three rescue animals: Stefan, Katini and Lulu.
Simona Berry (she/her)
Simona is the founder of Beta Climbing Designs, and she has been climbing and working in the outdoor industry for 40 years.
Growing up as Gender Queer on Tyneside was a harsh and unforgiving experience. Severe bullying gave way to low self esteem, serious addiction and mounting mental health issues. Simona didn’t choose to climb – it was a last chance saloon to remain within the education system and it pretty much saved her life.
“Little lads” growing up in South Shields didn’t become rock climbers, designers or transgender women. Rock climbing was her escape plan.
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Simona moved to Sheffield in 1984, and was thrown into the Sheffield climbing maelstrom that proved to be a pivotal time of rock climbing development in the UK. Climbing became all consuming, taking her to places she never knew – emotionally, physically and geographically.
Gritstone bouldering, trad cragging, seacliff new routing, Scottish mountain rock, and long Alpine multi pitch rock climbs. Over the years she has been fortunate enough to climb with some fabulous people, in exhilarating positions, and amazing places.
In her talk – I Didn’t Choose to Climb – Simona explores the personal experiences of her life as a Gender Queer climber, how that led to starting a climbing business from nothing and on reflection, how it may have all been a major distraction from more pressing things … her transition.
Anna Hazelnutt (she/her)
Anna started bouldering at a gym in Southern California at 16 years old. With Joshua Tree so close, she quickly shifted her focus to the outdoors. Granite boulders – especially those in JTree – demand footwork and balance, and Anna picked these techniques up in spades as she progressed through the grades, focusing on slab and vertical test pieces.
In climbing and in life, Anna has a single focus: to embrace discomfort, keep learning, and have fun. In 2019, Anna ticked her first 5.14a: Galactic Emperor, in Ten Sleep, Wyoming. In 2021, she set her sights on trad climbing and before the end of the year, Anna sent Once Upon a Time in the Southwest (E9 6c | 5.13b/c R), becoming one of the few women to have climbed E9.
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It was one of her first trad ascents ever. Anna then became the first woman to climb the Walk of Life (E9 6c | 5.13d R/X) in 2022. Since then, she’s ticked an impressive list of climbs with few ascents including the Quarryman (E8) in a day, Spank the Monkey (5.13d R), and Prinzip Hoffnung (E9/10 5.13d/14a R).
Anna views climbing as a form of constant growth. She’s always pushing to venture outside her comfort zone and try new things – crack, offwidth, ice, you name it. Not one to keep adventure to herself, Anna shares it all through her other passion: film. On YouTube, she offers a vulnerable and lighthearted take on climbing while pushing her limits and traveling the world. Because it’s not just about the ascents: it’s about the journey and the people.
Anna’s a strong advocate for the LGBTQ2S+ and BIPOC communities, as well as for female empowerment. She’s an equally strong advocate for chronically underappreciated slab climbing: “slab is sexy,” after all.
Anna is proudly sponsored by Evolv, Rab, Wild Country, and Lattice.
Frit Tam (he/him)
Frit Tam is a British-born Chinese, award-winning documentary filmmaker, photographer, speaker, podcaster, writer and trans-activist. With more than 10 years of filming experience, the sole mission of Frit’s film studio, Frit Films, is to add colour and diversity to the adventure industry through filmmaking, with his current films sharing the underrepresented stories of age, ethnicity, religion and disability.
Frit has also been in front of the camera, both for his own YouTube channel, The T-Party, and for his upcoming film documenting his 1700km cycling and rollerblading trip called, Glide for Pride, that he completed in 2021.
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He interviewed over 35 people from the LGBTQIA+ community to tackle the issue of belonging and the film is currently in post-production.
Finally, alongside his YouTube channel where he shares his own personal experiences of transition to support anyone else in the early stages of their own journey, he also co-hosts the transgender podcast, TransAtlantic: TransMasc, with fellow trans guy, Ryan Rhys, who is based in the US. Together, they discuss their similarities and differences in their medical transitions as well as the countries they reside in for the trans community.
Frit will be documenting ClimbOut by making a short film capturing the intersection between outdoor climbing and queer joy.