By Grant Clark
Victoria Clarke has always been a climber.
Growing up it was not uncommon for her to scale the large trees that surrounded her Lacey house. It was here, high up among the branches, where she felt comfortable.
“It’s been that way for as long as I can remember,” Clarke said. “I just always wanted to be up there.”
The joy of climbing still remains for the 18-year-old. The heights have certainly increased over the years and the venues now far exceed her backyard.
No longer is she simply climbing the neighborhood trees. She’s gone worldwide.
By finishing third overall at the recent USA Climbing Sport and Speed Youth National Championships, Clarke advances to the International Federation of Sports Climbing World Youth Championships later this summer in Arco, Italy.
“Totally unexpected,” said Clarke about the achievement. “It’s been the goal the past six years. I have to keep pinching myself to know that it’s really happening.”
The event, which begins August 28 and runs through September 6, draws participants from around the globe and will be held at what is largely regarded as the birthplace of competition climbing. Located in the Trentino area of Northern Italy, Arco has been a top destination for climbers since the 1930s due to the surrounding long limestone walls
“It’s the place everyone in our sport wants to visit,” Clarke said. “Getting to go there is so incredible plus I get to represent the United States which just makes it even more special.”
Clarke, who spent the first eight years of her life living in California before moving to Lacey, tried a variety of sports during her youth and while enjoyable, none offered the same satisfaction rock climbing would eventually provide.
No, it wasn’t until she was 10 when she accepted a friend’s invitation to the Warehouse Rock Gym.
Clarke knew nothing about top roping or bouldering when she walked into the climbing facility during that initial visit, but it didn’t take her very long to realize this was where she wanted to be.
“She was the quietest, shyest person I’ve ever been around when she first got started, but she was determined,” said Jimmy Chulich, one of Clarke’s former coaches at the Warehouse Rock Gym. “She was completely committed to this sport from the beginning.”
It didn’t take long for her dedication to be tested as a nasty fall just two months after she started the sport resulted in a fractured wrist, sideling her for several months.
“Gravity is my worst enemy,” Clarke said.
To the average individual the injury would have been sufficient cause to ground them permanently. Learning a new sport is difficult enough without the constant looming threat of plummeting to the floor with every move.
The pain in her wrist, however, was trumped by the agony of being unable to climb.
“That was the toughest part – just waiting to get back in there,” said Clarke, who was a member of Warehouse Rock Gym’s youth team for nearly seven years before moving on to a Seattle-based team a year ago. “It never really entered my mind to quit.”
Once healed, she was right back at the gym, and saw her skill level ascend to the point where trips to the national competition became an annual occurrence as she has participated every year in nationals in either Bouldering or Sport climbing since 2010.
Five years ago, she placed 10th in the nation. This year’s nationals resulted in a 3rd place finish, sending Clarke, a member of Seattle’s Vertical World, to the podium, as well as the World Championships, for the first time ever.
“It was crazy. The best competition I’ve ever done,” Clarke said about the 2015 nationals, which were held July 6-9 in Atlanta. “It was three or four straight days were I climbed my best.”
The World Championships features three types of disciplines – Lead, Speed and Boulder, the last of which being the youngest category in the group and the one Clarke excels at the most.
No ropes or harnesses are used in Bouldering. In indoor climbing at the youth level, the height is set at 15 feet and safety mats are placed at the bottom to prevent injuries.
Clarke plans to do several fundraisers to accommodate her trip to the World Championships. She has set up a funding account through USA Climbing and plans to place a fundraiser box at the Warehouse Rock Gym, in addition to other activities.
A Running Start student, Clarke graduated in June, receiving both her high school diploma and her Associate of Science (track 2 – Engineering). She will enroll at the University of Washington and pursue a degree in aeronautical engineering, while competing for one final year in youth climbing with USAClimbing.org.
Of course, that will all come after Italy and the World Championships.
“It’s been amazing,” Clarke said about her time in climbing. “It’s not like any other sport. I’ve been really fortunate to have so many great experiences because of it.”
