By Climbers, for Climbers

Chad Smith

Member of the Month: October 2023

Where are you from?
I was born in Oakland but I’ve lived in Windsor my whole life

What is your favorite place to climb?
Bishop is definitely my favorite place to climb, even though I’ve only gone once, I love it for the awesome quality climbs

Top hobbies & special interest:
In my free time I like to play the saxophone, run, and lift, but climbing takes up most of my time

Boulder or Rope and why?
I’m gonna have to choose rope because although I like bouldering, there’s no better feeling than being 20 feet off the ground on the crux move of your project with 15 people yelling at you. Lead>boulder>top rope

What do you like about climbing at Vertex?
the route setting at vertex Is truly unrivaled. The community is so friendly, I know everyone and their dog. But most of all, I’ve met many amazing people at Vertex who I’ve become great friends with (except for you Ryan)

Do you have any climbing goals?
my long term goal is V10, 5.14a, but at the moment, I’ve gotten close on a handful of V8s that I’m just trying to finish off

Dave Bennett

Member of the Month: July 2023

Where are you from?
I was born in Fairfield CA on the Air Force Base, but pretty much grew up in Eugene, Oregon. Moved to the Bay Area in 1984 and moved to Santa Rosa in 1988 and been here ever since.

What is your favorite place to climb?
My favorite place to climb is absolutely Lovers Leap! I love to rope climb and specifically trad climb. Trad climbing is much more about the mental game. Placing gear, managing rope, changing the lead on multi pitch climbs.

What do you like about climbing at Vertex?
I love climbing at Vertex because of the comraderie. You can help other people, and they can help you. I also love that the routes prepare you for climbing outdoors. No specific climbing goals right now, except to get back to Lovers Leap! There’s still snow up there (as of May 5th). I turn 65 in a couple of months and I’m trying to figure out what my climbing goal should be for that day.

Top hobbies & special interest:
Obviously climbing is number one. I’ve recently taken up Pickleball and spend a lot of time doing that. Also just finished building out a van for my son to live in. And since then I’ve been helping friends do little tweaks on their vans. So, if anyone wants to add solar panels, a kitchen, a bed… hit me up!

Matias Leon Aramundiz

Member of the Month: September 2023

Where are you from?
I’m from Santiago, Chile. Moved to the USA in 2021.

What is your favorite place to climb?
Vertex!!!!!!! Also I love Piedra del Diablo, Cajón del Maipo, Chile. There’s a few spots in Cajón del Maipo and Monos Climbing, a small but nice boulder gym in Santiago.

Top hobbies & special interest:
I’ve been playing Futbol since I was a kid (Colo-Colo is the best team ever!). I really like swimming(ocean, rivers, lakes…it doesn’t matter if the water is cold). Hiking and camping with friends or my dogs is always welcome… and climbing, for sure!

Boulder or Rope and why?
That’s a hard one but to be honest I prefer Rope because it is the combination of boulders problems into one route.

What do you like about climbing at Vertex?
The big sense of community!!! It’s  awesome to be surrounded by nice people…more when you’re far from home! And the routes on this place are always a challenge.

Do you have any climbing goals?
Pushing myself to always get better but not forgetting to have fun and enjoy :). And hopefully climbing to other places around the world.

PS: Thanks to Al & Andrew!!! They bring me here and they’re the best!

Geoffrey Tange

Member of the Month: August 2023

What is your favorite place to climb?
There are so many different places outside that I love climbing and at that I’d love to spend more time at (with nice weather).  Most of the outdoor climbing I love is single pitch sport, especially the longer routes.  This kind of climbing can force both my body and my brain to perform at its limit:  dealing with making route finding decisions and beta choices at speed, with air under your feet, (I have a specific phobia of exposure) learning to get back into a flow after red-lining or mistakes, and learning to tense and relax your body when necessary.  It forces self-confidence in your own decisions, and avoiding hesitation, even with fear or previous failure. I especially enjoy trusting in yourself to try a new route without knowing much about it and fighting to get to the top so you don’t have to leave a bail piece.

Utah hills
Emeralds near Bowman Lake
Our Coastline

Top hobbies & special interest:
Guitar, Photography, Music in many forms.

Boulder or Rope and why?
Both for different reasons. Rope, the transitions, the amount of weight you can put into your feet, efficiency of movement. fear from exposure, improvisation.  Bouldering: the collaborative process of figuring out different ways through a problem, trying things with your body that seem illogical but work, feeling the achievement of the perfect execution of a plan. 

What do you like about climbing at Vertex?
Vertex is special to me for 2 different reasons, the route setting, and the culture. From when I was young, I was involved in soccer pretty heavily: played competitively on different teams, indoor and outdoor, did track and cross country to train for it, planned to fight for a scholarship to a college, etc. Around the age of 17 a friend from high school brought me to vertex for the first time, I couldn’t do a lot of the v0’s, while he worked the v7’s and 8’s.  I went a few more times with him on and off when I would get the time between practice and school, which was rare; but there was something about the space and the movement that was addictive.  There were all sorts of people at the gym: old, young, different socioeconomic classes, different abilities, different gender expressions.  Some people were dressed up, and some people were dirty, and everybody coalesced together around the problems and routes they were working.  You could show up to climb grimy and walk around barefoot and not be self-conscious, and this was so liberating after years in other gyms training.  

The route setting even on the easy problems was so engaging and challenging that even small improvements on V1’s felt like a big achievement; I still remember the first time I learned to swing my feet from one wall to another successfully with small footholds. 

After a year or so of climbing, maybe every week or every other week, I started ditching soccer practice to come to vertex and climb.   I got my first membership in 2009 and never looked back.  I competed in CCS (collegiate climbing) for a few years and got to climb at many different gyms through that program; the variation in holds, terrain and styles was incredibly fun to challenge myself on, but also taught me a lot about how unique Vertex was.  Even after climbing for more than a decade in many different indoor facilities throughout California and the west, I still haven’t found another gym that is as encompassingly cognitively engaging and physically challenging as Vertex.  Even as, through the years, Vertex has had many different setters, and many had quite different styles, the mix of difficult, imaginative beta with marginal features, even on easy routes, has stayed constant.  Patrick Smithson get as special shout-out though, as he has both contributed to, and guided this process for longer than I know, and after many years of creating problems in this small gym, he still finds way to make my body move in ways it never has before, or to punish me for not getting in the perfect position before committing to a hold.  This has prepared me for both harder and softer routes outside in a way I can only imagine few other gyms can, and I am beyond grateful every day to have had the privilege of growing up near this invaluable community resource. 

Do you have any climbing goals?
To stay healthy while improving my weaknesses, which are legion.