Anna Pfaff: Climbing for the Joy of Climbing - An Interview

Our guest is Anna Pfaff - an alpinist and expedition climber, and a critical care nurse. Anna has completed numerous expeditions and put up first ascents all over the world. Her resume includes the Great Trango Tower and The Nameless Tower in Pakistan, Shishapangma in Tibet, Holtana Peak in Antarctica, and most recently a new route on Mt. Providence in the Alaska Range.

Anna became a nurse at 20, moved from rural Ohio to Denver, and accidentally found the thing that would reshape her whole life: climbing. What starts as tagging along to Indian Creek turns into a decades-long pursuit through Yosemite big walls, Patagonia seasons, and a travel nursing lifestyle designed around the mountains. We dig into the realities of making that life work, including stacking shifts, choosing contracts near climbing zones, and building the calm, people-first communication that both nursing and alpine climbing demand.

Then Anna talks to us about her devastating frostbite injury after climbing Mt. Huntington in 2022. After the loss of six toes, she gives herself permission to walk away from climbing entirely. That honesty becomes the doorway back: easy gym laps in approach shoes, relearning balance without a big toe, and rebuilding confidence one small decision at a time. We talk about what risk management looks like after trauma, how partner communication changes, and why “turning around” can be the most professional move you make.

We also get into the less visible side of being a professional climber in the outdoor industry: long-term sponsorship relationships, mentorship projects, guiding, public speaking, and the daily work of showing up as a solid teammate. If you care about alpine climbing, injury recovery, travel nursing, or simply living with more intention, this conversation stays with you. Subscribe, share it with a friend who needs a reset, leave a review, and tell us: what’s your personal rule for knowing when it’s time to keep going or turn back?

https://www.annapfaff.com/

Watch the beautiful short documentary Anna about Anna and her injury

Follow Anna on Instagram @pfaff_anna

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Hosted by Jeannie Wall & Cat Coe

Produced and edited by Cat Coe

www. broadbeta.com

Transcript

hio Roots And Early Nursing Path

Anna 0:00

So I I grew up in a um pretty rural town of Medina, Ohio. It's in uh northeastern Ohio. And I grew up kind of doing the like, I guess, quintessential Midwestern sports, like a lot of softball, a lot of soccer, a lot of track and field, um, just those, you know, those kind of like team sports. And then I was really involved with 4-H, like showing cows at the fair and doing that, those kind of things. And yeah, and then for my junior and senior year, senior year of high school, I went to a vocational school. Um, and I went for a healthcare program. And I ended up, you know, kind of finding a liking for nursing. I didn't have anyone in my family that was in the medical profession, but somehow I was like, I want to be a nurse. So I finished that program and ended up going to the community college and got my associate degree in nursing. And I graduated with that like at a pretty young age. I think I was like had my full like associate degree RN when I was 20. And that really gave me like a ticket to get out of Ohio. Um, not that anything was bad there. I had a really awesome childhood, everything was great. I just kind of wanted to like, I knew that there was something else out there. I just didn't know what it was yet. And one of the girls in my nursing program, her father lived in Denver. And she was like, All right, when we finish the nursing program, we're gonna go work in Denver. It's gonna be awesome. Like, Denver's so cool. So I'm like, all right, sweet. So I like went ahead and rented an apartment. I'd found a job um at Denver Health that would take new grads, had it all set up, and she was gonna come with me, but then like I don't remember the exact time frame. It was like maybe like a month or two before we were supposed to leave. She like got this new boyfriend and then like didn't want to leave. She's like on that leave. And I was like, Well, I'm going. So I went and yeah, started working at the hospital at Denver Health. And that's kind of like what took me to Denver. And still at that climb or at that time, I didn't know what climbing was. And I was working in the hospital, and then I started taking some college courses at um the uh CU Denver to try to get my associate or my bachelor's degree in nursing. And these that's when these kids in my English class were like, Hey, do you wanna go climbing with us or camping? And I was like, sure, I didn't know what climbing was, but I was gonna like tag along and just go hang out to this place called Indian Creek, which I had no idea what it was, and kind of just like packed all the stuff in the car. And, you know, I was really just going to like hang out and just, you know, do whatever. And then that that trip just kind of like changed my whole life, but it was totally unexpected. And yeah, I just remember like camping and everyone was climbing, and I just remember the community really brought me in because I, you know, I didn't have anything. I didn't have a harness or climbing shoes, and they, yeah, they taped up my hands and put me on a crack, and I like made my way up it, and everyone got really excited. And that's when I came back and I was like, wow, this, you know, this climbing thing is really cool and I want to learn more about it. And then that's when I kind of started realizing that a lot of the other um healthcare professionals that I worked with in the hospital, like doctors and nurses, a lot of them were into climbing. So I just kind of like, you know, stuck with them and would like get out on our days off. And just that's kind of how I how I got into it. But I was definitely it was definitely later in my life. I mean, all that was in my early 20s to like 22, 23 kind of era. Yeah.

Cat 4:14

Yeah. I can so relate to your journey. I'm a nurse too, and um just the combination of climbing and nursing is uh it's a pretty good combo. It's nice because it's like flexible enough to go do the thing, but you also like make decent enough money to also go do the thing.

Anna 4:36

Oh my gosh, it was great for me at the time because I was I was young, I had no responsibilities. I remember getting my first paycheck from nursing, and I was just like, oh my god, what am I gonna do with all this money? I had never seen that much money like in my possession ever. Yeah. It was awesome, right? Because I was just like renting an apartment in Denver. I think it cost it was a studio apartment off of Colfax, East Colfax, and it was like $500 a month with like all utilities included. And yeah, so I just had that ability to like work and make money and and then you know, kind of pour all that into climbing.

Cat 5:16

Yeah. So something that like really strikes me about your story with nursing is I mean, you must have been very goal-driven your entire life. Like, I didn't go to nursing school and get serious and you know, get the the real job until my early 30s. And the people that I know that became nurses when they were like 20, I'm just like, wow, I can't believe you were like focused enough to get the nursing degree and mature enough to work as a nurse in your early 20s. Like, I just there's so much that you see and manage and deal with as a nurse that it just it just requires a lot of maturity and a lot of like ability to manage stress. So it says a lot to me about who you are. Like before you even became a climber, you were building these skills that help with climbing, and you were already like incredibly focused at a young age.

Anna 6:15

Totally. And I don't, you know, I mean, honestly, I don't know how all of that like happened. I just knew I wanted to be a nurse, and I was super young when I started nursing. I mean, I remember I remember patients even being like, you're not taking care of me, you're way too young. And I would like have to go get the charge nurse, and they would like have to swap me out for a different patient. But I was, I was like, you're like 22.

Cat 6:41

Are you kind of short? Are you kind of small?

Anna 6:43

Yeah, and I was even smaller. I was super tiny then. Like, yeah, you know, I didn't, I was just like a skinny little kid. And and I was like, that's totally fair. Like, you know, I'm scared too. Like, I don't know. And in those early days, I was working on a med search floor, but then we were also doing in inpatient chemotherapy, like in an on an oncology ward. And I did that for a few months, and but I quickly realized that like my maturity level and my ability to really care for patients on a more emotional side had not developed yet. So I stepped away from that pretty quickly. I was just like, wow, this is a little too much for me right now. And then I started working in the the trauma ICU, which was a little a little more intense, I guess, in a way, but a little less um emotionally involved than like an oncology unit.

Cat 7:38

Yeah, like more technically intense.

Anna 7:40

Yeah, more technically intense, exactly.

Jeannie 7:42

Yeah, yeah. Okay, my my niece is an ER doc, just funny story. And she was really young when she became a doctor, and she looks really young still at your age. And uh she has the story of walking into this patient, and the patient was like an older woman, and she just broke down crying. She looked at my niece and she's like, You're my doctor, and Allie's like, Yes, and she goes, But you're just a baby.

ravel Nursing Built For Climbing

Anna 8:06

Yeah, oh, totally. That would happen to me. I remember some some guy yelling at me, like, did you buy your nursing license off the internet? And I was like, That's all. Yeah, yeah. But I mean, that's the beauty with nursing, right? Is that there's so many different disciplines within the discipline that you can, you know, kind of like move in and out of different, um, different types of nursing. And, you know, then eventually I found my love for doing like ER trauma nursing. And yeah, like you were saying, it I I did start doing all of that pretty young. And I don't know why the path led me there, but then it eventually led led me to climbing as well. So yeah, yeah.

Jeannie 8:47

And then you got into travel nursing. How did that did that come because of climbing, or did climbing come with becoming a travel nurse? Because I remember you ended up in San Fran, and it was sort of a travel nurse thing, although you seem to go back there a lot.

Anna 9:00

Yeah, so I I kind of um, gosh, you're really racking my brain on how that even, I was like, how did I even end up doing that? I was working, I remember I was working in Denver Health ICU in the the medical ICU, and I I wanted to do a climbing trip somewhere, and I had literally just worked like, I don't know, I was like stacking up all the shifts, you know, and like I don't know, I did like 20 shifts in a row or something and like had worked all this overtime. And then I was gonna take all that money and I was gonna I quit my nursing job. I quit and I was like, I'm gonna go on the road. That's when like I had like I think I met people that were like living in a van, although vans weren't as prevalent at that time, they were like living in a car and with a tent, you know. And I was like, Well, I want to, that's so cool. They have so much time to go climbing. And I think I had kind of gotten on the circuit of like squamish Yosemite Joshua Tree. I was kind of following that, kind of the trad climbing circuit in those days. And I remember I landed in Joshua Tree, and I I don't remember exactly how I got that gig, but I think they were looking for nurses, but they wanted me to apply through a travel nurse contract, and I ended up doing a travel nurse contract in Joshua Tree. I was living in the campground, and I would go from the campground and work shifts in the ER. At that time, it was small, it was like I like a six-bed ER, something like that. Yeah, and there's a there's a full hospital with like inpatient. And then I that's how I learned about travel nursing. And then I completed that contract, and then you know, travel nursing just really fit with my lifestyle because you can work, you know, a lot of those contracts are three months, and then you can take as much time off in between as you want, and then pick up another three-month contract. So that was like, I mean, that was like a dream for me, right? Because I would make those three months of nurse work last for like six months at a time. Yeah. And I would choose my travel nurse contracts in climbing locations. So I did a handful in Joshua Tree, I've done a handful in Las Vegas, um, I've done a fair bit in California, in Oakland, California, because then I could go climb in Yosemite, Bakersfield, California. I did a few in Boulder area. So I would always try to like base it around a climbing location or somewhere that I wanted to be. So it was, but definitely I was starting to like climb more and figure out how to um work to where it was more like uh strategically planned around like climbing. And then I started doing expeditions. So then I would, you know, I knew that I had to work like a contract before I could do an expedition to pay for it and you know, get all of that funding going.

Jeannie 12:05

On that, it sounds like you did a lot of rock climbing. How did you how did you get introduced to alpine climbing? And then how did that kind of evolve into you actually? I mean, it's super motivating, but you know, you started thinking about trips for yourself and yourself with women partners. And yeah, when did that how did that come about? Yes, yeah.

Anna 12:27

So I like I was saying, I was kind of on that circuit of like squamosh, Yosemite, Joshua Tree, track climbing. And at that time in Yosemite, I felt like everyone was, you know, everyone would like, or not everyone, but most of the climbers would talk about like the Yosemite season and then they would go to Patagonia. And it took me, I don't know, maybe a a a few years before I was like, wow, maybe I could go to Patagonia too. And um my good friend from Yosemite, this woman Jean Reddle, who uh was a big mentor in my early days of climbing and really believed in me when I was unsure of, really unsure of what I was doing. She would always just tell me, make sure that you're tied in. Like whatever we're doing. We I mean, we did like our first L Cap root together, or my first L Cap root together, we did like seven days on the Celothe wall. I had never aid climb before, it was awesome. And I just remember her saying, like, whatever happens, just make sure that you're tied in amidst the entire junk show that's going on up here. And then we did a fair bit of free climbing, and then that winter of this was probably 2007, somewhere around that timeframe, um, we teamed up to go to Patagonia together. So we went down to Patagonia, and um yeah, it was a it was a great time, great learning experience, learned a ton. And one thing that I quickly realized is that because I was solely a rock climber at that time, any anytime I saw any like snow or ice, no matter what degree of difficulty it was, I was just like, oh my gosh, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do with this. And then after that Patagonia season, I came back and I was like, I really would love to learn how to ice climb. But it was solely for the reasoning at that time of being able to access these, you know, Patagonian granite spires that I wanted to climb. I really wanted to climb Fitzroy, I really wanted to climb Points Not. And there's, you know, a very, you know, low degree of ice and mixed and snow climbing that you need to do. But at that time I just was terrified of all of it. So then I came back and that uh following winter I ended up spending here in U, Colorado, um, and learning how to climb in the ice park. So that's kind of how I, you know, got into alpine climbing and and ice climbing and was for more for the ability to rock climb on these spires that I that really, you know, I felt an affinity for and wanted to to try and climb.

Cat 15:16

So interesting. Um that reminds me just like hearing that your first season in Patagonia was 2007 or thereabouts, which is you know almost 20 years ago now. Um I was cool.

Anna 15:30

It's so crazy. Time goes by so fast. I'm like, oh my god, I was so young, right?

Cat 15:38

Like well, like I so I just this morning listened to the episode on um the cutting edge about your first ascent on Mount Providence. And it I thought it was so cute. Uh Andres referred to you as like the Swiss army knife of climbing.

Anna 15:57

Oh, that's awesome.

Cat 15:58

Yeah, like he he said that you're just so versatile and that you're like the the depth and breadth of your experience is so vast that um you can really like adapt to so many different types of terrain and environments because because of that experience. And it makes a lot of sense knowing that yeah, I mean, 20 years ago was your first trip to Patagonia.

urning Passion Into Sponsor Relationships

Anna 16:26

Yeah, I mean, and and the seven days spent on the South Paywall, like I think all that stuff just like adds up, like the different, not like not only like different places that we spend climbing, but the different types of climbing. And you know, there's of course like some styles of climbing that I prefer to do more than other styles, but I think like to really um do well and succeed in like especially in like exploratory alpine climbing, it's really nice to have this like broad uh skill set. And I mean, I'm not perfect at all of it by any means. Like I'm a very slow aid climber. Um but I I know how to do it if I have to do it. And I think it's good to have those those skill sets and have like a broad range of kind of like tricks that you can pull out when you need to. Yeah. Yeah. And it keeps it interesting too, right? Like switching it up.

Cat 17:24

Totally, like adding more and more tools to your tool belt and then refining those and spending seasons on one or the other, or that reminds me, I wanted to ask you about um, gosh, I mean, looking at your website, you have like some of the most desirable partnerships and sponsorships in the outdoor industry. And I think that speaks not only to like your versatility and your talent as a climber, but also like probably to your appeal as a teammate and potentially to like your business sense. Um and so can you speak to like how that like how climbing has become a career for you and how maybe those things have played into it, like the the business sense and and the like sportsmanship maybe that have like helped you make those partnerships? Because like we all know those people that like climb 513 but are not necessarily like great role models or great business people, and yeah.

Jeannie 18:33

I would add two things to that, Kat, which is um well, I mean, part of it I think is you're just an incredibly approachable, personable, um kind, easygoing person, which I think I I I would imagine has lent itself well um, you know, to all of your relationships in in with your sponsors. Um and I think how you interact with everyone around you is really, I don't know, it's really important to me. And I I just I find that really um warming and inspiring. So uh, you know, that contributes, I'm sure. But the trajectory of sort of did you go after sponsors or did it just kind of fall in line? And we kind of left off at Patagonia, but then how did that morph into actual alpine climbing in Asia and other things? Where did the sponsorship trickle into that with your life?

Anna 19:22

Yeah, um, thanks for that, Jeannie. I appreciate it. Um, I'll try to answer that without going, I think I know what you're asking, and I'll try to answer it without going like too all over the place. So after, yeah, so after the um the Patagonia trip, and I had multiple Patagonia trips, like I kind of you know got psyched on climbing Patagonia and would go back uh each season. I don't know if I went every year, but I, you know, from 2007 on. Um and then I I I don't remember the exact details of how it all went down, but I got invited to go on a trip to the Miar Valley, India, which is um up in the northern um India region. And I of course like said yes. Um, I didn't really know what I was doing or getting into, but I was like, well, it sounds like it'll be fun. And um, you know, I I and I just like said yes, and I was like, I'm gonna do it. So I went on that trip and we ended up being able to put up some new roots in the in the Miyar Valley. I didn't I didn't go into that trip being like, I'm gonna put up new roots and like I'm gonna do these things. I just didn't know. I had no idea. Um, I just you know I had had a fair bit of climbing experience by that time. I'd had some seasons in in Yosemite and a few seasons in Patagonia, and um felt like I was competent enough to to at least like go climbing. Um, so that's what I did.

Jeannie 21:06

Was that a uh like a mixed group of guys and friends, guys and women?

Anna 21:11

It was um I was with a a male partner and then I had a female friend, this woman, Beth, who was also going to the valley with her partner. So it's kind of like a group of us that were going together. And this was probably gosh, maybe 2009 or something like that. So a a while ago. And yeah, we ended up putting up some new routes and then um coming back from that trip, I I don't even know like how these things how these things happen because I never like submitted anything to anyone. I didn't even know, like being a professional climber or um having the sponsors and the brand partnerships, still at this time, I didn't know that that was a thing. Like I honestly didn't. I was just like climbing and doing trips because I really like that's what I wanted to be doing. And I was funding it a hundred percent on my own through like working these nursing shows. So like truly, my first like sponsorship was nursing.

Jeannie 22:18

I would just like to be fair, I think it wasn't that it wasn't um, you know, prof being a professional climber in America wasn't happening that much.

Anna 22:28

I mean, I that was when I was working, you know, internally with ambassadors.

Jeannie 22:34

And I mean, the only company that was making it work for anyone, and it was like purely Alex Lowe and a few others, like Conrad at the time, was North Face, right? Like what people at at Patagonia and other companies wasn't enough to to make a living off. So it was and social media wasn't that big yet.

Anna 22:51

And so it was social media was like not, I think that was still like the days of like MySpace, right?

Jeannie 22:57

So like yeah, it wasn't on your radar, but it kind of wasn't on the radar period either. So it's kind of nice. You just sort of I mean, I remember when I met you, you were doing the whole you know, nursing thing pretty full on to pay for a lot of your stuff that you'd start.

hy Unmapped Alpine Adventure Matters

Anna 23:10

Totally. So I was just honestly like climbing and doing expeditions for the joy and passion of doing it because that's like and I like lived for it, you know. I was like figured out how many ships I had to work, how much money I needed, and like I would go and and do the thing. And you know, I I started to get really into like the idea of like exploratory alpine climbing and the whole process of looking for somewhere to go and looking for a new route to climb, um, and just like exploring spaces that haven't had you know documented expeditions going into them.

Jeannie 23:50

Yeah, can I back can I back up? Because I'm super curious. What well I just I mean, I th I love it. I mean, but I don't see that many climbers, or especially women, let's say, especially of that in that time, who had the desire to even do that, right? Like, what do you think was in you that made you or what inspired you to want to go after new alpine climbs when you'd just gotten into alpine climbing, essentially, you know, and new areas?

Anna 24:19

That's a great question, Jeannie. I think like I just like after that first trip going into the the MIR Valley in India and you know, like um just having a really great experience. And then I was like, wow, I can like do this other places as well. And um, you know, and then also like continuing to do kind of, I guess, like hone my skills on like more known alpine terrain as well, like doing trips to the bugaboos and you know, doing trips to um Rocky Mount National Park and um eventually like you know, spending winters in in Canmore in Canada climbing in the Canadian Rockies and um kind of like pairing both together. So it's not like I was just like, you know, seeking after like unclimbed terrain. I was kind of doing both, I guess, in a in a way, and like continuing to like you know, develop my my ice and mixed climbing skill set and alpine climbing skill set. Like that's when I think I was, you know, coming to Bozeman and climbing with you and highlight genie. And yeah, just kind of doing both. But I I really enjoy that whole sense of like looking through the American Alpine Journal and like going down that rabbit hole of like, you know, I have like all these screens open on my computer about different places to climb. And a lot of it is like because of the area itself and and you know, the mountains and and just like the whole package of of really like so and you know, a lot of the unclimbed roots or places that I've been have been more about this like just like the adventure of the whole thing, rather than like this, you know, like really highly technical pursuit.

Jeannie 26:10

Which speaks to just how your well-roundedness in the in as a human being, which I love. Like I I think that you know, traveling to Asia is not easy, especially when you have dietary things or allergies or whatever it is, right? Traveling there is it's it's it's challenging. It's super exciting. But I mean, uh it sounds like like I also think it says a lot to having that one, it's like having a really amazing teacher in your life, you know, who just shifts the whole direction of your life. Like it's that thing of like one thing happens and your whole trajectory of life goes a certain way. And it could have just been a slight deviation of that first trip that made you go, Whoa, I don't ever want to come back here. You know what I mean? And instead of this really amazing experience, and like it opened this door. It's it's it's not that common, but I think it's really cool that that opened the door for you. And you went, I love traveling and I love like exploring cultures and people and mountains, and it doesn't have to be rad cutting-edge climbing, even though you did a lot of it.

Anna 27:14

Yeah, it's yeah, I I mean, I ended up doing you know, like four trips to to India, two of them being like in the Kashmir region, and then you know, like exploratory trips in into Pakistan and Nepal and Peru and Colombia, and it kind of just, you know, like I like where's the next spot, you know, and I'm I'm still like that in a way. And then even, yeah, just even like looking at places like around home, you know, like in the San Juans that are like less explored. And um, but I I mean, even with all that being said, I still love the challenge of like, you know, like pushing the technical level of things and like trying roots that are hard, and like um, you know, like having those like projects around around home that are, you know, like technically harder to kind of like keep pushing you in a different way. So I think that's the beauty of climbing. There's like a lot of different ways that you can push yourself with it, whether it's like learning a new skill set of like learning how to aid climb or learning how to crack climb or learning how to sport climb or tread climb or alpine climb. The list goes on and on, right? And then like having like the grades of like, okay, like now I want to have like I can climb the 510. Now I want to try to climb the 5'11 and the 512. So it's just so diverse. There's like so much that you can do with it to like really push yourself in a lot of different ways at these different stages in our life, too, right?

ersatility Versus Specializing In One Lane

Jeannie 28:46

Totally, yeah. I mean, I think that's the beauty of you getting into it so early in life. Like for me, I feel like there's so much I still want to do, and I kind of my real passion for it came a little bit later, even though I dabbled in climbing forever. But but do you ever find um the crux of being so versatile and loving all the different aspects also a bit of a crutch in the sense of like, I don't know, I think it's really interesting to me that people who are at the very, very, very cutting edge have had to shut doors on a lot of different aspects of climbing to be like the best at that or as good as they, you know, their best at that, let's say. Do you ever struggle with like, oh, should I close a couple doors? Because I really want to get, you know, set some different grades in sport or trad or like go for an alpine route, you know, that might require closing some doors on some aspects of climbing.

Anna 29:37

Oh, yeah. I mean, that's like always an ongoing thing in my brain, right? Like for me, it's usually rock climbing. Like I like want to like push these grades, uh, sport climbing and like see what I can do. And then, but it takes time, right? And it takes like dedication and commitment. And then it's like alpine climbing season and like ice climbing season, and you know, like looking at the temps, I'm like, oh, it's like 50 degrees tomorrow. Could I like go rock climbing, or I could like actually go ice climbing without being super cold? And so yeah, so yeah, there is there is that for sure. Um, but I do think that there's like a nice balance with it that you can find or that I can find that is, you know, it also is what keeps it interesting too, because then I don't if I if I solely go sport climbing all the time, I honestly like it's really hard for me to get into that mindset of like projecting a route over and over. I I mean I've done it and it's awesome, but I really gravitate more toward towards like the mountains and like doing those big alpine routes. And I think like when you dabble back and forth, it just really makes you kind of like have that perspective on what you love to do and what you where you really want to be spending your time.

Jeannie 30:58

Yeah, maybe that leads into sort of a little bit more of talking about your sponsorships and then as as that grew and as your love of alpine climbing, which takes more time, grew. What shifted in terms of letting go of some of the nursing and how does that and then the next question would be how does it feel to be like 100% professional climber?

Anna 31:23

Yeah, I mean, I think that that shift for me um came, you know, like I said, I wasn't it's not something that I was like, what's the word I'm looking for? I don't want to say like seeking, because but like it's not something that I I still even up to the day that I was able to like leave nursing um full time behind, I was still kind of like, what's happening? Am I doing the right thing? Like um, it was like definitely a big leap because I had always supported myself through nursing. Um, like I said, I left, I left home when I was fairly young, home being in Ohio. And yeah, I just it was kind of like taking that leap into the unknown a little bit. But I think the beauty with like the nursing profession is that you can always go back into it. Like I'm sure at some point, like I'll go back into nursing. Um, I'll be a nurse again in the hospital. And and and like that's fine. You know, it's something that I still like have in my heart and in my brain. And I do think that could be something that that I do.

Cat 32:35

It's it's something that you can come back to if you something you can come back to pull back from climbing at some point.

Anna 32:42

Yeah, for sure.

Jeannie 32:43

Yeah, was there like a pivotal moment of like where you went, okay, I can I want to be full-time, you know, professional climber versus and letting go of nursing, or did it just evolve where you went, okay, it's time for me to just Yeah.

Anna 32:57

I mean, I think like like right now, my my life in terms of like how I support myself is like kind of multifaceted. Like, you know, I do a little bit of guiding here in URA, and then um I do a little bit of public speaking, and then you know, I have some some brand partnerships. And I think like just figuring out how to make it all work together to where it's sustainable, you know, it's just like it takes some time. And I think like for me, I realized that like stepping away from the hospital and kind of like going all in on climbing was something that I wanted to try and like see if it worked and see if I could make it work. It takes some like creativity, I think, to like put all the pieces together. And it was also just like you know, kind of like also where it goes back to like saying yes to the process, like without really knowing where it's gonna go or what the trajectory is gonna be, but just kind of like seeing what that has to offer at the time.

Jeannie 33:58

How does that feel to you now?

Anna 34:00

Yeah, it feels great. I'm like so happy. I I love all the brands that I work with. I've I've been really fortunate um to have like pretty long relationships with the brands that I work with. I don't really work with any brand that I don't feel aligned with. So I just, you know, I feel really fortunate. And I think, like I said, it's like multifaceted. Like I do some design work with North Face. Like, not all of it is solely like performance-based. I'm pretty involved with like the clinics during the ice festivals, and then you know, public speaking and design with North Face, and then also the performance side of things too, with like doing expeditions and doing photo shoots. So it's definitely being a professional athlete, is there's a lot of pieces to it. It's not just one thing.

Jeannie 34:49

Yeah, and I think that's really nice to bring out because uh there is perception that some people just get a paycheck and get to go climbing. And and I think I I really see you as one of the people who really puts a lot into your sponsorships. I mean, you really respect why they're doing it and and you work hard for it, I feel like.

Anna 35:09

Yeah, totally. Yeah, and I mean that's you know, something that's really intriguing to me about it too is that like there are these different roles that athletes have within the outdoor industry, you know, like community-based projects and like mentorship and how can you give back to the community and like what do you have to offer to the communities that you work with or that you come into contact with every day. And I think that's important. And in a lot of ways, like my my earlier career as a nurse, I feel like gave me this like beautiful skill set to connect with people who maybe aren't you know in the outdoor industry or don't understand climbing or have questions. And I just I I feel like that's a gift that I was given from my career, the early days of being a nurse. It's just like the understanding of like, well, like not everyone understands like what climbing is, but I want to share that with them and like you know, maybe they can find a joy in it too. So I I think that that's really cool.

Cat 36:17

Yeah. What advice would you give to someone who really wants their career to be climbing? Like, what advice would you give to them in terms of like, you know, obviously not only getting really good at climbing, but um, in terms of like, you know, showing up as a team member and showing up um in the way that they communicate with brands and uh and things like that.

Anna 36:46

I mean, I think like ultimately climbing is something that one should be doing like surely for the love of climbing, like for the movement, for I don't this is a really hard question for me to answer just because like I don't know to be honest. Like I don't I just like just like go climbing and like love climbing and you know like if to be a professional climber, if that's what is you know, you want your future to be, like, just like go climbing and like love climbing and try your best and try your hardest at it.

Cat 37:26

Um it does seem like I think the fact that that you you can't really break it down actually makes it really obvious to me that like you weren't breaking down how to like make a quote unquote career happen. You just were doing what you loved. And I think when you do that in life, when when we do that in life, you know, the universe responds to that and the community around that thing sees your passion and responds to that, and then wants to support you and wants you to represent them. Um so so yeah, I think the non-answer is actually like a really good answer.

Jeannie 38:11

Which I think is more challenging today than when you kind of signed on originally, like we said, right? Like today, younger climbers are seeing that it's possible to be a professional.

Anna 38:22

Right.

Jeannie 38:23

Yeah. I would just say to the two things you embody the most, you are super connected to people and you're you're empathic and you're compassionate, and you also see it as a job. And so you reflect that in the work you do for your sponsors, and you respect that there's certain things you need to do. That's a gift. I'm gonna jump for a sec to something that relates to your nursing giving you that empathy and connection, that ability to really learn how to connect with people of all walks of life. Because I was hanging out with a couple nurses, and they were just like, Oh my god, sometimes, you know, there's like you're cleaning up this person's yeah, and and she was just like, you know, I'm wiping this 400-pound guy's ass. And he does not, he does not want to like change anything.

Anna 39:13

Yeah.

rostbite In Alaska And Losing Toes

Jeannie 39:14

You know, it's a really different I don't think people appreciate how hard nursing is. Totally. Without spending too much time on your accident and your feet, the accident happened. There's two things. One is like your drive to go back into climbing and to find a space to be in the mountains again is really interesting to me. Because I mean, it could have gone any which way, right? But I think with that, I suspect that like in your in your uh speaking, you know, engagements, like I would find you one of the more interesting people to speak to like the average corporate mainstream people about overcoming something like losing your toes and your nursing. I'm kind of jumping here a little bit because it's a little the military guy that you talked to when you were still trying to save your toes, and he said, Look, you're a nurse. If you walked into a room and you saw someone with these toes, what would you think? And you were like, Take them off, you know, take them off now. Or as you were before that moment, like, I'm not losing my toes. Yeah. I think that that's such a pivotal moment in your life, I'm sure, in the sense of like the empathy in this, in like with yourself, right? Like, of like this this shit happens in life. I've seen a lot of it in different forms as a nurse, and you can move on and you can move forward. And a lot of mainstream people would look at you and be like, What the fuck, honey? Like, you just lost your toes. Maybe you could go do something else now and be able to, you know, like sit on the beach and you know, take up surfing or something that's not going back into the cold.

elearning Movement And Trusting The Body

Anna 40:52

Totally. I think after having my accident in Alaska where I, you know, sustained frostbite and lost six of my toes. First and foremost, after the accident, like I really like sat with myself and deep in the recovery process, I was like, I told myself, I was like, you don't have to climb anymore. Like, it's okay to not climb again. You don't have to do it. Like my inner voice was like, okay, cool. We don't have to do that anymore. And then like as I started, you know, recovering more, I was like, well, maybe I can just like see how it goes, like see if I like it still. And, you know, like in those early days in recovery is, you know, like Andres and I going into the climbing gym, and I couldn't put climbing shoes on, so I would just wear like regular approach shoes and you know, like super tight top rope, and you know, trying to climb like the the five five or the five-four, like the easiest route. And I'm like, wow, you know, like this feels really good. Like I really do enjoy this movement, and I I like the way that climbing makes me feel, and I like the like problem solving of like how am I gonna position my body to like move myself up the wall. And I kind of just like found that love again for it, but I don't know that I would have found the love again without allowing myself the grace to like be okay with not doing it. So I told myself, like, you don't have to do it, and then tried it again and just loved it. And it's been, let's see, that my accident happened in 2022. So it's it's been almost four, it'll be four years this spring. And I've kind of just kept that same mindset of like, okay, let's try the route and like let's see how it feels. And like, regardless of what the grade is or what style of climbing it is, like, do I actually want to be here doing this? And like 10 out of 10 times I do, because if I don't and I have the ability to, I just like don't do it that day. I'm like, I don't want to be doing this this day. It's too cold, it's negative 20 or something like that. Like, I can't, I can't do that stuff anymore, right?

Jeannie 43:19

Like what did it feel like when you when you took your first steps into the mountains again?

eturning To Alaska And Mount Providence

Anna 43:25

Yeah, when I first took steps back into the mountains, Andreas and I went and tried a route in Silverton called Second Goalie. And I was just, I was a lot of like tears and crying, and just like I couldn't believe that I was actually like climbing again and going into the mountains again. And but then there was a lot of like trepidation and uncertainty, and you know, I didn't know how cold my feet were, and like, should I be doing that again? And like, why am I doing this again? And you know, all the like what ifs, like. What if this happened? What if my you know four toes that I still have get frostbite again? And I think like just with time, I've learned how to manage it better and just be really aware of what's going on with my body. So now I just have a different relationship with it to where I'm kind of just constantly breaking down what I'm doing, where I am, how is my circulation? Am I doing anything that I feel like I shouldn't be doing? It's just like checking in. And that has allowed me to continue to find that joy with climbing and the love that I have for it. It's just takes it just looks a little different now than it did before.

Jeannie 44:41

And when you first went back to Alaska, like the bigger mountains, did that just open this huge thing in your heart to be back in wilderness and mountains and wildness again?

Anna 44:53

Yeah, when I first went back to Alaska, that was spring of 2024. And we were doing a mentorship project with the North Face. So we went to Moose's Tooth to go climb Hammon eggs. And then right after that was the first attempt that we had on Mount Providence. And on that climb, you know, it was really wild to be back there. And you know, one of the reasons why we didn't make it to the summit on that first attempt was my like trepidation and uncertainty. We had had like pretty stable weather, but then the weather window was kind of shutting down sooner than we thought it was. I just like I can't do that now. I can't like, you know, and we were like, we didn't have enough gas for another Bivi. And like prior to having the frostbite injury, like I probably would have pushed through and maybe we could have made it to the summit and everything was fine. And I didn't have to worry about like how, you know, like how cold it was going to be or whether we had like fuel for another bivy, those kind of things. But now I can't do that. I have to be like more cognizant of like my injury and owning that, you know. So we we turned around and went down, and it was the right decision because the the weather window shut down, and we're very happy to be back at base camp and not up on the mountain. But I think the triumphant joy, um, the like, holy shit, I'm doing it again came last spring when we actually stood on top of Mount Providence. And that was really cool for me because I felt like it was a route that I would have been very proud of even before my injury. And it was a route that like I shared leads on. Like I felt like I did my part putting the rope up and I was like a, you know, I was part of the team. I wasn't just like following pitches and people were taking me up the mountain. I felt like I contributed in a way that it helped us be successful. And that was like really a big, a big moment for me. And I felt like I had managed my injury well and I didn't do anything that was like stupid or pushing when I shouldn't have been pushing. And I felt like I like learned my lesson from getting frostbite and really, you know, was like honest with myself and was still able to find success in the mountains in a way that is really true to myself and you know, like my core values of of climbing.

Jeannie 47:31

And so what what would you say to sum up like what uh are the few things that drive you now to to want to go into the alpine? Like what what fuels you most about because obviously you you you said you know you had to you have to change a few things in terms of how you approach it and yeah, I mean, I think like now like I've learned so much about how to care for my injury, and then also to like I mean, even to like care for partners in the mountains and you know, through my experience and like be a better partner too.

Anna 48:03

And I, you know, just like my joy of being in the mountains and like and you know, like really like having a goal or looking for something to do that's like obtainable for the team, and then also going into the mountain into the mountains with partners that like understand where I'm coming from. That's a big one for me, right? Like I always like kind of joke with my partners, but also in all seriousness, like I come with baggage now.

Jeannie 48:28

Like we all come with baggage, we all come with baggage, right? I mean, I think you're summing up something for all of us. You don't have to.

Anna 48:34

Yeah, like this is what I bring. Like, I've had this like really traumatic event that happened in the mountains, and I like I've learned a shitload from it, and that's what I have to offer too, is like I think it's just really good when people go into the mountains to just be like honest with where you're at, like with your skill set, with what you can lead, with what you can't lead, with what scares you, with what doesn't scare you, with like all of it. If you're just like honest and lay it all on the table, and then you choose an objective for the team that like matches everyone's ability and and desire of what they want to do, it's like you're you that's how you can set yourself up for success, right? Or one of the ways that you can set yourself up for success in the mountains. And I think it's just for me like important to take what I learned from my injury and keep trying to do what I love, and then also like share with other people like what I personally learned from it so that they can also use that in in their life as well.

eam Alignment Before The Mountain Starts

Jeannie 49:37

Yeah, I mean, I think that's a that's a gift, and it sometimes takes really hard things to learn that. But a lot of times, you know, we're so amped and we go into the mountains, whether it's to ski something on an average day in the backcountry or something big or to climb something big. I mean, you went with pretty and you didn't even know her. You met at the airport or whatever when you went to Huntington, right? And I mean, it would be interesting to know like, were you clear with each other? Like, what are our personal goals with this trip, right? And what are we bringing to the table? And what's maybe some stuff, call it baggage that we're still bringing to the table. I mean, I think it's a gift to all of us to to remember that, you know, when we go to these things, even if it's just a day, like I learned that from losing a friend in an avalanche and the perceptions people had of that day, our day, the team that was there, blew my mind. It reminds me to just like not leave the car or not get an expedition off the ground before we talk about like, hey, what's our objective? Is it to have fun? Is it to get powder turns today, or is it to send a big line? Is it to send a big route or to enjoy a partnership in the mountains on a really cool technical mixed route that's not, you know, at the cutting edge of all of our abilities? I mean, it's easy these days to just launch. I mean, there's so much information, there's more forecasting, there's, you know, more availability and accessibility to get to everything. And I don't know. I think it's easy to forget, like, wait, are we on the same page? You know? And I really Yeah.

Anna 51:06

And I think, you know, there's always like I I've even I even say this like before my injury, like, there's always like there's partners for different objectives, right? And none of it is like right or wrong. I have partners that I reach out to when I want to go do this thing, or I have partners that I reach out to when I want to go do that thing. And like, like each partner is bringing something to the table that like I'm seeking for that partnership to like have success or a good time, or you know, success being a good time, um, not necessarily getting to the summit of something. Um, and it it's really important to like like recognize that and listen to that. And climbing changes also like throughout our life. Like it's not whether you have an injury or don't have an injury, it's gonna change with like, you know, it looks different from when I was, you know, in my early 20s to even how I am now at 44. It's like we just change as people, and it you just need to be adaptable with it and like accept those changes and still just keep checking in with your reasoning, I think, of why you're doing it too.

Cat 52:16

Well, I that's like one of the biggest things that has stood out to me, you know, watching the film about you and listening to some podcasts is like you seem like such an evolved kind person, Anna. And I just think it's so amazing that you really were like willing to be like, okay, maybe I am not gonna climb again, maybe I don't want to climb again. I'm gonna actually allow myself to take a step back and like fully check in with if I actually love this enough to like do it again. And we're talking about this thing that has like shaped your life for over 20 years, like a huge part of your identity, and like acknowledging that there's even a possibility of letting that go is like like I think most people just can't even go there in their minds. And it's just so cool to me to hear that like you really opened that door of like maybe this isn't gonna continue to be my thing. And then you like at the beginner level, climbing five five in the gym, were like, yeah, I love this. Like, I love how my body feels when I do this. This is still my thing, and it's just it's super inspiring. Um, I think it's really easy to sort of like get lost in the things that make up our identities and and forget why we continue to do them. So I don't I I just love that part of your story.

ponsors, Support, And Recovery Reality

Jeannie 53:56

Let me ask you one thing that that goes with that though. How did it feel with your sponsors and and the thought that if you'd left climbing, you know, would you still have them? Or how did they perform for you during all of that? And the thought of losing that when you had you had already committed to that as your life, right? As your work.

Anna 54:14

Yeah, I mean, I I just like can't even say enough great things about the the brands that I work with. Like they're all awesome and like fully supportive, and I have great relationships with all the sponsors that I work with, and like um, yeah, I've received nothing from except like support from from all of them, which has been really amazing. I mean, most of the the brands that I work with feel like you know, most like extended family, like Las Purtiva, for example. I've worked with them for I don't even know, like since 2012. It's been a really long time that I've been with them. And I think like I said, they've just supported me through the ups and the downs, which has really been awesome.

Jeannie 55:02

Yeah, it's quite fortunate too, because I mean I think um the reality that you had that support to get yourself back on your feet and to be able to full-time, you know, kind of recover and you know, it's a testament to your relationship with them and and that also that they stayed with you through that time and gave you that gift of like you didn't have to go back to worrying about being a nurse at a time when you're just trying to recover and rediscover yourself and your your passions for life and what that would be.

Anna 55:29

Yeah, and I think like at the you know, at that time when I was really, you know, like my toes had just gotten taken off and I was like, I couldn't walk at all. And I was just like, holy shit, like what am I gonna do? You know, I'm 40 years old, and the two careers that I've built, I need to be able to walk. Like nursing, it's a lot of time on your feet. And being a professional climber, obviously, that's a lot of time on your feet, too. And I think that was like a really scary time for me. Sometimes when we're in the worst of things, like all you can see is the negative part, and it just seems like the end of the world, and everything's gonna be really bad. And then just like with time, it you know, kind of not everything, but it's really interesting to see how like it turns out that uh it's you know not as bad as we thought that it was gonna be. And oftentimes it it is that way. Sometimes it's not, but oftentimes it is.

Jeannie 56:30

Was there anyone? I mean, Andres, I'm sure, but or any moment that you remember that shifted your consciousness to I'm gonna move forward. Like I'm gonna, I'm gonna, like you were just saying, how hard and dark and deep you can go into that rabbit hole when something like that goes down and you feel hopeless.

Anna 56:49

Yeah, I mean, I think like Andres, like my partner Andres was great in the recovery process in in the terms of like, I think it's important that you have someone giving you like not only that like tender caring love, but also like the tough love of like, you are gonna get up, you are gonna do this, like, and then you know, like as time progressed on and I could actually like climb and start leading stuff. That ability for him to recognize like she can lead this, it's safe, she can do it. And then I'm like, no, I don't want to do this, I'm scared. But him being like, you're gonna do it. Like, I'm not putting the rope up right now for you. You're fully capable of doing it, like you can do it. Even if you have to like stop and take or whatever, like you're gonna go and do it. And I think having someone like that motivating you is really important in in the recovery process of like really pushing you, whether it's a friend or a partner or a family member or you know, a coach. I think that that was like monumental in like getting me back into the the level that you know that I'm like back climbing at now. And in a lot of ways, I'm climbing at the same level I was before the injury. And in you know, in some ways, like I'll never be able to climb like certain things, like slab climbing, for example, is kind of like not my forte. And I don't know if it ever was, but now like yeah, god, you know, I like think about these like run-out twelve routes, or I was like, yeah, I would just combust mid-root, you know. Um, but yeah, I think it's important like have having those people to push you. Yeah, and even, you know, a lot of the a lot of my um North Face teammates too were really monumental in helping me, like Brett Harrington and Christina Lusti, and like just getting out, you know, because for me too, it was like when I came back into climbing, I'm like coming back and I'm like, wow, I don't even know if I can like lead this like five-six right now. I don't know what's gonna happen. And kind of like laying it all out there and being like, hey, like I know we're professional athletes here, but like I'm really unsure if I can do this, and having someone to be like, hey, I got you, you know what I mean? Like you can do it, just having that trust and camaraderie is really helpful.

daptation, Mindset, And Closing Reflections

Cat 59:11

Wow, yeah, that's really cool to hear. Yeah, it it's also just really cool to hear. I don't know, just about adapting to a different body, you know, adapting to different feet and like how incredibly resilient our bodies are. And yeah, like like you said, I mean, slab climbing may never be the same. And with other types of climbing, you're figuring it out and and and your proprioception is adjusting and your balance has adjusted to different feet. And it's I I just think it's amazing. It's and you know, from a nursing perspective, it's fascinating. It's it's just really interesting. I'm sure you've learned a ton about like vasculature and proprioception and all that.

Anna 1:00:01

Totally. And it, I mean, it's it's really amazing like how adaptable our bodies are. I remember when I when I first started walking again, I would just like take a step. My my right toe or my right foot doesn't have any toes on it anymore. So like take a step forward with that right foot and just instantly fall over. Like if you're like learning how to ride a bike for the first time, like I just didn't have the balance. I could like feel my brain searching for this big toe that wasn't there, and I would just totally like wipe out, and it was so frustrating. And I'm like, how can I not even walk? You know? And then within within like a week or so, or it just like our body's so adaptable. And I think the brain like really wants like our body really wants to be well and like move forward, and just like tuning into that and allowing that to happen is really important too.

Cat 1:00:57

I love that. Like the body wants to be well, it does.

Anna 1:01:01

The body wants to be well, yeah.

Cat 1:01:02

Yeah, it wants to rec recalibrate, it wants to find homeostasis.

Anna 1:01:07

I mean, you see this, like if you take care of I I worked in like children's ER for a few years, and then I worked in like adult ER, and like it's like night and day, like kids like they want to be well, they want to like and then adults like I mean, we get you know these different things in our life, and like a lot of you know, sometimes you just like don't you're like, Oh, just sit here, do nothing, or well, and that's what I was gonna say.

Jeannie 1:01:31

It's like yeah, the the body is adaptable, it's our minds that don't mind, right? Yeah, you know, and and the older we get, the minds get in our way, right? And yeah, you know, in summary, I think your your acceptance at that point where you said I don't have to climb again, but I do want to walk again and I want to be whole again, and that may mean a different lifestyle, but I'm gonna be open to that, you know. And then that gave you the gift to sort of find the joy. And I love that you still have the love of being in the mountains, and I think that's something that a lot of people might, especially non-climbers, might not understand of going through an injury like that and a loss and still wanting to be out there. And that gives all of us great inspiration. So thank you.

Anna 1:02:19

Thank you.

Cat 1:02:22

I think our audience will take so much inspiration away from everything that you've said, including myself. I'm like super inspired. And if if not for uh recovering from injuries and the huge part that the mind plays into that, also just like following the love for climbing and the mountains and doing that with abandon.

Anna 1:02:46

Yeah, well, thanks you guys for the interview. And um yeah, I think you guys asked me before, and I was like deep in the depths of like everyone wanting to talk about my dead black toes, and I was like, I can't anymore. So sorry about that. This is probably better. I have more insight now.

Cat 1:03:06

Yeah, I think there's like a lot clarity and hindsight with that kind of stuff. So it's cool to it's cool to catch you now, and yeah, much appreciated for sure.