EP 06: Sam Castro — from Philippines Comp Climber to Alpinist

Sam is a former Philippines Climbing Team comp climber now turned alpinist. She’s competed in boulder competitions in the Philippines, sport climbed in Thailand, and now does multi pitch, alpine, and ice climbing with her partner Mickey. Originally from Manila, she’s now in Vancouver, Washington escaping the state income tax and enjoying the PNW.

Fun fact: Her dad, Tony Castro, was the first winner of the first Philippines Climbing Competition. Tatay used to wear harnesses made of seatbelts, before the graded climbing harness was a thing. 

Sam is a proud Filipina. We talk about her identity and her openness to other pin@y climbers.

Sam's Instagram.

Ticks

• Paisano Pinnacle Burgundy Spire Linkup — an 11 pitch alpine climb in Washington. Route details here. 
• Flyboys — 18 pitches of bolted climbing in Mazama, Washington.
• Electric Turtlehead — a 5.10 in Indian Creek.
• Mirkwood — 5.10a in Ozone, Washington
• There & Back Again — 5.10a+ in Ozone, Washington

Transitioning from boulder and sport to trad is tough! But Sam's grooving on 5.10 trad. Her goal is to do as many 5.10 and under trad routes as she can.

Definitions

• You learned about Alpine climbing in our last episode with Ivan. Sam is an alpine climber too. Alpine climbing is climbing a remote mountain. Usually involves a challenging approach and descent—requiring super thoughtful planning. Alpine climbing can be high in elevation. The Paisano Pinnacle Burgundy Spire Linkup Sam's done is considered alpine climbing.

Land Acknowledgement 

Vancouver, Washington! Before colonization, the Chinook and Cowlitz tribes resided there. 

• Chinook Nation
• Cowlitz Indian Tribe

Links

• Her trad dad (no actually, her dad was a trad climber) used figure 8 devices to belay.
• Tatay Tony used to climb at Power Up TS.
• Mark Synnott - The North Face Alpine Climber taught Sam Castro trad.
• Nutcracker was Sam’s first multi pitch in Yosemite. Nutcracker was my first Yosemite multi, too!
• Sam and her partner Mickey share a bit about how they met on Philstarlife