EP 19: Mecia Serafino — Trad Shenanigans, Three Yosemite Orgs, and Leaving No Trace

Kumusta, mga ka-akyat 🧗🏽‍♀️🇵🇭

Welcome to the first Rock and Rice episode of 2026 — and we’re starting strong with longtime climber, community builder, and all-around legend, Mecia Serafino (@small_wonder). 

Tim and Mecia first met during their SPI course in Mammoth (yes, they’re still preparing for the exam 😅), but this episode goes way deeper than anchors and knots. Mecia shares her journey from growing up Filipino in Bernal Heights to becoming deeply involved in Yosemite climbing, outreach, and stewardship.

We talk about:

🧗🏽‍♀️ Getting into climbing later in life — and getting absolutely sandbagged by your future husband, Lucho Rivera

🏕️ Eastern Sierra classics, Tuolumne epics, and why Cathedral & Tenaya still hit different

📸 Being the photographer of the friend group (and why none of the climbing photos are of her)

🧭 Old-school mentorship, climbing with Yosemite legends, and learning on stiff Friends and hexes

🚨 The real reason most climbing accidents happen on rappel — and how Friends of YOSAR teaches people to “Stay Alive”

🧹 Yosemite Facelift, high-angle trash cleanups, and 20+ years of climbers giving back to the park

🏛️ The Yosemite Climbing Museum in Mariposa and the wild history preserved inside

🌲 Restore Hetch Hetchy and the complicated balance between access and preservation

🌁 Bay Area Climbers Coalition, a local chapter of the Access Fund

Mecia talks candidly about health struggles, finding healing in the outdoors, and why education and outreach matter just as much as sending hard routes. It’s a conversation about climbing, yes — but also about showing up for your community, protecting the places we love, and making sure more people get to experience them safely.

This one’s for the climbers who love long approaches, old gear stories, and doing the work even when no one’s watching.

Salamat, Mecia, for everything you do — and for reminding us that climbing is better when we take care of each other. 🤎

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Transcript

The below is a summary of the episode, rather than a full complete transcript. 

Tim: Kamusta! Welcome to the Rock and Rice Podcast. I’m your host, Tim Casasola, and this is our first episode of 2026. I’m really excited about this one — I’m here with my friend Mecia Serafino, a longtime climber who spends a lot of time in the Eastern Sierra and Yosemite.

Mecia does outreach work with Friends of Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR), works with the Yosemite Climbing Association (YCA) which runs Yosemite Facelift and the Yosemite Climbing Museum in Mariposa, and she’s also on the board for Restore Hetch Hetchy. She’s based in the Bay Area with her husband and high school sweetheart, Lucho Rivera, who’s put up many first ascents in Yosemite.

We met a couple years ago during our SPI (Single Pitch Instructor) course in Mammoth, and we’re both taking our exam soon — wish us luck.

Alright, without further ado, here’s Mecia.

Tim: Hello Mecia, welcome to Rock and Rice. How are you today?

Mecia: I’m doing well — lots of meetings today, so this is a fun break.

Growing Up in the Bay & Finding the Outdoors

Tim: You grew up in the Bay Area, right?

Mecia: Yeah, Bernal Heights. There were hills near our house that felt like wilderness for a city kid. My brother and I did sketchy stuff — I once lowered him down a dirt slope with basically a cord, like a hip belay, to pick berries. Very unsafe. But I always liked being outside.

We didn’t grow up camping. We didn’t really have the money or gear for that. My parents were more into house parties and community gatherings — big potlucks, lots of people over. That was our version of community.

I didn’t start climbing until much later, when Lucho and I reconnected around 2008. He’d already been climbing a lot, dirtbagging in Yosemite, and I finally tried climbing at Mission Cliffs — that was my first gym.

Getting Into Climbing Later (and Loving Moderates)

Mecia: I don’t climb super hard. I love moderates. Top rope, following, being out there — that’s my style. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy climbing or support friends who climb harder.

A lot of what I know comes from years of being around climbing and learning from people who were willing to mentor me. Older generations especially. They really took the time to teach.

Old Gear, Mentorship, and Yosemite Legends

Mecia: One of my big mentors was Dan McDevitt — first ascensionist, former YOSAR member, still developing routes in his 60s. He taught us trad on old stiff Friends and hexes. Stuff you’d probably see in a museum now.

He took us up routes like CS Concerto at Manure Pile Buttress and really walked us through everything at the belays.

Later, Dan and I actually did a first ascent together at Tioga Cliff — a three-pitch sport route in the waterfall zone. You can only climb it once the waterfall dries up. One day he just said, “You wanna climb?” and next thing I know, I’m belaying him while he’s literally bolting the route.

At the top pitch he had stashed beer — and somehow also a cello. He pulled out the cello and played on the ledge. It was like a Harry Potter backpack.

Photography From the Wall

Tim: You also take a lot of climbing photos, especially on ropes.

Mecia: Yeah, I appreciate roped climbing photography. Nowadays a lot of climbing media is bouldering because it fits social media better, but being on the wall with a camera is totally different. It’s more work — jumaring, switching lenses, positioning — but it’s really fun.

I don’t usually get photographed because I’m the photographer in the group.

Friends of Yosemite SAR — "Stay Alive" Clinics

Tim: Tell me about your work with Friends of YOSAR.

Mecia: I do outreach, website work, newsletters, and social media — sharing best practices and safety info during climbing season. We also share real stories from rescues when people are willing, so others can learn from them.

We also partner with gyms and climbing rangers to run rappel clinics called "Stay Alive". It sounds dramatic, but most serious accidents happen during descent — especially rappelling.

We teach:

• tying knots at rope ends
• setting up anchors
• dealing with stuck ropes
• bailing mid-route

A lot of people go outside without knowing how to retreat safely. These clinics help with that.

Some gyms make this easier with rappel rings and dedicated instruction areas. It’s huge for learning in low-stakes environments.

Stewardship, YCA, and the Climbing Museum

Mecia: Through YCA, I got more involved in stewardship — Yosemite Facelift, trash cleanup, trail work, and education. That led me to care more about environmental impact, not just climbing.

The Yosemite Climbing Museum in Mariposa is incredible. There are Lynn Hill’s shoes, original Stovelegs, ropes, old gear, periodicals — it’s an insane archive. Ken Yager has collected so much history.

Lauren DeLaunay Miller used those archives when writing Valley of Giants, which inspired this podcast too.

Restore Hetch Hetchy

Mecia: I’m also on the board for Restore Hetch Hetchy. The goal is to remove the dam eventually and restore the valley ecosystem. The reservoir causes evaporation and doesn’t help groundwater the way natural wetlands would.

Restoring that valley could improve ecosystems, reduce fire risk, and help surrounding towns like Groveland.

But it’s complicated — the area is pristine partly because it has limited access. So there’s always a balance between restoration, access, and impact.

Climbing Growth and Environmental Impact

Mecia: Climbing is growing fast. More gym climbers are going outside, which is great — but there’s less mentorship than before.

We’re seeing impacts in Bishop, Red Rocks, and other areas — crushed vegetation, erosion, new boulders going up without regard for the environment.

We need to educate ourselves because climbers aren’t the only people using these spaces.

Advice for New Climbers Who Want to Give Back

Mecia: Educate yourself — not just about climbing, but about the environment.

Give yourself grace to make mistakes and learn. If someone tells you you could do something better, don’t get defensive. Be open.

Bring a trash bag. Clean up even if it’s not yours.

Climbing can be selfish, but it doesn’t have to be. We can share it, protect it, and make sure others have good experiences too.

Different places also have different ethics. Look into local practices before climbing somewhere new.

Final Thoughts

Mecia: I may not climb super hard, but I love being out there. I love supporting my friends and learning from the people around me. I had amazing mentors and I want to give back to the community that gave me so much.

Tim: That’s a perfect place to end. Thanks so much, Mecia — and good luck to both of us on the SPI exam.

Mecia: We got this.