NATHAN ROADS
on FAMILY INSPIRATION AND REKINDLING DREAMS
At Coeur Climbing, we love highlighting the inspiring journeys of our members. Our latest Member Spotlight features Nathan Roads, whose decades-long relationship with climbing shows how courage, community, and family can shape a lifelong passion for the sport.
What initially drew you to climbing?
I was introduced to climbing by the pastor of our church over 37 years ago. On a youth camping trip, we ventured deep into the mountains somewhere on the border of California and Oregon and taught some basic climbing skills. We were instructed on tying our own harness, basic climbing knots, belaying, rappelling, and an introduction to traditional protection. I remember my first climb feeling like I was at the top of the world.
The next time I climbed was over three years later; I had saved a few hundred bucks and headed to REI. It was just barely enough for a handful of carabiners, rope, a figure 8, and a fresh copy of Mountaineering Freedom of the Hills. I think I memorized the book. I was 16 years old.
In those days finding climbing friends was not easy. It was an obscure activity. There were no developed climbs in my area, with the closest known to me over 2 hours away. If you wanted to climb, but didn’t have a friend, you simply went to a site and waited for someone willing to show up.
Then I discovered Smith Rock State Park in Bend. There was no internet back then, and you find these places by going there. When I arrived it was dark, and I camped out with some friends not knowing what it looked like. We could only see the outline of the rocks against the stary night sky. The next day I pulled my first 5.10, and a few months later fulfilled a 3-year-old dream of leading a multi-pitch route.
What important lessons have you learned from climbing that you apply to your daily life?
Climbing taught me about pushing limits, and that you can do dangerous things safely. I am naturally afraid of heights, and climbing helps me to understand that with good planning and a positive attitude you can do hard things. One of the first and most important things I learned about climbing is the cost of taking your mental baggage with you up the wall. The cost of course is that you don’t reach your goal. Climbing is one of the few activities I have found in life that shows you the cost of emotional baggage, distraction, or a bad attitude so quickly. It’s an opportunity to be free of it, if only for a few minutes. And once you experience that freedom, and the realization that’s its possible, you find ways to apply it during other parts of your life.
Have you had any mentors or climbing partners who have significantly impacted your journey? What have you learned from them?
My pastor and his friend, who also pastored a church, were the first and most solid impacts on my journey. They were right out of the 70’s, guitars and campfires, wild climbing stories, hand-me-down shoes, and big wall climbing dreams. Always an inspiration to young me, faithful in every way, broke, but relational and happy. Even though they were decades older I would still hear things like: maybe if you get a bike and can ride 20 miles a day every day for a month, and learn these skills, maybe we can go do a big wall someday. But it could take a week to get up the wall, so you must be ready.
How has climbing impacted your physical health and fitness, or your mental health and wellbeing?
As a business owner, and raising a large family, exercise and free time are not easy. When I first found out about Coeur Climbing opening, I saw an opportunity to do something that would help me get back in shape and inspire my kids. And it’s working. My 6-year-old girl can do two-finger pull-ups on a doorjamb. I am climbing at a higher level as a 50-year-old than I could in my teenage years. My older children often comment on how my coordination is better, balance is better, and general life stamina is improved. I only get a few hours of climbing a week in, and I cherish the time. I am inspired by the other people who climb and see them getting stronger every week, all while having a great time.
What role, if any, has your family played in supporting your climbing pursuits?
My wife has always known I like to climb. We lived for a while in Southern California and would often go to Joshua Tree, another place that I was inspired to go from conversations with my original mentors. Raising a family with small kids is hard on parents. She has encouraged me to go, even on days when I know she would rather have me home. Her answer is simple: I see what it does for you and for the kids. You have to go.
What are your future goals in climbing, and how do you plan to achieve them?
I see a little climbing community growing up in my house. I have a total of 5 children under the age of 11 currently climbing, and my oldest boy (26 years), a son-in-law, and another older daughter who all climb at Coeur Climbing. Idaho City of Rocks is on my radar, perhaps Selway Peak, and maybe some adventure climbing in remote Utah. The littles just have to grow up a little more, and I have to figure out the logistics.
What advice would you give to someone new to climbing or considering taking it up?
You can make real friends, just be brave and friendly. You must show up. And sometimes the best community imaginable takes time to grow. Like in my case. It was an old dream, I thought long lost somewhere in the past, but I keep coming back to it, and those dreams seem to have sprouted. It’s my job now to make sure I am ready when they are. I won’t ever get to do a big wall with my early mentors, but maybe with my kids, sons-in-law, grandchildren, and their climbing friends.
If you could describe your climbing journey in one word, what would it be and why?
Courageous— I am terrified of heights. I barely made it through the documentary ‘Free Solo.’ Ha!
Inspired by Nathan’s story? Whether you’re brand-new or rediscovering your love for climbing, Coeur Climbing is here to support your journey. Come join our community and write your own climbing story!
