Rock climbing isn’t just a weekend sport at the Robichaud house, it’s a way of life finding its way into everything, from decor to dinner conversation. A copy of Rock and Ice magazine sits on a table in the living room. Instead of a banister, the loft has a rock climbing rope strung decoratively across the opening, held together by a grigri — a steel-assisted braking belay device. The spare room is known as “the gear room,” and the garage is home to a floor-to-ceiling practice wall covered with red, green and yellow holds.
Kim and Jeremy Robichaud and their twin boys, Elmer and Isak, 8, are fixtures in the Maine rock climbing scene. Kim has won several local and national competitions, and Jeremy is a climbing guide and president of the Clifton Climbers Alliance. The two boys have been regulars at Maine Bound, the rock climbing gym at the University of Maine, since before they could walk.
Long before the Robichauds were married with kids, though, Kim started rock climbing as a teen, falling in love with the rock wall at the Old Town YMCA.
A passion ignited
“My parents sent us off to the YMCA, and there was a rock wall there and I thought, ‘Whoa, this is cool,’” Kim Robichaud said of her first experience climbing. “I kind of became a … regular.”
After high school, Kim continued her newfound passion at Middlebury College in Vermont, where she took a rock climbing course to fulfill a physical education requirement. It was there that her extracurricular activity turned into her passion. She started competing and was ranked as one of the top 10 women climbers in North America after taking second at the American Bouldering Series in 2001.
Later, Jeremy began joining her on climbs.
Jeremy and Kim dated as teens at John Bapst Memorial High School, parted ways for college and reconnected after graduation. She always wanted Jeremy to climb with her, but it wasn’t easy for him to say yes.
“She was getting a lot of recognition, and I was sort of resisting [learning to climb],” he said. “[Eventually it became] climbing with her or looking like a jerk.”
After his first trip, he was hooked.
“There’s something really intuitive about climbing,” Jeremy Robichaud said. “It represents a lot of what I like: It’s individual, it’s social, it’s intentional, it’s psychological. It encompasses it all.”
Jeremy Robichaud took climbing courses and learned the ins and out of equipment, setting ropes, leading climbs and eventually began teaching others. Now he works as a climbing guide and instructor for Acadia Mountain Guides.
Local fixtures
When the boys were little, their parents would put them in wearable carriers or sit them on crash pads on the ground, away from the wall, surrounded by toys. Soon, they were toddling up to the wall. By 4 years old they joined their parents, climbing indoors and out.
Though some may think climbing is a dangerous for children as young as 4 or 5 years old, experts argue that with the proper training and gear, it’s as safe as any other sport. In fact, a study done in 2013 by the Wilderness Medical Society found indoor rock climbing has a low risk of injury and is 10 times safer than soccer.
Andrew Krauss, trip logistics manager at Maine Bound said the majority of young rock climbers who start in the gym there are around 8 or 9 years old. In order to climb without an adult, climbers must be at least 16 years old and pass a skills test.
“In the gym setting, there’s no danger at all. … It’s more of a maturity thing,” he said. “Climbing requires a lot of mental focus and finding out what you’ll do on the wall, so there’s a lot of mental maturity that you need.”
As Elmer and Isak progressed, Jeremy and Kim would check in to make sure the two truly enjoyed the sport and wanted to continue learning.
“It’s really important to me that they climb because they want to, not just because it’s something mom and dad want them to do,” Jeremy Robichaud said.
Their parents never pushed them to excel at climbing, but they did want them to learn about hard work and determination. When the boys were about 5 years old, they were giving up on difficult routes, instead choosing the easiest options. Jeremy brought a bag of Starburst candies to the gym and placed one on each hold along the route. As soon as the boys reached the hold, they could pocket the candy.
“One of my proudest days as a father was when it stopped being about the candy,” he said. “Instead it just became about having a goal.”
The family still plays climbing games and they travel together to climbing destinations. In recent years, they’ve climbed New York’s Shawangunk Ridge, also known as “The Gunks,” Dover Island in Halifax, and the Tetons in Wyoming.
Climbing on
Kim anticipates soon “being out-climbed” by all three of the boys in her family, but she looks forward to seeing the younger two advance.
Though sometimes competitive, the boys mostly are supportive of one another, whether they’re climbing in the garage or in Clifton, one of the family’s favorite local climbing spots.
Next year they may start learning to lead climb, a more advanced form of ascending the wall, in which one climber climbs and installs anchors along the way while the other climber follows and removes the anchors as he or she goes up.
“We didn’t feel comfortable doing that this year, but we’re headed in that direction,” Kim said. “We don’t want them to be traumatized, not because it’s any more dangerous but because [lead climbing] can be a lot more scary. I still get butterflies in my stomach sometimes, so you want that experience to happen when they’re ready.”
In the meantime, Kim and Jeremy are busy organizing the Clifton Climbers Alliance, a group created to save Eagle Bluff in Clifton, home to more than 130 climbing routes. Earlier this year, the area was closed to the public because of a change in the property’s ownership. However, with help from Access Fund, the alliance was able to raise funds to purchase the property.
“A lot of people were skeptical that we could meet our fundraising goal, but it’s exciting news for everyone,” Kim said. “Now we need to decide what this community of climbers is going to do to keep up this great place.”
Interested in rock climbing with your family?
Jeremy and Kim recommend first taking a class, visiting an indoor climbing gym or hiring a private guide to learn the basics or to expand on existing skills. Families also should make sure if they are climbing on their own outdoors that they are using safety equipment and are on routes approved by the American Safe Climbing Association.
Outdoor climbing: Acadia Mountain Guides Climbing School offers classes in the Bangor, Bar Harbor and Camden areas. For more information call 888-232-9559 or visit acadiamountainguides.com. For those in southern Maine, the International Mountain Climbing School located in Conway, New Hampshire is less than a two-hour drive. Call 603-356-7064 or visit ime-usa.com for more information.
Indoor climbing:
— Maine Bound located at the University of Maine, Orono, offers gym memberships and individual and family climbing lessons covering the different types of climbing and basic technique. For informaiton visit umaine.edu/mainebound or call 207-581-1794.
— The Old Town YMCA, where Kim learned to climb, still has a rock wall. The gym is located at 472 Stillwater Ave. and requires a membership. Call 207-827-6111 for information and rates.
— Maine Rock Gym in Portland offers classes for new climbers, birthday parties for children and after-school programs for kids ages 6-16. For information, visit merockgym.com or call 207-780-6370.
