For Andrea Charest, climbing is entwined with community. She and her husband Steve own Petra Cliffs, a climbing gym and mountaineering school in Burlington, Vermont where they also work as guides. She’s volunteered much of her time over the years to Crag Vermont, a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving, protecting and advocating for climbing access in the Green Mountain State (her’s is the first face you see on the organization’s website–a face that is surprisingly calm as as she reaches for a sloper high overhead).
She empowers her fellow climbers to take the lead, and has a knack for enabling others to move past their perceived limitations.
Earlier this year, Charest became an AMGA-certified ice climbing instructor, a hard-earned goal years in the making.
In this conversation, we talk about her journey through the ice instructor exam, and how she balances business, play and parenthood. Charest shares her love for the global climbing community, her excitement around the continued growth of Petra Cliffs, and the importance of helping climbers make the transition from the gym to the crag.
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Host: Abbey Collins
Guest: Andrea Charest
Producer + Engineer: Mike Horn
The Self Motivator: Chantel Astorga
Balancing Risk and Reward: Mike Gardner
From Pebbles to the Himalaya: Pete Takeda
The Novelty Seeker: Madaleine Sorkin
Not in Ohio Anymore: Anna Pfaff
Alpinist Aloud: “To Look the Bear in the Eye”
Alpinist Aloud: "Less Rich Without You"
Alpinist Aloud: “Melting Giants”
Fire and Ice: Scott Coldiron
A Visit with Mark Twight
Alpinist Aloud: “Life Compass” by Brette Harrington
"All that Glitters": Margo Talbot
Alpinist Aloud: “The Raven at the Door” by David Stevenson
Alpinist Aloud: “The Force of the Soul,” by James Edward Mills
The Lifestyler: Chris Weidner
Climber, Transcending: Kai Lightner
Rethinking Mountaineering Histories: Amrita Dhar
From the Gunks to Desert Towers: Jeff Achey
Perspective: Robbi Mecus
Inner Ranges: Geoff Powter
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