Vikki Weldon Sends 5.14

If you are not familiar with the Weldon family, they are some of Canada’s strongest siblings.

They grew up in Calgary, AB. “The Rocky Mountains lurked ever so discreetly in the background, it didn’t take long for my entire family to find out that the best direction to go is Up,” said Vikki. Her older siblings, Chris and Stacey were the first to start climbing, and it wasn’t long before Vikki and her little brother, Mike were tagging along.

She has traveled to China and Ecuador to compete, and in the past few years has focused on rock. “I have a unique love for my hometown areas in the Bow Valley of Alberta, with Acephale being my home base. I have recently become a Registered Nurse, specializing in pediatrics. My goal is to combine my passion for children and families with my passions of travel and climbing,” said Vikki.

Climbing on the regular, Weldon was in Utah for the Outdoor Retailer show, in Salt Lake City. She was working with Greg Foweraker’s company, Innate, which sells water bottles and travel products for climbers. On the drive from Canada to Salt Lake, Vikki stopped at Maple Canyon for some conglomerate sport climbing. She climbed Millennium, 5.13d, which was her hardest tick. However, two extensions branched off; one of them is called Eulogy, a nine-bolt 5.14a. Vikki starred up at the line of bolts doting the Millennium cave before continuing her journey to Salt Lake.

She had planned on returning post-show to attempt Eulogy. After a week of talking the talk at OR and climbing at Psicocomp, where she placed fourth, she made the journey back to Maple, with a tired mind and fatigued body.

“I walked up to the base of Millennium, not enthused to come back to a route that had caused me much angst. Yet, there was some magic in the air that day. People were sending projects left, right and center. So I tied in, slipped on the kneepads and I started up. It is hard to describe what I experienced on Eulogy. Often in rock climbing our mind focuses on the end result and inevitably eliminates our ability to perform. Other times, our mind turns off and our body takes over, resulting in making rash movements that hinder our performance. However, when we are able to harness our minds to work together with our bodies, and add in a little magic, wonderful things happen. For me, this wonderful thing was succeeding on my first 5.14a. Yesterday, I completed Eulogy on my first attempt, surrounded my wonderful friends and a cave full of happiness,” said Vikki.

Weldon is only the second Canadian female to have climbed 5.14, the first being Ellen Powick, whose first 5.14 was also in Maple Canyon, Pipedream, 5.14a. Gripped featured Powick in a 2011 spring-piece titled Older and Stronger; Age Can’t Stop Canada’s Female Climbers.

Canadian females are crushing, with a number of young rising-stars about to make an impact on the global scene. Women such as Vikki and her sister Stacey are both role-models and cutting-edge climbers who are leading the way in Canada.

Ellen Powick: http://gripped.com/2011/04/sections/articles/older-stronger/

Vikki sends Millennium: http://gripped.com/2013/07/sections/news/vikki-weldon-sends-millennium-in-maple-canyon/