Alex Johnson Coming to Project Pride in Squamish
Going into its second year, Project Pride will be taking place at the start of September
American climber Alex Johnson will be travelling north this summer to take part in the second annual Project Pride in Squamish on Sept. 2. Johnson has climbed dozens of hard boulders over the past 15 years, including The Swarm V13, Clear Blue Skies V12, Book of Nightmares V12, Lethal Design V12 and Hungry Hungry Hippos V12/13. Johnson has also won two world cup gold medals and been the U.S.A. national champion five times.
Event organizer, Michelle LeBlanc, explained the importance of events like Project Pride, saying, “Primarily, I think that it’s a really important step to create a sense of community and to maybe help some people feel less isolated. Overall, I think that climbers are mostly welcoming humans; at least I’m lucky that that’s been my experience. When you think about representation and visibility though, there is a significant lack of open and ‘out’ 2SLGBTQ+ professional climbers or outdoor mountain athletes in general.”
When we touched base with Johnson about 2SLGBTQ+ representation in climbing, she said, “As a country and as an industry and as a community, we are nowhere near as progressive as we think we are and that’s frustrating.” Read the full story here.
There will be clinics, a day of bouldering, an after party at Ground Up climbing gym and more. This event promises to be a season highlight in Squamish. For tickets and for more information visit here.
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