Dr. Favia Dubyk is Cancer Survivor and Founder of Traverse Girl
Listen to her talk about her past and climbing future on the Tough Girl Podcast
Dr. Favia Dubyk is a cancer survivor living in New Mexico with her partner and crag dog Hans. She’s also the founder of TraverseGirl.com, a MelaninBaseCamp.com contributor and appeared on two seasons of Ninja Warrior. TraverseGirl focuses on the best lowballs and traverses across the U.S.A. Favia was raised by a single mom before attending Harvard University and Colombia and now works as a pathologist at the University of New Mexico.
She discovered her love for rock climbing during medical school. “I climbed outside nearly every weekend at Cooper’s Rock in West Virginia until I was diagnosed with advanced stage lymphoma,” she said. “For nearly a year, I was unable to fully use my arms and legs as I endured painful surgeries and toxic chemotherapy. I decided that climbing would be my reason to continue through the pain. During recovery, I slowly regained my strength and returned to the gym. The idea of returning to climbing (along with family and friends) helped me through the roughest part of my life. I’m grateful to be climbing more than ever. Now, I am a physician who specializes in pathology; and I boulder outside regularly around New Mexico or at Hueco Tanks, my favourite climbing destination.”
Listen to a Favia on the Tough Girl Podcast in the YouTube video below and watch her on Baby Martini V6 in Hueco Tanks. “This is my favorite warm-up,” she told Gym Climber. Be sure to follow her on Instagram for inspiration and rad photos of classic problems around the U.S.A.