Beth Rodden

At just 14, Beth Rodden embarked on aclimbing route in a rock gym for the first time. And in many ways, she’s never come down since. Gym climbing turned into outdoor climbing,which transformed intobigwall climbing, and eventually, evolved into anoutright obsession.Through her 20-year professional career, Bethhas battled through injury, taken on the adventure of motherhood, and continues to inspire climbers worldwide with her story. Her grit, determination, and thirst for adventure make us proud to call her a part of the YETI crew.

I probably check the weather to make sure that it’s still good—not raining or too warm. And nowadays, with a small kiddo at home full-time, I try and sneak out of the house early enough to not wake anyone else so I can get a few hours of climbing in before the day starts.

If I had to pick just one, I’d say Yosemite. But if I could add in another place, I’d say Fontainebleau, France.

When I was focused purely on pushing the sport forward, I would constantly have a dream list of projects, each one harder in some aspect than the last. I would be methodical and extremely diligent about how I could achieve each goal in my preparation—strict training, going during the perfect season, etc. It was simple in some aspect to live with purely athletic ambitions in mind, to push the sport of climbing and my physical body higher and higher each year.

I’m inspired by a lot of my friends who are juggling full-time jobs, kids,and still manage to train and climb their best on the weekends. It’s impressive to see so much dedication and perseverance. I’m also inspired by a lot of professional athletes who are trying to make a positive change in addition to their athletic pursuits, whether it’s with climate change, racial injustice, etc.

That’s a great question. I’ve always wanted to write a book. I’m trying to do that now and hopefully will become a reality one of these days.

I probably check the weather to make sure that it’s still good—not raining or too warm. And nowadays, with a small kiddo at home full-time, I try and sneak out of the house early enough to not wake anyone else so I can get a few hours of climbing in before the day starts.

If I had to pick just one, I’d say Yosemite. But if I could add in another place, I’d say Fontainebleau, France.

When I was focused purely on pushing the sport forward, I would constantly have a dream list of projects, each one harder in some aspect than the last. I would be methodical and extremely diligent about how I could achieve each goal in my preparation—strict training, going during the perfect season, etc. It was simple in some aspect to live with purely athletic ambitions in mind, to push the sport of climbing and my physical body higher and higher each year.

I’m inspired by a lot of my friends who are juggling full-time jobs, kids,and still manage to train and climb their best on the weekends. It’s impressive to see so much dedication and perseverance. I’m also inspired by a lot of professional athletes who are trying to make a positive change in addition to their athletic pursuits, whether it’s with climate change, racial injustice, etc.

That’s a great question. I’ve always wanted to write a book. I’m trying to do that now and hopefully will become a reality one of these days.

Constantly wondering how or what can be changed to be better, either for myself, my family or my community.

I used to have a lot more of this when I was in my 20’s. I would live, eat, and breathe climbing and hard climbing, being on the cutting edge of the sport. Everything in my life revolved around it. I loved it. But at some point, I realized that each project brought a temporary sense of accomplishment and calm, but it only lasted a short while. And after over a decade of pushing, I realized that something was missing no matter how hard I climbed. Climbing couldn’t fill every gap, feature movies, covers of magazines, new sponsors, couldn’t satisfy everything. I felt pressured more than inspired to go out and climb, and that’s when I realized I needed to change something when I started dreading it. Through many years of injuries and trying to find my way with climbing, I finally started to appreciate climbing no matter what grade I was doing. Now I still have off days, seasons, etc., but there is something much more lasting about my relationship with climbing. The rocks will always be there, and that is something that has helped me appreciate climbing as a lasting pursuit, not just something to add to my resume.

Silence (this is just currently since our son is at home full-time with the pandemic, but honestly, I really love just going out climbing by myself and listening to the sounds of whatever is going on around me—could be hikers hiking by, birds, the wind, etc. I tend to get lost in my head, so the ambient sound is nice).

I am in the mountains.

Climbing Shoes, good skin on my fingers, and chalk.

I have no idea! I’ve been climbing professionally since I was a teenager. It’s hard to imagine something else. But I’ve always loved small, independent grocery stores, so maybe owning one of those?

My husband (corny, I know, but it’s so nice to have someone that you can be 100% fully yourself around).

In one word? Quality. It always has been a company that I think of as quality first.

Great products to accompany you on your outdoor adventure.

I use my Rambler® Drinkware every single day. I can’t imagine life without it.

I love the Hopper Flip® 12Soft Cooler for everyday activities with the family, from skiing to climbing to lake days. We use the Daytrip® Lunch Box every day for lunches. And then, when we are camping on the road, theTundra® 45 Hard Cooler is our portable fridge.

I can’t stress it enough, but the quality of each of the products is really amazing.

It’s allowed us to bring more “real” food with us, as I like to call it. So much of our time is spent outside that bars, and nonperishable food has always been the go-to food. But now, with the ability to have portable coolers that keep things cold and fresh, we can have good, quality real food.

I had these old shoes that my dad bought me at REI. They were really clunky and hard and big, but before I “really” started climbing at the climbing gym, they represented something that I loved and adored and did once a summer with my dad when our family went on our annual trip to the Sierras. My dad would set up a top rope for me and my brother, and we’d climb for the afternoon. I loved it. It was the first thing in life that I was better at than my genius, popular, older brother. It really was the beginning of finding my voice and independence. Those shoes are long gone, but they meant the world to me back then.