From left, Mary Lambo, Cate Pautsch, and Missy Kelly, creators of Cruxcrush.com and organizers of Brooklyn Boulders Somerville Ladies Night, hang out in Pautsch’s homemade climbing gym. PHOTO BY NICOLAUS CZARNECKI/METRO
Like many women, Mary Lambo, Cate Pautsch, and Missy Kelly love a good ladies night, although things do tend to get a little rocky.
“You can get close to 40 feet of climbing, you just have to climb horizontally,” said Pautsch, who has a makeshift climbing gym set up in the attic of her Somerville home.
Every Thursday, the friends flock there to enjoy a night of “no boys allowed” climbing, music and food. Now, the friends are opening up the fun to the broader female community with a Ladies Night on Oct. 3 at Brooklyn Boulders in Somerville, a 40,000 square-foot space.
“I’d like to squeeze everyone in my attic, but its not going to happen,” said Pautsch. “So we’re excited to invite the larger community and connect women so they can support each other, because climbing can be intimidating.”
In the last eight months, the three friends have successfully gotten a rock climbing blog off the ground. The goal of Cruxcrush.com, according to Lambo, is to build a community of female climbers and offer them a place for support.
“We noticed that climbing media is really saturated from a male perspective and there was a gap from a female perspective,” said Lambo.
The blog covers climbing news through a female lens, and shares gear reviews, videos, and interviews with professional climbers.
“I think there is a growing number of women climbers,” said Kelly. “Hopefully we can get the community together and see who else is out there that shares the same excitement and passion for the sport.”
The Ladies Night at Brooklyn Boulders Somerville runs from 5-11 p.m., and will include climbing, music by a local female DJ, yoga, games, contests, giveaways, free healthy snacks from local companies, and female-centric vendors.
Women pay $15.
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