I Can Do Anything: Local climber and guide on discovering the sport and how it changed her
Ally Bloom is a Junior at CSU and has an extremely robust resume for someone whose only been in the sport for 3 years. From ticking off all kinds of ascents and alpine objectives in Rocky Mountain National Park, to ice climbing in Ecuador, Bloom’s excitement and loving passion for these places and experiences in infectious and inspiring.
Beyond the Oval: Starting from the beginning, you’re not from Colorado. Where are you from?
Ally Bloom: Indiana.
What did you do throughout your adolescence in Indiana?
Well I was cheerleader for about a decade. I did track and field for a while, and then I was on Varsity tennis team. I was kind of like a sports person, but I mean other than that I hung out with my friends and I just fooled around in a midwest suburb.
Did you do any other sports or activities?
I was in choir, and I was really not into the outdoors. There was no access in my suburb, there was nothing. So pretty much just tennis and cheerleading.
Did you ever have a yearning or desire to do that, to get outside?
I have two dogs back at my parents house, and one of them is a lot better at hiking and adventuring than the other. There was one backpacking trail and it was 4 miles, and it ended at a lake. So I would backpack with my dog twice a summer, and that was a pretty consistent thing that I would love doing. So I think that was always in the back of my head; outdoor adventure sports. Because I really liked going backpacking with my dog and just getting into the wilderness; the Indiana wilderness, *laughs*.
What was your personal identity like in high school?
In the context of what I did?
What was a part of your life that you cared about the most before you came to Colorado?
Oh my god, you’re kind of starting to make me think that I had no idea who I was in high school.
And that’s totally fine, if that’s your answer!
I really didn’t at all. I had this group of friends and we went to raves all the time — concerts — and we hung out with older people. I think I just loved my friends so much so I attached on to what they did. I wouldn’t even personally say I like rave music or that I like staying out, it was more so that the people I was hanging out with in high school did, so I did it with them.
Did you enjoy it?
Yeah, like I enjoyed being with them. So I think I’d identify as a loving, caring friend.
What does being from Indiana mean to you?
I’m kind of joining this influx of midwesterners coming out to Colorado. We’re kind of this community that, we don’t necessarily dislike where we’re from, but we long to be away and explore areas that are so forign to us. I guess being from Indiana to me means there is endless opportunity to explore because I grew up in the same place for 18 years. Everything is new to me. My parents moved out of Indiana when I came here, so I have no ties there. I wanted to get out, so part of me took this being from Indiana piece of myself and pushed it to the back of my head. It doesn’t really have anything to do with my life anymore.
Are you at all in touch with those good friends from high school still?
I am, we talk about once a month, but they aren’t an active part of my life.
Tell me about your change of self.
Oh my God. I feel like I came to Colorado and found myself to a certain extent; in this outdoor community. I found something that made me tick and craved putting myself out of my comfort zone. Once I found that, I followed it and I ran with it. And with that I stopped wanting to do competitive sports — tennis, cheerleading — I stopped wanting to do that, stopped wanting to stay out and party because I wanted to go into the mountains early in the morning. The kind of people I was hanging out with changed too, because these outdoors people are a complete culture of their own. So I kind of changed cultures, in a way. I don’t know I kinda just grew into this independent person out here. Also I was thrown into it because I moved so far away from home and I didn’t know anyone here, so it was kind of forced change. I needed to find a community so I could settle and be comfortable in Colorado.
What would you describe the people or the culture in the outdoors community as?
Very fun loving and chill, and go-with-the-flow people. People are chasing these outdoor opportunities, they’re looking for things to do one the weekends and they’re motivated.
What would you say their values are?
Adventure, definitely. Relationships and people too.
Tell me more about the adventure piece, what’s behind it, what’s driving it? Is it for the sole purpose of pushing the self, is it for connection to something greater, or connection to nature? A combination?
It’s all of the above. I think everyone has their own definition and sense of adventure. I have a lot of friends who climb and run in the mountains to push themselves and achieve a goal, kind of that side of adventure. But then I have a whole other set of friends that do it for a connection with each other, the mountains, the natural world. They do it to get away from social media and stuff that clutters lives. Everyone in this community has a sense of adventure, but it’s rooted in different desires. Everyone has a different definition, but we all share that commonality of just loving to be outside. And I think that’s beautiful.
What do you think about the outdoors as a way to push against or remove yourself from ways of our current world that can be toxic or cluttered?
Like using the outdoors as an escape from that?
Yeah, is that a part of it for you?
Yeah totally. I really just don’t like things that take up time. I’m such a busy person, and I’m obsessed with planning. If I find myself sitting on Facebook for more than 10 minutes I just get mad at myself. I’m constantly deleting social media, putting my phone on silent, trying to get away from that distraction. When I’m in the outdoors it’s so easy to do that. No part of me wants to pick up my phone or think about politics. Just things that take away from the present moment. I think the outdoors are so great for that, because it’s so easy for me to fully immerse myself in those moments and get away from everything else.
Is it escapism in a way? Or is it healthier than that?
Escapism. I struggle with accepting this is the world we live in. Social media and scary news. I definitely think it’s escapism for sure. But it’s also healthy! We all need that.
Tell me about when climbing clicked for you. Did you ever have a moment where you were like ‘Shit, this is cool. I might want to do this?’
My freshman year I started working for the Outdoor Program, and met a girl named Lanie. It was her last semester and my first. I don’t know why but we kinda clicked as friends, she took me under her arm for a semester; as a friend and mentor. And at that point I had only been climbing inside and had maybe done some easy top rope stuff. I remember I got on top rope for this route — it’s this beautiful dihedral crack — and I remember sinking my hands in, and I was like ‘this is it.’ The movement was so beautiful and it was probably the hardest route I had climbed at the time, and there at the bottom of the climb were these people that I had never met, but they were cheering me on. I was a freshman and I felt like I was a part of some community. That was it, that was the moment for me.
Did you do an ice climbing trip in South America?
Yeah! I went to Ecuador with the Outdoor Program. Every other year they do international expeditions so that year it was to Ecuador. The prereq was to do a 14er to know how you handle at altitude, and I had done Longs, and it was one of the hardest days of my life.
What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had outside?
This summer I lived in Estes Park. My friend Kalley and I did Martha Couloir on Mount Lady Washington. It was the most memorable experience because the night prior I wasn’t planning on doing it with her, but she asked me, and I was like, “Wow, I don’t know if I have the skills to do that.” Because it’s a big alpine objective, it’s snow and ice climbing, and she wasn’t planning on bringing a rope or anything else. I remember calling Josh and telling him about the situation, and he said “Do it!” So I did it with Kalley and we carried out this huge alpine objective, and it was the most beautiful day of my life. Not only was the route super fun, but the realization that I can do anything, it came to me in that moment. It instilled a lot of confidence in me to go after any objective that I imagine.
Tell me about the process of getting your SPI (Single Pitch Instructor certification).
I got an internship with Colorado Mountain School by emailing someone that I had emailed before at the Outdoor Program. It was unpaid, but my compensation was getting my SPI certification. The course took three days, and the exam took two.
What was the first outing you led like?
Well it was all stuff I had done a million times with the Outdoor Program, but now it was in a professional context. I was super comfortable.
What has it been like being in woman in the outdoors world?
It’s pretty awesome. I think right now, being a woman in the outdoors is to my advantage because it’s a very hot topic that a lot of people recognize, and want they that diversity. People are recognizing the need. That’s my experience, and I can play to that a little bit. At the same time, once I was in this position with CMS I realized how male dominated it is. I think there are about 60 guides, and 5 of them are women. Coming into that environment was definitely intimidating, and it does sort of feel like I have to be this super rad person to be accepted. ‘Climb 5.13, just crush and be so fit, and all this stuff.’ So there’s that side, but I feel empowered.
What makes you feel empowered?
It’s such a hot topic right now, and I know there’s so much support and so many women that are trying to standardize women in the outdoors. It’s just empowering to be in that community, even though it might not be my immediate experience, knowing that’s what the greater conversations are about is empowering.
Did you experience any of that when you were discovering the sport, or is it more prevalent in the professional community?
It’s way more prevalent in the professional community. Way more. At CSU we’re in this bubble; a value of the Rec is inclusivity. Getting out of that bubble and into the real world it’s so much more obvious. Also when you’re guiding and you have a male partner, your clients or participants will go to the male guide. They wouldn’t come to me for questions, they would go to the other person.
How would you compare and contrast yourself now and yourself in Indiana?
I have such a better understanding of who I am and who I want to be. I’m way more active, and live a very healthy life. I feel like I’ve formed my own relationships, whereas in Indiana my relationships were formed mostly due to geographic circumstances.
So who are you now, and who do you want to be?
Now I feel like I’m this very curious, hardworking person who loves the outdoors. I would very heavily identify with being a climber and outdoors person, and I have this very strong desire to give back to the outdoors community. And I think that’s who I want to be; someone who gives back to the outdoors community in some way.
Is there anything else you want to say or touch on?
I’m so passionate about social justice in the outdoors and promoting women in the outdoors, but part of me is starting to realize that I don’t want to keep talking about my gender. I don’t want that to be the center of who I am. I do want to be a female outdoor leader and I’m passionate about it, but I’m starting to realize it’s a large part of myself. A WOMAN. I’d rather just be a guide, and that’s it.
My advice for other ladies in the outdoors is to surround yourself with people who support you because you’re good at what you do. I don’t want to say they don’t see your gender, but it’s not the first thing they recognize. They’re just with you because you’re rad and you’re an awesome person. And if they aren’t doing that for you then don’t go outside with them. Just surround yourself with people that are cool.
This interview has been edited for clarity and flow.
