Climber Story: Rachel Kopels

To start, tell us a little bit about yourself 

My name is Rachel, I use she/her pronouns, I am a 38 year old math teacher who identifies as a 5.10a sport climber and a 5.8G single pitch trad climber.

I dabble in throwing pottery and have an obsession with my two scruffy dogs, Taco and Gus. I run a climbing club for high schoolers and am in the process of gaining the AMGA SPI certification so I can eventually take my kiddos outside in the Adirondacks or the Gunks!

How did you start climbing?

My dad, Morris, was a climber way back when - when trad was all there was - he taught himself how to plug gear from a book and just headed out the Devil’s Tower and figured it out.

We moved to the northeast and he met Tom Rosecrans and climbed with him when I was just a little girl. I was a gymnast with Tom’s daughter, Brie, and we would sometimes climb at Tom’s gym, RockSport as elementary kiddos.

Fast forward past high school and college, past job 1 and job 2, to when my husband and I moved to Golden, CO after getting married at the Rock and River Guide Lodge to January 2014 when Earth Treks Golden opened up.

That is when I discovered my obsession. I disappeared from all other things and fell into bouldering, then top rope, then leading, then outdoor sport climbing.

I coached climbing at the school I taught at, Jefferson Academy in Broomfield. So many fun trips and learning for four years in Colorado. When it was time to come back to New York, I built a large trad rack and began digging into that new set of skills. And here I am!

What impact has climbing had on your life?

I wasn’t raised with a big family or a religion, so I didn’t have much of a sense of community until I found climbing. Climbing forms my social world, my self confidence and my motivations for growth.

It has been the most formative activity of my adult life. I have been able to share this gift with my students and friends just getting into the sport and have watched others transform similarly. It’s a beautiful thing.

What are some other things you do that you find most fulfilling?

I love to trail run with bluegrass music in my ears (when I’m not injured), throw pottery, crochet, play tennis with my husband, make lattes. And more recently, I am learning to roller skate with a new gal friend!

If you could tell the world one thing, what would it be?

Honor the present moment and where you are in that moment rather than your expectations of what it should be or should have been.

Favorite thing about Dynamite Starfish?

I love your engagement questions with the climbing community. They always make me think. I like that there are always climber responses that make me feel like I’m not alone in my fears!

Is there something you're working on that you'd like to tell our community about? We love a good story.

The South Glens Falls climbing club @sgfclimbclub is evolving in year 4 of existence!

We started out with 11 climbers and had a whopping 30 last year. I raised $2000 with Gofundme last year to cover costs for kiddos who couldn’t otherwise cover them themselves.

Being only one gal covering such a number of young climbers, my newest challenge is how to approach the club - and how to develop relationships and skills with my students when there are so many!

Each student climbs for a different reason and I want to be able to honor that. There is always a challenge on whether to coach for building strength (some want that) or to leave lots of space for students to use climbing for their own personal joys. I hope to have another adult soon and will be looking to attempt to fundraise with the kiddos this year as I’m new at that!

You can find Rachel on Instagram at @kopelsrf.

Want to get to know more of the climbers in the amazing Dynamite Starfish community? Check out our archive of Climber Stories here.

We hope you have enjoyed these sneak peeks into climbers' lives. We're on a mission to share diverse stories about rock climbing. Let's push the boundaries of who we know as climbers. Let's use our energy and passion for the outdoors to love our environment and inspire one another.

Have someone you think we should feature? Send us a message and let us know!