Big Thanks to CAMP for bringing Katie to Ice Fest this year!  Katie is an accomplished all around mountain athlete with speed records and competition climbing wins.  She now adds medical student to her impressive CV.

Check out her recent submission to Arcteryx’s Bird Blog.  We love what this crusher has to say about balancing life and climbing, and how friendships affect both!

“If you’re lucky, you have at least one person in your life with a stoke aura. You know who this person is–it’s the climbing partner with whom you inevitably send at least a half a grade harder than usual, or the running buddy that you can always count on for some knock-down drag-out hill intervals that somehow still end up fun. They radiate positivity and try-hard, and even if they’re having a rough day, they’ll still rally to cheer you on. The best part of the stoke aura is that you can be an all-star partner regardless of how hard you’re currently climbing–you just need to grow your aura.”