Congratulations to Cindy Gray for being one of 20
Ambassadors chosen from a field of 150 by @rockclimbingwomen on Instagram!
As a teen, Cindy joined her family on mission in Nicaragua,
discovering the beauty of the jungle and native culture while working to
improve the lives of the people they lived with.
After attending Eastern Mennonite College, Cindy became an
EMT, was one of the first women certified as a firefighter and crash truck
driver, and worked tirelessly for equality in that field.
Damage to her spine, complicated by degenerative disc
disease, required two surgeries to install rods and screws.
That didn't stop her.
A copperhead snake bite hospitalized her and almost cost her
a leg.
That didn't stop her or lessen her love of nature.
Cindy has been instrumental in organizing a dozen trail work
and trash clean up events, and was a founder of the Friends of Smoke Hole, a
local independent alliance of climbers giving back to the crags and the
communities that surround them.
She encouraged me to launch the Smoke Hole Anchor
Replacement/Upgrade Project and has spent days hauling gear and on belay to
support that effort.
An aneurysm in 2015 and the 3.5 hour surgery that stretched
the capabilities of modem medical technology did not prevent Cindy from
returning to Colorado for a second year as a campground host and entrance booth
staffer in Elevenmile Canyon, nor did it prevent her from completing another
handful of first ascents and impressive hikes during our days off.
To date, Cindy and the Punisher have done 53 first ascents
in Smoke Hole Canyon, Reeds Creek and Germany Valley in WV, in Flagstaff and Northern
Devils Canyon in AZ, and in Elevenmile Canyon in the Pike National Forest in CO.
A proud mom and grandmother, Cindy is still working to
encourage a new generation of climbers to reach further and rise above their
own challenges while giving back to the places in which she has both given and
received so much inspiration.
After a decade together, I'm still awed and humbled by her
every single day, incredibly proud to be her husband and equally grateful for
her friendship.
Above: Cindy with the Lindy, our home on wheels for two
years, across thousands of miles and through a hundred adventures.
