Girls Just Wanna Have Fun -- Pulling Down at HP40 (Hardwear Sessions)

By Jessa Goebel

Confederate flags, Baptist churches, and Southern cookin', that is how you know you are in the Southeast. Seemingly impossible mantels, sandstone slopers, and Pabst Blue Ribbon--that is how you know you are at Horse Pens 40.

For the past few years I have attended the Triple Crown Bouldering Series. When it is time to head to HP40, located in Steele, Alabama, I usually manage to find a way to get down there for the week before the comp, to get some bouldering time. This year in particular, the positive energy in the air was higher than I can remember in previous years. Normally, in the Southeast it is hard to find other girls to climb with, this was definitely not the case this year.

This year there was a large crew of very strong girls, rolling through the boulder field, crushing every boulder problem in their path. The women's open division in the comp was bigger and tougher than in years past, which made the comp very exciting. As a girl, it's always a great day at the boulder field when you have your crew of girls out laughing and drinking beers, and crushing the problems the boys are showing off on.

The day of the comp the weather was good and everyone had a blast bouldering in the warm sun. I may not have done all the problems that I wanted to climb, but I went till my skin was gone from my fingers everyday and had one of the most fun weeks in bouldering that I can remember. It's hard to not have fun when you wake up in the morning and you are at a classy climbing area.