Mountain High: Meet Rock Climber Rachel Moore
Rock climber, model, explorer… Meet Rachel Moore.
This post comes to us from rock climber and model Rachel Moore, follow along with her on Instagram!
Who am I? I’m Rachel Moore. Born and raised in Southern California, I grew up on the beach and fell in love with the ocean at an early age. My family loved going on camping trips and spending time outdoors, as I grew up my passion for nature grew. I fell in love with the freedom that came with being outdoors and I began pursuing diving, hiking, climbing and traveling. Now that I’m older all my time off is spent sailing, diving, rock climbing or backpacking. My husband and I live aboard our sailboat full-time — check out our site here — and spend most of our weekends adventuring in our van. Exploring is a huge part of who I am, I am always in search of new landscapes and experiences. With each new place or activity, I feel I grow as a person and learn more about who I am and what I am capable of.
I’ve been modeling full-time for five years now but previously went to school for biology and dove for the Channel Islands National Park Service for three years. Modeling has been a great way to travel and save money for my dream of buying a sailboat and completing a circumnavigation. Modeling is what I do for work but it’s what I do in my free time that defines who I am. The rock climbing, diving, sailing, and traveling I do continue to shape who I am and what I want out of life.
I love climbing because it teaches me patience and strength. There are moments when fear and pain come over me, but learning to push through and trust myself have been invaluable life lessons. Climbing is not only a challenge, but it’s super fun! It’s like being a kid all over again, but instead of being yelled at to come down you are encouraged to climb higher. It’s like trying to solve a puzzle, every move helps complete the route. It’s one of my favorite hobbies and has taken me to some of the most beautiful locations around the world. I can’t think of a better place to live than Southern California. You can do just about anything here in a day. From surfing and diving, to snowboarding and rock climbing, we have it all. One of my favorite places to climb here in Southern California is just above Santa Barbara. This location on the ridge just north of the city offers fun sandstone bouldering and a handful of easy sport climbs along with some amazing views. From the climbs you look out over Santa Barbara, the ocean, near by islands and can even see boats coming into the harbor. The Playground is one of Santa Barbara’s best summer climbing areas, situated in a maze of rocks that can be hard to navigate. There are so many undiscovered boulder obstacles up there, it’s fun to run around and play on all the hidden boulders. It’s surprising how underdeveloped the area is in terms of routes, despite having loads of rock. I like to think I’m the first one to climb some of those hidden gems!
Follow Rachel on Instagram and be sure to check out her website!
Photography by Willie Kessel, follow him on Instagram and check out his website for more work!