Author Spotlight
Peyton Moore
Even as he felt his heartbeat pounding in his hands while gashes from the fiercely cold Colorado rock left a subtle burning tingle, the only thought going through senior Jake Fay’s mind while climbing his first route on natural rock was the fear of failure.
Looking 20 feet below to see his belayer and brother, East alumni Sam Fay, Jake was fearful of slipping in a foothold and smashing into the rock below him, but also found peace with the fact that he had total trust in Sam, and knew even if his footing slipped, Sam would catch him.
Jake was climbing The Urban Alpine Crag just outside of Denver, which he’d spent two months preparing for. His fear of losing his grip was the source of nightmares in the weeks leading up to his trip, but he knew the feeling at the end of the trail and the support from his brother made all the worrying and countless days procrastinating homework to research new climbing gear worth it.
“It’s about a balance,” Jake explained. “Using your fear to guide your decision making, but taking control of it before it becomes irrational fear.”
The hikes and rock climbs he’d done growing up were always day trips on family vacations, so Jake was over-analyzing every safety risk from the moment his brother tempted the thought of a road trip to Colorado, solely to climb.
The most important part of rock climbing for the boys is trust, but that came easy for them. With a couple years of rock climbing experience and as the older brother, Sam naturally guided and taught Jake the ins and outs of climbing.
The boys have always had a knack for climbing. Spending winters and summers in Colorado with their family hiking 14ers — 14,000 feet mountains — and climbing any wall or playset in sight, the brothers are used to the physical strain that comes alongside rock climbing.
“Both Jake and Sam could climb before they could walk,” the brothers’ mom Laura Fay said.
Even with their natural strength, the real challenge was learning the sport of rock climbing — it takes certain strategies unlike any other hikes. Knowing how to be cautious along the crags, tie safety knots to keep you or your partner from plummeting downward, hold your body weight against a downward slanting wall with little to no wiggle room and simply having the courage to climb aren’t skills any climber “just has” — it’s a continuous learning lesson for the Fays.
“I finally understood how the sport works,” Jake said. “Once I realized that rock climbing wasn’t just about climbing walls, but about working towards that single goal of touching the top of the wall really was what sold it to me. Meshing our climbing styles together, me and Sam were almost addicted to a single route until we completed it.”
To ensure that their very first climb on natural rock was a success, Jake and Sam prepared on and off the indoor wall for their weekend road trip to Denver in early December. Spending every free minute at the local rock climbing and bouldering gym, ROKC, building endurance with quicker, cardio climbing on the shorter bouldering walls and venturing into more difficult routes on the rock wall.
In the little time their muscles had to relax, the brothers would practice precise knotwork and search for new equipment, so they could feel safe on the pure, natural rock.
Riding the thin line of repetition, the boys worked diligently on route 5.10B at ROKC. This particular route had a section that shot outwards with no chokeholds, forcing the climber to purely rely on grip strength.
After falling on the section countless times, Jake gave up — but only for one day. After realizing the accomplishment gained once finally finishing a route, he returned every day after school for the next week until he was able to ring the bell at the top of route 5.10B, and after he scaled down, Jake was immediately clicking into the next belay — ready to take on another challenging route.
“After a while your body just gets less consistent and it’s harder to keep hold of the wall, your form gets sloppy and the risks begin to increase,” Sam explains. “With every climb, you have to have some intention. There are no timeouts when you are in the middle of the wall.”
All their cardio climbing and practice on the hardest routes was put to the test during there two mile-long hike up to The Urban Alpine Crag on their very first trip to Denver. Battling the elements, the brothers dragged along their 170-foot climbing rope, harnesses, a tarp to keep their feet dry and numerous snacks to last them two hours of climbing.
For the first time in both of the brothers’ climbing careers, they faced real danger. There were no black safety mats or hospitals within walking distance — they were on real rock, miles away from anyone to call for help.
This time, the boys were not only battling the wall, but they were forced to perform in the harsh Colorado weather. The freezing cold rock and surrounding snow made it difficult to hold their grip or keep from slipping out of their footholds.
While suspended 20-feet above the ground, keeping footholds, grip and laser focus can be a daunting task — but for the Fay brothers, the climb to the top was worth it. Completing the route and being able to touch the top of the rock with an added spectacular view, flushed most of Jake’s fear away.
“I can’t say I sleep too well knowing they are out there,” Laura Fay said. “I am a little anxious when they go climb, but they also just love it so much and I love seeing them do something together.”
Following their victorious Colorado climb, the brothers have their eyes on an even more difficult course — The Grand Traverse in Arkansas, which they will spend their winter break preparing for in the hopes of conquering it early in the upcoming 2021 spring season.
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