Maria Pilnik (鈥�26) has no fear of heights. She has been scaling rock walls since the age of 6 and said she truly enjoys the heart-pounding 鈥渢hrill of it all.鈥�
Pilnik attended Pembridge Hall School and said she initially began rock climbing purely for social reasons, joining her friends in a group outside of school. As others lost interest, Pilnik said she continued because the sport became one of her favorite things to do.
Pilnik said she was drawn to the uniqueness of rock climbing as it lacks popularity compared to more popular sports.
鈥淚t just felt so cool to do this thing that nobody had ever heard of and it was even more niche, and it鈥檚 gotten bigger over time,鈥� Pilnik said. 鈥淲hen you say you鈥檙e a rock climber, people think it鈥檚 cool. It’s a conversation starter.鈥�
Over five years, Pilnik said she practiced her skills through private lessons, eventually earning a spot on a competitive team at Westway Climbing Center where she began to participate in competitions, leading her to view rock climbing as a serious extracurricular activity.
Furthermore, Pilnik said the group environment has allowed her to cultivate valuable friendships with her teammates, creating friendly competition as opposed to rivalry.
鈥淚t鈥檚 when you have a really good friend and you’re so close that you don’t mind if they do better than you,鈥� Pilnik said.
Moreover, Pilnik said the rock-climbing community is extremely tight-knit, characterized by 鈥渆veryone supporting everyone.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檒l hear the rest of the squad just cheering for one person,鈥� Pilnik said. 鈥淓ven if you fall off, they’ll be there at the bottom, ready to comfort you.鈥�
Pilnik said her determination stems from the possibility of overcoming new climbing obstacles.
鈥淚t makes it really exciting because you want to try all the challenging routes,鈥� Pilnik said. 鈥淵ou want to try something they [competitors] might not be able to do, which kind of pushes you to become a better climber.鈥�
When climbing, Pilnik said her focus is to move in 鈥渢he most efficient way,鈥� despite it requiring immense amounts of strength and overcoming extreme fatigue.
鈥淵ou can physically do the moves, but by the time you’re halfway up, you’re so tired, you just can’t hold anymore,鈥� Pilnik said.
Pilnik said finishing in second place at a Youth Climbing Series competition in 2021 made her understand the importance of concentrating on her own growth rather than comparing herself to others.
鈥淭he competition helped me realize you should just keep trying,鈥� Pilnik said. 鈥淵ou shouldn’t focus on other people’s performance. You should just focus on yourself.鈥�
While Pilnik said she dreams of rock climbing in the future, she is aware of the sport’s limitations due to the lack of popularity and social recognition.
鈥淔or such a small sport, you can鈥檛 be a rock climber primarily, it has to be your hobby,鈥� Pilnik said. 鈥淚鈥檒l keep going, but unfortunately, it can’t be my end game.鈥�
