鈥淐limb like a woman means to own it鈥�being a woman鈥攁nd to say, 鈥業 am proud to climb like a woman. Yes, I am that badass!鈥欌�� said Sara Vetteth, 47, a mother of two and an entrepreneur who attended the 2021 all-women鈥檚 climbing event Climb Like A Woman (CLAW) with her 13-year-old daughter, Anya. The gathering, now in its third year, was held in Sethan, a hamlet set amid the pine trees of Himachal Pradesh, 12 miles from Manali, India.

CLAW is the country鈥檚 biggest all-ladies climbing event, organized by female stalwarts in the Indian climbing community. Its goal is to reduce the gender gap in climbing by providing a secure place for women to learn the sport and overcome stereotypes. CLAW was founded in 2018 by Gowri Varanashi, who was later joined by four valiant female climbers: Prerna Dangi, Vrinda Bhageria, Lekha Rathinam, and Mel Batson.

In India, the climbing community is primarily composed of men.

鈥淲hen I started out, I was the only female on outdoor climbing trips,鈥� said Varanashi. 鈥淟ater on, there were women coming outdoors, but they were only a handful compared to male climbers.鈥�

Varanashi discovered climbing in 2011 and later became the third Indian woman to climb a 8a (5.13b), Samsara in 2019.

鈥淲e need women鈥檚 events to enable us,鈥� said Anya. 鈥淲omen are of different builds compared to men. We need to see someone of the same physique to show us how it is done. Someone who is relatable. Then it is easy to understand, and it鈥檚 inspiring.鈥�

In India, women face prejudice daily. Daughters are traditionally brought up as inferior to their male counterparts. They are fed the conventional beliefs that women must get married, give birth, and look after their families鈥攏ot pursue sports or other hobbies outside the home. Some years back, before joining the CLAW team, Batson saw this firsthand when she visited a school in the remote region of Bihar. There, while the boys played in the playground, the girls sat off to听the side, chatting. When Batson asked about this disparity, the kids told her, 鈥淒on鈥檛 you know girls are not supposed to play?鈥� Said Batson, 鈥淭hese young ones were not even aware of their fundamental rights. They didn鈥檛 know there are thousands of women competing internationally in all sports. It is unbelievable to see the contrast in one nation. We must change this mindset.鈥�

When women in India, in rural areas or cities, try to excel beyond traditional limitations, there are usually more furrowed brows than proud claps. At CLAW, 鈥淢any participants tell me, 鈥業 can鈥檛 do this,鈥� or, 鈥楳y upper body is weak,鈥� even before trying something. We have a lot of stories in our minds about why we can鈥檛 be in sports. Probably that is ingrained while growing up or we have generated those false notions,鈥� said Varanashi. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 really blame anyone, but we have to fight the negativity. With CLAW, we try to break all these hidden reservations.鈥� Varanashi hopes to create independent and confident women through climbing, and to help them rise above the myth of women as 鈥渢he weaker sex.鈥�

During the CLAW gatherings, women of diverse backgrounds鈥攆rom cosmopolitan cities and remote towns, schoolkids and middle-aged mothers鈥攃ome together to tackle their 鈥済irl problems鈥� during the five-day event. Apart from climbing (bouldering only), there are slacklining, yoga, and nature meditation sessions. As the participants spend every moment with one another (with shared rooms and meals), they are exposed to sisterhood like never before. Evenings are spent in heart-to-heart conversations with the mentors, who start discussions on gender disparity in society and in climbing. It is during these colloquies that the attendees face their inner doubts and overcome their misconceptions.听

Dangi, a CLAW instructor and mountain guide with a decade of experience in the sport, believes that facilitating such conversations leads to a multifold revelation. She said, 鈥淲hen we asked, 鈥榃hy do all-girl groups feel different?,鈥� one girl mentioned how male players would never pass the ball to her while playing basketball. They assumed that since she was a girl, she would be weak. I had faced the same biases in my early climbing days. Likewise, a number of participants share their experiences, and we cater to them鈥夆�︹�塧s a group.鈥�

鈥淚 refrained from wearing sleeveless tops because people around me would make me conscious about my big arms,鈥� said Sonam Gogia, an event participant and a new climber. 鈥淏ut I finally wore a sleeveless top on the last day of the event. These girls became my cheerleaders.鈥� Ria Andrews, another participant, said, 鈥淢y parents tell me to find a 鈥榳omen-friendly鈥� sport where I won鈥檛 get tanned or scratched. I feel this burden every time. But with the female affinity, I could climb freely.鈥�

Tejaswini Gowda, another attendee, spoke about overcoming her timidity. She said, 鈥淵ou hear about these senior climbers and watch them in the gym crush hard climbs. I used to get intimidated when Gowri, Prerna, or other strong climbers were around. I always felt I could never be their friend, that I am not strong enough. But now I know I can hang out with them; they are normal like me. It is liberating and also inspiring when they climb with me.鈥�

CLAW provides a space for women to be themselves, to fall without judgement, rise with the support of fellow members, resolve self-doubt, and become stronger. Said Vetteth of the 2021 festival, 鈥淲e all were novice climbers, starting at the same level with no presumptions. We could be ourselves, wear whatever we wanted. That is why CLAW was best for my daughter, too. In her savage teen days, she could witness not-so-mean girls.鈥�

For 2021, after two successful meetups in 2018 and 2019 in Hampi (a village in Karnataka, featured in the bouldering film Pilgrimage, with Chris Sharma), the organizers expanded their scope to the Himalayas, whose foothills are littered with boulders. Their motivation was twofold: first, to promote India鈥檚 mind-blowing climbing potential. And second, says Varanashi,听to show participants that 鈥渂y traveling alone to remote locations in the mountains, they are already becoming self-reliant.鈥�

During my own time at CLAW in 2021, I learned one way to be empowered is to be yourself. On the first day of the event, Varanashi was demonstrating how to find the holds on a technical problem, a 12-foot-tall boulder with a mantel topout and no feasible downclimb鈥攖he only option was to jump. The moment Varanashi topped out, she realized her predicament. She panicked and wouldn鈥檛 come down. Terrified to jump, she was being vulnerable in front of beginners鈥攏either embarrassed to be herself nor scared of judgment. The participants helped calm her down and readied her landing. Varanashi trusted her spotters, took the leap, and landed safely on three stacked crash pads.听

This moment at CLAW, along with many others, sowed the seeds of confidence in the participants鈥攖o be themselves and to be empowered.

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