climber

My work and recreation as a climber and instructor is entangled with the violent displacement of people from what has been designated “public lands.” The photos below were taken on lands which I understand to be first stewarded by the ancestors of those who now organize as: Amah Mutsun Land Trust, Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation, and the Kashia Pomo Indian Tribe. I make an effort to engage with the indigenous history, present, and future of the places that I live, work, and recreate, and encourage others to do the same.

Bare, spare branches against a muted winter sky, the day waning. Narinda is 2/3rds of the way up the cliff on the far right of the frame.
Narinda in a tank top and shiny shorts, feet swinging away from the overhanging granite boulder as she clings to the rock above.
Narinda with all limps splayed against a rock face, crashpads beneath her. The words "Lonely Together" superimposed.
Narinda kneels on a crashpad beneath a granite boulder, using her hands to demonstrate wedging fingers into a crack.
Narinda teaching a student to build a top-rope anchor above a rock climb.

I began rock climbing in 2011 in the Santa Monica Mountains, Chumash and Tongva lands. Soon after moving to Oakland, Ohlone lands, in 2013, I joined GirlVentures as a volunteer mentor in their school-year youth climbing program as a way to merge my passions for both climbing and building community. The experience set me on a path to working as a outdoor educator.

As an instructor, whether for rock climbing trips or extended wilderness expeditions, I value group outdoor experiences as opportunities to grow self-awareness, learn effective communication, and practice interdependence.

A relationship-centered facilitator, I emphasize reflection and curiosity around the complexities of history, place, and identity.

Training:

Wilderness First Responder (First certified in 2015. Re-certified May 2022)
American Mountain Guides Association Single Pitch Instructor (Course 2022) (Certification 2022-2025)
Professional Climbing Instructors Association Top Rope Climbing Instructor (Course 2018) (Certification 2019-2021)

I’ve instructed indoor and outdoor private lessons, clinics, and courses. Feel free to contact me with inquiries.

Previous experience with:

  • Bridges Rock Gym
  • GirlVentures
  • Stanford Adventure Program
  • Queer Crush East Bay

Media, etc.:

2022 Incredible Hand Crack
2021 Live Your Dream Grant recipient
2020 Dynamite Starfish Climber Interview
2019 Co-created Lonely Together, a [QT]BIPOC climbing zine.
2018 GirlVentures Her Voice Blog
2012 Angry Poetry Corner
2012 How I Learned to Not Stop Worrying and Still Love Rock Climbing