get to know luc ried, nativ ambassador

Posted by matthew abbott on

luc ried (@lriedclimber on instagram) is an arkansas-based rock climbing adventurer and a nativ brand ambassador. this summer, his passion is taking him to colorado and he will be sharing his travel highlights with us.

"i just hope we have a great time being in nature and appreciating everything that is around us, while we push ourselves on the rocks."
 

what is your hometown?

batesville, arkansas


how did you get into climbing?

my mother and sister drug me and my father out on a shopping trip. my father suggested that he and i go do something else so we didn't have to shop. we looked up things to do, and going to zion climbing center in searcy seemed like it wouldn't be too boring...long story short, i fell in love with climbing my first day.


what kind of climbing do you do?

mostly i sport climb, which is a form of free climbing that involves clipping your rope into bolts that are drilled into the rock for protection. i'm also new to trad climbing, which is when you place camming devices or metal stoppers in natural features of the rock to clip your rope into for protection.


where was your best climb ever? why was it the best?

my best climb would have to be “cradle of the deep 5.13a/b” at horseshoe canyon ranch. not only was it the culmination of a lot of hard training, both mental and physical, but it is also a striking feature, and a beautiful rock. the route climbs a knife blade-like edge that overhangs more severely the higher you climb, and has a beautiful view of the valley in the background.

luc ried rock climbinb 

what does “living nativ” mean to you?

living nativ is the embodiment of how I strive to be. to me it means that no matter what my schedule looks like, and no matter what commitments i make, i will always find time to get into nature and be adventurous. it is about living simply, having a good time, not taking anything too seriously, and exploring whenever possible.

"i will always find time to get into nature and be adventurous."


what quote/song lyric inspires you?

"because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn."
~jack kerouac

"i don't want to die, but I'm okay putting it all out there for the most beautiful expression of my life."
~dean potter


how would your friends describe you?

i believe that they would describe me as a little crazy for pushing my comfort zone in the outdoors so often. they'd also probably say i'm extremely sarcastic, have a dry sense of humor, and spend an inordinate amount of time outside by myself.


what inspires you?

as far as people that inspire me, really anyone who is willing to push the limits of the human body, anyone that is out doing what they love all the time, and anyone that isn't afraid to try something new even if it scares them. my biggest role models have been climbers that push the sport in ways previously thought impossible, people like chris sharma, dean potter, alex honnold, tommy caldwell, and so many more.

"what inspires me is the beauty of nature. there are so many unbelievable places to go, and for me the best way i know to explore them is to climb up to the best vantage point and take it all in."


how did this trip come together?

last year i had a trip planned to the red river gorge, but ended up blowing out my ankle in a climbing fall, so i knew i had to have something awesome on the agenda this year. I knew that i wanted to climb, fly fish, hike, and just enjoy the outdoors. i figured that the best place to do that would be colorado, and with my truck, clifford, built out with a queen size bed, drawers and hatches for storage, and a shell, i knew that we could live on the cheap to extend our trip as much as possible.

 

who are you traveling with and how do you all know each other?

i am travelling with my good friend and main climbing partner cole broadway. cole first expressed an interest in climbing with me about five years ago now, and since then we've roped up hundreds of times together, and even traveled across the country to climb. he's like a brother to me now, so he was a natural choice to join me on this trip.


what is the plan? is there a plan?

we only have a very basic outline of what we want to do and where we want to go, we know that we will start in estes park, colorado and move south from there, hitting climbing areas in boulder, golden, and colorado springs, then hiking two 14,000 foot peaks near salida to cap off our colorado experience. from here, we want to head south into new mexico to tick another state and climbing area off our list. after new mexico, we will be on the road back to arkansas, with possible stops at climbing areas in oklahoma or texas. the total duration of our trip should be three weeks.


what is on your packing list?

the obvious answer is our climbing gear: rope, harnesses, quickdraws, shoes, chalk, cams, nuts, etc., so we don't plummet to our doom. however some other necessary gear we will be taking is a slackline, fishing gear, and reading material. the slackline is for when we have downtime on an off day, or we want to set it up across an alpine lake, or put up a highline to scare us a little bit; whatever we do with it, it will lighten the mood and is always a fun rest day activity. fishing gear will be used both for leisure, if I decide to wake up early and fly fish in an alpine lake, and for food, if we decide fish sounds like a good dinner. that brings me to reading material, this will be important during our down time, like when we are resting in the truck, hanging in our hammocks, or driving.

climbing gear

 


what are the things you definitely want to do on this trip?

a large reason we are starting our trip in estes is so i can give a route called grand ol' opry 5.14c a few tries. i'm drawn to this route because of its beautiful setting, as well as its incredible difficulty. another route that i want to climb specifically for the view is tabula rasa 5.10c/d. it climbs a tall detached slab feature with longs peak in the background, and hundreds of feet of exposure directly beside it. i've also read that there is a wolf sanctuary that will allow you to pet and hug a wolf, so that'll be a really cool experience. in all, i just hope we have a great time being in nature and appreciating everything that is around us, while we push ourselves on the rocks.

luc ried climbing

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