Scaling great heights: Santa Rosa youth climbers win NorCal championship

Dorian Niaki did not have school on this particular day in 2017, and he was restless.

Well, said his mother, Gretchen, what do you want to do?

Out of the blue, he suggested rock climbing. So they drove to the Vertex Climbing Center on Coffey Lane in Santa Rosa.

Under the tutelage of instructor Carlo Traversi, Dorian excelled at the sport right away. After watching his pupil scale the wall like a spider monkey for a couple of hours, Traversi suggested Dorian try out for the Vertex Vertical Vipers youth climbing team.

Dorian tried out the same day, and made the team.

Five years later, he is Vertex’s most talented young ascender. At the Norcal Youth Climbing League Championships in Santa Cruz on April 9, Niaiki, an eighth grader at Healdsburg Junior High School, placed first in his age group for both speed and difficulty – a double he achieved at all four of the team’s competitions this season.

By continuing his seasonlong domination, Niaki helped Vertex clinch the championship of its nine-member league, which includes teams from Concord, El Cerrito, and Oakland in the East Bay, and Santa Cruz in the South Bay. Finishing second to Vertex was Rocknasium, a squad from Davis. Climbers from Gravity Vault Marin placed third.

Vertex is coached by Sielya Parkinson, 18, who’s been climbing at Vertex since she was 7. While the climbing gym was closed to the general public last summer, due to COVID-19 concerns, members of the youth team were permitted to practice.

“It was almost like camp,” she recalled. “It was just these 20 kids who had the whole gym to themselves.”

Because school had been remote, they were hungry for social interaction, which the climbing sessions provided. Yes, it was tedious and difficult carrying out COVID-19 protocols – masking up, staying distant, constantly sanitizing – but it was worth it, she said, to see the team improve, and bond.

“It’s been really cool,” said Parkinson, watching her pupils “grow and learn and form all these different friendships. They’re constantly helping each other and giving each other feedback.”

“It’s a really tight circle,” agreed Maia Benefield, 14, who won the speed category in her age group, and placed second in difficulty. “We all want each other to do well, so during the competitions, we’re there for one another.”

A ninth-grader at Maria Carillo High School, Benefield began climbing just over three years ago, and soon developed a passion for it. Where climbing helps some overcome a fear of heights, for instance, it has helped her in a more general way.

“When things are hard, and I’m tired, [climbing] teaches me to keep going, and not give up,” she said. “It’s helped me persevere.”

Vertex swept the top four places in the Girls 10-12 difficulty category, with Ruth Pence, Edith Likitprakong, Charline Rivera-Hoagland and Pearl Fisher taking those spots, respectively. Amelia Bates placed 8th. In Girls 13-14 Difficulty, Benefield (2nd) Hudson Meyer (4th) and Madeleine Keefer (5th) all made the Top 5.

Henry Harper and Neko Fitzpatrick, also of Vertex, went 1-2 in Boys 10-12 Difficulty. Vertex climber Felix Fitzpatrick finished second behind Niaki in Boys 13-14 Difficulty. Vertex climbers Jackson Houghtaling and Chad Smith finished 1st and 2nd in Boys 15+ Difficulty.

While Niaki may not be as tall as many of his peers, he’s “crazy strong, and super creative in the way he goes about working out these problems,” said Parkinson, his coach. “He’s just very naturally talented,” with an innate understanding “of how to move and position his body on the wall.”

With climbing having made its debut at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and Session Climbing & Fitness, a brand new Santa Rosa facility, scheduled to open its doors in the next month or so, there’s plenty of buzz around this adrenaline-intensive sport in the North Bay right now.

Session was co-founded and designed by Santa Rosa native and Dawn Wall climber Kevin Jorgeson, who grew up climbing at Vertex.

“There’s a lot of demand for climbing in the area, and this is going to get a lot of new people in the sport,” Parkinson predicted.

“I think it has the potential to be really good for everyone.”

You can reach Staff Writer Austin Murphy at austin.murphy@pressdemocrat.com or on Twitter @ausmurph88.