Dan Sherman

Member since 2014

How did you start climbing?

Dan: I first started climbing 23 years ago near Niagara Falls, Canada with some friends from college. But I stopped doing it for about 15 years until I joined Edgeworks when some one gave me a one month membership as a gift

Why do you climb at Edgeworks?

Dan: Running marathons is really my thing, but I started climbing at Edgeworks because I wanted some balance in the way I was using my body. Now I probably climb even a bit more than I run. I like the puzzle-solving aspect of it and the fact that I can just pop into the gym for a short time and get a quick workout or take an exercise class.

Where is your favorite place to climb outside?

Dan: I’m new to climbing outside in Washington but I really enjoyed bouldering at the Forestlands in Leavenworth last spring.

What do you do when you’re not climbing?

Dan: I teach environmental studies at the University of Puget Sound and I’m writing a book about environmental science and sustainability. I love teaching and learning about the way the world works and how we interact with it.

What are some interesting facts you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?

Dan: I love watching my two kids Audrey (11) and William (7) climb and enjoy the outdoors even more than I like climbing myself.

Which do you prefer: top rope, lead, or bouldering?

Dan: I like bouldering best because it gets really challenging, really fast and all I need to do it are shoes and chalk.

What’s your go-to route grade?

Dan: I like figuring out the V3s on the bouldering wall.

Dan Lofgren

Member since 2014

How did you start climbing?
Dan: I met a guy at Backpacker Supply in 1994 who happened to be an instructor for The Mountaineers. He and I struck up a friendship and he taught me the essentials of both rock climbing and mountaineering. I’m forever grateful.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks?
Dan: The atmosphere at Edgeworks is so incredibly positive! The staff and my fellow climbers are all focused on the safety and success of each climber. I consider every climber at Edgeworks to be my friend; I just haven’t met some of them yet!

Where is your favorite place to climb outside?
Dan: I like the nature of the rock at Exit 38 and the zillion routes at Smith Rock. However, my favorite climb of all time is Outer Space at Leavenworth.

What do you do when you’re not climbing?
Dan: Being recently retired, I’m coming to grips with a new reality – trying to handle my new freedom and schedule my priorities. I have more time now to finish a couple major landscaping changes, help my kids with their own home projects, spend time with my eleven grandkids and serve in my church. I think I’m going to like this!

What are some interesting facts you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?
Dan: I’m very involved with a new mission hospital in Togo, West Africa. The need is incredible – there are only 4 doctors for every 100,000 people! My doctor-daughter and her teammates share God’s love and compassion with multitudes of people who would never otherwise receive medical care. I want to help them as much as possible.

Which do you prefer: top rope, lead, or bouldering?
Dan: My creaky joints prevent me from bouldering and a fear of injury makes me shy away from leading – at my age it takes so much longer to heal, and I don’t want to miss climbing. As a result I thoroughly enjoy top roping.

What’s your go-to route grade?
Dan: 5.9 to 5.10 It depends on who rates it. I most enjoy a route that is at my limit all the way up. The exhilaration mounts after each successful move and finally explodes at the top! That’s what rock climbing is all about. I love it!

Lisa Garnett

Member since 2004

How did you start climbing?
Lisa: I started climbing by taking the Tacoma Mountaineers basic climbing class in 1996.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks?
Lisa: It keeps me in shape for outdoor adventures. Edgeworks encompasses a great community of climbers making it a fun place to exercise and make friends. Another reason I climb at Edgeworks is for the yoga classes.

Where is your favorite place to climb outside?
Lisa: I cannot chose just one. Yosemite minus the crowds, the Wind River range in Wyoming, and the North Cascades .

What do you do when you’re not climbing?
Lisa: I work as an Occupational Therapist at St Joseph Hospital. Tending to my bee hives, garden, dog and cat keeps me pretty busy. I love kayaking, biking, hiking and photography.

What are some interesting facts you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?
Lisa: I grew up in Los Angeles but spent most of my summers in Chehalis. They are very different worlds. I try to keep retired climbing jackets or sleeping bags in my car in case I see someone on the street who looks cold. I’ve given a couple away. Its kind of fun and I recommend folks who have extra jackets or cold weather gear give it a try.

Which do you prefer: top rope, lead, or bouldering?
Lisa: Leading in my comfort zone which varies depending the kind of climbing shape I am in. I will gladly top rope anything, but it just is not a satisfying day without at least 1 good lead.

What’s your go-to route grade?
Lisa: 5.9. 10a. 10b.

James Donley

Member since 2012

Member Stats:

• Lifetime Check-ins: 383+ • Proficiency: Lead • Avg. Monthly Visits: 9.12 • 0 to Member: 6 Days •

How did you start climbing?

Jim: An old friend invited me to check out the gym.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks?

Jim: Good workout. Always something new to try. Awesome staff and a great place to meet active people that enjoy the outdoors.

Where is your favorite place to climb outside?

Jim: Only climbed outside a couple of times so I would have to say Exit 32.

What do you do when you’re not climbing?

Jim: Hiking, camping, travel, snowshoe, cross-country ski, bike riding, just getting into zipline and white-water rafting. Basically anything outdoors that gets the blood pumping.

What are some interesting facts you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?

Jim: Hmmm, grew up in Upstate New York. Am a Buffalo Bills fan. Served in the Army as a scout. Have lived in Tacoma the past 9+ years and am a Surgical Technologist at St. Joe’s Hospital.

Chris Pascual

Member since 2008

How did you start climbing?

Chris: Back in 2004, I started doing Parkour and I became interested in finding more ways to challenge my ability to move. After a high school reunion in 2005, it came up in conversation with an old friend that they did rock climbing at Edgeworks and I immediately asked them to take me and the rest is history.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks?

Chris: I love the community at the gym. When I first entered the climbing community, what struck me the most is how easy going, accepting and welcoming the people are. There’s a very “it takes a village” feel where it seems like everyone is supporting everyone else either explicitly through advice or more passively through encouragement.

Where is your favorite place to climb outside?

Chris: Sadly, I’m not all that experienced in climbing outside. I’ve done some limited bouldering and scrambling at parks in the Puget Sound, but I think I would like to actually get outside at least once this year to climb. So my favorite place will be the next place I go!

What do you do when you’re not climbing?

Chris: If I’m not climbing but focused on using my body, I’m practicing or teaching martial arts or Parkour. If I’m focused on using my mind, I play tabletop board games and card games or watch movies with friends. Of course I also need to eat to keep my body and mind fueled, so I enjoy cooking quite a bit and love trying new recipes and refining old ones.

What are some interesting facts you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?

Chris: I enjoy studying foreign languages. I took Japanese in high school and college and still try to keep studying it now. I’m also working on learning at least a little bit of Filipino, the language of my parents. Watching a decent number of Hong Kong movies over the years also has me interested in learning Cantonese as well. And speaking of foreign films, I’m very excited that the Seattle International Film Festival is coming up soon. I’ve attended at least one movie each year at the festival for around the last 13 years.

Julie Mangrum

Edgeworks Member since 2004.
One of 7 current members who have been with us since the very beginning – almost 12 years!

How did you start climbing?

Julie: As a kid I liked watching the show “American Gladiators.” One of the events the contestants had to go through was climbing a wall before a Gladiator could yank them off. I always wanted to try that for myself (minus the Gladiator) and I got my chance to as a student at the University of Puget Sound. There’s a climbing wall in the fitness facility that had been constructed in a racquetball court. That’s basically where I learned how to climb.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks?

Julie: I climb at Edgeworks because I love climbing and it is only 1.8 miles from my house! I have never been into sports or fitness, but to me, climbing is about how to physically solve puzzles. It’s super fun and it doesn’t seem like exercise to me.

Where is your favorite place to climb outside?

Julie: Either Thailand or New Zealand. Just kidding, I’ve never been to either of those places. Even though I’ve been climbing for so many years, I don’t have a ton of experience outside. Climbing anywhere outside is great to me.

What do you do when you’re not climbing?

Julie: When I’m not climbing I am probably doing something fun with my family (my husband and 2 kids), reading a book, or walking at Snake Lake or Chambers Bay. I also work part-time as the director of children’s ministries at a local church.

What are some interesting facts you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?

Julie: Lake Malawai is sometimes called the Calendar Lake because it is 365 miles from top to bottom and 52 miles at it’s widest point. A mantis shrimp can swing its claws so fast it boils the water around it and creates a flash of light.

Jeni Margules

Member since 2015

How did you start climbing?
Jeni: My fiance got me hooked back when we lived in Texas. While we were apart for several months after I moved up here, I discovered Edgeworks and it felt like home. I love that it’s an awesome workout but you have to think critically about every problem.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks?
Jeni: The atmosphere is welcoming and always striving for improvement. Everyone who walks in those doors is trying to do something just out of reach and the establishment itself is always looking for new things to try and creative ways to reach out to the community. It’s too much fun to quit!

Where is your favorite place to climb outside?
Jeni: I actually haven’t yet… suggestions welcome 🙂

What do you do when you’re not climbing?
Jeni: I watch really bad Netflix movies, I’m an indiscriminant reader and I just tried out Zumba for the first time. I also spend an inordinate amount of time annoying my cats.

What are some interesting facts you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?
Jeni: 1) I’m getting married in August. 2) I’ve delivered a baby without supervision. 3) I am on my way to becoming a beer snob. 4) I’m from Texas, I miss the rodeo and if you wear a cowboy hat I will think you are cute. Even if you’re 80. 5) My sister is visiting this month and she doesn’t know that I’m bringing her here and already bought her a harness. 6) Also, my fiance said I had to include this, but my cousin is Eric Stoltz.

Veronica Whetstine

Member since 2015

How did you start climbing?
Veronica: My first experience with rock climbing was when I was 13 years old. I attended a summer camp in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho called Lutherhaven and as part of their program they have a rock wall for kids to climb. I was super afraid of heights, but loved climbing so I pushed through. My love of climbing grew as I returned to camp each summer. When I got to college, I started climbing regularly at the rec center’s climbing wall and then moved to Tacoma and found Edgeworks.

Why do you climb at Edgeworks?
Veronica: I love the community at Edgeworks. It’s great to see so many people from different walks of life and different ages enjoying climbing in the same place. I enjoy talking with different people and getting to know the great staff that work here. Climbing at Edgeworks isn’t just a workout, it’s a hang out that is focused around an activity that people love to do.

Where is your favorite place to climb outside?
Veronica: I’m not much of an outdoor climber, but there is a wall that I have special memories of climbing. It’s located at Shoshone Base Camp up the north fork of the Coeur d’ Alene River. I hope that in the coming years I’ll get the opportunity to climb some of the amazing outdoor rocks of the Pacific Northwest.

What do you do when you’re not climbing?
Veronica: When I’m not climbing, I enjoy participating in other activities. I love to run and bike and swim and hike. I’m a woman on the go. I like to go out adventuring in the mountains with my friends on weekends and go camping in the summer.

What are some interesting facts you’d like to share with the Edgeworks community?
Veronica: I love numbers and tracking things that other people may not care to pay attention to. For example in the month of January, I ran 60.5 miles, weight lifted 6 times, and checked in for 13 climbing sessions. Also, I really love to organize and clean spaces, the messier they start out, the better.