Climbing Character Series #1: The Bionic Woman
In First Ascent, you will play as one of 10 unique characters (and if we surpass our funding goal, that will bump up to 12!). Some characters are inspired by climbing archetypes, while others are inspired by people we know in real life! In the “Climbing Characters Series” we will highlight the people that are the muses for the various characters in First Ascent. As with movies based on true stories, Kate has taken artistic liberties in the interpretations of these characters. Our hope is that all people will see a character or scenario in First Ascent they can relate to!
In our first installment of the Climbing Characters Series, we feature Rebecca Levenberg who is an above the knee amputee and amazing person who sparked the idea for “The Bionic Woman.”
When I started climbing at Go Vertical in Philadelphia, I noticed a woman who was frequently at the gym, with an infectious smile, and friendly demeanor. The other thing I noticed was that she was climbing with a prosthetic leg. Just over 10 years ago while biking to work, Rebecca was struck by a garbage truck turning right across the bike lane she occupied. Luckily she was wearing a helmet and survived, but she had a slew of severe injuries and ultimately her left leg was amputated to save her life.
“I like that it’s [climbing] a combination of strength and strategy so there’s problem solving involved, and I think this necessity for being adaptive, and that’s for everyone.”
Less than a year after the accident, Rebecca gave rock climbing a try and made the observation, “I had no noticeable strength or talent for climbing, just a fierce determination to rise above what had happened to me. As I pulled myself up the wall, I was filled with exhilaration.” Then she was inspired by watching Ronnie Dickson climb, learned to belay and started going to climbing gym regularly with abled partners. As her arm strength developed and she made some tweaks to her prosthetic, her climbing ability improved. With coaching from Michael Wyman, and the suggestion to lock the prosthetic knee, her climbing took off!
In 2017 Rebecca placed second in the USA Climbing Adaptive National Championship in the lower extremity amputee category, her first time ever on a podium! With a newly modified prosthetic leg she named “Roxie,” Rebecca’s climbing continued to improve and she earned a place on Team USA at the Paraclimbing World Championships in Innsbruck where she placed 8th in the world.
Rebecca and climbing partner Marian at the classic, and now retired, Philadelphia climbing gym Go Vertical. Photo credit: Harrison Rhodes.
In speaking with Rebecca, she pointed out that every person has to be adaptive while climbing, we all have different body sizes and shapes and are learning to use them in new and unique ways while climbing. Rebecca points out that the progress she made climbing, getting stronger, and using her body to achieve the goal of scaling rock walls made her feel capable and able instead of disabled. In climbing with a prosthetic, Rebecca has developed a climbing style that requires a bit of creativity at times, and she has progressed from using the powerful dynamic “flying squirrel” technique to more static and controlled reaches turning her hips into the wall. I could really relate to this as my technique also improved greatly when I learned about turning in my hips and improving footwork.
In the spirit of finding creative solutions to tricky rock climbing moves, when you play as the Bionic Woman, you may substitute one required climbing skill card with another skill card of your choice!