Fernanda Loustaunau is from San Diego, CA but grew up in Tijuana, Mexico. After the first time she went climbing –after going on a date with someone who broke his foot bouldering (and suddenly she was intrigued)– she was hooked. She says, “even just at the gym, pulling on plastic I thought, ‘I really like this; let’s see where this goes.’ After that it just snowballed into a climbing addiction and it’s been a great year.” She can relate to a lot of us newer climbers that discover this whole new world in climbing that we never knew existed.
“Just strip away the fear. There’s no need to be afraid. People want to connect; it’s one of the great things about climbing. “
Growing up in and around the border, Fernanda grew up around predominantly people of color. She wants to introduce others like her to the climbing community because “it’s so great, right?; everyone is so nice, everyone cheers you on.” She feels like her job is to connect these communities together.
Even in her experience she has seen the vast difference in people of color not being recognized in the climbing community, especially when it comes to sponsorship or social media presence. She is hoping to change this because she says, “If people don’t see people like me outside, of course they’re going to think I don’t belong there.”
Holcomb Valley Pinnacles, Photo Credit: Will Pham 
Red Rock Canyon
She also sees the disparity between men and women in the climbing world. She says she’s seen a lot of female climbers at the gym, but very few outside. She says, “we need more women teachers that want to teach women that are brand new to climbing the ropes. I feel like we can change it.”
Fernanda had some big accomplishments in her first year of climbing. Her proudest –within her first nine months– is climbing 12 pitches at Portero Chico. She also led her first 5.9 outside a few months later and also climbed an 11.a.
Fernanda applauds climbing for improving her self-esteem and giving her more assurance. She says, “I’m more confident. I don’t second guess myself which I tend to do often; you love to learn your body.” It has taught me to “just focus and you’re gonna be able to do it. Don’t panic. My little lessons I learn from climbing internally, I try to bring them out into my daily life. Climbing strips your ego. It makes you feel empowered — which is something my mom has always wanted for me. It makes me feel like I can do anything that I set my eyes on.”
For new climbers she’d like to share that everyone started from zero. “We shouldn’t feel afraid to ask questions and always want to learn. You always learn something different either about the sport or about yourself.”
My favorite take away from talking to Fernanda is when she says, “Just strip away the fear. There’s no need to be afraid. People want to connect; it’s one of the great things about climbing. Don’t be afraid. Reach out. Everyone loves showing what they love to someone new.”
Fernanda has always been a lover of the outdoors and credits that to her grandfather who is still hitting the slopes and golfing at his young age of 80 years old. He loves adventure and risk as much as she does. When thinking about our attraction to the outdoors Fernanda says, “We’re all human. We all come from ancestors that were hunter/gatherers, so we walked the lands… of course we’re gonna have a draw to the outside. It’s in our nature. Denying certain people the access to outside is like denying our basic human existence. If more people are outside, the better we can protect our public lands. If we bring different people from different perspectives to what we love, we’ll be a stronger unit. We’ll protect these lands we love for centuries. We don’t own anything we have, we’re borrowing it from future generations. We need to bring everyone outside, show everyone the outdoors can be so beautiful and teach them to love nature. There’s a huge need to diversify the outdoors.”
“We’re all human. We all come from ancestors that were hunter/gatherers, so we walked the lands… of course we’re gonna have a draw to the outside. It’s in our nature. Denying certain people the access to outside is like denying our basic human existence. “
Fernanda is currently studying for the GRE in hopes to get a Master’s degree in Public Administration. Her dream job is to work for the Access Fund or work for the American Alpine Club doing policy work — for whom she already volunteers. She is currently a paralegal who enjoys playing board games, going to new restaurants, and listening to music.
Author: Valerie Vera
Thank you Fernanda for sharing your story and continuing to advocate for public lands and access for all!
