Tacoma climber with prosthetic ice axe makes historic frozen-waterfall ascent
The elementary school teacher with one hand became the first disabled female to climb Colorado’s Bridal Veil Falls.
The act of climbing up something is deeply rooted in the human DNA; the joy and utility of it is inside us all. Evolution tells us this. Millions of years ago, we swung from the trees.
Of course, with the advent of bipedalism and Bluetooth, it’s easy to forget. Many people still do it for sport. Just ask Alex Honnold , Janja Garnbret and Tacoma resident Kimber Cross.
On March 16, 2026, Cross became the first female disabled climber to complete the expert-level, four-pitch, 300-foot Colorado ice climb Bridal Veil Falls . In the ice-climbing world, it is graded WI6 (Water Ice level 6). It was first climbed in 1973 by Jeff Lowe and Mike Weiss, who at the time considered it the most difficult ice climb in the world.
Modern ice-climbing equipment has shifted its grade a bit, but those things are always subjective. What’s not subjective is that it’s hard. It’s hard for any human with two hands, but downright Herculean when you have one.
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