Intro
Texas-based climber and self-proclaimed MoonBoard enthusiast, Maddie Harrison, brings a thoughtful, grounded approach to everything she does—both on and off the wall. Between balancing motherhood, weaving intricate wool rugs, and training with her husband in their home-built garage wall, Maddie embodies what it means to climb with intention. In this interview, she shares her story of discovering climbing by chance, building her own training space, and finding community through a shared passion for progression.
Quick Facts
Name: Maddie Harrison
Hometown: Spring, Texas
Years Climbing: Almost 6 years
Favorite Climbing Style: Sport climbing
Home Gym: Inspire Rock (Spring and Cypress, TX)
Favorite Food After Climbing: Pizza—preferably from 5.ate Café or Jester King
Favorite Song: “Keep Pushing On” by John Maus
Discovering the Sport
Q: How did you get into climbing?
A: I got into climbing sort of by accident. My family heard about this cool concept of a café and climbing gym in Spring, TX. In short, I came for the food but stayed for the climbing.
Q: How long have you been climbing for?
A: I’ve been climbing for almost six years.
Training and Home Gym Setup
Q: What made you make a climbing wall at your home?
A: My husband and I built a climbing wall in our garage because we wanted to train specific aspects of our climbing and have that training be easily accessible. We chose to build a MoonBoard Mini for its size and cost. It has been an invaluable training tool for body tension and control, finger contact strength, lock-off strength, and confidence in making powerful, dynamic moves.
Q: What is your home climbing gym? And what other gyms do you like to climb at?
A: My home climbing gym is, at any given time, one of the two Inspire Rock gyms, located in Spring and Cypress, Texas. I don’t often venture out to the other gyms in the Houston area.
Favorite Climbing Styles and Projects
Q: What is your favorite type of climbing? And why?
A: My favorite type of climbing has always been sport climbing. There’s a mental aspect to lead climbing that I find both challenging and enticing. There’s also a soft spot in my heart for the MoonBoard.
Q: Do you have any project routes outside? And what difficulty is it? And where is it at?
A: My most recent project was Yertle the Turtle (12a) at Reimers Ranch. I got close to sending it a couple of times but have recently cooled off on projecting. I like to try hard when I climb outside, but I don’t care as much about sending as I do about the movement and climbing for fun. Sending is just a bonus.
Community and Climbing Partnerships
Q: Who do you like to climb with normally? And why?
A: I normally like to climb with my husband, Eric. He’s a great climbing partner, and our goals are very much in line with one another’s. We like to tackle projects together, and we each bring different strengths to the partnership.
Q: What does a good climbing community mean to you? And why?
A: I’m not usually at the climbing gym when there are a ton of people there (think during school hours), so while I do have a sense of community and belonging there, where I find it most is in the Mini MoonBoard community. All across the globe, a small selection of climbers have built ridiculously hard system boards in their homes. We climb each other’s problems, suffer over the same benchmarks, share our progress, cheer each other on, and forge friendships. It’s been incredibly inspiring to climb “with” so many people who are much stronger and more skilled than I am while sharing the same niche passion for Mini MoonBoarding.
Beyond the Wall
Q: What do you like to do outside of climbing?
A: Outside of climbing, I enjoy what’s called the fiber arts. Specifically, I have a passion for weaving wool rugs and have even engineered my own loom. Besides that, I also love strength training and hanging out with my husband and three kids.
Q: What is your go-to meal after a good climbing session? And why?
A: After a good climbing session, my favorite thing to eat is pizza. The pizza at 5.ate Café is superb, and I can also put down a whole Jester King pizza after a day at Reimers. The carb load makes me feel whole again!
Just for Fun
Q: If you could be sponsored by any company, which one would you want to be sponsored by? And why?
A: If I could be sponsored by any company, it would have to be Scarpa—but only if they give me a discount on shoes.
Q: What professional climber would you want to climb with one day if you could? And why?
A: If I could climb with any professional climber, I’d climb with Janja Garnbret. If even a minuscule fraction of her myriad skills could rub off on me, I’d be a better climber for it.
Q: If you could listen to one song the rest of your life on repeat, which song and artist would it be? And why?
A: This one’s easy! If I could listen to any song on repeat for the rest of my life, it would be Keep Pushing On by John Maus because that song makes me feel incredible.
Q: If you were a rock climbing hold, which one would you be? And why?
A: If I were a rock climbing hold, I’d be a slopey crimp. They require strength and precision and aren’t so bad once you take the time to figure them out.
Q: If you were a cartoon character, which cartoon character would you be? And why?
A: If I were any cartoon character, I’d be Finn from Adventure Time because nothing seems impossible for him, and he has a lot of cool and interesting friends.
Q: What three words best describe you?
A: Focused, intentional, and grounded describe me pretty well.
Q: What’s a fact about you people would be surprised to find out?
A: This is maybe surprising, maybe not, but I’m a bit of a backyard astronomer and use my Celestron telescope to view planets and whatever else the Houston suburb light pollution will allow me. I once sighted the Andromeda Galaxy through my telescope while on a trip to West Virginia.
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