Away Team Bio

Kimber Cross

Kimber is an adaptive climber who uses a custom prosthetic ice tool to climb waterfall ice around the country as well as alpine ice routes in her home state of Washington. She was the first disabled climber to use a prosthetic ice tool on the Kautz Route on Mount Rainier/Tahoma. She is also a climb leader for The Mountaineers, a volunteer-based organization in Washington state that offers basic and intermediate courses and climbing trips. She instructs/leads field trips for the Mountaineers as well as private climbs year-round on glaciers, rock, and ice. When she isn’t in the backcountry climbing or skiing, she is a National Board-Certified educator, teaching Kindergarten. Kimber was born with one hand—she has adapted and modified to excel in sports as a kid and now climbing as an adult. Her passion is to teach children about the outdoors with her story of resilience and inclusion.

Essential Gear

I own both the WindBurner Stove and WhisperLite Stove. These have been phenomenal tools while on climbs to cook food and boil water quickly.


An a-ha moment in the great outdoors:

At Eldorado Peak in the North Cascades! It was my first time using an ice axe on a glacier that had been modified to fit my right arm that does not have a hand. It was a success and a-ha moment in the sense that I realized I could be a part of this mountaineering community and that feeling of inclusiveness gave way to a greater belief in myself.