Climbers & drone pilots in training. Photo provided by Emily Johnston.
Grassroots: Unearthing the Future of Climbing
By: Sierra McGivney
Emily Johnston didn't know much about Ukraine before 2022, but like many Americans, she found herself glued to the screen, following the conflict closely. She watched as Russian troops waged war with Ukrainians in an attempt to bring Ukraine back in as a 'vassal' of Russia. Gunfire, missile strikes, and violence continue to wreak havoc on Ukraine's cities, towns, and citizens, and Emily’s story, and her desire to share the stories of Ukrainian climbers, continues to be as relevant now then at the beginning of the conflict.
Emily Guiding on Everest in 2018. Photo provided by Emily Johnston.
As she learned about the violence in Ukraine, Johnston couldn't help but think back to the times when she had met Ukrainian guides while guiding in Antarctica, Nepal, and other places all over the world. They were just like her, sharing their love of the mountains with clients. At the time, she didn't realize how important these connections she made would become.
Johnston was 12 when she first started mountain climbing. She talked her way into a trip up Glacier Peak in Washington at her summer camp. She explored, climbed, and fell into a crevasse.
"It was great," she recalls.
In high school, Johnston and some friends bought Royal Robbins Rockcraft, Freedom of the Hills, and Cascade Alpine Climbing and headed into the alpine. She distinctly remembers sitting at a belay ledge, comparing a picture of a clove hitch and checking it with her work.
Emily skiing the Tetons in 2017. Photo provided by Emily Johnston.
In 1987 she got hired as an Outward Bound instructor and then tried out for Rainier Mountain Guides two years later. She worked there until graduate school and has worked for International Mountain Guides for the last ten years. She joined the American Alpine Club when applying for a permit to climb Annapurna in 1993 and has been a member since.
In February of 2022, she did a quick Google search of "Ukrainian Climbers," and the first thing that popped up was Climb Army—a grassroots network of Ukrainian climbers put together by Mykhailo' Misha' Poddubnov, a Ukrainian mountain guide. She reached out to them and began chatting with Misha.
She asked Misha, Is what I'm hearing about real? What's going on over there?
PC: Emily Johnston
His response was an offer to show her around Ukraine and introduce her to their network of climbers. The next thing she knew, she bought a plane ticket to Poland and was waiting to be picked up on a train platform in Kyiv.
"Meet a Ukrainian guy online, fly to Ukraine; what could go wrong? I actually didn't tell my parents that I was going," said Johnston with a laugh.
Johnston is no stranger to being bold and journeying into the unknown, so it's unsurprising that she ventured to Ukraine during a war. She spent the month of December couch-surfing, meeting climbers, and being welcomed into their climbing community.
Climber & doctor on the right and Misha Poddubnov.Photo provided by Emily Johnston.
Despite language barriers, Johnston felt as though all the climbers she had met could immediately walk into her climbing circle and fit right in. The climbing community in Ukraine is just like your local community or group of climbing friends. They go to the local climbing gym after work, gush about their projects, and love climbing in all its forms. They have banded together through climbing to create a network of climbers helping each other.
Johnston traveled with Misha from end to end of Ukraine, collecting supplies and then delivering them to the front. Along the way, she collected story after story of Ukrainian climbers, the terror of the war, their resilience, and how they have supported each other as a community.
"It's this community without borders," said Johnston.
Emily interviewing a climber, soldier and doctor near the front lines. Photo provided by Emily Johnston.
Lena, a climber in her late 20s, was in Kyiv on the morning of February 24, 2022, when the bombing started. Lena's friends had a cabin outside the city, and the two fled Kyiv hoping to find safety. The cabin was in Bucha, where Russian forces invaded and are currently under investigation by the Hague for war crimes. The two hid in the basement with their neighbors for four days and listened to the gunfire rain outside. When there was a break, they ran for it and escaped.
Lena ended up in the western part of Ukraine. She had nowhere to go. Desperate, she remembered she had gone on a climbing trip with a guiding company in the area a few months earlier and called them up. They offered to let her stay in their office as long as needed. She slept on their couch and lived there for months.
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A wife and husband duo who own a climbing shop housed 50 people who lived in the building above the shop for three months. Another climber she met named Tanya, who Johnston describes as very poised, composed, and educated, went online and learned how to make Molotov cocktails because they didn't have guns.
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A group of climbers had gathered clothes, food, and supplies and drove trucks to the front lines. One woman, Oxcana, delivered drones, clothes, body armor, and kilos of Christmas cakes baked by these climbers. When she's not providing supplies and Christmas cakes, she runs a boarding school for kids whose parents are fighting or whose parents are in occupied Ukraine.
Borodianka, Ukraine. Photo provided by Emily Johnston.
Johnston has story upon story upon story about the climbers who are fighting for their freedom. Amongst all of the couch surfing and visiting the front line, Johnston filmed interviews with all of the climbers she met. She recorded around 15 hours of interviews sitting with the climbers and listening to their stories. With the help of a friend, she is currently putting together a film in hopes of getting the word out.
"It was even more inspiring than I expected," said Johnston.
Once she returned from Ukraine, Johnston needed to do something, to take action. She created a donor box account where people can donate directly to the climbers. She added links to her Facebook with photos, videos, and information regarding the Ukrainian climbers.
Emily, near the front, talking with Misha Poddubnov. Photo provided by Emily Johnston.
As climbers, we inherently believe in the power of partnership. To climb together is to partner with another person. Every "On Belay" and "I got you" tie us together as climbers. Johnston traveled halfway across the world during a war to help others who shared her love of climbing. This network of climbers has unified and become a community based around climbing. If you want to get involved, visit the Ukrainian Climber's website here.
