who we are

Learn more about us and how we got our start!

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Our Roots

Athena Rock Climbing was founded in 2012 by Kelly Fields (she/her) as a way to bring women together to teach them how to become more knowledgeable Trad climbers. We had the intention of hosting one event during our opening season. By the end of our first season we had hosted three events in Seneca Rocks, WV.

Since then we have gone on to host events year round, migrating seasonally between Seneca Rocks, WV and Joshua Tree, CA. We have helped hundreds of women advance their climbing skills while making valuable connections with other women. Participants have gone on to become professional climbing guides, climb long routes in the alpine, as well as make life-long friendships with other women.

As we have grown, we have made it a priority to create more opportunities for women in climbing by building a team of professional female guides, creating apprenticeship opportunities for women aspiring to become guides, and by supporting the women behind the scenes at our events by seeking out female chefs, photographers, and Airbnb hosts.

Each of our events incorporates a family connection that was an integral part of Kelly's growth as a climber. Kelly grew up climbing with her family who played a large role in helping us get these events off the ground. Her mother cooks delicious meals for the events, her father and brother travel to events to take photographs, and her sister (a former professional guide) has guided for many events. We are a small business with a big heart.

Climbing can do so much more than push you physically. Trad climbing especially is a sport that works your body and mind. The mental benefits of coping with fear and other challenges will carry over into your daily life. This is a trade that can take you all over the world, introducing you to different cultures, belief systems, and people. Trad climbing is about having an adventure with the people you love, and Athena Rock Climbing is about sharing those adventures with other women. Our only word of caution before embarking on this adventure is to watch out because it is highly addictive!

our guides

Get to Know Us

We have had many guides since we first got started. Scroll down to learn more about our current guide team. These women are the heart and soul of what we do. We're grateful to them and to the women before them that helped us get our start!

Kelly fields

founder/owner/operator

Kelly was practically born trad climbing. From the tender age of two, Kelly was out exploring and scaling mountains with her family all over the country. Kelly’s passion has always been for traditional adventure climbing, big wall climbing, and establishing new routes. She has an impressive list of accomplishments and first ascents to her name.

Kelly's guiding career started in 2010 in Seneca Rocks,WV after spending 4 years working in climbing gyms and completing apprenticeships with reputable guide services. In 2012 Kelly founded Athena Rock Climbing as series of women’s only instructional, multi-pitch climbing events. Kelly traveled cross country to Joshua Tree to complete her continuing education through the Professional Climbing Guide Institute in 2015, where she began guiding for Cliffhanger Guides, and became the first woman to attain the Multi-Pitch Guide Cert in 2019. Kelly was so dedicated to becoming a master of her trade that she averaged 300 days of climbing per year from 2010-2018.

After guiding year round, nationwide for other guide services for ten+ years, Kelly made the bold decision to branch out on her own, committing herself full time to Athena Rock Climbing in 2021. She has built an impressive team of majority female guides and passed on a teaching style that encourages her guides to be authentic by fostering a culture of mentorship. Kelly has developed a one-of-a-kind curriculum for climbers of all levels, and demands a high level of expertise from her guides to deliver that curriculum.

Kelly will always be passionate about getting women into climbing, however with sixteen years of guiding, and 30+ years of climbing under her belt she finds herself uniquely positioned to pass on high level technical skills to climbing guides, working professionals, military personal, and three letter organizations. She is a true climbing expert, and has a unique talent for turning the mountains into a classroom. Kelly’s quick and quirky sense of humor, her most excellent technical climbing skills, and her dedication to her craft make any day out with her extra special.

Years climbing: 32
Guiding since: Summer 2010
Certification: PCGI Multi-Pitch Guide, WFR, CPR
Favorite place to climb: Take me anywhere wild and remote, it will be my new favorite place

katie beringer

Lead guide

Katie is an AMGA certfified rock guide. She lives and works in Ouray Colorado where she guides rock and ice climbing. Learning to trad climb from Kelly Fields in 2013, Katie is passionate about the women’s climbing events as an entry point for women in climbing. She spends her springs in Joshua tree to guide and instruct the majority of our women’s climbing events. Katie spends her summer sport climbing the local Ouray crags, exploring the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in the fall, ice climbing and skiing all winter long, and re-warming both physically and emotionally in Joshua tree each spring.

Years climbing: 14 years
Guiding since: Summer 2017
Certification: AMGA Rock Guide, Apprentice Alpine Guide, WFR, CPR, EMT
Favorite place to climb: Red Rocks, NV, Black Canyon, CO, Ouray CO, Staunton CO, Joshua Tree CA

Molly Massena

Originally from Washington, Molly grew up exploring great outdoor spaces of the Pacific Northwest and Canada. Introduced to climbing in 2000 by her father, Molly has continually been climbing from a young age. In 2007 she moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington’s Business School, receiving a degree in Finance and Entrepreneurship. Molly worked in Finance for 7 years before deciding to follow her passions to the outdoor industry. From guiding in Seneca Rocks, WV, to Joshua Tree, CA, and the Sierras, Molly has now been guiding full-time for 4 years. She is currently an Apprentice Rock Guide through the American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA), and is also becoming certified in the fields of Alpine and Ski guiding. When not guiding Molly serves as a Ski Patroller, holding an Emergency Medical Responder certification.

During the shoulder seasons Molly follows her passion for the outdoors by finding classic climbing and ski lines, whether it’s the Cascades, the Rockies, or Sierras, you can usually find her natural habitat of the alpine. However, once a year she does venture onto the water for weeks to months long sailing adventures on the open ocean: it helps keep her hydrated.

Over the years Molly has become more integrated into women focused events in the outdoor industry. After working in mostly male environments, Molly has realized just how awesome it is to tackle outdoor sports with a group of ladies. While skeptical at first, she’s become a true believer in the unparalleled environment of women sharing their outdoor passion together. Now she enthusiastically aims to be that lady mentor that she never had.

Years climbing: 21 years
Guiding since: 2016
Certification: SPI, AMGA Apprentice Rock and Alpine Guide, EMR, Assistant Ski Guide, LNT
Favorite place to climb: Tuolumne Meadows

CAlliope
Kerr

Calliope was born and raised in Yosemite National Park and was introduced to climbing by her parents as soon as she could walk. She spent most of her childhood climbing and gaining experience on classic Yosemite climbs as well exploring the mountains in the Eastern Sierra, the Dolomites, and Joshua Tree.

At 19, inspired by her love for climbing, she decided to start guiding and is now an Apprentice Rock Guide through the American Rock Guide Association. She is passionate about sharing climbing especially with other women and loves how guiding can make rock climbing more accessible. After growing up climbing with so many incredible female mentors she has come to recognize how special it is to spend time in the outdoors, especially climbing, with other women and hopes to share that experience through guiding. She is now living in Joshua Tree and enjoying all it has to offer.

Years climbing: 16
Guiding since: Summer 2023
Certification: AMGA rock guide apprentice, WFR, CPR
Favorite place to climb: Yosemite and Joshua Tree

Char

Tomlinson

Char is an AMGA Apprentice Rock and Alpine Guide. She splits her time between Alpine guiding in Washington and Oregon in the summer, and Rock guiding in Red Rocks and Joshua Tree in the winter. She also loves Ice climbing and goes on many personal winter endeavors to pursue it. Char grew up a fellow East Coast kid climbing in Seneca Rocks. The first time Char climbed with Kelly Fields she was 9 years old. She also learned how to trad climb at an Athena women's climbing event when she was a teenager in 2017. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Mapping and Geography and absolutely loves using it whenever she can. She loves any kind of multi-sport or up, over and around climbing mission, especially those which involve maps and tracks!

Years climbing: 21
Guiding since: 2021
Certification: AMGA Apprentice Rock and Alpine Guide, SPI, WFR, CPR, LNT
Favorite place to climb: 50/50 split between the alpine rock in the High Sierra and the North Cascades!

Shalaka

Gole

Shalaka was born and raised in the Bay Area, where her cousin put her on a rope for the first time at age 7. She was terrified, but liked dinging the bell at the top. She returned to rock climbing in earnest when she moved to Mumbai for a job in 2017, where the small and mighty climbing scene at the community-run Podar Wall took her under its wing. She soon climbed across Maharashtra and Karnataka with some of the strongest women she has ever met, completely transforming her understanding of what was possible for her and others in this ‘wild and precious life’ (thanks Ms. Oliver).

To pass on what was gifted to her, she volunteers as an instructor with Indian climbing organization Climb Like a Woman, and in Los Angeles with Brown Girls Climb and the People’s Climbing Crú.

Shalaka is also a fiction writer, and recently left work on SNAP & Medicaid with state governments in Minnesota, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to pursue guiding and writing.

She’s beyond stoked to be at the beginning of her guiding journey, and to share the joy, power, capability, community and discovery that climbing can offer at every level.

Years climbing: 7
Guiding since: Summer 2023
Certifications: AMGA Single Pitch Instructor, WFR, CPR
Favorite place to climb: Badami & Hampi, Karnataka, India

Nick
Cushman

Nick was born in Palm Springs, and raised here in Joshua Tree which has given him a unique connection to and appreciate for the Mojave desert. He started out bouldering in his backyard in 2017, and quickly turned his passion for pebble wrestling into a full blown love of roped climbing. As an enthusiastic and dedicated climbing instructor, Nick loves to share the desert experience and the world of climbing with his guests of any skill level. His goal is to inspire others to appreciate and respect the natural wonders of the desert, while having an adventure to remember. Nick's gentle and kind nature make him an invaluable asset to our team. He's hardworking, honest, has a great sense of humor, and a unique ability to make anyone and everyone feel comfortable around him.

• Years climbing: 8
• Guiding since 2023
• Certifications: AMGA SPI, First aid/CPR, LNT
• Favorite place to climb: Joshua Tree

David

griffith

David “Griff” Griffith has been obsessed with rock climbing for over 40 years. He continues to climb all over the world practicing all aspects of rock craft: bouldering, sport, traditional and big walls. He has been a longtime mentor of Kelly's since taking her on her first big wall route when she was 20 years old, which changed the course of her life.

Dgriff learned technical rope craft at the age of 12, climbed his first big wall at the age of 14 (the prow on Washington column in 5 days), and climbed his first El Cap route at age 18 (the muir wall in 6 days). Since then he has climbed dozens of El Cap routes as well as the Nose in a day several times. Has climbed big walls (Torres del paine, Patagonia. Buggaboos, Canada), difficult free climbs, and boulder problems all over the world. Has worked on countless rescues, worked as a technical climbing advisor, stunt rigger, stuntman, and supervising rope access safety specialist as well as being a climbing instructor.

His passion for and experience in the outdoors make him an invaluable asset to any team, and his upbringing with five sisters prepared him to be part of ours. He's uniquely qualified to work with any demographic ranging from your average dirtbag, to military personnel, to a fun family outing. They simply don't make em all like this -- he's about as real as it gets and we are honored to have him on our guide team.

Years climbing: 40+
Guiding since: The dawn of time
Certification: PCGI Lead Guide, CPR
Favorite place to climb: Yosemite and Joshua Tree