by Sender One | Apr 3, 2018 | Blog
the contentFor Earth Appreciation Day, Sender One turned off the lights for a night of climbing in the dark! Illuminated only by glowing accents and headlamps, climbers took to the walls for a special night of climbing.
Stay tuned for more climbing events and videos!
by Sender One | Mar 7, 2018 | Blog
the contentWords by Jane Chin, Photos by Cass Chin
Sender One Santa Ana (SNA) and Los Angeles (LAX) both have competitive ("comp") teams that practice at their respective "home gyms". Given the distance between the two gyms, Sender One coaches hold monthly full team practices and an early season "all team lock-in" event. This encourages bonding between comp team members and fosters cohesion for Team Sender One. For the 2018 sport and speed climbing season, the all team lock-in event took place at Sender One LAX on February 17, 2018.
While the Sender One Youth team trained together, coaches Christian and Nate held a parent orientation to discuss team goals and important information about USA Climbing membership requirements for competitors. Many parents were new to the comp team, and climbing in general, and welcomed a forum where they asked the coaches questions about training methods, safety, and USA Climbing rules. Coach Christian Mercene, the SNA youth head coach, really listened and addressed new parents' questions and concerns. Coach Nate Withey, who has extensive personal competition experience, was able to answer technical questions about USA Climbing's rules. Parents are encouraged to visit
USA Climbing's rules page and watch the short video explaining its competition rules.
After training and dinner, Team Sender One visited
Sender City. Parents were welcome to try out the obstacles, some of which were quite challenging! My husband won the "speed climbing challenge", but I was able to pass his high-point on the the "moving cog-wheel" climbing problem. Many of the challenges required leaps of faith, such as jumping off high objects or platforms into the air, which are wonderful exercises in "trust" and made these obstacles popular in adult team-building/confidence events.
Groups began to form, with some kids heading to the party room to watch the climbing movie, featuring world class climbers Chris Sharma, Alex Honnold, and Margo Hayes. Others hung out with coach Melanie (who seemed to be exercising for hours at a time!) at the fitness area. The rest of us headed to the climbing walls to work off the dessert we ate! At 10pm, the gym doors were locked and all the other guests had left. Team Sender One and their families were locked in. A few parents collectively took a breath as Team Sender One took over LAX!
Kids ran all over the place, playing hide and seek, clamoring upstairs and downstairs. The main lights turned off, leaving the spot lights shining on the iconic Torch and the other big walls. Those who brought head-lamps did some "head-lamp climbing".Coaches also rigged up a "King Swing" in the middle of the lead climb arch. This was a long rope that required the swinger to climb up the wall, then jump off, for a long fall and wide swing.
By this time, it was past midnight. Many parents were exhausted since it was past our bedtime! People began staking sleeping spots around the bouldering areas. We set up the ground sheet and sleeping bags/pillows, and as things wound down, we settled to sleep. It was quite a pleasant experience to sleep in the dark and quiet building, with the occasional sound of an airliner taking off or landing at LAX.
The next morning Team Sender One campers woke up, packed up, and met for potluck breakfast. Coaches Toby and Christian greeted everyone and asked about favorite parts of the lock-in. King swing, Sender City, Rope swings, the (climbing) movie, "everything" were answers, followed by the next question: "When are we going to do this again?" Looks like the lock-in was a success!
by Crystal Tan | Sep 1, 2016 | Blog
the contentWords by Crystal Tan & Michael Doan
Here at Sender One, we value our members and the growing community we climb with. We thought it would be a great idea to start having a featured member each month! You can nominate yourself or someone you think deserves to be featured. Each featured member will get 4 punch passes that never expire and can be used for a friend! A nomination form can be found on the Community Board in the hallway.
The featured member for the month of August went to Michael Doan! Below is a little Q&A with Michael about climbing, yoga, and life outside of the gym.
Photo by Crystal Tan
Why do you love climbing and/or yoga?
“All my life I’ve been into physical activities and involved in team sports like track and water polo. After college, I couldn’t compete or be involved anymore so I started weight lifting. Weight lifting became repetitive and boring, so I found climbing! I love climbing because it is a game/puzzle to me and you get to meet so many people. It is an individual activity, but at the same time you are climbing with other people. I enjoy the physical challenge of it. I always felt like yoga was too feminine, but once I tried it I realized it takes a lot of physical strength and energy. I found that I was lacking flexibility and mobile range. I love yoga because it really calms me down. I’ve found a sense of ease and flow.”
What are some other activities you do outside of climbing?
“I work in cosmetics. I’ve always been a very scientific and logic thinker. I formulate beauty products, I’m a chemist!”
Tell us something that would surprise most people.
“I have a hard time answering this question because I’m pretty much an open book. I hide nothing, haha.”
What would your super power be?
“I would be an Earth Bender, because I like climbing on rocks……”
Photo by Crystal Tan
Would you rather be attacked by a bear of stung by a swarm of bees?
“A bear. Yep.”
What products do you use in your hair and how is the miantenance?
"Dove Conditioner Nourishing Oil Care. For shampoo, I avoid anything that contains ingredients that cause lots of bubbling such as sulfate which tend to dry the scalp (LOL). It takes me about 20-30 minutes just to condition and shampoo. I also use coconut oil on my ends before bedtime."
Check back for September's Featured Member!
by Sender One | Apr 25, 2016 | Blog
the contentWords by Nicole Pate
Last week we had our first ever preview of Sender One LAX!
The entire roped area, from the slab wall to the 60ft lead wall, was free for people to roam and see up close and personal.
We had a great time seeing new and familiar faces, giving out free S1 LAX shirts, and answering any and all questions everyone had about the new facility.
If you missed out, no worries! This Saturday, the 27th, from 4-7pm we are hosting another Open House. Come on by to see the walls for yourself, get a free shirt, and chat with our staff.
11220 Hindry Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90045
