Rachel Romanczukiewicz: Texas Lady Crusher's Member Spotlight

Name: Rachel Romanczukiewicz

Origin: Rugby, Warwickshire, United Kingdom

Current Location: Plano, TX (DFW)

Favorite Type of Climbing: Sport, Top-rope

Rachel first started climbing when one of her friends was leaving the country to teach English in Korea, and her friend had a bucket list of things she wanted to do before leaving. One of those things was climbing, so they went to the Summit in Grapevine with a couple of friends. That same friend, Brianna, is pictured below. Pre-COVID, Summit would set partner boulders for Valentine's Day and other holidays.

"We went a few more times before she left, but I ended up getting a membership and primarily climbing auto-belays for a lot of the time when I started. But it was a good time." Ironically, since she continued climbing, that same friend credits Rachel for getting her into climbing.

Rachel has enjoyed climbing outside at Reimers and Mineral Wells State Parks, and looks forward to taking more outdoor climbing trips when it is safe to do so. Rachel uses Mountain Project to scope out potential routes, and looks forward to any opportunity to go outside.

Rachel's fondest memory outdoors is camping in the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge, her first camping experience. "It was literally freezing! It was like January 2017, and arguably a mistake to go camping, but it was a good time and it was worth it." She has since gone back a couple of times with other friends, and it's always been a great time.

She enjoys walking, running, and hiking. One productive activity coming from the pandemic: going for walks daily. She has been very consistent about it in the last 10 months and has only missed a handful of days. She also enjoys yoga and that helps a lot with climbing flexibility.

Climbing has given Rachel a productive hobby, where she can spend a lot of time and see results. It has also given her a community of friends, and everyone she has met climbing has been very friendly and approachable. "I am actually proud of how many of my friends I have been able to get into climbing who actually enjoy it and continue to do it. It's really nice to be able to share your hobbies with friends and families who support you, but it is especially rewarding when they share the hobby with you as well."

Her advice to new Lady Crushers? Check out Summit if you are in Dallas! They run deals throughout the week so you can get a discounted day-pass. For any ladies, she would recommend checking out Lady Crushers so you can climb with other women. Summit has a lot of great community building events and activities.

Rachel often jokes that her only two hobbies are climbing and craft beer. She has an Instagram account where she posts about beer (@rachelsbeer) and she said that these accounts are surprisingly popular. It has been another opportunity to meet friends in the local community. Rachel also enjoys spending time with her pets and forcing them to wear matching costumes.