Madaleine Sorkin
Author: Beau Toepfer
Part of: Notable Queer Outdoor Recreationalists and Affinity Groups in Colorado Springs
Sorkin is an extremely accomplished queer-identifying rock climber who attended Colorado College. Sorkin got into big wall climbing at Colorado College, a form of climbing where climbers scale massive cliffs, often over several days while sleeping on a hanging cot called a ‘portaledge’. She has climbed many cutting-edge traditional climbs where she has to place her own protection to catch her if she falls.[1]
Some of her notable accomplishments include Freeline, a 5.13 R rated (an incredibly difficult route with large sections where a fall would result in major injuries or death) route in Eldorado Canyon in Boulder, Free Dunn Westbay Direct, the hardest route on Longs peak getting the grade of 5.14- at over 13,000 feet of elevation, and Free Moonlight Buttress, a 1000 foot 5.12+/5.13- traditional route she climbed with another CC student, Kate Rutherford.[2][3]
Sorkin on the first female ascent of The Honeymoon is Over, a 5.13+ route on Longs Peak. Photo by Henna Taylor.[4][5]
Sorkin and Rutherford also freed (climbing with no falls) Freerider, a 3,000 foot big wall 5.13 route on El Capitan in Yosemite. Rutherford has named her excursions with Sorkin “Princess Cruises.”[6] Sorkin was also a part of an all female team to get the first female ascent and second total ascent of Via Costa Brava, a high alpine 5.12 R (high risk of severe injury or death if the climber falls) route that they re-equipped. Sorkin sent the hardest pitch (5.12 R) in the rain.
Sorkin’s accomplishments have not gone unnoticed in the climbing community, and she has functioned as somewhat of a mentor to another strong queer climber, Lor Sabourin. Sabourin noted that Sorkin has “{paved} the way for a generation of queer climbers to pursue what they loved on their own terms." [7]
Community Impacts
Madaleine Sorkin has been an influential mentor to other young and aspiring queer climbers like Lor Sabourin. Her outward advocacy has helped to make queer or questioning climbers feel more comfortable about their place in the community.[7:1]
References
“Innovation Thursdays: Tackling Passions One Start-up at a Time.” The Catalyst. February 20, 2015. ↩︎
Derek Franz, “Madaleine Sorkin Becomes the First Woman to Free Climb Dunn-Westbay Direct (5.14-) - Alpinist,” Alpinist Magazine, August 17, 2022, https://alpinist.com/newswire/madaleine-sorkin-becomes-the-first-woman-to-free-climb-dunn-westbay-direct-5-14/. ↩︎
Madaleine Sorkin, “Free Girl Days, Drunk on Moonlight’s Nectar,” Colorado College Alpine Journal, 2006, 6-12. ↩︎
Chris Weidner, “Madaleine Sorkin Becomes First Woman to Send the Honeymoon Is over (V 5.13C) on Longs Peak Diamond - Alpinist,” Alpinist Magazine, September 16, 2016, https://alpinist.com/newswire/madaleine-sorkin-becomes-first-woman-to-send-the-honeymoon-is-over-v-5-13c-on-longs-peak-diamond/. ↩︎
Emily Stifler and Madaleine Sorkin, “Women at Work, Madaleine at Work,” Colorado College Alpine Journal, 2010, 50-53. ↩︎
Kate Rutherford, “The Princess Cruise,” Colorado College Alpine Journal, 2010, 16-21. ↩︎
Lor Sabourin and Madaleine Sorkin, “Queering Climb Mentorship,” Patagonia Stories, December 20, 2022, https://www.patagonia.com/stories/sports/climbing/queering-climb-mentorship/story-123496.html. ↩︎ ↩︎