Ryan is a flight test engineer based on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, where he spends his free time climbing, bouldering, and finding increasingly creative ways to make simple things unnecessarily difficult.

He started climbing in 2020 during the pandemic with a group of roommates, originally spending more time rigging highlines than climbing. 

It didn’t take long for climbing to take over. Early trips to Tuolumne Meadows and Red Rock introduced him to the kind of climbing he still enjoys most: long routes, good approaches, interesting descents, and just enough adventure to make the day memorable. 

On his first trad lead in Red Rock, he decided placing gear was optional. In Tuolumne, he led every pitch of Royal Arches and opted to scramble the traverse without a rope. He was learning an important lesson about himself: despite a tendency to make things as simple and controlled as possible, he really enjoys challenging himself when he’s tied to a rope.

That mindset has carried into the way Ryan approaches climbing today. He primarily sport climbs around the Eastern Sierra, with regular trips to places like Pine Creek, the Owens River Gorge, Rock Creek, and the Buttermilks, while mixing in trad, alpine routes, and a few trips to Red Rock each year. 

Some of his most rewarding days have come from doing things he wasn't sure he was ready for, from leading the West Face of Cardinal Pinnacle and the Direct Start of the Third Pillar of Dana early in his climbing to eventually breaking into 5.12 sport climbing.

Ryan approaches climbing much like he approaches engineering and training: identify the problem, set a goal, address the weaknesses, execute the plan, and figure out what worked. But climbing offers something his work doesn't. It forces him completely into the present. The risk, movement, and focus leave little room for the daydreaming that otherwise occupies much of his mind.

For Ryan, climbing is ultimately about doing hard things with good people. The goal matters, but so does the experience of getting there—and there’s something pretty special about working toward a difficult objective with a friend tied to the other end of the same rope.

Cordillera Made is a proud sponsor of Ryan and stands proudly behind whatever shenanigans he gets himself into.