Today's episode, which comes to us from Every Body Climbs, features Melissa Ruiz. Melissa has been climbing and competing for about 6 years. She’s got a collection of medals to her name, including five gold, from national and world paraclimbing championships/cups.  But recently she's started climbing outside, and to put it lightly, she is stoked. So, this October (2024) she'll be teaching an aid climbing workshop at the Adaptive Climbers Fest in the Red River Gorge. Aid climbing is part of how Melissa has been able to access outdoor climbing with her disability, which is cerebral palsy. We pick up the conversation as she's explaining her condition and throughout the episode we talk about the importance of core strength, the joy of outdoor climbing, and what grades really mean. Follow Melissa on Instagram. Follow EBC on Instagram. _________________________ 🔍 EXPLORE FURTHER You might enjoy these related articles, episodes, and other resources: More episodes of Every Body Climbs More episodes of Sends and Suffers Maureen Beck | Adapting Justin Salas | Nonsighting REWIND | Craig DeMartino on Making Hard Decisions and Using Limitations _________________________ 🔌 SUPPORT + CONNECT Help us keep the show sponsor-free when you join our Patreon Community for as little as $3. Get two or more bonus episodes every month on Patreon, Spotify, or Apple. Subscribe to THE CURRENT and get a monthly exploration of how we can all become better climbers. Find Power Company on Instagram and YouTube. Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it. _________________________ The Power Company Podcast is a proud founding member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective, a group of the best, most impactful podcasts in the outdoor industry. Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.