“You peek out from the alcove, look down and the valley just drops. You can see the tiny trees below you. You look up and it’s just a huge thing of rock…the valley floor is 100 feet below you and it’s just so airy and so exposed.”
Most people in the SCH community know Mr. Bergmann as an upper school math teacher but few know him for his outdoor adventures.
Bergmann first began rock climbing as far back as 4th grade when he was a cub scout, but his passion for climbing was excelled when a climbing gym opened in the town where he went to college. Bergmann began climbing a lot, “I basically was there every day, just bouldering and just working out” he adds.
The climbing gym was never Bergmans end goal, “Eventually I met people who would take me outside and help me make the transition from inside to outside.” That transition has led Bergmann to go on adventures of a lifetime.
Bergmann has been climbing in the Shawangunk Mountains located in New York for nearly twenty years. He recalls one of his first times in the “Gunks” climbing a route called high exposure.
“You climb halfway up and take a break in this kind of alcove ledge area, and then when you’re ready to continue, you have to step out of the alcove, which is kind of like a window on the side of your house,” said Bergmann.
“You have to stick your body halfway out the window, and really commit to being all the way out, most of your torso is out of the window, before you get enough reaching room, to reach all the way up and grab that hold.”
During his first climb of high exposure, Bergmann was thinking, “I can’t find a hold. Where is it? It’s nowhere. I’m gonna fall, what’s going on?” To no surprise Bergmann was able to find the hold and now takes new climbers on that same route.
The Gunks remain one of Bergman’s most frequent climbs. Adam Goldberg, one of Bergmans current climbing partners adds “[Bergmann] and I usually climb once a month together, mostly at the Gunks with the occasional session at another crag or the gym.”
When asked, why they keep going back to the Gunks? Goldberg responded, “The Gunks are just awesome. They’re accessible, with interesting climbs at all levels, lots of cracks to jam into, and amazing views.
Bergmann has been a great mentor for Bergmann, “It’s been great climbing with him. He’s been a really solid mentor for me, getting me to do things on rock that, even a short time ago, I wouldn’t have imagined myself doing anytime soon” Goldberg adds.
As Bergmann looks to the future he hopes to climb as many climbs as he can, featured in the book 50 Classic Climbs In North America. Among some of the top climbs Bergmann hopes to hit are, those near Yosemite, Alaska and the French Alps.
Bergmann also hopes to return to Grand Teton national park where he took a trip last July. “We got halfway up and had to turn around for various reasons. So I’m hoping to go back and do that” he adds.
“It’s totally like, a video game. I’m totally immersed, and I’m not thinking about anything else,” said Bergmann.