STAFF PROFILES
These are the fine individuals you may meet during a visit to Stone Age. The following profiles will give you a little taste of the personalities of our gym, their interests and climbing careers. They are very much safety conscious and strive to make your visit to the gym enjoyable.
Anthony Pomo LINKS:
Anthony Pomo, A.K.A. 'Gangsta P' started climbing back in 2006 with an old school chum, Quin Childs. Since those first days at the gym he has toured the grandeur that is rock climbing in the Southwest and beyond. From Ten Sleep, Wyoming to Hueco, Texas, and many crags in between, he has been humbled by the rocks of God. Although he might not be able to lead a route harder than 5.11, he is known to regularly belay 5.13b. Anthony is also a certified American Mountain Guide (AMGA) Climbing wall instructor. When not working at the gym, he can be found climbing in the gym or hopefully, more often than not, outside, on real rocks, with real people.
Bryan Pletta LINKS: Bryan@StoneAgeClimbingGym.com
Bryan started climbing in 1984 in the southeast while attending school at Clemson University in SC. He developed his skills on the traditional granite cracks and faces of NC and was even known to miss a Clemson Tiger home football game in favor of a weekend at Looking Glass during those early years. He likes all forms of climbing but does more sport climbing these days due to limited time and convenience. Bryan is the NM regional coordiator for the Access Fund and President of the NM Climbers' Resource and Advocacy Group (NMCRAG). His favorite areas include The Sandia's, Palomas, Enchanted Tower, Mt. Lemmon, Yosemete, and Kalymnos, Greece. He has climbed up to 5.12 traditional and sport routes and climbed alpine routes over 21,000 feet in South America. Bryan is certified in First Aid/CPR and is an American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA) Climbing Wall Instructor Certified Provider.
Curran Lemp LINKS: Curran@StoneAgeClimbingGym.com
I was first introduced to climbing at the age of 12 through boy scouts. After a long hiatus and trials in many other sports I returned to climbing in 2005 through my college climbing club. Since then the life style of climbing has become my own. Climbing has taken me from coast to coast and south of the border. Some of my favorite spots include Protrero Chico, Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Maple Canyon, Cochise Stronghold, and the Sandias among many others.
Jeff Dallman LINKS:
Jeff is a Stone Age customer service rep and route setter. He is pursuing his Paramedic degree at UNM and is currently licensed as an EMT Intermediate. When not busy with school and work he loves to get outside and climb on rock. With bouldering at the center of his climbing focus his still find the odd weekend to get on routes. If he could dwell anywhere, it would be in Hueco Tanks State Park.
Joe Lawler LINKS:
I began to dabble in climbing about 1984. After graduating high school in ’85, I took up the tree climbing trade, working as an arborist in Pennsylvania. In ’86, I enlisted in the U.S. Army serving with the first ranger battalion where I was exposed to a concept known as assault climbing (yeah I know, right).At any rate, my interest and infatuation with climbing movement began to grow. I moved out west in ’94 to pursue my love for the game and play in the Rocky Mountains. I’m now a student at the University of New Mexico majoring in Philosophy and Religion. I am an experienced Wilderness EMT working as a climbing instructor (AMGA Wall Certified), for the past decade as well as a certified personal trainer. I continue to climb as often as I can with the hope of avoiding the frozen state of the Tin Man. I’d like to thank all my sponsors for making this article possible—you know who you are, and I know—the interest is accruing.
Kaitlyn Clark LINKS:
Kaitlyn Clark, was born and raised in Abq. As a wee child she started climbing as a Wall Crawler right here in Stoneage. As Kaitlyn grew she stopped climbing and devoted her life to soccer and school but in recent years Kaitlyn has come to her senses and begun climbing again. When she started high school she took a class that required a week of climbing in Jack’s Canyon as the final project, it was in Jacks that Kaitlyn had an epiphany. She would start climbing again. After that she came to Stoneage constantly until she no longer had enough money. That’s when she had the brilliant idea of getting a job (imagine that). For a full recounting of Kaitlyn’s Life Story please go talk to her.
Kenton Puckett LINKS:
Kenton Puckett was born and raised in the southeast corner of NM and moved to Albuquerque in the fall of 2003 to attend UNM. His introduction to climbing did not occur until the spring of 2008, but once it happened it was a match made....well somewhere in the desert. Since that time he has climbed as often as he can. Kenton avoids limiting himself to any one style of climbing, he boulders, climbs sport routes, and does traditional climbing as well. Some of his favorite places to climb near Albuquerque are the Sandias, Palomas Peak, Box Canyon, Diablo Canyon, and anywhere in the Jemez. Two all time favorites are Hueco Tanks, TX and Indian Creek, UT. Aside from climbing rocks Kenton enjoys mountain biking, snowboarding, backpacking, mountaineering, playing guitar and banjo, spending time with his girlfriend and dog, and being silly during all of his conscious hours. He has a B.A. in History from the University of New Mexico and is also an alumnus of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Kenton is a certified Wilderness EMT and American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Climbing Wall Instructor.
Kristen Martinez LINKS:
Kristen started climbing at 17 years old, way back in 1999. Lucky for her, that outdoor class nearly 10 years ago was put on by instructors from Stone Age Climbing Gym. Shortly after she started volunteering to belay for kids who came to the gym, she was given her first job! That job has made her what she is today. Kristen is an NSCA certified personal trainer, a group fitness instructor and owns her own yoga studio for children. She loves everything from racing triathlons to ice climbing and leading sport in Socorro. Her perfect day includes waking up in a tent at 11am, in time for some yoga and soy milk before getting on the rock!
Lance Hadfield LINKS:
Lance is Stone Age’s “original employee” and has been involved with the gym since its creation. Together with Bryan Pletta and Cristina Radu, Lance turned a paper-model idea into New Mexico’s premier climbing gym. Long before the inception of Stone Age, Lance was busy establishing new climbing areas in Colorado and New Mexico. Still in search of the perfect line, Lance actively climbs, competes and visits new crags with every chance he gets. When he’s not hanging off a cliff, scaling a ladder, or coaching talented climbers of all ages, Lance can be found pounding the pavement on his road bike or chasing after his two daughters Nyah and Misha on Rocky Mountain adventures.
Lee Brinckerhoff LINKS:
Born and raised in the SF Say Area Lee first dabbled in climbing at a county fair in California in 1989. It took several years before he made it back to climbing, swimming and playing a lot of soccer along the way. In 1996 he moved out to Colorado to attend college. While in school Lee climbed all over Colorado and the southwest, also hitting the popular California crags on trips between school and home. Lee moved to Albuquerque in 2002 and has been a fixture at Stone Age ever since. Between fits of working, remodeling, cycling and playing Mr. Mom he manages to get out and do his share of climbing. Some of Lee’s favorite areas are Tuolumne Meadows, Bishop, Sandias, Red River Gorge, The Grampians, Ceuse and Rodellar. Lee’s main goals in climbing are to give back to the climbing community by contributing good new routes of all levels and to remain a well rounded climber.
Marc Ripperger LINKS:
A native to the plains of Iowa Marc transferred to New Mexico to further pursue his outdoor passions. Marc has guided and climbed from the towers of the desert southwest to the peaks of South America. His love for rock and alpine climbing and mountaineering has taken him to the big walls of Yosemite, Sandstone Towers of Utah, Alpine country of the Rocky Mountains, High Sierras, North Cascades, Cordillera Blanca: Peru, and Volcanoes of Mexico and Ecuador. Marc is passionate about instructing and educating climbers in both an indoor and outdoor setting. Marc currently is pursuing his AMGA Rock and Alpine Guide certification and holds a single pitch instructor and Aspirant Rock Guide certification with the AMGA. When not climbing Marc spends time eating sushi, drawing, and trying to relax after a long trip.
Matt Moore LINKS:
Matt's maniacal devotion to climbing began 7 years ago in his native state of Colorado. As a recent graduate of Adams State College in Alamosa Colorado, he made sure not to let school get in the way of his education while climbing and traveling across the country. Currently, this AMGA Climbing Wall Instructor is enjoying the many world class crags surrounding his new home in Albuquerque.
Tim Henley LINKS:
I began my climbing career at seventeen when I began working as an outward bound instructor. In the mid 90’s I set out to climb hard, kicking off my climbing career at Rumney, New Hampshire. I continued instructing for outward bound and became a project adventure facilitator also taking up mountaineering, skiing and ice climbing. I applied these trades all over the northeast until my girlfriend dragged me kicking and screaming out west. For two years we ski bummed and climbed in Utah until we moved to New Mexico in 2002. I currently hold AMGA SPI and CWI certifications as well as a WFR and an Avalanche Level I cert. In the past five years my outdoor focus has switched to backcountry teleskiing and alpine climbing. When not in the Teton backcountry you can find me throwing darts and having a beer in the East Mountains of ABQ where I reside with my fiancé and two dogs.
