It must be hard to misbehave at naptime if your Kindergarten teacher has climbed 5.14b.  Well Jen Vennon’s students are probably silent because Saturday, September 17, she put to bed her hardest project yet: Stockboy’s Revenge (5.14b), Rifle, Colorado. Vennon’s rainy-day ascent of this kneebar-intensive route makes her the first female to climb 5.14b in the Rifle.

“Saturday was disgusting, raining and cold,” she said. “I wasn't feeling great, but I managed to get to the crux. Then I had a mental shift and thought, ‘You're here now, this is right, let's go, it's time.’”

Vennon was born in Ohio and started climbing as a senior in high school in the unlikely state of Florida.  While attending the University of Tennessee, Vennon spent most of her free time at the Red River Gorge or bouldering in the Southeast. After teaching for a year in Knoxville, Tennessee, Vennon left for a road trip out west.

“I started that trip in Rifle,” she says, “but haven't quite made it any farther. I love it here and don't see myself leaving anytime soon.”

Stockboy’s Revenge was established by Andy Raether in 2005 and originally rated 5.14c before repeats brought the grade down one notch. The route is located in the Bauhaus and shares the bottom crux of Gomorrah (5.13d) before branching off into its own 90-foot independent line. Stockboy’s Revenge is quintessential Rifle climbing, where bizarre body positions, tricky kneebarring and core-intensive stamina define the difficulties more than just pulling on small holds. On his blog, Joe Kinder wrote, “That route for me is hardly a ‘girly’ route and full of gnarly feature climbing and is thoroughly one of my favorite routes in Rifle. It is the representation of oddity climbing with knees, bizarre features and contortion.”

With her ascent of The 7 P.M. Show last fall, Vennon joined an elite group of women that has redpointed Rifle 5.14a.  Emily Harrington broke that glass ceiling in 2005 when she climbed Zulu (5.14a). Shortly thereafter, she sent The 7 P.M. Show, a route that Bobbi Bensman was filmed trying in Masters of Stone 4.  Harrington has since completed Roadside Prophet and Living the Dream, both rated 5.14a.  The only two other women who are known to have climbed a 5.14a in Rifle are Paige Classen for her ascent of Zulu and Lauren Lee with her ascent of Roadside Prophet.

How’s it going?

I'm at school right now, it's "rest time", which means 20 minutes when I pretend I can't hear them whispering to each other even though they know their only choices are to read a book inside their heads or try to sleep.

What got you psyched to first try Stockboy’s Revenge?

I honestly got psyched because I love climbing in the Bauhaus and Stockboy's was one of the few routes that didn't have a million people working on it. I do not love waiting in line to get on my project. Also I was interested in seeing if I could figure it out before asking around for beta. I knew it was complex from having watched some of my friends try it in the past. I always thought it looked interesting.

What does it climb like?

Stockboy's climbs like a climb you'd only find in Rifle. In the crux I used an upside-down knee-bar to reach a hold and then turned the knee-bar around (literally placing my foot where my knee was and my knee where my foot was) to reach the next hold. I could do that consistently, but I quickly learned that I had to do it correctly or I'd never be able to get a move higher. Doing it correctly was VERY hard and specific. I only managed it twice.

How long was the process?

I started trying the climb in early July (I think) and quickly climbed up to the crux. I could get to this high point almost every time after that, but I probably fell there over 20 times.

You punted from the top “easy” section once.  What happened?

The top isn't exactly easy, but I'd done it many times. I'm not sure what happened exactly, but I was resting in a knee bar and then all of a sudden I was on the end of the rope. Huge punt! It took many more tries to get back up there.

You were skipping clips, right?  Any long falls?

The plan was to skip the 3rd to last clip because I couldn't reach it from any of the holds. That was fine and I'd taken the fall several times. But the clip after that was also hard. I originally planned on skipping it, too, and didn't think it would be a problem. That was until one day when I botched the sequence up there. All of a sudden I was two bolts above my last quickdraw and over a roof. Then I got pumped--like really, really pumped--and fell from a move I shouldn't have. I took a 60-footer and swung into the wall really hard. I was pretty sure I'd broken my heel, but luckily it was just a bit bruised. After that I started clipping that second to last draw.

What about on the send?

Well, on the send, I skipped both draws again. My feet unexpectedly cut when I hit the clipping hold. There was no time to stop and I was cooked. I just threw them back on and finished the moves without clipping. It was my only shot.

The weather was terrible on Saturday. What clicked for you?

Saturday was disgusting. It was raining all the way to the crag and cold. I tried several times to convince my partners to leave the canyon and go to the Hot Springs pool in Glenwood Springs instead. It was just awful out. On my second warm-up I got called down because it started hailing, sideways. That killed it for me. But my partners didn’t want to leave, so I was kind of stuck in the canyon. I walked down to the Bauhaus to look at Stockboy’s and see if it was even dry. It was and it actually looked kind of bright up there. I knew I only had one shot at sending that weekend, and I didn't want to waste it.

I'm not sure the rain helped with conditions. I think it just took the pressure off for the day. I mean, if I didn't send, oh well, the conditions were bad.

I fell low on my first try and was really mad. I pulled the rope, tied back in and headed back up. I wasn't feeling great, but I managed to get to the crux, and then I managed to climb it correctly.

I just kept thinking my normal mantra: "One move at a time, each move perfect." But this time I was also thinking: "Just keep going, it's time."


How did you manage a 5.14b during the school year being a Kindergarten teacher?

Most of the work I put in on this route was over the summer. I'm lucky to get to climb a lot in the summer and I tend to build a lot of fitness by doing so. However, my body really responds well to resting and once the school year starts I get five "rest" days a week. Plus I get really motivated because climbing becomes my outlet, my distraction from a hectic week.  I think working and climbing keeps me balanced.

What's next for you?

Well, hopefully it doesn't start snowing too soon. I'd like to try and do one more hard climb before the season ends. But for now, I'm happy … and focusing on a busy school week.