Community Ties: Jade Zickefoose
Beta for Being sat down with twenty-four year old Jade Zickefoose, a new climber in the Springfield, Missouri community, who has progressed very quickly due to their dance background and baseline fitness level. Make sure to follow Jade on Instagram here.
Amanda: Thanks for chatting with me, Jade! So let’s start with where you’re from, and when you started climbing.
Jade: I grew up going to school in Nixa, and now I live in Springfield.
I started climbing in October of 2025, so just last year. There was a period of time where I lived in Arkansas a couple years, and I had some friends down there who asked me if I wanted to go with them to this rock climbing gym, and I was like, sure, that sounds like fun!
I had a really good time that day, then I had this goal to eventually have a climbing gym membership.
Amanda: What drew you to climbing?
Jade: I’m a trained dancer, I have a degree in dance, and I knew that I wanted to find a way to stay active after graduating. I didn’t want a traditional gym membership — I don't want to be in that setting.
So that was part of the reason I got into climbing. But I also really like how there are problems to solve. I’m not always able to climb something right away, I often have to work at it. And when I’m not immediately good at something, I’m motivated to practice.
Amanda: That’s a good trait to have. Which climbing discipline do you like most so far?
Jade: I bounce back and forth but I think I like ropes the best. Even though I'm kind of scared of heights, I do really like to get high up off the ground. There is always a moment where I'll get nervous, but I think it’s good for my mental health to feel the fear, because it's like, okay, that's real fear. The other stuff that might give me anxiety in life just seems less scary after dangling really high off the ground.
Amanda: I relate to that. It puts you in the moment. So when you started climbing, you did start with a baseline of fitness, right?
Jade: When I started climbing, I had just come out of some of the most intense dancing I’ve done in my whole life. So physically, I was already in shape, but most of my strength back then was like in my legs and core.
In the fall of last year, there was this duet I was in between me and this girl that I'm friends with, and I had to lift her a lot. And when I say lift, I mean, like, arms fully extended above my head, she's up there, and I didn't necessarily have that kind of strength. So that was also probably one of my motivators to start climbing.
Amanda: And have you had the opportunity to do that same lift since starting climbing?
Jade: Yes. I have footage of me doing this duet before I had started climbing, and then a couple months into climbing, and you can see like how strong the dance became because I was able to like have so much control over the lifts!
Amanda: That’s so cool. How many times a week do you climb on average?
Jade: I try to come twice a week. If I’m consistently going three times, I start to really feel it in my elbows and wrists. I try not to overwork myself too much, especially at the beginning when I’m building up the muscle I need to climb. I realize how important the resting is.
Amanda: Yes! Is there a memorable climb at the gym that sticks out to you?
“There is always a moment where I’ll get nervous, but I think it’s good for my mental health to feel the fear, because it’s like, ‘okay, that’s real fear.’ The other stuff that might give me anxiety in life seems less scary.”
Jade: There are two that come to mind. The first one is a route on the back slab. There's a part where there's this volume sticking out. The first time I tried to climb it, I had my hands on two underclings and I slipped and fell…I caught my ear on the volume and ripped one of my piercings!
I was like bleeding down my ear and it was a little bit stressful, and I was so mad at that route! I gave it probably three weeks before trying it again, but I did it.
Amanda: That’s wild. And I guess that's a good transition into what frustrates you the most about climbing.
Jade: What frustrates me the most…can I say crimps?
Amanda: Yes. Absolutely. And what are your climbing goals or vision for the future?
Jade: I want to go back to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, and I know I’ll be at Horseshoe Hell in the fall. Maybe another goal of mine would be to do a multipitch route.
Amanda: That’s a good goal to have. Well, I’m impressed with how quickly you’ve progressed. Thank you so much for chatting with me.
Jade: Thank you!
