36 | AUGUST 5 • 2021 

N

ate Emery has an 
important day com-
ing up in his young 
life. His bar mitzvah will be in 
January at Temple Israel in West 
Bloomfield.
But he’s had a celebration of 
another sort this summer.
One of the nation’s best com-
petitive rock climbers in his age 
group, the 12-year-old from 
Farmington Hills participated in 
the USA Climbing nationals last 
month in Reno, Nev., and was 
thrilled to finish in the top 20 in 
the sport climbing and boulder-
ing disciplines.
“My big goal for this summer 
was to make it to nationals. 
Then my next big goal was to get 
to the semifinals at nationals in 
sport climbing and bouldering. I 
achieved both goals,
” he said.
Nate finished 14th in sport 
climbing and 17th in bouldering 
at the nationals among about 80 
competitors in each discipline 
despite being one of the young-

est competitors in the Male 
Youth C group.
It was Nate’s third trip to 
the USA Climbing nationals. 
He also went to Bend, Ore., in 
February 2019 and Philadelphia 
in July 2019 when bouldering 
and sport climbing had separate 
national competitions.
There were no USA Climbing 
national competitions last sum-
mer. The COVID-19 pandemic 
took care of that.
The pandemic also shut 
down gyms across the country 
for much of last year, including 
Planet Rock in Madison Heights, 
Nate’s home base.
Planet Rock (where Nate’s bar 
mitzvah party will be held) was 
closed from mid-March until the 
end of September in 2020.
There were Planet Rock 
climbing team Zoom workouts 
and a small climbing wall was 
put up outside the gym, but it 
wasn’t the same as having full-
fledged workouts and practice.

HOME WORKOUTS
Luckily, Nate was able to put in 
the work he needed at home, 
where a climbing gym was built 
in his dad’s former home office.
“We actually started to build 
the climbing gym before the 
pandemic,
” said his dad, Jerrold 
Emery. “The gym was expanded 
during the pandemic and now is 
essentially a full climbing gym. 
The room is 250 square feet with 
350 feet of climbing areas. I have 
a new home office in what was a 
spare bedroom.
”
Nate was asked if his home 
climbing gym has been a help.
“Massively,
” he said. “I 
wouldn’t have done so well at 
nationals without it.
”
Nate competed in seven USA 
Climbing COVID-safe, vid-
eo-recorded regional qualifying 
events in Indiana and Ohio after 
the start of the pandemic — 
finishing in first place in all of 
them — before he finally had an 
in-person competition in June in 
Morgantown, West Virgina.
He placed first in sport climb-
ing and third in bouldering in 
the regional in West Virginia 
and qualified for USA Climbing 
nationals in both disciplines (the 
top four finishers moved on).
Now that the USA Climbing 
nationals are behind him, 
Nate will spend time at Camp 
Tamarack then head to the New 
River Gorge National Park and 
Preserve in West Virginia for 
eight days of recreational and 
practice climbing.
It’s been a grueling climb for 
Nate to achieve the heights he’s 
reached in the five years he’s 
done competitive climbing.
But the soon-to-be sev-
enth-grader at Power Middle 
School in Farmington Hills has 
loved every minute of it and is 
looking forward to putting in 
more work.
“I love climbing more than 
ever. It’s challenging and fun,
” 
said the muscular 4-foot-10, 

90-pounder who has a popular 
Instagram account 
(@nate.climbs) with videos of 
his climbs.
Nate’s parents, Jerrold and 
Carolyn Emery, are fully on 
board with their son’s passion, 
and not solely because of the 
fitness and dedication that’s 
required to be a nationally 
known competitive climber.
“Nate has made friends from 
all over the country through 
climbing,
” Jerrold said.
 Jerrold calls climbing a com-
munity sport, where competi-
tion and camaraderie — even 
among the parents — are equally 
as important. There are no 
stereotypical sniping parents.
 “We’re all proud of our kids 
and love to share their success-
es,
” Jerrold said. “Climbing fam-
ilies see each other at competi-
tions, and we meet up when our 
kids do recreational climbing at 
outdoor sites.
“There isn’t a day that goes 
by that I’m not in contact with 
another climbing dad just to 
say hello and see how things are 
going.
”
Climbing is an Olympic sport 
for the first time this year. The 
competition is Aug. 3-6 at the 
Summer Olympics in Tokyo. 
Forty climbers from 19 nations 
are expected to compete. 

Please send sports news to 

stevestein502004@yahoo.com.

SPORTS

Home climbing gym 
keeps Nate Emery 
reaching for the stars.

Rock 
Solid

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Nate Emery hangs out in 
his home climbing gym.

PHOTOS BY JERROLD EMERY

Nate Emery is 
laser-focused on 
his next move in 
the sport climbing 
semifinals 
at the USA 
Climbing national 
competition.

