I’m an all-around climber with over 28 year of experience, and have established over 200 new routes, including everything from traditional, sport, and mixed climbing. However, my biggest accomplishment and legacy is not how hard I can push himself, but what I pass on to the next generation of climbers as a coach and mentor, including to help develop the next generation of Olympic Caliber athletes. When I’m not teaching climbing clinics, I can be found in Durango, Co at my climbing gym, running peaks, swinging tools, working on my photography skills or just chilling at home.

Highlights:

“Marcus Garcia might be the best climber you’ve never heard of.”
— Rock and Ice Magazine, issue 238.

Sport Climbing:

• Crawling King Snake 5.14a
• American Prayer 5.14a
• El Sendero 15 pitches 12+
• Spanish Harlem 5.13+ 14 pitches FA
• The Correction 5.13+
• The Matrix 5.13+ FA

Trad Climbing:

• The Sphinx 5.13
• The Gunfighter  5.13
• Death of a Cowboy 5.13
• Merlin  5.13 FA
• Rage 5.13R FA

Big Wall Climbing:

• Misty Wall 5.13 FFA Yosemite
• Cosmic Girl 5.12 FFA Yosemite
• 4 Fisher Tower route solo in a day
• 25 big wall aid routes Yosemite, Zion, Mexico

Ice/ Mixed

• The Raven WI5 FA
• Fly away WI6 M9 FA
• Zero to hero M12
• Ouray Speed Ice Champion 2017
• Coach USA Youth Ice Team 3rd 2017 4th 2018 Youth World Cup Championship
• The leading person for the USA Youth Ice Team
• Ranked 6th in the World UIAA Ice Climbing championship 2018

Fun facts:

• In 2003, I asked to teach snow and ice skills to a Delta Force group before the Afghan war.
• In 2015 I started the USA Youth Ice Climbing team to develop Olympic caliber athletes. In our first year of international competition, our team placed third.

What are you looking forward to?

I am looking forward to sharing my passion for the outdoors with a growing community of adventurous people. I am grateful for the life I am able to share with those dear to me.

What is an interesting trip/climb/expedition where you’ve taken your LOWAs?

In 2017, while teaching ice climbing at the Valdez Ice Festival, I teamed up with Jeff Shapiro and we put up a first ascent in a very unlikely place. A boat captain told us about some ice out in the bay, which meant we would have to get there by boat in low tide, and up and down before high tide. That’s how the Raven WI5 was established.