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Kimber Cross

@kimberbelle

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alpinist
adaptive athlete
public speaker
@mountainhardwear @thermic_usa @peakrefuel @spot_llc @sidas_usa

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Meet adaptive alpinist, professional athlete, and educator @kimberbelle - and now MHW Team Athlete.

Based out of Washington State, Kimber specializes in technical alpine climbing and expedition-style objectives while using storytelling and film to expand visibility for adaptive athletes in high-performance mountain environments. In 2025 she accomplished her first FA mixed route, naming it Adaptive Reclamation M4+, with her climbing partner Charlie Faust in Cottonwood Canton, Wyoming.

In parallel with her climbing, Kimber is currently developing a short documentary film highlighting mentorship, adaptive performance, and perseverance in the mountains. She has been a full-time teacher for the last 17 years as a National Board-Certified Educator, and a public speaker, using her dual careers to model resilience, confidence, and adaptability for the next generation.

Welcome Kimber 👏

Images: @atkpics by @kimberbelle

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5 months ago

LIMITLESS

North Ridge of Kulshan - Baker // May 2021 taken in Mount Baker by @kimberbelle

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5 years ago

My dear friend @mr.jones completely crush my DIY vision for a waterproof zipper on the sleeve of a @thenorthface jacket I use for ice climbing. Tense was the initial moment watching him put scissors to the beautiful (and $$) fabric 🫣 but the installation of said zipper was awesome to see.

I can now efficiently roll back my sleeve with a quick zip, put on the liner and prosthetic ice tool, then roll the sleeves back down and zzzzip I’m ready to rock.

He’s done this to a baselayer @thenorthface jacket as well for those colder days on ice and I’m so grateful. My whole life as an athlete with a disability has been to adapt and modify. Just another #cantwilldid moment.

#neverstopexploring #weplaydifferent #iceclimbing #adaptiveathlete #diy #sewing #hyalitecanyon #shemovesmountains by @kimberbelle

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2 years ago

Twenty frames from Cotopaxi.

Cotopaxi rises 5,897 meters above the Ecuadorian highlands and is one of the highest active volcanoes on Earth. It was first climbed in 1872 by Wilhelm Reiss and Ángel Escobar, and it has erupted more than fifty times since the 1700s. People have been looking up at this mountain, and living in its beautiful shadow, for a very long time...

I came here to climb for @rompglobal. The Range of Motion Project provides prosthetic and orthotic care to people in Ecuador and Guatemala. Mobility is not a small thing. It is access to work, to school, to independence, to the simple act of walking out your own front door. Climbing with that purpose in mind changed how every step felt. We weren’t just climbing for ourselves. The amount of money we were able to raise for free prosthetics still blows my mind.

I am grateful to have shared a rope and these last ten days with people who I hadn’t yet met two weeks ago and are friends now. Watching teammates climb a volcano with prosthetic legs, some strapping on crampons for their first time mountaineering, was wicked cool. Thank you to @tinomartirano, @bri.daniels_, and @plp_mcafee for leading the team this year as captains with steadiness, patience, and care.

To our @cumbretours guides, thank you. Your skill kept the crew safe, your kindness kept us steady, and your enthusiasm never dipped, even at 3am on a cold glacier. Learning how you show up for ROMP every year, and that commitment, says a lot about who you are.

I felt strong up there standing at 19,347ft - a personal new high point. Thin air has a way of telling you the truth about your preparation, and this time the answer was good. I don’t take that for granted.

Standing on the summit was peaceful. A wide quiet and the sense that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Many hugs and a few solid moments of tears with a teammate or two solidified this experience for me.

Thank you to @mountainhardwear for your continued support for ROMP climbs. It was an honor and a privilege to be a part of that support this year as it is being an athlete on your team. #SeekWilderPaths always.

#Cotopaxi #ROMP #Ecuador #AdaptiveAthletes taken in Volcán Cotopaxi, Ecuador 5897m by @kimberbelle

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4 days ago

So proud of this ROMP team. We climbed Rumiñahui volcano, standing at 4,722 meters (15,492 feet), and every single person showed up with grit and joy. Those two things mark this team, and they carried us up and down that mountain.

Next up: Cotopaxi. 🏔️

This was my highest elevation yet in the mountains and I felt great. Threw on the new StretchDown Jacket from @mountainhardwear while taking in the experience and views in with gratitude.

#SeekWilderPaths #RangeOfMotionProject #Rumiñahui #Cotopaxi by @kimberbelle

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8 days ago

Lundin Peak was the last climb l led for the @mountaineersorg this summer. Enjoyed seeing basic students get their graduating climbs for the course & this was a new to me peak, which makes it extra fun. Summer out here in Washington means a lot of leading trips in the mountains and mentoring new climb leaders. It’s been really enjoyable supporting others gaining new skills in mountaineering and rock climbing.

The season is already changing here and I’m honestly ready for the skis and ice tools to come out.

One month until I head south to climb Cotopaxi and I’m thinking it’s a great way to end one season and start another.

#washington #mountaineering #climbing #pnw #snoqualmiepass taken in Washington by @kimberbelle

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a month ago

40 used to be celebrated as “over the hill” and “rip to your youth” and as I start this new decade I’m grateful to feel different about aging. Sure, if a full life is about 80 I’m halfway done, but what a beautiful thought to think about all that there still is to dream about and pursue.

Strength, wisdom, & humility can continue to be forged. New ambitions, new careers, new climbs, new places to visit, and new people to grow with will be experienced.

This 39th year held so much joy in the mountains with others. In fact, this entire past decade truly was marked by beautiful alpine views & really incredible friendships formed by climbing and adventuring outside. Just looking through the memory bank of photos the last three hundred and sixty five days alone (would need a carousel with a hundred photos to display each person dear to my heart I’ve been out in the mountains with in the last ten years) and truly feeling thankful for every person I tied into a rope with or skied a line with because you get to be raw with others in this environments in a unique way. I carry those friendships into this new decade loading and say thank you for the community I’m in. For each has been like an iron sharpening iron friendship. That’s the best kind. by @kimberbelle

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a month ago

✨above ☁️⛰️the ⛰️☁️clouds✨

#washington #shotoniphone #northcascades #seekwilderpaths #mountaineering taken in North Cascades National Park by @kimberbelle

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2 months ago

Dry tooling turned wet tooling. Hi, I’m Kimber, an alpinist, speaker, budding Children’s book series author (follow the progress at @summitkidsbooks), and former teacher of nearly 20 years. I was born without my right hand and I climb with a custom prosthetic ice tool built around a Petzl Nomic, engraved with three words: Can’t. Will. Did. (Thanks for the engraving @conrad_anker)

Photos by @tadashikibe, who took fun shots while @aleesha_wilson and I climbed fully soaked but fully stoked!

Thanks as always to @mountainhardwear for supporting me in the wild alpine dreams. I love this team.

#CantWillDid #SeekWilderPaths #AdaptToRemain #DryTooling #AdaptiveAthlete by @kimberbelle

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3 months ago

Glacier Peak is also known by its traditional Indigenous Sauk-Lushootseed names, Dakobed (or Tda-ko-buh-ba) and Takobia, which translate to “the great parent” or giver of life.

Reflection captures are some of my favorite ways to photograph these mountains. It’s nature’s art and fills a mind with a sense of peace.

I got a lot of responses when I first posted this picture in my stories of where this tarn or “lake” was located. Swipe to the next photo to see. 😌 Getting creative with your outdoor resources when snapping pictures is honestly really enjoyable.

Let me know if you like the shot! 🏔️

#glacierpeak #northcascades #photography #washington #fyp taken in Washington by @kimberbelle

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2 months ago

Summer, you cheeky little joy. ☀️ taken in Lake Cushman, Washington by @kimberbelle

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4 months ago

A really fun part about climbing Shuksan via Fisher Chimneys is the many views of Baker // Komo Kulshan throughout the day. Here’s the twelve photos I took of this beautiful volcano bc I couldn’t choose just one. Which is your favorite?

The first photo features my new @mountainhardwear hardware Nimbus ultralight tent from the “crow’s nest” above part of the route called Winnie’s slide. Truly one of the best camp spots I’ve slept in and the lightest tent to bring up on my back, which on a route like this ya really appreciate.

#seekwilderpaths #washington #shuksan #mountbaker #mountaineering taken in North Cascades National Park by @kimberbelle

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2 months ago