They / Them: One Climber’s Story

For Lor Sabourin, climbing is more than a sport, it’s a way of exploring identity and building resilience in the face of adversity. After falling in love with climbing at a gym in Detroit, Michigan, as a young climber, they split their time between competitive climbing and exploring sandstone crags in the southeast.

‘I was introduced to climbing when I was about 12 years old. I started to realise it was a powerful resource for learning how to deal with stress, learn how to push the edge of my comfort zone and gain the resources that I needed to build a supportive community,’ says Lor. ‘Climbing has this amazing opportunity to provide safe space for gender non-conforming people to participate in sports because our sport isn’t as highly gendered as others, especially in the outdoor realm. These types of sports are really special at a time when so many trans people are being pushed out of sports, as they can create a framework for showing how we can be more inclusive.’

They/Them follows Lor, into the sandstone canyons of northern Arizona, on a journey to piece together one of the hardest and most inspiring routes of their life. By embracing the strength in vulnerability, Lor has found the space to thrive and build a climbing community that others like themself can call home.