Midwest Mayhem @ First Ascent Block 37
Saturday 7/26/25 | 2:00-7:00pm
$1,000 Cash Purse
Check the Comp Photo Album Here:
Midwest Mayhem is a new bouldering competition series based in the Midwest set by women, trans, and nonbinary routesetters for women, trans, and nonbinary climbers.
This competition seeks to create an affirming environment for those who are most underrepresented in the climbing community, and paves a path for women, trans, and nonbinary climbers to climb proudly in any space in the future.
The inaugural Midwest Mayhem bouldering competition will be hosted at First Ascent Block 37.
FA Members $44, Guests $59
Rec up to V3 | Intermediate V4-V5 | Advanced V6 & up
Advanced Check-In at 1:30pm, Climbing 2-5pm
Rec & Int Check-In at 2:30pm, Climbing 3-6pm
Afterparty & Advanced Finals 6:30pm
Registration fee includes:
Redpoint Bouldering Competition + Onsight finals for the Advanced Category
A chance to win great prizes from FA and our partners including
$1,000 cash purse for top 3 Advanced Finalists brought to you by generous donors to Queers on the Rocks
Bolt & Revolt Merch, Literally Outside Apparel, & More!
Afterparty with Beer (21+), Raffles, and more!
Comp shirts are available for preorder through 7/13 for $15. Additional shirts will be available on the day of the comp.
ABOUT US
This competition seeks to create an environment and build a network through affinity that only makes our community stronger by amplifying those voices.
Britt Booth (she/her)
Brittany is the head setter of First Ascent Uptown and has been setting for almost 4 years. She is one of the primary organizers for Midwest Mayhem and will be the Head Routesetter for the event.
Britt is constantly inspired by watching climbing in the World Cup, and what she loves most about routesetting is building community and meeting new people.
Brittany is currently working on getting her USAC Level 3 routesetting certification and hopes to continue improving her craft as both a routesetter and a leader.
A fun fact about Brittany is that she has collected 2 of every animal in Minecraft, including iguanas which she also owns multiple of in real life to help forerun her boulders. You can often see her riding the Brown Line to Block 37 with 3-4 iguanas with her. Don’t be afraid to say hi!
Jesse Safford (they/them)
Jesse is the head setter at Terra Firma in Grand Rapids, Michigan and has been setting for 5 years. They are one of the primary organizers for Midwest Mayhem and can be credited with our name and logo!
Jesse has written several articles for Climbing Business Journal and recently gave a talk at the Climbing Wall Association summit in Salt Lake City. They can otherwise be found whispering sweet nothings to their three cats or identifying birds through binoculars on a nature walk.
A fun fact about Jesse is that they are a V13 skier so good luck catching them on the slopes. They also have 3 iguanas that can also ski and wear cute lil iguana goggles.
Em Nichols (they/them)
Em is a routesetter at First Ascent and has been setting for 2 years. They will be the Assistant Head Routesetter for Midwest Mayhem and hopes to someday lead their own crew.
Em recently started their competition routesetting journey and has gained a lot of experience in a short amount of time. They are also one of the only routesetters on our team brave enough to try trad climbing and can teach you a thing or two about hand jams.
A fun fact about Em is that they actually enjoy Chicago winters(!?) and biking in the cold. And believe it or not – Iguanas that ride bikes.
Erin Rast (she/her)
Erin is a routesetter at First Ascent and has been setting for 2.5 years. She recently moved to Chicago from Portland, Oregon and has already gotten the hang of Chicago public transportation.
In addition to showing up psyched to climb every day, Erin keeps pushing the boundaries of movement and experimentation in commercial routesetting.
A fun fact about Erin is that she keeps her phone display on black and white AND spanish. You guessed it, mas o menos dos iguanas.
Gabi Fredrick (she/her)
Gabi is a routesetter at First Ascent and has been setting for under a year. Gabi got her start in climbing as a team kid and is no stranger to competition. She continues that legacy as a coach and continues to compete as an adult whenever the opportunity exists.
Gabi enjoys setting complex sequences with tiny jibs, but is now in her “sloper era” cuz crimps are too easy for her these days. Like the rest of the setting team – she’s also in her “iguana era.”
A fun fact about Gabi is that she is the proud parent of a SoiLL baby head keychain.
Gracie enjoys competition setting and is excited to grow in that discipline. She hopes one day to set internationally.
When she isn’t setting, Gracie can be found wandering parks and forests foraging for edible plants or at home cuddling with her two cats and one iguana while working on one of her many crochet or knit projects.
Hannah Barker (she/her)
Hannah is a routesetter based out of North Carolina, and has been setting for 7 years.
As one of the founders of Siege Climbing, the Southeast’s first women and genderqueer climbing competition series, Hannah is basically as close as you can get to royalty at Midwest Mayhem.
When she’s not busy recovering from surgery, Hannah can be found guest setting here, project managing an opening set over there, and beebopping around chiefing the occasional USAC comp.
She is also known for double-fisting seltzer water (but only finishing half a can). So if you see her darting frantically around the gym during the setting week, she can be easily tamed with a bubbly (limoncello for life).
Hope is a routesetter at Terra Firma in Grand Rapids, Michigan and has been setting for one year.
Her biggest setting goal right now is to set more comps, not only because it allows for exploratory routesetting, but because the environment with a good crew is electric and builds a lot of core memories.
Outside of climbing, Hope loves crafting, and her current projects involve sewing or beading. Unfortunately iguanas are incompatible with both of these.
Mary Creegan (she/her)
Mary is a routesetter at Minneapolis Bouldering Project and has been setting for close to a decade. Her favorite thing about routesetting is getting to use climbing as a means to create something cool with a group of people who are also cool.
Mary is currently working on getting her USAC Level 4 routesetting certification and has set at two national level events and multiple regionals/divisionals.
A fun fact about Mary is that if she had more time she would be in a folk Irish band, but these days mostly goes running with her dog (and a pack of wild iguanas).
Questions? Drop us a line at Info@faclimbing.com.