No. I have learned a lot (and continue learning) from more experienced climbers, but none of them are, or were, specifically mentoring me. It was more like partners/hanging out/listening to people talk.
I've learnt so much from more experienced people, But mainly just by witnessing it as a climbing partner. Many people have taken time out to help me, teach me, support me, but not one person consistently, other than my husband of course but he kind of has too if he wants feeding.
No. Went out and learned a lot about anchors myself. Followed people on gear a lot before I started leading myself. I kept my eyes and ears opened and learned a lot from them, but they never activly mentored.
Actually, I probably have learned the most from my hubby in the sense he taught me how to approch a sport climb (I primarly did trad climbing in the first part of my climbing career) and efficiently work a route for redpoint. In terms of beta he's still the most useful climbing partner I have, despite our height differences. Most people don't think very hard about climbing movement and why they do what they do, but he's quite aware.
In the beginning I had a friend who would take me out climbing but I was expected to learn on my own. They were happy to give tips and make suggestions, but it was not a mentoring process.
I would have been open to a mentoring relationship, but it just wasn't available for me. I also felt it would be wrong to depend on people climbing with me to teach me, because they really were out for a day of climbing and not bringing up a newbie. So I ended up hiring guides to learn anchors and self-rescue.
I briefly dated a guy who tried to mentor me, despite the fact I hadn't asked for it, and it felt to me like he would "take credit" for any accomplishment I had. It irked the hell out of me.
In 2010 I road tripped with a guy who I adored and I looked to him as a bit of a mentor, but it wasn't an official thing. He pushed me past where I had been but was aware of just what I was capable of. Unfortunately he moved away and I went through a major "great climbing partner withdrawal" period. It has been difficult to go back to my old ways of climbing with people I meet online, and so my climbing has diminished.
This winter I had the chance to climb a day with an accomplished woman climber and I realized that, had I HAD someone like her in my climbing life as a mentor, I probably would have moved further along in my climbing and leading levels.
Yeah, my school has a rock climbing club during the fall/winter. There are two teachers who run it and one of them has basically become my climbing mentor. We go to the gym on weekends and he teaches me stuff
I had two very experienced climbers sort of mentored me and taught me how to climb trad. I had taken a 3 day course and had followed tras and sport climbed a bunch, but nothing beats that kind of teaching on the rock.
The man who inspired me to start climbing 2 years ago became my mentor. Unfortunately we live a huge distance apart. But our time together is beyond special. With him I can do things I can't (or won't) do with anyone else.
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