Kim Mohundro is nine months sober from alcohol, and rock climbing with others who are also practicing sobriety has aided in her journey.
In the spring, she was struggling with drinking too much and decided to go to treatment. While Mohundro was in treatment, her husband, Josh, joined her for a family session and found out about The Phoenix, a national organization that mobilizes sober activities. Volunteers, like the Mohundros, organize and lead active meetups across the country, ranging from CrossFit sessions to pickleball matches.
Here, the Mohundros started a sober climbing meetup — The Phoenix’s first group in Memphis. The group launched in May and now meets every other Tuesday evening at Memphis Rox. Josh led the charge to start the group to support his wife and cope with his emotions during a tough time.
“Instead of just being angry about a situation, I was going to channel it this way,” Josh says. “It’s been therapeutic for me.”
The couple started climbing about two years ago, and now they can use their hobby to help Kim and others on their sobriety paths, no matter how far along they are or their reason for choosing sobriety. The only requirement is that participants are 48 hours sober.
“It’s a neat way to get together with people who are sober, whether they are in recovery, or doing sober October, or pregnant, whatever the case may be,” Kim says. “As long as it’s been 48 hours, you’re welcome.”
Kim says the group has been an avenue to build new relationships with people on similar journeys. Many social athletic activities often include drinking, which can be challenging to navigate or even a deterrent against participating, she says. But that’s never a concern at the climbing meetup.
“It’s nice to know you have a place where you can go and be with others who share your situation and mindset,” Kim says. “There’s no ‘Hey, you want a beer?’ You don’t have to deal with any of that.”
The meetups are not like traditional recovery groups, where addiction is at the forefront. “You don’t have to stand up and say, ‘My name is so-and-so, and I’m an alcoholic,’ which not everyone loves doing,” Kim says. Instead, they start with a fun icebreaker, and then they climb.
“It’s nice to have an event that’s not AA or 12 steps or that kind of thing,” Josh says. “We can talk about recovery while climbing or giving someone a lift.”
The Mohundros give the group climbing tips and techniques, but a big part of their role as organizers is being the encouragers of the group.
“People might come with no experience, or they have a fear of heights, and we can try to help them overcome that fear,” Josh says. “And then we see them get up there and do something they didn’t think they could do.”
To find more sober activities in person or online, visit Thephoenix.org.
By Maya Smith
Photos by Sean Davis
