When software engineer Rosa Mastrogiacoma moved to southeastern Tennessee from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, three years ago, it was a comfortable fit — so comfortable, in fact, that it felt like she was being led here by a higher power, she says.
Because she is able to work remotely, Mastrogiacoma says that she could have lived virtually anywhere in the United States, but the mountains and streams of Southeastern Tennessee immediately beckoned.
Part of the attraction was the Chattanooga area’s growing reputation as a hot spot for outdoor enthusiasts, she says. Mastrogiacoma is an avid rock climber and white-water paddler. She splits her free time between her favorite climbing spots near Chattanooga and the Ocoee River in Polk County.
“I enjoy outdoor activities in general,” says Mastrogiacoma, who moved to Cleveland, Tennessee, in 2022. “I feel close to God in nature. It breeds peace.”
Mastrogiacoma is one of the growing number of Chattanooga-area residents who say they relocated here — at least in part — because of the easy access to outdoor adventures, especially climbing.
She enjoys the physical workout involved with climbing, along with the mental challenge of finding the best path up a rock wall. It’s like working a puzzle, she says. Her favorite climbing spot is Woodcock Cove, near Dunlap, Tennessee, and she favors the High Point Climbing and Fitness gyms locally for indoor work.
Mastrogiacoma also enjoys working in programs that pair her with climbers who have physical and intellectual challenges. She worked with a blind climber in Pittsburgh and has also been able to connect with two programs here that involve disabled climbers.
The number of climbing gyms in the United States has skyrocketed in the last decade, according to Climbing Business Journal. Last year, there were more than 600 gyms in the U.S., the journal reported — up about 75 percent in a decade.
Aside from the High Point Climbing and Fitness locations (two in Chattanooga and one in Cleveland), Synergy Climbing and Ninja (427 E. Main St.) is another popular spot for area rock climbers.
By one count, there are 21 outdoor climbing venues within an hour’s drive of Chattanooga, with about half of those within a 30-minute drive. The area’s sandstone rock formations are considered optimal for climbing. Popular locations for bouldering and traditional climbing include “The Boulders” on Old Wauhatchie Pike, Walden’s Ridge Park on Signal Mountain and the Tennessee Wall in Prentice Cooper State Forest (for traditional climbing).
“More and more people are getting into [climbing] across the nation,” says 39-year-old Beckett Honicker, who moved to Chattanooga several years ago to operate a gutter-cleaning and rainwater management company.
Before selling the franchise, which is called Higher Ground, Honicker managed a group of employees who were almost all rock climbers. The skill sets — climbing boulders and climbing on roofs — were complementary, he says.
“I go climbing about twice a week,” Honicker says. “I grew up in Knoxville and moved here from Asheville.”
Honicker says he was managing a Higher Ground operation in Asheville, too, but found himself traveling to Chattanooga often to climb. When the opportunity arose to relocate, he jumped at it.
For her part, Mastrogiacoma says she discovered Chattanooga as a rock climber’s playground during the pandemic.
“In 2019, I felt led to move out of Pittsburgh and started praying about it,” she says. “Covid hit, and some friends and I had the opportunity to travel and stay in Airbnbs. Three of those trips, we came to Tennessee, and it felt like home. Chattanooga fit my outdoor lifestyle.
“The sense of home and peace I got here helped me sense that this was the right direction to go.”
For additional information on climbing, check out the Southeastern Climbers Coalition website at seclimbers.org. Find High Point Climbing and Fitness at highpointclimbing.com and Synergy Climbing and Ninja at synergyclimbingandninja.com.