Kiersch sent 15 boulders 8A - 8B+ with broken pinky

Three weeks ago, we started to report some amazing sends by Michaela Kirsch in Rocklands. In the presented pictures it was clear that she was not using her left pinky and she told us the reason was that it was broken. Only two weeks before the trip she fell during trail running and had it dislocated and fractured. A few days later she got three screws surgically fixed into her pinky. Despite this, she sent 15 boulders 8A to 8B+ during 13 climbing days during her month long trip.

How much could you use the pinky?
As the weeks went on I was able to start incorporating it more (extremely carefully). It was mostly about being able to have the finger on holds so that the wrist wasn’t in an awkward or weaker position. I didn’t fully use it at all on the trip.

"My world turned completely upside down as I navigated my first major injury/broken bone, deciding whether or not I should cancel my trip, and ultimately trying to come to terms with adjusting my goals after feeling in the best shape of my life and working so hard. It was a total rollercoaster as I truly cycled through the stages of emotions and being so scared of surgery.

As many of you know, I am a hand therapist so this was the ultimate intersection of my life. As an OT, I knew that I needed to prioritize healing. As a climber, I was already in the gym moving my remaining digits and big muscles the next day. My surgeon cleared me to weight-bear at 6 weeks, which means climbing the whole trip in a 3 finger drag — we compromised on testing at 3 weeks because I promised to use my best clinical judgement based on the symptoms 😉

When I arrived in ZA my stitches had just come out so I had an open incision, a lot of pain and swelling, and I couldn’t even use my hand to wash my hair. I was scared to move pads, chalk up, and spot. I was scared to climb.

For better and for worse, we experienced nearly 2 weeks of rain over the month, climbing 13 days out of 30. For my finger, it was probably ideal to have forced rest. I made some conscious and crucial mindset shifts over the last 6 weeks that enabled me to come away with one of my most successful and fun climbing experiences ever. Most of all, I’m extremely proud of myself and my little pinky."