Rick Watson

Rick Watson started climbing in 1984 on a visit to Chandler Park, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he fell in with a small crew crowd of  climbers who mentored him in the finer points of hip belays, top roping, lead climbing, traversing and bouldering, and exploring local limestone and sandstone crags.  Hooked from the get go, he soon travelled to Oklahoma’s traditional climbing meccas: The Wichita National Wildlife Refuge, Mount Baldy, as well as to Arkansas’ Mount Magazine, Sam’s Throne, and other Ozark crags.  Soon he visited Colorado with his friends to climb in several of its historic climbing areas.

After successfully obtaining a Bachelor’s degree and then a Masters degree in English Literature at the University of Tulsa, in spite of his serious climbing addiction, Rick moved to Austin, Texas, in 1989.  He immediately took to the limestone bluffs in the Hill Country, and grew to love the granite of the Llano uplift as he struggled mightily to stay in the American Studies PhD program at UT, work at the Harry Ransom Center, and climb full time.  He added guiding rock climbing classes to his resume in 1994 when he offered the first climbing class through UT Informal Classes. He has since worked for Texas Mountain Guides and Austin’s Mountain Madness, which he later managed as lead guide for several years.

By 2001, something had to give, and graduate school was replaced by Rock-About, with his partner Kirk Holladay.  Their labor of love, mentoring clients to become successful climbers, stewards of our parks and climbing areas, and instilling a spirit of adventure, lives on in the company and its guides.

Rick has climbed throughout the Midwest and the Southwest, and in Mexico. He has established climbing routes in Mexico’s Potrero Chico, in Texas’s Pecos River, Reimers Ranch, the Austin Greenbelt, Enchanted Rock State Park, and strange stuff here, there, and in between, whether bouldering, traditional, or sport climbing.

Rick participates in and supports efforts to preserve access to public and private lands for recreation and the sport of climbing. For three years, Rick was President of Austin’s Central Texas Mountaineers.  During his tenure, CTM resolved access issues with Milton Reimer to keep climbing access on his ranch, entered into a Memoranda of Understanding with the Austin parks Department to preserve climbing access on the Austin Greenbelt, and implemented a phased re-boling project on the Greenbelt, ultimately replacing with other volunteers over 100 old, rusting angle irons and pitons with more current fixed protection.  He has also served over ten years as an elected member of the Central Texas Climbing Committee, and as Chair for three years, overseeing the climbing management plan at Enchanted Rock. Currently, Rick is a founding board member and Education Committee Chairman of The Friends of Enchanted Rock (http://www.friendsofenchantedrock.com/).