A PROFOUND PARTNERSHIP
Published in the Nov. 29, 2025 issue.
By Lauren DeLaunay Miller
On a sunny October day last month, I followed along as three teenagers, two teachers, and one professional climber made their way up a trail toward an outcropping of large boulders. With lunch and water packed, the crew was preparing to take part in a quiet but revolutionary act. They’d left the confines of the classroom behind to spend the day out in nature.
The volcanic tablelands that define the northern edge of Bishop have become a world-famous climbing destination in recent years, drawing people from all over the world to this small town in the Eastern Sierra. But for the youth of the Owens Valley, the boulders that dot the landscape tend to be little more than an afterthought.
Stephen Kinney, who teaches at the Jill Kinmont Boothe School, Inyo County’s alternative middle and high school, said few of his students have a meaningful relationship with their natural surroundings despite being surrounded by public lands that draw tourists from around the globe. The availability of outdoor adventures, he said, is “so close, yet so far” for his students.
But in the past few years, the school has established a relationship with Sacred Rok, a local nonprofit organization led by Katie Lambert and Ron Kauk, climbers who draw upon their own difficult teenage years to bring the power of the outdoors to local foster and at-risk youth.
“?Both of us kind of came from a similar background of not resonating with school, having a difficult home life– sort of being wayward teens ourselves,” said Lambert. “And then we were fortunate enough to find climbing and the outdoors.”
Lambert recounted a hike she took with Kauk seventeen years ago in Yosemite Valley. Reflecting on their similar upbringings and how transformational climbing had been to each of them, they knew they wanted to help other young people find the same. Within months, they had formed a nonprofit and hosted their first trip for foster youth. Today, their programming extends to both sides of the Sierra.
A key tenet of Sacred Rok’s mission has been establishing long-lasting relationships with both schools and students, rather than providing one-time outings. Lambert has witnessed how, with enough time, even the most guarded students in her groups can come to open up and find the same sense of calm that she feels in the outdoors. “We need to have ongoing, consistent relationships with these kids because that’s where the real change happens,” said Lambert.
For the past three years, Sacred Rok has worked with students of Bishop’s Jill Kinmont Boothe School, taking students into the outdoors twice a month. JKBS teacher Stephen Kinney explains that most of his students arrive at the school after being expelled, and Sacred Rok trips provide an opportunity for them to put the emotional regulation skills they’ve been developing into practice. “Sacred Rok is a test in impulse control,” said Kinney.
Lambert said that she never forces students to climb, and while some take to it instantly, others need more time to feed comfortable. And, if they choose to hike around or simply enjoy the views in silence, that’s just fine with Lambert.
“?We bring them out into these environments where it’s just natural for people to want to play. And you can see the stress almost melt off of them,” said Lambert.
And while Lambert can see those changes in students from trip to trip, Kinney sees it remain when they return to the classroom. “Every day after a Sacred Rok day is a good day,” he said. Kinney is used to working with students with low self-esteem, and ending up at JKBS can be seen as a failure. But, he said, Sacred Rok trips give his students the opportunity to work toward a goal and succeed– if they’re patient.
”What a great metaphor for life,” said Lambert. “Because you can’t just desperately grasp onto this thing and will it into being.” Climbing, she said, requires the sort of focused attention that both she and Kinney see brings a calm relaxation to all who participate.
