Linn Poston’s vision has always had its limits, but it was apparent from a young age that their climbing skills do not.
Poston has albinism, which made them legally blind since birth. But their 20/200 vision hasn’t stopped Poston from emerging as a world-class paraclimber — starting with their early days on a garage wall in Lakewood.
“When they were about five, I kept eliminating holds — I’d take a few off the wall, and then a few more — until, eventually, they were climbing up with virtually no holds,” recalled Linn’s dad, Scott Poston. “Every time I made it harder, they loved it more and more. Their smile got bigger and bigger. At that point, I knew Linn had a special connection to the sport.”
Scott built that climbing wall just before he and his wife, Kristine, adopted Linn from Hunan, China, at the age of two. What began as a therapeutic outlet — and a place for dad and daughter to bond — eventually turned into the genesis of Linn’s impressive career in the sport that continues this weekend at the USA Climbing Paraclimbing National Championships in Oakland, Calif.
Linn won gold in the youth division of the national championships three years in a row from 2021-23, and then finished second in the adult category last year. Last June, they won gold in the bouldering competition at the GoPro Games in Vail, followed by another gold later in the month at the IFSC Para Climbing World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria.
For Linn, the victory in Austria was validation that they’d arrived on the international scene in their first year in the adult category.
“That was pretty epic,” Linn said. “To be able to compete internationally for the first time and win gold, I got to be in that spot where younger me was looking up.”
The 17-year-old’s breakout summer was tied to their close relationship with their dad. Scott’s been Linn’s caller for most of their competitive career. The two use an electronic communications system that allows Scott to guide the Green Mountain High School junior up the wall.
Linn competes in the B3 paraclimbing category. B1 athletes are completely or almost completely blind, and must wear a blindfold during competition. B2 athletes are moderately blind, and B3 athletes like Linn are legally blind. Linn is determined to use their platform as a rising paraclimber to be a steward for the blind community.
“I want to show, and I want this sport as a whole to show, that blind people… can do cool stuff. We can live a relatively normal life, and we can be successful,” Linn said. “I’d really like to show that what people may see on TV, where blind people may be completely dependent on someone else, isn’t necessarily true. I want people to know we have just as much potential as everyone else.”
Linn’s accomplishments extend well beyond the climbing wall.
They’re an accomplished cellist and trombonist in the Green Mountain jazz band and orchestra. A skilled skier who loves to shred double-blacks at Breckenridge. And even though they sometimes need a magnifying glass to read — “I’ve got to get really close to the text, like smelling the pages of the books,” they quipped — they’re a star in the classroom, too, with a 4.6 GPA.
The same drive that motivates Linn in other aspects of their life fuels their desire to win gold this weekend after last year’s second-place finish. And this time, Linn will have a new caller on the ground helping them out — close friend Rosario Cornell, a 17-year-old junior at Grandview High School.
Cornell, an elite climber herself, found her way into Linn’s life after knee surgery sidelined her a couple of years ago. Wanting to stay involved in the sport as she rehabbed her way back, she was connected with Linn via Emmett Cookson, the head coach of the U.S. Paraclimbing National Team who also previously coached Cornell.
“I never would’ve been doing this otherwise, and I feel such accomplishment and I love being able to help Linn get up the wall and be there for them,” Cornell said. “After my knee surgery, I couldn’t do my most favorite thing in the world, so I thought, ‘Why not share it with someone else?’
“This brings a lot of happiness to my life … and being able to see Linn grow, and to share my knowledge to make Linn better and show them the best way to move up the wall is what’s most rewarding.”
Linn and Cornell have been climbing together for about a year-and-a-half at Movement gym in Englewood, but this weekend is the duo’s competitive debut. Cornell will be using the same system Scott and Linn developed over years when their dad was their caller.
“My job is to deliver concise information, quickly, and Scott created this whole system with Linn with directions based off left/right and where the holds are positioned: left or right, body part height level, and then distance away from you,” Cornell said. “Like, ‘Right hip, ledge, two feet out.”
Meanwhile, Cornell’s been working with Linn on expanding their dynamic climbing (i.e. jumping from one hold to another), a deficit in their game that was exposed during last year’s runner-up finish at nationals. Linn’s 4-foot-11 frame amplifies the importance of that skill.
Linn believes if they can continue to improve their dynamic climbing, and build the confidence necessary to attempt those moves on the wall, they’ll be on track for their ultimate goal: Making the U.S. Paraclimbing National Team for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
“I think I’ve got a pretty good shot at making the Olympic team considering I got gold in my first World Cup,” Linn said. “If a hold is just out of reach, I have to full-on jump for it and be able to aim. With my vision, I don’t have very much depth perception, and what I do have isn’t all that useful or accurate. I’ve learned I have to over-aim in order to actually catch it.
“So I’ve got to get better at trusting my body, trusting what Rosario is telling me. It’s just like with climbing up the wall overall — I can’t really see it, but I just need to trust my skills and abilities that I can get there.”
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