Under the clouds of San Francisco, The North Face gathered some of the most celebrated rock climbers in the world for Climb Festival 2025. The two-day event kicked off on September 5, with preliminary rounds, panels, and other segments before the finals, all set against the serene waterside of China Basin Park.
Ahead of the weekend, Teen Vogue caught up with three pro climbers in between their practice sessions to learn all about the preparation behind the scenes of Climb Festival 2025, from packing bags to hand care. We chatted with prodigy Angie Scarth-Johnson, Olympic medalist Brooke Raboutou, and national champion Melina Costanza about all things climbing, skin care, and more.
Teen Vogue: How are you today? How’s Climb Fest going?
Melina Costanza: I’m doing well. It is a beautiful day out here. I was thinking that it was going to be a little bit gray and cold, but the sun came out and a bunch of people were out on the beach watching, and it’s a really good time.
TV: How are you feeling ahead of the climb tomorrow?
MC: I’m feeling excited, a bit nervous. This is my first time ever doing an event like this. It was my first time really climbing that high over water this morning, but it was really fun. And I’m nervous but excited for the next race.
TV: What made you decide to want to do something like this this time?
MC: I wanted to push myself a little bit outside of my comfort zone. There are a lot of opportunities to do different types of climbing, and this is something that I’ve never really explored. So I wanted to prove to myself that I could do something this scary.
Courtesy of JOSEPH HALE/The North Face Climb.
TV: You mentioned it’s sunny and San Fran this weekend, which is great. I was wondering what you do to protect your skin from the sun while climbing?
MC: I use a powder sunscreen. I don’t know the brand, but I use it every day. Not just the days that I’m climbing, doing deep water solo competitions, but also the days that I go to the gym and every single day in between, even days I’m just going to work. So I like to have coverage all the time, ideally.
TV: Is there anything that you like to do to treat yourself before a climb, for an extra boost of confidence or energy, whether that’s like a hairstyle or perfume, or getting ready to a specific kind of music or artist?
MC: I do my own fake lashes, and the problem is that the glue is water-soluble. So I’ve been having to battle with that a little bit in Climb Fest and do re-applications and whatnot. But typically, in most competitions indoors, that is not an issue. This is my first time having to do that. But I am into doing makeup, false eyelashes, and hair. Doing those things makes me feel confident and kind of put on a persona so that I’m ready to compete.
TV: How did you get into makeup and beauty?
MC: Over COVID, I watched a ton of beauty tutorials, because there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for going out, social interaction, and staying at home a lot made me get into more experimental stuff, and then figure out what I liked. And then once competitions resumed, I was able to play around a little bit with it and see what made me feel good and confident and what helped me perform the best and be myself.
