Megan Banker
climb
Megan Banker has always challenged the status quo. She studied neuroscience as one of three women in her master’s program at UC Davis, subsequently entering a male-dominated field as a chiropractor. Today, Megan runs her own business, managing marketing, sales, and more, along with helping people find solutions to their pain – which is the real reason she entered the medical field.
It wasn’t until Megan moved to the Pacific Northwest in her mid-20s that she realized her passion for the outdoors. Since then, she’s been climbing, hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, and most recently whitewater rafting with her husband Andy. As she tells it, Andy was her climbing partner first and husband second. Their go-to ballad is Africa; the two sing Toto’s lyrics when they’re “really going through it” on the trail.
Now that she’s found her new home in Portland, Oregon, Megan gets hands-on with her community to encourage other people to try things outside of their comfort zone. From instructing new climbers, to spearheading initiatives that create more access to the outdoors, Megan’s life is steeped in giving back and building up others.
01
Community Involvement
Co-founder of Climb Big
Ambassador with Pacific Northwest Outdoor Women
Climb Leader in Training at Mazamas
02
Passion Project
Megan is passionate about fostering a community for plus size people in the outdoor space. She wants people to know that you don’t have to change your body to enjoy the outdoors. “Introducing people to climbing, both in person and online, has brought me so much joy and validation,” she says. “I love getting messages from people saying they tried climbing for the first time because of a post of mine they saw. When we do intro to climbing classes in person it’s so wonderful to see someone shift from thinking they can't do it to truly having a blast on the climbing wall.”