CCAI Adoptee Linn’s Climbing Career Began with a Dad’s Loving Idea to Bond
by Kyle Newman at the Denver Post
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.
Visually-impaired climber Linn Poston scopes a route alongside their father, Scott, at Movement in Englewood, Colorado, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
“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 child 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.”
Visually-impaired climber Linn Poston warms up on a bouldering wall at Movement in Englewood, Colorado, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post
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