Andrew Bisharat

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Westchester, Bisharat lived with his grandfather for the first decade of his life. “He was my main connection to Palestine. I was embarrassed by my Palestinian heritage growing up in New York, I felt like I had something to hide, but he and my father taught me to be proud from my roots. When he was 16, Bisharat's high school girlfriend gave him a rock climbing lesson as a birthday present. It was the start of everything. "I was pretty much hooked right after that." When he left for college a few years later, Bisharat found other people to climb with. He spent his free time learning to climb by reading books and browsing the internet. After graduating, he picked up and moved to Yosemite for months at a time, living in a tent and climbing as much as he could.