While growing up in Morgantown, WV, Jan Kiger often picnicked with her family at Cooper’s Rock State Forest. She remembers watching the local climbers on the overlook, an area where climbing is now prohibited.

” As a child, I stood on the walkway and looked over and would say ‘I want to do that someday,” explained Jan.

Despite her early introduction, Jan was too busy with traditional sports to try rock climbing at the time. She spent most of her youth playing basketball, for Morgantown High School and later at West Virginia University.

In the 1990’s she was introduced to climbing by taking a class at Exkursion in Monroeville, PA.  She loved it so much she never left.  She worked at Exkursion as a sales associate and assistant manager while also helping with the teaching of many of their climbing classes. Since her first introduction to climbing, Jan has climbed in Zion, Yosemite, Devils Tower, New River Gorge & Seneca Rocks and just about everywhere she has travelled within the United States including a few mountains (Rainier, Grand Teton, Middle Teton and others).  Jan’s first foray into climbing at Coopers Rock was with Exkursion.

In 2001, Jan bought The Adventure’s Edge, an outdoor and army surplus store in her hometown. She climbed the ‘gritstone’ of Cooper’s Rock more regularly when she returned to Morgantown. Now the Vice President of the Cooper’s Rock Foundation, she still spends much of her free time at Cooper’s hiking, climbing, cross country skiing and yes…picnicking.