About Us

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We have a passion for climbing and we want to share it with you. We have years of indoor and outdoor experience and have formed the perfect team to help you explore the world of rock climbing whether that be indoors or outdoors. Check out our staff bios along with other information about what we wish to accomplish here at Sessions Climbing + Fitness.

Albert is an El Paso native with a passion for rock climbing. He has been working on bringing a climbing gym to El Paso for almost ten years and is excited to finally realize his dream. Albert has over 20 years of climbing experience and was first introduced to the sport at Hueco Tanks as a freshman in college. He fell in love with the sport and has been climbing ever since.

Meet Our Team

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Albert Alvarez

General Manager & Co-Owner

About Albert

Melissa Ortega Ph.D.

Director of Programs & Outreach

About Melissa

Stephen Kirk

Head Routesetter

About Stephen

Andrew Holguin

Cafe Nopal Manager & Director of Caffeine

About Andrew

Liz Soto

Supervisor

About Liz

Cheylee Teitsch

Supervisor

About Cheylee

Kenny Coppedge

Supervisor

About Kenny

David Reid Jr

Supervisor

About David

Truman Anderson

Supervisor

About Truman

Tim Worley

About Tim

Devon Cosio

About Devon

Mandy Castillo

Marketing and Events Team

About Mandy

Brenner Rauch

Routesetter

About Brenner

Octavio Aragon

Routesetter

About Octavio

Josiah Stanton

Routesetter

About Josiah

Testimonials

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Albert is a very knowledgeable guide who knows how to get to all the areas, and knows the beta on all the climbs. He’s super humble (amazing climber!) and doesn’t have his own agenda - he just wants the client to have a stellar day and get on everything they want.

Sandy Wilder

Albert guided us on a hiking tour of the cave art at Hueco Tanks. He is knowledgeable and passionate about the area. It was a very interesting tour. I’m also thankful Albert kept us safe while traversing cliff faces, which is not at all within my comfort zone. Thanks!

Shawn Elasky

Pleasant and helpful staff leading us and our kids to have an enjoyable first time rock climbing! It is a very inviting area for all ages (we have 3, 5, and 6), we will definitely be back frequently!

Stefanie Watkins

Best climbing gym ever in the history of everything!

Jason Carlson

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Albert Alvarez
General Manager & Co-Owner

Hometown: El Paso, TX
Albert started Sessions Guiding Company back in 2011 and has years of experience as an AMGA guide and Hueco Tanks connoisseur. He helped open Sessions Climbing and Fitness to bolster the climbing community in El Paso and give back to the city he calls home.

Melissa Ortega Ph.D.
Director of Programs & Outreach

Hometown: El Paso, TX
Melissa is a dedicated teacher, community activist, mom, and all-around asset to the Sessions Climbing team. When Melissa isn’t teaching or involved in the board of education, she’s out climbing or traveling the southwest with family.

Stephen Kirk
Head Routesetter

Hometown: San Antonio, TX
The canvas for the holds, the meticulously set routes, the inviting problems with complementary textures. Stephen had and continues to have his hands involved in the Session’s gym climbing progression. As our head routesetter, he brings over 8 years of route-setting experience to his handpicked team of setters and has painstakingly put thought into every hold selection and outlook of the gym to this day.

Andrew Holguin
Cafe Nopal Manager & Director of Caffeine

Hometown: Anthony, NM
Cafe Nopal was designed to be somewhat of a watering hole in the jungle of Sessions, and Andrew is the maitre d who has taken the shop from a simple nook to a place where members and visitors alike can imbibe on their favorite drink while watching people push their limits or focus on a presentation that procrastination has taken full effect on. Outside of Climbing and Coffee, Andrew is an amazing photographer, videographer, and gravel head.

Liz Soto
Supervisor

Hometown: El Paso, TX
Liz not only fell in love with climbing while living in Los Angeles, she also fell in love with the climbing community. She’s honored to be part of the Sessions team since 2020 and is thrilled to help cultivate the climbing community in her hometown, which she loves dearly. 

Cheylee Teitsch
Supervisor

Hometown: Unadilla, GA
Cheylee fell in love with climbing 3 years ago while living on the East Coast. When she moved to El Paso she discovered Sessions while looking for climbing in the area and has been dedicating herself to the gym ever since. With a passion for climbing that drives her to help every customer have an enjoyable experience just by walking through the front doors, she wants to help grow the climbing community and help others find a similar love for the sport.

Kenny Coppedge
Supervisor

Hometown: Las Cruces, NM
Kenny caught his climbing addiction while in college at NMSU working the desk at the indoor wall and reading climbing magazines. Since then, he has earned certifications from the PCIA, AMGA, CWA, and ACCT. Passionate about climbing, Kenny seeks opportunities to pass on the joy of climbing to his community indoors or out on the rock. His obsession and experience with climbing are put to good use alongside the other front desk supervisors to transform Sessions into a community of passionate climbers.

David Reid Jr
Supervisor

Hometown: Houston, TX
David loves climbing rocks and teaching.

Truman Anderson
Supervisor

Hometown: Austin, TX
Truman got his start in climbing while bouldering in Austin. Since coming to El Paso, he has picked up roped climbing and loves teaching climbing and working with new climbers.

Tim Worley

Tim has been climbing for around 5 years! Hueco Tanks is my favorite spot to climb:) Outside of climbing he likes to play basketball, explore new areas and watch TV.

Devon Cosio

A Southern California native and he is currently 21 years old. He recently discovered climbing shortly after moving to El Paso a little over a year ago. The movement of climbing is what caught his attention originally, however the community of climbers is what made him stay. Devon also enjoy taking pictures as well as playing chess if not climbing. He can’t wait to grow as a climber and more importantly as a person with not only our staff but with the community as a whole.

Mandy Castillo
Marketing and Events Team

Born and raised in the Sun City, the mountain and hiking trails of El Paso have always been a love and a weekend destination of hers. Mandy discovered rock climbing in college when she finally visited Hueco Tanks with some friends. Now in her back yard, she frequents the area for day hikes and fun climbs.

Brenner Rauch
Routesetter

Hometown: New Orleans, LA
Brenner began climbing there about six years ago. He moved to Baton Rouge to attend LSU where he studied Kinesiology and worked at a climbing gym there as a route setter, youth team coach, instructor, and front desk staff. After graduating this past year, He wanted to move somewhere closer to outdoor climbing and decided to move to El Paso for a full-time route setting position here at Sessions. Aside from climbing, Brenner enjoys hiking, running, traveling, and most sports. Brenner is excited to meet everyone from the community and explore everything El Paso has to offer!

Octavio Aragon
Routesetter

Hometown: Villa Ahumada, Mexico
Octavio has been climbing for 16 years and likes all disciplines of climbing. “My favorite would be big wall aid solo and deep water soloing.” He recently rope soloed El Gigante Mexico’s Biggest wall. He spent 8 days on the wall climbing Logical Progression 848 meters and 28 pitches!!

Josiah Stanton
Routesetter

Hometown: Ithaca, NY
Josiah has been climbing since he was 17. He moved to Texas when he was 19 and lived in Pearsal and San Antonio for a year and a half. He traveled to El Paso to help open Sessions Climbing and Fitness, and he plans to live here for the foreseeable future.