Live Free and Climb

To say this season exceeded all expectations would be a massive understatement. Now that it’s winding to a close and I’ve had some time to soak it in and reflect, I’ve been trying to put my finger on what exactly was key to all the success. Was it the hang boarding? Or all those reverse curls? Or the dumbbell exercises I filled the summer with while I was injured? I want to nail it down, because whatever it was, I want to replicate it next season! But the more I think about it, the more I think that it was none of that. Sure, I felt strong physically, but that’s not what got me to the top of all those climbs. That’s not what made the difference. Taking a ride off Tin Man 5.13a at Rumney in early June Photo: Chris Dallarosa Now, I say this season exceeded expectations, but honestly there weren’t a whole lot of expectations coming into this season to exceed. I had an all right spring season, though I’d set the expectations there pretty high after a winter of dedicated training ...

Growing up, I always thought rock climbing seemed super rad. I knew it was something I'd enjoy, but I had no idea how to get into it, or that I even could get into it. I remember doing the rock walls at fairs a few times, and was really excited when we went on a cruise and I found out the cruise ship had a rock climbing wall. That was probably one of the things I was most excited about on that vacation— paradisaical Caribbean beaches be damned. The cruise ship climbing wall! April 2003 My first day ever at the climbing gym! The blob! It was so hard! February 2011 Then in 2009, a rock climbing gym was built not far from my house. I really wanted to go. I read the entire website several times over in excitement. Except... I was nervous because I had no one to go with. Seems silly now, but there you go. It wasn't until 2011, when I joined the outdoors club sophomore year of college, that I finally went to the climbing gym. And I loved it. My climbing got of...