Imagine a person scaling a cliff on a mountainside. The expression on their face is one of total concentration as they calculate every hand and foot placement. The only protection they have to save themselves from a slip to their death is the rope attached to their body.. well, that's IF the bolts they've pushed into the rock holds! The media does a great job of portraying rock climbing as an extreme sport which leaves you with the impression it's best left to that elite group who merely seek adrenaline rushes.

I asked Jeremy Noring, who just happens to be an experienced climber, to answer some questions regarding rock climbing and he cleared up the misconceptions I was given from the media. Yes, it is a dangerous sport, but as much time is put into learning safety lessons as time is put into training. It's a lifestyle in itself.

I also wanted to gain a better understanding of the physical demands of rock climbing before I started the interview, so I took on a climbing wall. Okay, quit rubbing your eyes, you read that correctly! What you may or may not know about me is that I have a strong background in running, gymnastics, softball, ballet and jazz, hill hiking, strength training and I'm an avid horseback rider. And I will say, there's no denying that rock climbing is probably one of the most physically and mentally challenging sports of all. It's highly tactical, technical and requires a solid foundation in athletics. It's also essential to possess multi joint strength, endurance and flexibility. Aside from being an awesome sport, it teaches you lessons which you're able to incorporate into all segments of your life. If that's what I learned from the wall, imagine what I could learn on a real rock?

Not to get off topic, but any outdoor sport or activity is great to do because it exposes us to nature's restorative powers. The biggest portion of our human psychological and biological origins are directly associated to nature, something we tend to ignore. Since modern society requires us to be inside 90% of the day, is it any wonder why people are so stressed, depressed, have health problems and never feel satisfied?

"And this our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones and good in everything".
William Shakespeare

• Age: 25
  
• Interests: computers, programming, electronics, building stereo equipment (specifically tube amplifiers, speakers, etc.), reading close to everything, and traveling--hopefully southeast Asia and China are my next travel locations, and eventually I'd also like to see Africa.
  
• Educational background: consists of high school and some college. I have two associates degrees (one in computer science, and one in English), and most of a Bachelors (CS), but I figure I ought to be done sometime around 2013.
  
• Synopsis of family life: I was born in Minnesota, spent most of my childhood in California, and then in my teens my family moved to Utah. Here was where I really started climbing actively--mostly out of general boredom--although in California I also climbed a few times when I was younger. I started climbing at seventeen, and was competing nationally at the age of nineteen. I have one brother, and my immediate family lives in Utah. The rest of my family lives in Minnesota.
  
• Other: Since Jer didn't mention this anywhere in his interests, I would like to point out that he's a very talented writer so don't be surprised if you happen to see his name as an author down the road.

Great White V?, Horsepen-40, Alabama

- Sachet/IronLife.com: I hear you about graduating college.. the way I've been going lately I don't feel I'll ever get out either. The tube amplifiers you build are pretty wild.. but, I'm more excited about having this unique opportunity to learn more about climbing and its origins so I'm going to get right to it. It's my understanding that climbing began getting popular around the 1960s. Would that be an accurate time frame in regard to the history of the sport?
Jeremy Noring: It really starts a long ways before that. People were boldering in Fontainbleau (an hour south of Paris, France) in the late 1800s, and mountaineering has been pretty common since the early 1900s. The vast majority of modern climbing, however, was really established in the 1960s and beyond, but the roots lie far deeper.

Things to read about for the origin of climbing: Tony Yaniro, Ron Kauk, Edward Mallory, Fontainbleau, Ben Moon, Jerry Moffat, Wolfgang Gullich, Yosemite, Verdun Gorge, UK gritstone and so on. There's a lot of history to climbing--a huge amount--and you could devote a lot of time to studying it.

- History on any topic is a great interest to many people.. thanks for that list. You suggested a book written by Joe Simpson called 'Touching The Void' since it was an excellent read and very informative in regard to mountaineering. I enjoyed it from cover to cover. You also suggested the magazine 'Climbing' and another magazine 'Rock and Ice' as good resources in regard to what's current in the sport. How did you become involved with rock climbing?
I started going to a gym when I was seventeen. My first experience outdoors was later that year--when I was eighteen, I did my first 5.13a (sort of a big first for most sport climbers), and when I was nineteen, I climbed my first 5.14 and competed professionally. Since then, I've mostly boldered, as it's what interests me most at the moment. I like the power and precision of boldering, along with the purity of not being constrained by equipment or ropes. On the other hand, I really like the pure, unadultered viciousness of sport climbing, so I occasionally do that. Traditional climbing just scares me in general; I avoid, but I have great respect for those who are good at it.

- It appears it came natural to you. How would someone new to the sport get started with climbing.. just do it or join a club first? Then if they enjoyed it, what would they need to get started as far as gear and clothing?
Perhaps the best way to start is to go to a local climbing gym a few times to get a taste for plastic and climbing in general. Most colleges also offer some sort of introductory climbing course. Boldering, being a very, very simple form of climbing (not really much "technical" experience is required) is also a great way to meet more technically proficient climbers who can demonstrate some of the more complicated forms of climbing for you.

• Boldering being the least gear and equipment intensive form of climbing, requires shoes, a chalk bag, and a "crash pad" to fall on. Sport climbing and traditional ("trad") climbing require much more equipment to participate in.
• Clothing just sturdy clothes will do fine, although if it's going to be cold, obviously warm clothing is advised. Climbing shoes are a pretty big subject--picking a pair that suits the type of climbing one is going to do is best.

- How do special rock climbing shoes differ from sneakers?
They have harder rubber, and generally are a much tighter fit. They allow you to stand on much smaller features than you ever good with regular street shoes. Also, they often have tight fitting heals, so you can heal hook better. Lastly, the rubber is often formulated to have the most friction against rock, whereas a lot of other shoes use rubber that has the most traction on things like gravel, basketball courts, etc.



- Does anyone wear helmets? I would think there's a big chance of getting a head injury from falling and hitting your head when you're a newbie.
Honestly, I think wearing a helmet isn't a bad idea. When boldering, this is much less of a concern, but a lot of head injury comes from falling rock (probably one of the most dangerous aspect of climbing, to be honest). It's also possible to do some dumb things that make you flip upside-down when you fall, and people often get head injury during falls like that.

I think a helmet for roped climbing is a very, very good idea. For boldering, I don't know if it'd be as much of an issue, since generally there isn't nearly as much of a propensity for head injury. Sprained and broken ankles are much more common with boldering, however.

- As you know, I tried a climbing wall because I was curious about what was involved. Even with a harness on, I was pretty nervous because I'm afraid of heights and fell several times. The guy on the other side of my rope thought it was great fun to hoist me back up just as my toes were about to touch the floor each time I fell *lol* However, if the harness wasn't attached, I probably would have hit my head.
I'm actually afraid of heights as well, but when I have a rope attached to me, I feel a lot safer and it doesn't bother me anymore. Without a rope, however, I'm a big candy ass.

- *lol* Can someone use any type of rope or do you need one specifically made for climbing?
Absolutely not! Under no circumstances should you EVER use a rope that wasn't specifically made for climbing. Even using a rope designed for caving or rescue operations (often referred to as a "static" line) would be a grave mistake, since these ropes generally have very little elasticity to absorb falls. Climbing ropes are specifically made and engineered to do what they do, and using anything else would basically be asking for serious harm and/or death.

- Since ropes are an important part of various types of climbing, it's obviously essential to learn how to tie knots. Which would be the best to learn?
If you're boldering, you don't even need to learn how to tie knots. If you are doing roped climbing, good knots to learn would include the figure-8, the figure-8 follow-through, and perhaps a double bowline. If you're trad climbing, there's a wide variety of knots that may be of interest.

- Those are not hard to learn with some practice. As with any sport, there are injuries unique to that particular sport. What are some injuries common to a climber?
I think the most often one is a torn pully tendon--or one of the tendons that wraps like a ring around the fingers. Other common ailments and injury include rotator cuffs, tendonitis, and sometimes sprained/broken ankles. Also, when climbing outside, scrapes, bruises, and cuts are fairly common. Lastly, if the rock is very coarse or sharp, your fingers get owned. A lot of time people will get "flappers" where the skin on their finger was sort of "sheared" away.

- Eww! That's eww.. the climbing wall grips were nice 'n smooth. But, I did notice that my finger strength was seriously lacking. Do you have any suggestions for strengthening fingers? Would using those hand squeeze things help?
Generally the best way to gain finger strength is just by climbing. I'm sure there's some exercises you can do to increase finger strength, but none that I'm aware of. There's a lot of different types of strength as it pertains to grip and your hands. For example, there's pinching strength, open hand strength, crimping strength, etc. Since the squeeze things really only work one type of "grip" (pinching), they're not really that great.


The Orb V?, Rocktown, Georgia

- It's probably best to work on pinching strength in a very crowded area where you're less likely to get caught *winks* Would calf raises be advisable for someone to work on as well?
Definitely! I do calf raises, since you really need to be able to focus the power in your legs via the toe, which entails using the calf muscles. Having powerful legs is really important to climbing well, in my opinion. Most of your momentum is generated in the lower body.

- What are some quickie climbing tips just off the top of your head?
Find a gym, find some local climbing spots, and USE YOUR FEET. Contrary to popular perception, footwork goes a lot farther than upper-body strength. So does technique, grace, and efficiency. One of the best climbers I know can do a total of seven (7) pull ups. His forte is incredible fluidness, impeccable footwork and technique, and persistence. Lastly, find people to climb with. It's a lot more fun when you have friends.

- You know, when I gave the climbing wall a go, I was very surprised that I used my feet and calves for strength more than my arms. I mean, you have to be somewhat strong in your arms to keep yourself pulled into the wall, but before I actually tried it I just assumed a climber would use their arms more. Another thing I noticed and I don't know if I'll be able to explain this correctly, but it seemed as though you need a strong center as well. Do you know what I'm trying to say.. to help with balancing your weight?
We call a strong center your "core strength," although some people also refer to it as body tension. It's the ability to make one's body rigid. There are a lot of balance, precision, coordination, and tension aspects of climbing that really make it interesting to me--you can't muscle your way through climbing, no matter how hard you try.

- That's true.. I found that out on the wall. How do you train? Seems to me that if people are interested in rock climbing, they could save themselves alot of pain if they took the time to worked out several weeks prior to starting.
I train mostly indoors, although sometimes I also train outdoors. Indoor rock gyms are great for honing you into a piece of beef. Weights are also a great way to add to one's training--first, by working muscle groups that don't see much activity while climbing (there are some, and working them helps prevent injury, IMO), and second, to help facilitate overall strength. In the past, I have trained in both climbing techniques for strength training (circuits, campusing, etc.) and general weight lifting.

- When you were training regularly, what did your weekly workout look like? Is there such a thing as an ideal physique for a rock climber?
When I was training a lot, it'd typically be two days on, two off. Occasionally I'd take three days off if I was feeling really burnt, but I quickly found out that I needed to have longer recovery times to come back strong.

I think lean and about 5' 10" is ideal; additionally, having a positive ape index is helpful. Your ape index is the span of your arms verses your height. I'm 5' 8", and my arm span is 5' 10", so I actually have what's called a +2 ape index.

- Ape index huh?! You just made a 'You Tarzan, me Jane' scenario go through my head *grins* How do you prepare yourself for a climb.. do you change anything in your diet?
If it's really difficult, I'll try to train specifics in the gym--for example, if there's a section that involves a certain movement or problem, I'll try to recreate it in the gym. I also make sure I get lots of rest, don't drink excessively, and make sure my body is all healed up from training before I try the route. As far as diet goes: I'm a firm believer in carb loading the night before, and a low protein diet right before and during competition and/or a serious climb. I think protein is great, but *after* you're done training. Beforehand, carbohydrate is a better fuel.

- I agree with your carb suggestion. The only way I have enough energy to make it completely through a run without becoming exhausted is by consuming carbs low on the glycemic index prior to the run. How do you prepare yourself mentally? For instance, have you ever changed your plans to climb at the last second because you were in a bad mood?
Climbing is one big head game. Some days, you're just not in the right mood, or your head just isn't on straight, and you can expect to perform poorly. Generally, I try to do "damage control" these days, and learn something about the climb or problem so I can come back with a firm head and give it another go. The worst thing to do in the event of a poor mental day is to not get anything out of the experience. Then the day is totally wasted instead of being "just" less than ideal. Additionally, one has to accept that you might be unable to do a climb at your limit. I try to go at a climb with as little expectation as possible, because false hopes are a very, very bad thing. I like to set myself "partial" goals, like perhaps doing the first fifty feet of a climb, or linking several bolts, or some goal that's more palatable than trying to visualize doing the entire thing. Breaking big problems down into little ones is fundamental.

- I don't understand.. what do you mean by breaking big problems down into little ones?
Well, often times a difficult route or problem will have numerous sections that give you trouble. I find that by breaking the sections down, and working on them individually, they become more manageable. For example, perhaps a route has a very difficult section for the first twenty feet, another thirty feet of hard climbing, and then a very hard three move section right before the finish. I would break that down into three different sections, and work on those sections individually. Within those sections, I might even subdivide further. When I'm comfortable with those sections, I would then work on linking them together from the bottom.
I think this incremental approach is much more pragmatic than trying to bite the route off all at once.

- It's like learning a piece of music. Other terms I have seen used frequently are: dynamic moves, eliminants, a route and a path.. what do they mean?
Dynamic movements are exactly what the name implies: you sort of "throw" for something, or it involves fast, powerful motion. Static movement implies that you're not leveraging any sort of momentum to reach the next hold--just a "static" movement towards the next hold. Weight training, for example, is almost always done with very "static" movement--or at least when it's done properly.

• An "eliminate" is a problem where people have selectively and arbitrarily removed holds to make it more difficult. These are generally viewed with some degree of contempt in the climbing world, because the problems are now contrived and generally don't follow the natural line.
• A "route" is a given climb. typically when you use "route," you're refering to a roped climb. Boldering typically uses the term "problem" to refer to a climb.
• On a given route, there may be several "paths" one can take to get to the top. There's a lot of ways to do different sections of a route; perhaps there's a right and left "path" through a difficult section of a climb.
  All of this terminology should be used loosely, as it really isn't standardized or definitive.
  Generally, in terms of complexity, boldering is the most simple form of climbing, followed by top roping, then sport climbing, and lastly traditional forms of climbing.

Triple Threat V10, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

- Would you explain the differences between the types of climbing?
Well, as it stands today, there are five separate categories of climbing:

1. Boldering - like was stated before, this is very simple. You climb on small "bolders" (hence the name) and do very short climbs of two to five meters in length. There is no ropes, bolts, anchors, harnesses, etc. Most of the pictures I've posted here are of boldering (the last few were pure boldering). The nice thing about boldering is the lack of technical requirements, which really lets you focus on movement, technique, power, and other really fundamental climbing concepts. Boldering ratings are based solely on difficulty of the climbing, and use the V-scale, which currently goes from V0 (very easy) to V14 (obscenely hard). These ratings are highly subjective.
   
   
2. Top Roping - As the name implies, this form of climbing involves ropes. The "top" nomenclature means that the rope is already at the top of a climb, and in the event of a fall, you really don't "fall." You just sort of peel off the wall and hang there--you merely "let go" and the rope holds you up. Obviously there are some issues with this--to top rope a climb, you generally need to be able to walk to the top of the climb, which isn't always possible on some routes. It doesn't require as much technical know-how as some of the following forms of climbing, but you do need to know about how to place safe anchors, tie basic knots, use a harness and belay device, etc. This is typically the first form of roped climbing someone will ever do.
   
   
3. Sport climbing - This really came about in the late eighties, and is still prolific in the climbing world. Sport climbing introduced a few revolutionary aspects to climbing that enabled it to become just that: a "sport," where people were able to focus more on climbing than equipment, anchors, etc. Sport climbing involves the concept of "leading," which means you climb up ten feet, place some sort of anchor, climb another ten feet, and place some sort of anchor, and so on. When you fall sport climbing, this means that you'll fall twice the distance to your previous piece of gear. If you climb ten feet past your last anchor, you fall at the very minimum, twenty feet.
   
   If this is confusing, that's because it is--at first.
   
   Several revolutionary aspects of sport climbing: "bolted" routes, where someone has pre-placed anchors for you, the standardization of route grades, the concept of making a "sport" out of climbing, etc. Sport climbing uses the Yosemite Decimal System for grades, and they go from 5.0 (very easy) to 5.15 (extremely hard). Again, the ratings are rather subjective.
   
   
4. Traditional climbing ("trad" climbing) - this form of climbing is what you commonly see on big walls, in Yosemite, etc. It involves no pre-placed anchors, a lack of "bolts," and the use of various nuts, cams, hexes, and other forms of portable, re-usable protection to scale a wall. You "lead" climb in trad climbing, but you don't have pre-placed bolts to clip into--you have to place your own anchors.
   
   
5. Ice Climbing, Mountaineering, Aid Climbing - all stuff I'm not good enough at to really tell you anything about.
   
   
6. Rappelling - not a form of climbing. Moreso an aspect of climbing. Rappellers are not climbers, but climbers are often rappellers.

- So which of those categories really allows you to test technical skills?
That's a subject of intense debate, to be honest. My personal answer would be sport climbing, because it really allows you to mentally and physically push your limits. Boldering focuses almost entirely on movement, power, and precision, but lacks the longevity encountered in sport climbing. Trad climbing often doesn't involve a lot of physical aspects, but can really f*** with your head. Sport climbing, however, has both. You take big falls, constantly push the line, and generally reach your limits. This is just my opinion; other people would strongly disagree with me.

- How about if someone wants to compete? What are some of the rules and how is the competition scored?
It depends upon the type of competition and who's putting it on, really. There's a lot of different formats, which I suppose is one problem with competitive climbing these days: there really is no standard format or governing entity to dictate rules and regulations. For a while, the PCA was a major entity; there are several other governing entities, but none of them have really succeeded in standardizing or popularizing climbing.

- That's surprising considering how many people are involved. Do you think you'll climb competitively again in the future?
Definitely, because I enjoy it. I would like it if climbing had a more organized competitive element, but I suppose what's available to me will have to suffice. I like competing because it really lets me see how other people are doing things, and what I can learn from their technique. Learning from one's peers is a great way to improve your own climbing.

- I was reading a John Gill article and his opinion regarding competing was rather enlightening. Do you agree with this? He says, "You climb; you learn the ratings; you find at which rating level you climb; you try to advance to the next level, no longer focusing entirely on the climbing, but on its numerical representation. Such ratings are not intrinsic to the rock - they are a social construct. The tail wags the dog. Besides, rating schemes are always flawed. I can no longer tell where genetics ends and "difficulty" begins. Can you? The truth is each act of climbing by an individual is an individual act, unrelated to someone else's performance on the same rock. When you truly understand this, you free yourself from the strong currents of mainstream practice and philosophy and appreciate the simple, unexploited experience of climbing".
As much as I like and respect John Gill (he's pretty much one of the "forefathers" of modern boldering--you could add him to my "history" list any day), I find this sort of opinion rather cynical. Before I go into why, let me say that there are endless arguments over ratings and competing between climbers, so my opinion is just one among a vast amount of conflicting opinions on the matter.

I think ratings were originally created so people knew what they were getting into before they started on a route--in other words, a safety issue. Inexperienced climbers could be seriously injured or killed if they didn't know how difficult and/or dangerous a route was prior to climbing it. In this respect, ratings can be extremely important, if for no other reason that to protect people's lives. When the rating in question is traditional climbing or sport climbing, I think the numbers are very important, if for no other reason than to protect people's lives.

However, ratings (particularly in Sport Climbing and Boldering) have sort of progressed into a slightly different beast as of late--they now indicate how "difficult" a climb is, which is wholly subjective. I think what people really take offense to is the use of ratings as a sort of personal measuring stick for which to determine one's progress--in Gill's own words, "such ratings are not intrinsic to the rock - they are a social construct. The tail wags the dog. Besides, rating schemes are always flawed." Generally, my response to all this is that people who rant about the worthlessness/subjectivity/stupidity of ratings are generally not focused on "the climbing," and people who obsess about climbing "harder" rated climbs are generally not focused on "the climbing." The best approach, in my mind, is to take ratings with a grain of salt and enjoy your climbing. They're sort of fun to have around, but shouldn't be taken as being anything but subjective, arbitrary numbers--if you want to use them for your own personal measurements, be my guest! If you couldn't care less, that's great! Gill's perspective, however, is that they detract from climbing and should be struck from the record, and I think he and others are taking the whole ratings thing a bit too seriously. We are, after all, just climbing rocks. Who cares?

Regardless, debates about ratings are endless and futile, so I generally don't get involved. I personally like them, if for no other reason to help me find problems and lines at my limit. While Gill reduces them to worthless numbers, I think this is a bit unfair--they're generally a consensus amount climbers of a route's given difficulty, and it's not entirely arbitrary.


Triple Threat V10, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

- I think ratings are good simply for the safety factor.. to warn people of the level of difficulty.. especially beginners. What has been your most demanding climb to date?
Hard to say...perhaps some of the stuff I did when I was nineteen. Although, it's hard to say--demanding from a physical point of view? Mental point of view? Perhaps a technique and skill point of view? There's a lot of aspects. I also don't like answering the question, because I don't really feel as though I've climbed to my potential as of yet.

- What has rock climbing done for you personally? Do you meditate?
I think rock climbing has enabled me to: focus, break large problems into small ones, get a good mental outlook on life, and physically hone myself ...in no specific order. Additionally, it's a lot of fun, takes you to a lot of neat places, and is always something to do if you're just plain bored. I don't meditate, although many climbers do meditate or do Yoga. I don't do either.

- Speaking of neat places.. in your opinion, where are some of the best climbing and bouldering locations?
Since I've mostly climbed in the US, most of my favorite locations are stateside. I think that Yosemite has to be one of the most stunning locations for all forms of climbing, if for no other reason than sheer quantity (and quality) of the rock. It also has a long and glorious history from a climbing perspective, so it's really a must-see as far as I'm concerned.

Rifle, in Colorado, is probably some of the best sport climbing around. Also worth mentioning (if not quite a bit more) are the Virgin River Gorge, Smith Rocks, Enchanted Towers, Maple Canyon, Red River Gorge, and numerous other places.

Regarding boldering, my favorite area is Little Cottonwood Canyon in SLC, but the amount of boldering in the US is staggering. Bishop, Ibex, Joe's Valley, Hueco Tanks (perhaps the most famous area in the US, although it has serious access issues), Horsepen-40, and a whole slew of other places really impress me a lot.

- Where have you traveled outside of Utah or the USA to climb?
Numerous locations in the US, including Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Colorodo, Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming. There's supposedly some great climbing in Oregon, New Mexico, and Texas, but I haven't really been to those places that much.

Outside of the country is also a staggering amount of good stuff: but I've only climbed at Fontainbleu, in France. Germany, France, Spain, the UK, and most of the rest of Europe has amazing climbing. Thailand and China have some world class destinations, and Australia has an obscene amount of climbing. I'm sure there's plenty I'm leaving out as well...although obviously certain places (ie: nebraska) just aren't conductive to climbing.

- What type of rock do you prefer?
Well, my preference is limestone and granite--although one of my favorite areas, Little Cottonwood Canyon, is often mistaken for being granite when it is in fact quartz monzonite. I don't like sandstone, although I know climbers who swear by it.

- Is climbing typically a male dominated sport?
A very famous French climber named Jibe Tribout made the claim that no woman would ever climb 5.14a--and Lynn Hill responded by flying to France and climbing HIS established route, which was 5.14a. Touche.

BTW, for inspirational female climbers (of which there are/were many), google: Lynn Hill (whopping men's asses in the late eighties, early ninties); Josune Berazu (sp?) ; Katie Brown - one of a very select few to onsight 14a; Lisa Rands, Tiffany Campbell, Bobbi Bensman, Beth Rodden, and Lauren Lee.
All of the above are amazing, amazing climbers. Lynn Hill in particular, as well as Josune--I saw Lynn a few months ago, and even in her forties, she would tear my arm off and beat me with it. I think too often, people see climbing as a male dominated sport, when there are really prolific female climbers out there who utterly crush.

- *woohoo* It's good to know the ladies are out there representing! Which famous climbers have made the most impact on you?
Well, I think Ben Moon really made an impact on me. He really has fabulous technique, and really pulls his climbing together well. I was most impressed when he hiked a bunch of stuff in Little Cottonwood--not only is he strong, but he has a really precise, scientific way about his climbing. It made me realize that being physically strong isn't enough to be a good climber--there's quite a bit more technique and skill involved in it, as well as having a methodical means of working problems. Also, I'd say Lynn Hill, simply because she's done things no man has accomplished. She's an example of a really astoundingly good climber, who really has a great head and exceptional technique.

Plenty of others: Boone Speed, Steven Jeffery, Chris Sharma, and countless others have all really inspired me to rethink my climbing.

- Well, thank you for taking the time to do this interview.. I enjoyed all you have taught me in regard to climbing. Just outta curiosity, have you ever met any famous climbers?
Living in Utah, it's hard not too. I've met some of the best climbers in the world, seen them climb, and been very impressed with what they're capable of doing. Some of them are borderline inhuman.


All men dream, but not equally.

"Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible".
T.E. Lawrence


If you would like to learn more about rock climbing: http://www.rockclimbing.com