Why Do You Climb?

Climbing is an intense sport, both physically and mentally. Even though we all have low energy training days, unproductive sessions on projects or subpar performances and competitions, we still climb... but why? This is the question I asked myself. Why do I love to climb? I really thought about this and I came up with a few main reasons why this sport is my life.

The Community- Unlike many sports I have done over the years, climbing has a strong, like-minded community that accepts people of all levels. We push each other to reach our own goals and encourage our team mates and friends to do the same. This idea has been most prevalent for me through competition. I have been a part of the competition climbing community for about four years now with experience at the local, national and international levels. No matter what comp I go to, the community is always the same; accepting and encouraging. It is hard to find another sport where you share your strategies for success with the competitors that your going up against. For me, competitions feel like a massive session, sharing beta and sequence possibilities. 

The Mental Game- Climbing brings obvious physical challenge - mastering the hardest moves on the smallest holds on the craziest angles, but the mental aspect of this sport is more than half the battle. I have struggled with this aspect of climbing for many years; now that I have a handle on it I see my physical progression reaching new heights. As many have said - what the mind believes, the body follows. As I said before - what I love about climbing is how we share our ideas and strategies with others so here are a couple things that have helped my mental game and subsequently my climbing over the past few years.

- Recognizing the Importance of the Process - For the longest time, I had one thing on my mind when it came to competition - making the National Team. This idea became all consuming at every competition I did. I wasn't enjoying the amazing routes, the people or the experience - my mind was focused on the result. It was not until last year- when I reached my goal that I realized my mental game had greatly changed. At nationals I was living in the moment. I not only took the competition round by round but route by route, clip by clip and hold by hold. When I made the National team I realized this process wasn't over - the process throughout climbing is continuous. It involves learning, failure, success, good days and bad days - its all part of the process of becoming a better climber, competitor and person.

- Control What You Can Control - Another factor that helped my mindset over the years was differentiating between factors I could control and factors that I were uncontrollable. Controllable factors and elements such as how much sleep you get, your nutrition and your training which encompasses your preparedness (both physically and mentally). Uncontrollable factors are things such as the style of route at a comp, your competitors, weather conditions or unexpected delays or starts. Focus on the controllable factors and do your best to block out uncontrollable factors because there is nothing you can do to change them so its not worth your time to dwell on them.

An Update On the Competition Season So Far- 
Bouldering season has come and gone and I am starting to get into the bulk of the lead season. So far we have had 5 lead comps including the awesome Banff-Canmore double header this past weekend! The routes were really well set and both the comps were a lot of fun! The next comp on the agenda is Provincials at the CCC Stronghold in Calgary in two weeks and then the week after that its off to Vegas for two weeks of sport climbing at Red Rocks! If anyone has some notable climbs that you recommend or questions about this blog post please message me or comment! Oh ya, and feedback is always welcome so if you have any pointers or ideas about what I should write about next feel free to fire away!

Thanks again to my awesome sponsor Five Ten, your support is much appreciated!!!!!

Till next time -

Sara :)







Vertically Inclined Comp in Edmonton a few weekends ago.

Red Rocks last year- so stoked to go back!!

The DREAM TEAM!!