WEBVTT

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Like five rounds in three days. Oh, gosh. Yeah.

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Do you feel, like, not as strong as other climbers?

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For sure. Yeah. I feel pretty weak all the time.

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We can't do one arm. Okay. I, like, brag about

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how weak I am. Yeah, I take a lot of pride in

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that. There was a comment on it that said that

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Japan brought the Avengers. Yeah. And then the

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U .S. brought the Benchwarmers Benchwarmers.

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Relationship advice. Yeah, let's get your guys'

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relationship advice. Welcome to another episode

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of the That's Not Real Climbing podcast. I'm

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your host, Jinni, and I'm excited to introduce

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my guests for today, Declan Osgood and Zoe Yi.

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Declan and Zoe just competed at the Fukuoka Exhibition

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Team Event for Team USA, where they climbed in

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all five boulder and lead rounds. In this episode,

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we'll learn about their unorthodox climbing training

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program here in San Diego, how team selection

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and strategy worked at Fukuoka, and whether there

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was added pressure climbing with a team and coach

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present. This is my first time doing an in -person

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recording with two guests, so sorry for the strange

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audio mixing in certain parts, but I hope you

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can enjoy this interview with Declan and Zoe.

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for helping to sponsor the podcast. Now, back

00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:05.040
to the show. Okay, how are you guys doing? How

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did you brave the rain? Good. I almost died driving

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here. Yeah. Me too. It was pretty scary. Sorry

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for scheduling it on this day. It's okay. But

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it might be a good thing because there's like

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nothing else to do anyway. Yeah. Yeah. There

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were, like, a lot of people who didn't have their

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lights on while driving, and I hated that. I

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was just following one car the entire time because

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I couldn't see the, like... Yeah, in front. Yeah.

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Please tell me you guys have your lights on while

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driving. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Good. Okay,

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cool. Well, then, let's get right into it. So,

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how did you guys both get into climbing and competing,

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first of all? You can go first. I went to a summer

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camp. When I was eight at the wall climbing gym,

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and then they told me to join the team. So I

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joined the team and started competing after that.

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They, like, knew right off the bat that you were

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something special or what? I don't know. Okay.

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Prodigy. Yeah. I was pretty similar, but it was

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a birthday party. It was actually my brother's

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birthday party. And then after that, my dad got

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into climbing. Oh. And then I just kind of went

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with him to the climbing gym. I joined, like,

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the local team. But there was only, like, one

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practice a week. So we didn't train very much.

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And then I didn't start competing until I moved

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to San Diego. Okay. That makes sense. Where I

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joined, like, Mesa. Oh. Oh, I didn't know that

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you were. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I joined Mesa, like,

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the competitive team. And then started competing.

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And does your dad still climb? Yeah. Is he good?

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He's gotten better throughout the years. Okay.

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Yeah. So that's a no then? There was a time where

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he was better than me, but that didn't last very

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long. Okay. How hard would you say he, like,

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climbs? At Mission Valley, the grades are pretty

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hard, so maybe V5. Okay. That's pretty good.

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Yeah. Mission Valley V5s are pretty hard. Yeah.

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Oh, for real. I get that. Yeah. Does anyone in

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your family climb? Uh, no, my dad climbs like

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once a year, but yeah, I was, I was on the wall

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climbing team for a couple of years and then

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I joined Mesa rim. So we were on the same team

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for a bit and then we both joined class five.

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Yeah. It all comes back to the wall. Uh, 2021.

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Yeah. It all comes back to the wall. Okay. Yeah.

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So do you both still like train with class five

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at all? Or cause you guys aren't like on the

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youth team anymore. It's not really a youth team.

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Oh. It's more like an adult. It's not really

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a team. It's a community, really. Yeah. Okay.

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Tell me more about class five. Because, like,

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I always thought it was just a youth team. But

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it's just a team. Yeah. Of people. But it used

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to be a youth team. Okay. But now that we're

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non -youth, it's no longer a youth team. Like,

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a lot of people aged out of youth and, like,

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moved away for college and stuff. Yeah, now it's

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Al, our coach, and then the two of us, and then

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two more, Phoebe and Alina, who are kind of on

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the team. Oh, okay. You guys never recruited,

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like, newer people? No, but do you know SDCA?

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SDCA, no. It's like a new youth team that kind

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of came out of Class 5. Oh, I haven't heard of

00:05:27.449 --> 00:05:31.069
it. It's not Class 5, but it's similar ideas.

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Yeah. It's David and Marco. Okay. But they're

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kind of the youth team at the wall. Okay. And

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then we're kind of, like, the adult team, kind

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of. Interesting. Like, we train at the same time.

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Yeah. We're not really together. Okay. So they're

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not in it for, like, I guess technically youth

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teams are, like, a business, really. So it's

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more just about the game. Class 5 is a business.

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Okay. Well, I also know, like, who is it? I always

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see, like, Ross and... Oh, my God, what's her

00:06:05.089 --> 00:06:07.709
name? Kylie, wearing, like, Class 5 shirts. Yeah,

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they're also Class 5. Okay, but they, like, graduated

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and have gone away. Yeah, they don't really practice

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with us. Interesting. Well, that's a bit unconventional,

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and you guys also mentioned that your training

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is a bit unconventional. So, like, first of all,

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what is, like, a typical training routine? Because

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I think a lot of people aren't involved in, like,

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youth teams or, like, structured climbing programs.

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And then, yeah, how is your training different

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from it? Well, I'd say we don't really have as

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much structure, I think, as other youth teams.

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Like, our coach doesn't really come up with plans

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for the day. It's more just, like, what we want

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to work on and how he can help us with that.

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Like, during those couple hours at practices.

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Yeah, I mean, we just climb. Yeah, we don't really

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hangboard or work out that much. I haven't worked

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out in like two months. Dang. We're not climbing

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for strength gain. It's more like technique and

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body awareness and stuff like that. Yeah, but

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I guess even when it comes to technique and body

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awareness, there's not structured programs for

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it. You just do whatever. Well, I think the philosophy

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is to create an environment where you're kind

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of forced to learn to climb. The right way? Mm

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-hmm. So, like, our spray wall, we spend a lot

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of time spray walling. Mm -hmm. So it's kind

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of set in a way where you can't just, like, pull

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up on the holds and be strong. You have to, like,

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use your feet and connect your entire body to

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really be able to do any moves. Mm -hmm. And

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how do you feel like that compares to a typical

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training program, like what you guys were doing

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at, like, Mesa or the wall? Mesa was a lot of

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strength training, like workouts and stuff. Mm

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-hmm. I think it was really beneficial when we

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were youth climbers, but maybe now so it's not

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as important. Really? I feel like technique is

00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:09.959
more important now. Yeah. I think like the philosophy

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that Al has is like if you're not as strong,

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you have to compensate by using technique. Yeah.

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So if you're stronger, it's like easy to kind

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of cut corners. And so it kind of forces us to

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learn good movement and we can always get strong

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later. Do you feel like not as strong as other

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climbers? For sure. Yeah. I feel pretty weak

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all the time. We can't do one arm. True. And,

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like, how do you feel about that? You feel, like,

00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:39.000
fine about it? I feel great about it. Okay. I,

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like, brag about how weak I am. Yeah, I take

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a lot of pride in that. Oh, okay. Yeah, it's

00:08:44.279 --> 00:08:46.059
kind of funny, you know. But, like, do you think

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one day you guys will do more strength training?

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Because, like, I guess when I talked to Ross,

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it was, like, you need to, like, get to a certain,

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like, you get to a certain strength and then

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your, like, technique. catches up to the strength

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and then you like can't really progress further

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until you get stronger and then you like do strength

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training and then you technique i think through

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our like technique training we'll just get stronger

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naturally and so i think it's more like the technique

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will rise and then our strength will just catch

00:09:13.529 --> 00:09:15.789
up i think it's kind of the opposite i feel like

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it's also like i think climbing is the best way

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to get stronger at climbing like um it's like

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you can do a bunch of traditional like, weightlifting,

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but how well that actually transfers to climbing

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is a bit, like, I'm not too sure. No, I get that.

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That's good to hear that you don't need to, like,

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do a bunch of strength training in order to be

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good at climbing. That sounds kind of like what

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they do in Japan or, like, what I've heard, at

00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:49.620
least. Do you know if that's, like, actually

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what they do there or just what they say they

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do, but actually behind the scenes? I mean, I

00:09:52.460 --> 00:09:55.179
don't actually know what they do. Okay. I mean,

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you guys were just there, so. When I was there,

00:09:57.879 --> 00:09:59.639
I was just doing the same thing that we do here.

00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:02.899
I was just climbing on boulders. Yeah. But the

00:10:02.899 --> 00:10:07.159
boulders there are set in a way where, as Zoe

00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:09.720
was saying, you have to climb it very well. It's,

00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:14.000
like, times 100. Yeah. So it's better for technique,

00:10:14.179 --> 00:10:17.460
climbing there, for sure. Okay. Yeah, it's definitely

00:10:17.460 --> 00:10:19.960
similar. Yeah. And how did you guys like Japan?

00:10:20.659 --> 00:10:25.950
It was so cool. First time. Yeah. I mostly miss

00:10:25.950 --> 00:10:28.070
the convenience stores, honestly. Oh, right,

00:10:28.190 --> 00:10:30.750
the 7 -Elevens. Yeah, they have lots of good

00:10:30.750 --> 00:10:34.669
food options, and you can't really get anything

00:10:34.669 --> 00:10:39.289
to eat at gas stations here. Yeah. The triangles

00:10:39.289 --> 00:10:42.230
are really nice. The what? The triangles. The

00:10:42.230 --> 00:10:47.509
rice triangles? Oh, yeah. With, like, fish inside.

00:10:47.809 --> 00:10:51.289
Yeah, there's a name for them, I think. I call

00:10:51.289 --> 00:10:54.269
them triangles. We all call them triangles. Yeah,

00:10:54.269 --> 00:10:56.509
gotcha. Yeah, I've never been to Japan, but it

00:10:56.509 --> 00:10:58.649
seems nice. What about the climbing gyms? Like,

00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:03.129
did you guys go to the big ones? Yeah. E -Pump,

00:11:03.210 --> 00:11:07.850
Ogikubo. Right, yeah. Next Gen. Oh, yeah. I went

00:11:07.850 --> 00:11:11.629
to the Underground. I don't think you went to

00:11:11.629 --> 00:11:14.330
it. It was probably my favorite gym. It was,

00:11:14.330 --> 00:11:17.690
like, this really small box. Like, underneath

00:11:17.690 --> 00:11:20.960
is a Parma complex, and it was, like, Some of

00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:23.460
the best setting I've climbed on. It was really

00:11:23.460 --> 00:11:26.279
fun. What makes, like, good setting for you?

00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:32.059
Just, like, the way I thought about it was when

00:11:32.059 --> 00:11:36.320
I'm in, like, a position, naturally there's kind

00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:38.200
of a way that you want to leave that position.

00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:40.879
And I felt like the climbs really rewarded that

00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:45.659
just, like, intuition. I could just climb, and

00:11:45.659 --> 00:11:48.570
it didn't matter. How I climbed it, I just climbed

00:11:48.570 --> 00:11:50.009
it naturally, and it felt, like, really fun.

00:11:50.950 --> 00:11:53.710
Okay, so then getting into, I guess, how Japan

00:11:53.710 --> 00:11:56.470
went in terms of the actual event that you guys

00:11:56.470 --> 00:12:01.610
were a part of. Is it pronounced Fukuoka? I think

00:12:01.610 --> 00:12:06.389
so. Okay. So, yeah, the team event, I think most

00:12:06.389 --> 00:12:08.230
people are probably wondering how the USA team

00:12:08.230 --> 00:12:11.789
was selected. Because, like, Japan and Korea

00:12:11.789 --> 00:12:16.909
brought, like... their biggest climbers, the

00:12:16.909 --> 00:12:18.710
ones who win, like, all the medals at the World

00:12:18.710 --> 00:12:21.350
Cups. So, yeah, how did you guys get selected?

00:12:22.230 --> 00:12:27.409
It was kind of just open. We have, like, a national

00:12:27.409 --> 00:12:30.769
ranking. That's how they select the people who

00:12:30.769 --> 00:12:35.549
go to World Cups. But I think, I mean, he's on

00:12:35.549 --> 00:12:39.330
the national team, but I'm only on the development

00:12:39.330 --> 00:12:43.960
team, so I'm, like, lower down. Tired from the

00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:46.840
entire season and wanted to take a break, so

00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:51.259
they turned it down. So it came down to us. It's

00:12:51.259 --> 00:12:53.039
really weird, though, because even though I'm

00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:56.179
on the national team for lead, they're selecting

00:12:56.179 --> 00:12:59.059
based off of Boulder as well. Okay, so, like,

00:12:59.059 --> 00:13:01.299
it was your combined scores? Well, because I'm

00:13:01.299 --> 00:13:03.320
not on the Boulder development team at all. Oh,

00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:08.019
okay. So it was your combined score and any,

00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:10.360
like, points that you got in World Cups. So if

00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:12.379
you had made, like, a semifinal at a World Cup,

00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:15.500
you had more points over someone who was, like,

00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:18.879
on the team, I think. Okay. I don't really know.

00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:20.980
But, yeah, there was some sort of point system

00:13:20.980 --> 00:13:23.759
that they had in place. Yeah. And so everyone

00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:25.779
else just kind of passed up. Yeah. There were

00:13:25.779 --> 00:13:27.919
a couple points. Xander Waller was right in front

00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:29.720
of me, and he declined, and then it passed down

00:13:29.720 --> 00:13:32.799
to me. I think Colin and Jesse declined as well.

00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:34.639
Yeah. I was, like, fourth down or something.

00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:37.659
Okay. Yeah. Were you guys excited to get the

00:13:37.659 --> 00:13:39.700
opportunity, or was it like, eh, I'm not sure?

00:13:39.779 --> 00:13:43.200
No, I was really psyched. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's

00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:44.960
a cool opportunity. I mean, I guess it is far,

00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:48.779
though, for us. Yeah. But, like, it's Japan.

00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:51.179
Like, how can you not go? Yeah, I mean, yeah.

00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:54.639
I would have gone, too. Did you have any, like,

00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:57.200
expectations for the event going into this, especially

00:13:57.200 --> 00:13:58.940
hearing that you guys were, like, going to compete

00:13:58.940 --> 00:14:03.120
against Serato? We were going, like, two weeks

00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:07.779
before. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. I was in Japan after

00:14:07.779 --> 00:14:10.610
World Champs. And then I flew back to the US

00:14:10.610 --> 00:14:13.529
and then like the day after I flew back, I got

00:14:13.529 --> 00:14:15.610
the email that I was going to Fukuoka. That sucks.

00:14:15.929 --> 00:14:19.129
Yeah. But we had no clue what to expect. We like

00:14:19.129 --> 00:14:21.470
found out the format the day before the comp.

00:14:21.870 --> 00:14:24.490
Oh, wow. Yeah. The logistics of what was happening.

00:14:24.610 --> 00:14:26.690
It was like, yeah, we had no clue what was going

00:14:26.690 --> 00:14:29.330
on. There was no way to prepare. Yeah. Okay.

00:14:29.549 --> 00:14:32.269
So then how did you feel the difficulty of the

00:14:32.269 --> 00:14:34.470
boulders compared to maybe like World Cup climbs

00:14:34.470 --> 00:14:37.870
or the other like biggest? Well, neither of us

00:14:37.870 --> 00:14:39.549
have actually climbed on a World Cup. I've never

00:14:39.549 --> 00:14:43.169
been on a Boulder World Cup. Biggest comps that

00:14:43.169 --> 00:14:44.710
you guys have been a part of. What's the biggest

00:14:44.710 --> 00:14:47.850
comp you've been a part of? Yeah, Youth Worlds,

00:14:47.970 --> 00:14:49.789
bouldering. I think you've been to Youth Worlds,

00:14:49.809 --> 00:14:51.769
too. I've never been to Youth Worlds for bouldering.

00:14:51.909 --> 00:14:54.809
I've never bouldered internationally. I think

00:14:54.809 --> 00:14:57.549
it was similar styles, but maybe turned down

00:14:57.549 --> 00:14:59.610
quite a bit. I thought they were quite generous.

00:14:59.710 --> 00:15:04.309
I was able to get several tops. That doesn't

00:15:04.309 --> 00:15:07.389
say that it was easy. I think it was just turned

00:15:07.389 --> 00:15:09.769
down a little bit. Okay. Especially in the qualies.

00:15:10.110 --> 00:15:14.330
Up for the bend, I think a climb got, every man

00:15:14.330 --> 00:15:17.529
topped one climb in the elimination round. And

00:15:17.529 --> 00:15:19.929
then the other climb, it was like only a few

00:15:19.929 --> 00:15:22.769
people didn't top it. So you wouldn't really

00:15:22.769 --> 00:15:26.409
see that in a World Cup. Okay, that's true. Well,

00:15:26.450 --> 00:15:30.110
we, so as viewers, we didn't get to see like

00:15:30.110 --> 00:15:32.610
qualies. I guess the earliest we saw was the

00:15:32.610 --> 00:15:35.159
Boulder elimination round. So I guess, like,

00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:36.879
how did the Boulder elimination round compare

00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:41.120
to, like, what you guys have done before? Easier,

00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:43.559
for sure. Easier. Yeah. Well, that's what I was

00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:45.379
talking about, the elimination round. Oh, okay,

00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:46.779
gotcha. Yeah, that's the one that had a lot of

00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:49.059
tops. Actually, I think Boulder Qualies was quite

00:15:49.059 --> 00:15:51.500
a bit harder. Oh. Because it was all the teams.

00:15:51.539 --> 00:15:56.299
It was, like, all six of them. Yeah. Versus the

00:15:56.299 --> 00:15:58.320
elimination round was only four. True, yeah.

00:15:59.820 --> 00:16:02.240
So like we didn't top a single, at least for

00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:04.700
the guys, we didn't top a single one in the all

00:16:04.700 --> 00:16:07.960
-over fire round. Yeah. That round was actually

00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:09.840
pretty hard. Okay. Pretty destroyed in that one.

00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:15.019
And then what about finals for both? I thought

00:16:15.019 --> 00:16:18.100
the setting was quite generous throughout the

00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:22.879
entire round, the entire comp. Like, I mean,

00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:26.539
I got a flash in boulder finals. Just like, I

00:16:26.539 --> 00:16:28.080
wasn't expecting to get anywhere on the boulders,

00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:31.519
honestly. And I got pretty high on the lead route

00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:34.340
too. I think it was more like they were just

00:16:34.340 --> 00:16:36.919
trying to, like they didn't really care if setting

00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:38.700
was a little easy because it's more about like

00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:41.620
showcasing the team format and all that. For

00:16:41.620 --> 00:16:43.539
the lead routes, you could tell that there was

00:16:43.539 --> 00:16:47.580
a change, especially for the guys. The World

00:16:47.580 --> 00:16:50.539
Cup routes are so powerful that you can like

00:16:50.539 --> 00:16:53.799
easily fall in like the first crux. But these

00:16:53.799 --> 00:16:56.450
routes, it was like really chill. Up until the

00:16:56.450 --> 00:16:58.309
headwall where it, like, turned on a bunch. Oh,

00:16:58.330 --> 00:17:00.370
okay. So I think that's where they wanted to

00:17:00.370 --> 00:17:02.909
get a little bit of change in the results. Everyone

00:17:02.909 --> 00:17:04.730
was kind of at the same spot, and then it would

00:17:04.730 --> 00:17:06.970
just get, like, really, really hard. Okay. Yeah.

00:17:07.029 --> 00:17:09.869
So, like, separation between, like, Serrano and

00:17:09.869 --> 00:17:11.690
Doyon, probably. Yeah, yeah. That was the difference

00:17:11.690 --> 00:17:14.170
between where I fell and then where, like, Doyon

00:17:14.170 --> 00:17:16.289
got to. I see. It was in that, like, really hard

00:17:16.289 --> 00:17:20.329
headwall section. Yeah. And then how was it,

00:17:20.430 --> 00:17:22.230
like, how helpful was it to actually see other

00:17:22.230 --> 00:17:24.549
people's beta? I thought it was really helpful.

00:17:24.910 --> 00:17:28.630
Helpful for me. I went basically last in qualies

00:17:28.630 --> 00:17:32.230
and finals. I feel like I tend to do better during

00:17:32.230 --> 00:17:34.490
flash format because I think once I know the

00:17:34.490 --> 00:17:38.049
beta, I'm pretty good at just executing. I feel

00:17:38.049 --> 00:17:40.410
like I don't actually like to watch people climb.

00:17:41.269 --> 00:17:44.289
Maybe if I just see one person, just to get in

00:17:44.289 --> 00:17:48.049
my head that it's possible, then I can just climb

00:17:48.049 --> 00:17:50.529
based off of what I already was thinking in my

00:17:50.529 --> 00:17:53.559
head and intuition. because if you watch so many

00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:55.220
people you just get really nervous because you're

00:17:55.220 --> 00:17:57.579
like oh you're watching every single like foot

00:17:57.579 --> 00:17:59.740
placement and like worrying about not slipping

00:17:59.740 --> 00:18:02.539
yeah which if you haven't watched anyone then

00:18:02.539 --> 00:18:04.480
you just climb based off of your own ability

00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:08.640
and it like feels more fun that way i think no

00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:10.880
i get that i won't well so like i personally

00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:14.730
haven't competed in that like a what's it called

00:18:14.730 --> 00:18:17.930
on -site or yeah flat flash format yeah so I've

00:18:17.930 --> 00:18:21.150
never done on -site and I guess I always thought

00:18:21.150 --> 00:18:23.869
like oh I would prefer to go with my own beta

00:18:23.869 --> 00:18:27.670
yeah um and then when I think back to any competitions

00:18:27.670 --> 00:18:31.349
that I have done I've only ever sent harder things

00:18:31.349 --> 00:18:33.549
by copying exactly what other people are doing

00:18:33.549 --> 00:18:37.529
so um yeah I don't know if I'm actually good

00:18:37.529 --> 00:18:40.529
at on -site format um what about having a coach

00:18:40.529 --> 00:18:43.779
there like how helpful was that I mean, the coach

00:18:43.779 --> 00:18:46.859
that you sent was Al, our coach. He's been coaching

00:18:46.859 --> 00:18:49.640
me since I started climbing. Oh, wow. Like 10

00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:52.799
years. Yeah, since I was 8. So that was really

00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:56.759
cool to go with him. Because, I mean, coaches

00:18:56.759 --> 00:19:00.240
don't usually get to, like, influence anything

00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:02.819
in a competition, really. So it was cool to have

00:19:02.819 --> 00:19:05.099
him out on the floor and, like, ask for beta

00:19:05.099 --> 00:19:09.019
if needed. I didn't really notice it too much.

00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:12.259
I think for bouldering. I'm pretty much in my

00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:15.880
own zone. Oh, okay. I think it was helpful if

00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:18.920
you're on, like, a wrong track, he can kind of

00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:21.220
tell you where to go. Yeah. If you're doing something,

00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:24.759
like, really dumb. Yeah. But besides that, like,

00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:27.339
he's mostly giving, like, little tips. Yeah.

00:19:27.460 --> 00:19:29.380
Just to lead you in the right direction. But

00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:33.960
I think it's good to let the climber really do

00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:36.559
it on its own, just because you can get really

00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:38.259
distracted, especially if it's, like, five minutes.

00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:40.880
True. I don't want to stay locked in. Yeah. And

00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:42.619
not be worrying about, like, certain beta or

00:19:42.619 --> 00:19:45.619
anything. Okay. Yeah. I think it's, I think we're

00:19:45.619 --> 00:19:48.900
both pretty independent climbers, but it's just

00:19:48.900 --> 00:19:52.359
helpful, like, if, like, I had a coordination

00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:54.960
move for one of my boulders that I was struggling

00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:56.359
to stick. It was, like, the first move, so it

00:19:56.359 --> 00:19:58.779
was helpful to get an outside perspective of

00:19:58.779 --> 00:20:02.079
what I looked like and just, like, little pointers

00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:04.700
like that. So there wasn't that much, like, communication

00:20:04.700 --> 00:20:06.440
back and forth during the run? Not too much,

00:20:06.460 --> 00:20:08.859
especially because he's balancing two different.

00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:12.500
teams yeah it's like on like opposite ends so

00:20:12.500 --> 00:20:14.180
it's kind of hard for them to be in two places

00:20:14.180 --> 00:20:18.299
at once yeah you didn't get to like watch back

00:20:18.299 --> 00:20:21.140
what you were doing in the moment right no i

00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:23.619
think a few teams did i saw the korean team yeah

00:20:23.619 --> 00:20:26.660
video and then when they come down they would

00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:28.799
like watch the video yeah i think that's definitely

00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:30.920
a strat because that's what we do like in training

00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:33.680
we'll have a video of our spray wall so we can

00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:37.329
watch it back but in in the moment It's hard

00:20:37.329 --> 00:20:40.190
for one coach to do that because then he has

00:20:40.190 --> 00:20:42.130
to be in two places at once and filming two things

00:20:42.130 --> 00:20:44.349
at once. I think it wasn't possible with what

00:20:44.349 --> 00:20:46.029
we had, but I think it's definitely a strategy

00:20:46.029 --> 00:20:48.329
we could have used. Did they have two coaches

00:20:48.329 --> 00:20:52.250
there? The Korean, probably. Probably more than

00:20:52.250 --> 00:20:56.650
two. I think so. A lot of the teams have a few

00:20:56.650 --> 00:20:59.509
coaches. I guess it's a lot closer for them.

00:21:00.230 --> 00:21:03.150
Did you feel more pressure with your coach being

00:21:03.150 --> 00:21:05.269
right there, able to talk to you at the same

00:21:05.269 --> 00:21:09.740
time? I didn't know. Maybe that's a me thing.

00:21:09.900 --> 00:21:12.200
I just feel so stressed if there's like someone

00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:14.259
who kind of cares about my climbing watching

00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:16.779
me. That's fair. I mean, we've climbed in front

00:21:16.779 --> 00:21:20.220
of him for years. He's seen us fail pretty miserably

00:21:20.220 --> 00:21:24.259
and do really well. I guess along those lines,

00:21:24.339 --> 00:21:28.160
when I think about climbing as a sport, it's

00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:31.299
like a very individual sport. How do you feel

00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:34.039
climbing in, like, a team format where there's,

00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:35.960
like, also the pressure of your other teammates

00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:38.839
counting on you? I thought it was cool because,

00:21:39.059 --> 00:21:42.319
like, if I mess up, you know, hopefully there

00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:44.980
will be people that have my back and maybe can

00:21:44.980 --> 00:21:48.299
pull the team score up a little bit. But I just

00:21:48.299 --> 00:21:51.460
feel like it kind of forced us to, like, actually

00:21:51.460 --> 00:21:54.400
talk and be friends and, like, collaborate because,

00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:57.240
like, I didn't really know Vale and Paloma at

00:21:57.240 --> 00:21:58.920
all. Like, I hadn't really talked to them before.

00:21:59.579 --> 00:22:02.599
They were our other two teammates. And I feel

00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:04.980
like normally at World Cups, I've only been to

00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:09.700
a couple, but I think since the U .S. is just

00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:13.539
so big geographically, it's hard to really feel

00:22:13.539 --> 00:22:16.619
like a team because you just don't know a lot

00:22:16.619 --> 00:22:19.960
of your teammates. And I also don't think we

00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:23.420
did a very good job of watching every round.

00:22:23.500 --> 00:22:25.519
I think a lot of people just kind of go off and

00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:28.450
do their own thing. Oh, sure. I think it was

00:22:28.450 --> 00:22:31.289
pretty similar to just how I would, like, train

00:22:31.289 --> 00:22:33.490
normally, where you're just, like, climbing another

00:22:33.490 --> 00:22:36.150
person, you're just trading off. Like, you're

00:22:36.150 --> 00:22:38.190
talking about it, and you're climbing. So it

00:22:38.190 --> 00:22:42.769
felt normal for me. Yeah. Like, if I'm climbing

00:22:42.769 --> 00:22:45.069
with my friends, we'll do the same thing. We'll

00:22:45.069 --> 00:22:47.609
just, like, try it, try the same climb, and then

00:22:47.609 --> 00:22:50.250
talk about it, and then keep trying it. Yeah.

00:22:50.349 --> 00:22:52.299
It didn't feel that different. But with, like,

00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:54.779
the point system, you never felt like, oh, like,

00:22:54.819 --> 00:22:56.500
I let my team down. Like, I didn't get these

00:22:56.500 --> 00:22:58.940
points. Or, like, your teammate didn't get it.

00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:00.779
Maybe a little bit. You should have tried harder.

00:23:01.140 --> 00:23:03.339
Definitely a little bit. Yeah. But you can also

00:23:03.339 --> 00:23:06.220
make up points in so many different ways. Like,

00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:08.440
if you, like, on a sport climb, if you miss,

00:23:08.460 --> 00:23:11.259
like, one hold or something, then, like, the

00:23:11.259 --> 00:23:13.420
teammate is going to get, like, three other points

00:23:13.420 --> 00:23:18.059
per one hold. Or, like, because it's exponential,

00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:21.359
the points, if you miss one hold. That's like

00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:26.059
three points. But if they get one hold and it's

00:23:26.059 --> 00:23:29.779
higher, that's like even more many points. It's

00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:34.200
a weird scoring. Oh. Yeah. Wait, was it dependent

00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:37.240
on how far you got? Yeah. Well, no, it's how

00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:39.220
high you get up, the more points you get. Oh,

00:23:39.240 --> 00:23:41.500
okay, yeah. Kind of like how it was in the Olympics.

00:23:41.539 --> 00:23:44.539
In the Olympics. Okay, gotcha. Yeah. So if you

00:23:44.539 --> 00:23:48.740
like mess up early. There's there's room to make

00:23:48.740 --> 00:23:51.420
that up. Sure. Yeah. Yeah, so it I didn't feel

00:23:51.420 --> 00:23:54.640
as much pressure. Okay Did you feel like there

00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:56.759
was anything to change in terms of like your

00:23:56.759 --> 00:23:58.880
mindset or strategy when it came to competing

00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:01.279
in a team format? I think for lead it was the

00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:03.140
same because when you're climbing you're still

00:24:03.140 --> 00:24:05.420
by yourself. Yeah for Boulder It was completely

00:24:05.420 --> 00:24:07.559
different. I think the qualifier round we like

00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:11.059
did not do a very good job as Like climbing as

00:24:11.059 --> 00:24:13.380
a team and then as the rounds progressed we like

00:24:13.380 --> 00:24:16.589
I think we had a pretty good format for Maybe

00:24:16.589 --> 00:24:19.210
the elimination round was really good. And then

00:24:19.210 --> 00:24:22.210
the final round was just really hard. But I think

00:24:22.210 --> 00:24:25.529
we had a good kind of team system going. Yeah,

00:24:25.569 --> 00:24:27.210
I think it just took a little bit of time to

00:24:27.210 --> 00:24:29.809
warm up to our teammates, like if we've never

00:24:29.809 --> 00:24:32.630
climbed with them before, just getting used to

00:24:32.630 --> 00:24:35.529
their style. Yeah, was there any, like, strategy

00:24:35.529 --> 00:24:38.650
involved in terms of, like, oh, this person should

00:24:38.650 --> 00:24:40.890
go first? Or, like, what were the negotiations

00:24:40.890 --> 00:24:46.599
that happened during the comp? It wasn't very

00:24:46.599 --> 00:24:50.039
dramatic. It was sort of just like, hey, I'll

00:24:50.039 --> 00:24:52.339
brush the feet and you brush the hands and you

00:24:52.339 --> 00:24:54.859
can go first. It was kind of just decided in

00:24:54.859 --> 00:24:57.940
the moment. With Vale, we were actually thinking

00:24:57.940 --> 00:25:02.119
pretty strategically, I think. Because he's been

00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:04.140
training bouldering a lot more and I'm training

00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:07.880
more lead. There were different styles. So for

00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:11.400
like the slab, I'm better at slab. I would say

00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:13.769
I'm better at slab than Vale. And so I would

00:25:13.769 --> 00:25:16.230
try it first just so I had more time to kind

00:25:16.230 --> 00:25:18.150
of think about the climate and I would have a

00:25:18.150 --> 00:25:20.690
better shot at doing it. And then for the more

00:25:20.690 --> 00:25:23.650
like powerful boulders, he had a really good

00:25:23.650 --> 00:25:25.549
idea of how he wanted to do it. And I was kind

00:25:25.549 --> 00:25:27.269
of like, well, I don't know what I'm going to

00:25:27.269 --> 00:25:29.789
do. Okay, you can go first so I can watch you.

00:25:29.849 --> 00:25:31.450
You know exactly what you're going to do. You're

00:25:31.450 --> 00:25:33.549
going to flash it. And then I have kind of more

00:25:33.549 --> 00:25:35.730
information to go off of and decide what I'm

00:25:35.730 --> 00:25:39.230
going to do. Yeah, which I think was great. We

00:25:39.230 --> 00:25:41.470
like complemented each other really well. Yeah.

00:25:41.910 --> 00:25:44.269
He's, like, a really tall boulder. I'm, like,

00:25:44.269 --> 00:25:46.490
a shorter kind of slab climber. So I think it

00:25:46.490 --> 00:25:49.069
worked out really well. Yeah. And then Paloma's

00:25:49.069 --> 00:25:50.809
also, like, pretty tall, right? Yeah, Paloma's

00:25:50.809 --> 00:25:52.849
pretty tall. I think we had a good team going.

00:25:53.029 --> 00:25:54.769
I think it was great that we had, like, two taller

00:25:54.769 --> 00:25:57.430
and two shorter climbers. Oh, true. Yeah, like,

00:25:57.549 --> 00:26:00.329
allows you to fit in different boxes. Yeah. Yeah.

00:26:00.950 --> 00:26:03.309
What about, like, the lead? Was there any, like,

00:26:03.309 --> 00:26:07.230
strategy with, like, who goes out first? I think

00:26:07.230 --> 00:26:09.930
less who goes out first, but more, like, who

00:26:09.930 --> 00:26:13.039
goes on which route. Oh, yeah. Remind us how

00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:16.920
that went. There were two routes, and each route

00:26:16.920 --> 00:26:20.400
needed a female and a male climber. So we would,

00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:22.539
like, get to the venue, look at the routes, kind

00:26:22.539 --> 00:26:27.079
of see, like, it was sort of about, like, which

00:26:27.079 --> 00:26:32.359
style suited you more, but also, like, the point

00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:35.339
scale, right? So it's kind of like, oh, if there's

00:26:35.339 --> 00:26:38.619
a stop or move, like, someone might fall here,

00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:43.019
but, like... I think there's usually a more bouldery

00:26:43.019 --> 00:26:45.559
route and a more resistance -based route, so

00:26:45.559 --> 00:26:49.059
I feel like the intuition would be to put us

00:26:49.059 --> 00:26:51.119
on the resistance route and the boulders on the

00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:53.480
bouldery route. But then you could say, well,

00:26:53.559 --> 00:26:56.660
maybe if we do the jump in the middle, we have

00:26:56.660 --> 00:26:59.460
potential to go a lot higher since our endurance

00:26:59.460 --> 00:27:02.859
is a little better. And so, yeah, what was the

00:27:02.859 --> 00:27:06.940
strategy you guys went with there? I mean, I

00:27:06.940 --> 00:27:10.319
just let Vale pick. Okay. because he's more of

00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:12.180
a boulderer, and most of the times he was on

00:27:12.180 --> 00:27:13.920
the bouldery route, the ones with, like, the

00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:16.480
jumps or the canvases or whatever, and then I

00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:19.059
was put on the endurance route. How did the lead

00:27:19.059 --> 00:27:21.660
routes feel? Was it, like, what you expected?

00:27:22.819 --> 00:27:25.980
Yeah. I mean, the beginning half was pretty chill.

00:27:26.140 --> 00:27:28.940
Right. And then it would just get harder as you

00:27:28.940 --> 00:27:31.180
went up, which I think was pretty fun. It was

00:27:31.180 --> 00:27:34.279
a lot less pressure, because you can kind of

00:27:34.279 --> 00:27:36.380
ease into the route, and you're not, like, fully

00:27:36.380 --> 00:27:38.140
thrown into this, like, really cruxy boulder

00:27:38.140 --> 00:27:41.490
problem at the start. Which was a lot more fun

00:27:41.490 --> 00:27:45.130
than just, like, a World Cup where as soon as

00:27:45.130 --> 00:27:46.769
you're on the wall, you're, like, fighting for

00:27:46.769 --> 00:27:49.549
your life. Okay. It honestly reminded me a lot

00:27:49.549 --> 00:27:53.029
more of American setting than, like, IFSC style.

00:27:53.269 --> 00:27:56.329
Some of the routes I got on. I feel like most

00:27:56.329 --> 00:27:58.490
of the positions were pretty secure. Like, you

00:27:58.490 --> 00:28:03.650
could rest in a lot of places. Whereas in, like,

00:28:03.650 --> 00:28:05.910
World Cups and stuff, they kind of force you

00:28:05.910 --> 00:28:08.269
to keep going. Like, you can't stay in one place

00:28:08.269 --> 00:28:12.410
too long. And then you guys had to do a lot more

00:28:12.410 --> 00:28:17.230
climbing than most other teams. So how did the

00:28:17.230 --> 00:28:19.930
climbing and boulder elimination plus finals?

00:28:20.829 --> 00:28:23.650
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00:28:54.259 --> 00:28:57.359
and sharing helps a great deal as well. Back

00:28:57.359 --> 00:29:00.460
to the show. Which one was the same day or the

00:29:00.460 --> 00:29:01.839
day before? They were kind of all the same day.

00:29:02.019 --> 00:29:05.099
Oh, okay. The first day was lead and boulder.

00:29:05.460 --> 00:29:08.259
Yeah. Qualifications. Yeah, qualifications. The

00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:11.160
second day was boulder and lead. And then the

00:29:11.160 --> 00:29:14.319
third day was just boulder finals. So there's

00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:16.400
a lot of rounds. Like five rounds in three days.

00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:21.119
Oh, gosh. Yeah. How did it affect you guys? I

00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:22.700
mean, it wasn't actually that bad because each

00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:25.619
round you're only doing like one route for the

00:29:25.619 --> 00:29:28.940
lead and two routes, max three routes for the

00:29:28.940 --> 00:29:31.119
boulder. Yeah. But it's just a lot of preparation

00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:33.160
because you have to warm up. You have to cool

00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:36.960
down and then fully warm up again. So, I mean,

00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:38.599
you're still getting tired, but it's not as much

00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:41.519
as like a full lead comp where you're doing two

00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:45.680
qualities and then one semi or like five boulders

00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:48.430
in a round. Yeah, I think it ended up being okay.

00:29:48.509 --> 00:29:51.269
I think maybe a little low on skin, but... Yeah.

00:29:51.430 --> 00:29:55.250
I felt fine, like, energy -wise. What about the

00:29:55.250 --> 00:29:58.390
others? Yeah, because, I mean, half... It's kind

00:29:58.390 --> 00:30:01.950
of like you're climbing half the amount compared

00:30:01.950 --> 00:30:04.809
to, like, a regular... Yeah. Okay. I guess that's

00:30:04.809 --> 00:30:08.630
true. Yeah, so you guys were fine. So no one

00:30:08.630 --> 00:30:11.170
should feel bad. Compared to the other teams,

00:30:11.369 --> 00:30:14.039
they had much more people. Yeah. So... They'd,

00:30:14.059 --> 00:30:16.539
like, swap people out every round. Yeah. So we

00:30:16.539 --> 00:30:18.400
didn't climb that much, but compared to the rest

00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:20.680
of them, we climbed a lot. True, yeah. Yeah,

00:30:20.740 --> 00:30:23.619
I guess, why wasn't there any, like, swaps? Or,

00:30:23.640 --> 00:30:26.480
like, is there, like, literally no one else who

00:30:26.480 --> 00:30:28.339
wanted to, like, come and do, like, swap outs?

00:30:28.460 --> 00:30:31.500
Or is it, like, a financial issue? That and,

00:30:31.660 --> 00:30:35.259
oh, just, like, financially, I think, like, if

00:30:35.259 --> 00:30:37.200
we sent more people, we'd all get less funding,

00:30:37.380 --> 00:30:40.819
so. Yeah. Yeah. I think people just didn't want

00:30:40.819 --> 00:30:43.440
to go. But it works out because then we get to

00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:46.279
do more climbing. It was really cool to do every

00:30:46.279 --> 00:30:50.660
round. And did you guys get funded to go? Your

00:30:50.660 --> 00:30:54.940
flights and hotels were paid for? We got a lump

00:30:54.940 --> 00:30:58.920
sum from IFSC. That's nice. It doesn't quite

00:30:58.920 --> 00:31:01.359
cover everything, but it covers a good chunk

00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:04.480
of it, I think. But then if more people came,

00:31:04.619 --> 00:31:07.299
it would have taken longer. Okay, that makes

00:31:07.299 --> 00:31:11.000
sense. And then for both of you, I think this

00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:13.400
is like your first time, well, you said it's

00:31:13.400 --> 00:31:14.859
your first time competing on the world stage?

00:31:15.779 --> 00:31:20.059
I've done a couple World Cups, and I did World

00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:22.619
Champs in Seoul. And then what about you? You've

00:31:22.619 --> 00:31:25.619
also done some. I did some World Cups this season

00:31:25.619 --> 00:31:28.619
and last season. Okay, yeah. Yeah, just a handful.

00:31:28.880 --> 00:31:31.140
Yeah, so how did this event kind of compare to

00:31:31.140 --> 00:31:35.200
that in terms of like... viewership or like crowd

00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:37.920
or how it felt in general? Well, a whole other

00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:39.220
world because I've been to, I haven't made a

00:31:39.220 --> 00:31:45.119
semi. So I've never been like on the live streams.

00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:47.779
So it was, it was cool that like my family could

00:31:47.779 --> 00:31:51.180
watch. Oh yeah. Um, and we did so many rounds

00:31:51.180 --> 00:31:53.920
so we could watch every single one. I think like

00:31:53.920 --> 00:31:56.339
the production quality was quite good. Like just

00:31:56.339 --> 00:32:00.619
regular, like World Cup. I mean, yeah, and I

00:32:00.619 --> 00:32:02.900
think especially, like, all the volunteers and

00:32:02.900 --> 00:32:05.380
the audience, they were super psyched. Like,

00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:07.259
it was really cool. Like, they kept it up the

00:32:07.259 --> 00:32:09.619
entire round, even when everybody got to the

00:32:09.619 --> 00:32:13.759
top of everything sometimes. But, yeah, it felt

00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:17.539
like there really weren't that many of us. There

00:32:17.539 --> 00:32:20.559
were, like, four teams in finals. I've obviously

00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:22.859
never been in a World Cup final, but it felt

00:32:22.859 --> 00:32:26.359
like a World Cup final. Yeah. But, like, zero

00:32:26.359 --> 00:32:29.559
pressure. Oh, really? Yeah. No pressure. Yeah.

00:32:30.140 --> 00:32:32.299
Just because you didn't have any expectations

00:32:32.299 --> 00:32:35.400
going into it? Yeah, I was just excited to be

00:32:35.400 --> 00:32:39.200
there. It felt like a charity event, kind of.

00:32:39.660 --> 00:32:42.059
Have you done other charity events? No, well,

00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:46.200
just like there wasn't any pressure to do well.

00:32:46.259 --> 00:32:48.500
There was nothing that we were qualifying for.

00:32:48.660 --> 00:32:53.170
It was just a standalone event. Right. Especially

00:32:53.170 --> 00:32:54.769
if you're in the final, that was kind of the

00:32:54.769 --> 00:32:57.430
goal, was to qualify for finals. So when you're

00:32:57.430 --> 00:32:59.130
there, you're just like, okay, nothing can go

00:32:59.130 --> 00:33:01.390
wrong now. Especially because we qualified in

00:33:01.390 --> 00:33:03.690
fourth, so we literally could not do any worse.

00:33:03.910 --> 00:33:06.589
We could only do better. And it's like, you only

00:33:06.589 --> 00:33:08.970
have to beat one team to podium. Yeah, true.

00:33:09.589 --> 00:33:11.869
Was there, I forget, was there like a prize pool,

00:33:12.109 --> 00:33:15.329
or was it just for bragging rights? I think so.

00:33:15.329 --> 00:33:19.349
For the podium, yeah. Well, it's kind of a shame

00:33:19.349 --> 00:33:21.859
you guys didn't get a podium then, but... But

00:33:21.859 --> 00:33:24.779
it was a cool experience. How does it compare

00:33:24.779 --> 00:33:27.740
to, like, youth competitions? I feel like youth

00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:31.799
competitions, like IFSC, there's a lot of pressure.

00:33:32.279 --> 00:33:35.380
Oh, really? I find that the youth world competitions

00:33:35.380 --> 00:33:37.900
have, like, so much more pressure than the World

00:33:37.900 --> 00:33:40.519
Cups. Oh. Just because there's, like, kind of

00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:42.980
a time limit for how long you can compete because

00:33:42.980 --> 00:33:45.539
you can graduate and you, like, really want to

00:33:45.539 --> 00:33:48.839
do well because if you do well there, it kind

00:33:48.839 --> 00:33:50.759
of leads into, like, doing well in the World

00:33:50.759 --> 00:33:56.339
Cups. For kind of USA Climbing youth and like

00:33:56.339 --> 00:34:00.259
USA Climbing elite, I don't think there's as

00:34:00.259 --> 00:34:03.519
much pressure, I think, just because there's

00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:06.259
not as much competition and it's kind of like

00:34:06.259 --> 00:34:09.500
you're with your friends. So it's just kind of

00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:11.780
like a fun comp, which was more similar to this.

00:34:12.880 --> 00:34:15.639
Yeah, I feel like I felt the most pressure at

00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:18.960
Youth Worlds because that's... It's kind of like

00:34:18.960 --> 00:34:21.300
what I was training for the entire year, like

00:34:21.300 --> 00:34:23.719
mainly youth nationals, like to be able to make

00:34:23.719 --> 00:34:27.679
youth awards. And World Cups are just like a

00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:31.139
nice, like, you know, like I get these opportunities

00:34:31.139 --> 00:34:34.099
and it's really cool to go and experience it,

00:34:34.119 --> 00:34:36.440
but not really like expecting anything from it.

00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:38.980
Yeah, I guess I have heard, well, I've heard

00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:43.099
some people say that like the youth scene is

00:34:43.099 --> 00:34:46.570
a lot more like stressful than... The elite or,

00:34:46.610 --> 00:34:49.210
like, adult scene, I guess? For sure. You experienced

00:34:49.210 --> 00:34:53.530
that, too? Yeah. Is it, I guess, like, the pressure

00:34:53.530 --> 00:34:56.250
or expectation that you'll actually, like, win

00:34:56.250 --> 00:34:59.309
or podium at it? I feel like the youth comps,

00:34:59.309 --> 00:35:01.349
the youth nationals that I've been to have always

00:35:01.349 --> 00:35:04.329
been, like, the hardest comps to win or, like,

00:35:04.349 --> 00:35:07.949
to do well at. Because there's so much pressure,

00:35:08.010 --> 00:35:09.849
and there's, like, only one comp that you've

00:35:09.849 --> 00:35:12.489
been training for, like, this entire year. There's

00:35:12.489 --> 00:35:15.659
so many comps that you've been to, and... Everyone's

00:35:15.659 --> 00:35:19.119
so close because they're the same age. They've

00:35:19.119 --> 00:35:21.480
been climbing for the same amount of years. So

00:35:21.480 --> 00:35:23.039
everyone's kind of around the same level. It's

00:35:23.039 --> 00:35:26.440
just luck of the draw or just pure determination

00:35:26.440 --> 00:35:29.679
who comes out on top, I think. And especially

00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:32.559
there's only three spots for Worlds. Anything

00:35:32.559 --> 00:35:35.920
can happen. Your foot slips and then that's it.

00:35:36.119 --> 00:35:41.119
What has World Cups and that whole circuit kind

00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:42.940
of highlighted in terms of your strengths and

00:35:42.940 --> 00:35:47.409
weaknesses? I feel like especially bouldering

00:35:47.409 --> 00:35:51.789
in the team event in Japan, because it was, like,

00:35:51.789 --> 00:35:54.889
my first international boulder comp, like, I

00:35:54.889 --> 00:35:57.329
finally really understood why we train the way

00:35:57.329 --> 00:35:59.309
we do or, like, why we get on the boulders that

00:35:59.309 --> 00:36:02.889
we do. Because it felt so familiar and intuitive

00:36:02.889 --> 00:36:07.730
compared to comps in the States. And it would

00:36:07.730 --> 00:36:10.150
lead to, like, once I got to the World Cup stage,

00:36:10.230 --> 00:36:15.420
I was, like, I feel like I got... much better

00:36:15.420 --> 00:36:19.360
results there than in domestic comps, even though

00:36:19.360 --> 00:36:22.659
I didn't make semis. But, yeah, I just felt a

00:36:22.659 --> 00:36:25.940
lot more comfortable with the style. Oh, what

00:36:25.940 --> 00:36:29.659
was, like, the style difference? Just, um, I

00:36:29.659 --> 00:36:31.719
think in the U .S. there's a big emphasis on

00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:35.880
being strong and having a lot of fitness. I think

00:36:35.880 --> 00:36:41.000
World Cups really, um, they really reward, like,

00:36:41.000 --> 00:36:45.559
being able to climb well. like getting through

00:36:45.559 --> 00:36:49.420
sections fast. I think for the most part, when

00:36:49.420 --> 00:36:51.760
I go to these World Cups, it's like the technique

00:36:51.760 --> 00:36:54.460
is there for me. I feel like all the moves are

00:36:54.460 --> 00:36:57.000
possible. It's more just like a kind of a strength

00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:00.400
thing, like a comfort thing. I guess a lot of

00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:04.059
the climbs are really uncomfortable, and they

00:37:04.059 --> 00:37:08.380
take a lot of like almost brain patience where

00:37:08.380 --> 00:37:10.380
you're like in these really uncomfortable positions

00:37:10.380 --> 00:37:13.329
for like a really long amount of time. where

00:37:13.329 --> 00:37:16.369
maybe your body isn't super tired, but your brain

00:37:16.369 --> 00:37:20.710
just gets really fatigued. And so I've been trying

00:37:20.710 --> 00:37:24.489
to work on that, where you're in really uncomfortable

00:37:24.489 --> 00:37:27.789
positions. I think that's probably the biggest

00:37:27.789 --> 00:37:30.670
style difference, is just everything's really

00:37:30.670 --> 00:37:35.230
uncomfortable. Interesting. Yeah. I'm trying

00:37:35.230 --> 00:37:37.710
to think if there's a way to relate to that,

00:37:37.809 --> 00:37:39.969
because I have no idea what that means. Like

00:37:39.969 --> 00:37:43.570
brain patients or uncomfortableness? I guess

00:37:43.570 --> 00:37:46.989
brain patients. I'm trying to imagine what a

00:37:46.989 --> 00:37:50.230
boulder would look like. When I think about it,

00:37:50.309 --> 00:37:53.809
it's like you're in this position, and if you

00:37:53.809 --> 00:37:57.130
move too quickly, you're going to fall out. So

00:37:57.130 --> 00:37:59.900
you just have to like... slow it down, and just,

00:37:59.940 --> 00:38:01.440
like, keep moving. Even though your brain's like,

00:38:01.559 --> 00:38:03.119
I don't want to do this, I want to, like, hop

00:38:03.119 --> 00:38:05.559
off the wall. You just have to, like, keep going,

00:38:05.699 --> 00:38:07.900
keep going, and keep going, like, inch by inch.

00:38:08.179 --> 00:38:10.940
Just shoot, like, the next move. Okay. Was there,

00:38:10.980 --> 00:38:14.820
like, a move or, like, boulder during this competition

00:38:14.820 --> 00:38:18.480
that you remember, like, mostly feeling like

00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:22.800
that? On the slab in the finals, it was, like,

00:38:22.920 --> 00:38:26.639
you do this kind of, like, foot cross, and...

00:38:27.750 --> 00:38:31.690
The foot felt horrible when I put it on, but

00:38:31.690 --> 00:38:34.230
you just have to really slow it down and then

00:38:34.230 --> 00:38:36.690
step over it. I think this is something that

00:38:36.690 --> 00:38:39.369
I need to get better at, is being really patient,

00:38:39.429 --> 00:38:42.389
because the next move, I got the foot out, and

00:38:42.389 --> 00:38:44.190
as soon as I felt good, I just went immediately.

00:38:44.630 --> 00:38:46.750
But I really should have just slowed it down

00:38:46.750 --> 00:38:51.150
and tried to do it as smooth as possible. I got

00:38:51.150 --> 00:38:54.750
really excited, and I dropped the top. So if

00:38:54.750 --> 00:38:56.969
I had waited a little bit longer and... kind

00:38:56.969 --> 00:38:58.809
of sat in that position, I think I would have

00:38:58.809 --> 00:39:00.230
done it, or at least have a better shot at doing

00:39:00.230 --> 00:39:04.690
it. But it's, like, really hard to sit in those

00:39:04.690 --> 00:39:06.769
uncomfortable positions because you're, like,

00:39:06.809 --> 00:39:09.550
on that line. I feel like I'm going to fall out

00:39:09.550 --> 00:39:11.349
right now. Yeah. But you just have to, like,

00:39:11.349 --> 00:39:14.030
stay there, which is really hard. I get that.

00:39:14.889 --> 00:39:18.170
It's a weird kind of patience, for sure. Yeah,

00:39:18.230 --> 00:39:20.969
in our finals as well, there was the first boulder.

00:39:21.909 --> 00:39:25.150
It was, like, a mantle off of kind of slopey

00:39:25.150 --> 00:39:29.889
volume. It was green. Wow, it's been a while

00:39:29.889 --> 00:39:32.210
now. That was, like, a month ago. But you're

00:39:32.210 --> 00:39:34.670
kind of, like, you have to flip all the way,

00:39:34.690 --> 00:39:36.150
and you're reaching up, and there's this, like,

00:39:36.210 --> 00:39:38.489
crimp on the underside of another volume. Oh,

00:39:38.510 --> 00:39:40.929
I remember that. And you just feel stuck, like,

00:39:40.969 --> 00:39:42.889
so stuck. But then you just have to keep going

00:39:42.889 --> 00:39:46.750
and, like, slowly get your foot up. And I felt

00:39:46.750 --> 00:39:50.429
really, like, I just wanted to hop off the wall

00:39:50.429 --> 00:39:53.900
so bad because it felt so uncomfortable. I remember

00:39:53.900 --> 00:39:59.599
for that women's finals one, like, the Korean

00:39:59.599 --> 00:40:02.280
and Japanese climbers did it, and it looked quite

00:40:02.280 --> 00:40:04.900
different from everyone else doing it. For the

00:40:04.900 --> 00:40:07.480
slab, did anyone end up setting it? One guy did,

00:40:07.619 --> 00:40:10.820
Oren. Oh, yeah. But I was actually pretty proud

00:40:10.820 --> 00:40:12.599
of that because it was actually a really hard

00:40:12.599 --> 00:40:14.559
slab. Yeah. And everyone was falling on the last

00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:17.199
move, so the fact that I got there, I had a shot

00:40:17.199 --> 00:40:19.690
at it, it was pretty cool. Yeah. It was a really

00:40:19.690 --> 00:40:21.610
fun climb. Those are the slide climbs that I

00:40:21.610 --> 00:40:23.010
really like, and I think I'm pretty good at them.

00:40:23.769 --> 00:40:26.210
Yeah, that was cool to see. So yeah, in general

00:40:26.210 --> 00:40:28.250
for both of you, it seems like lead climbing

00:40:28.250 --> 00:40:30.389
is what you guys are doing right now. Is that

00:40:30.389 --> 00:40:32.849
your preference, or are you trying to expand

00:40:32.849 --> 00:40:38.670
into boulder? I do prefer lead. I am trying to

00:40:38.670 --> 00:40:41.210
expand. Yeah, I think I just enjoy lead more

00:40:41.210 --> 00:40:44.730
because I think in most of the U .S. comps, a

00:40:44.730 --> 00:40:47.050
lot of bouldering is just like, can you jump

00:40:47.050 --> 00:40:49.880
really far? Or can you, like, hold these terrible

00:40:49.880 --> 00:40:56.000
holds? And it's just not, like, really as enjoyable

00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:59.619
for me as a lead. But, I mean, obviously you

00:40:59.619 --> 00:41:01.380
have to get better at bouldering to get a better

00:41:01.380 --> 00:41:03.519
lead because the moves are going to get harder.

00:41:03.699 --> 00:41:06.579
Yeah, true. I actually don't have a preference.

00:41:07.019 --> 00:41:09.099
I like them equally. I think I'm just better

00:41:09.099 --> 00:41:12.619
at lead, like, naturally. But I've been getting

00:41:12.619 --> 00:41:15.239
more into bouldering because it's just... There's,

00:41:15.260 --> 00:41:17.840
like, something cool about, like, how hard...

00:41:17.980 --> 00:41:20.460
can you do and like like what's the max amount

00:41:20.460 --> 00:41:22.739
of power you can generate in like such a short

00:41:22.739 --> 00:41:25.460
amount of time yeah like it's it's pushing the

00:41:25.460 --> 00:41:29.599
limits of like just pure strength versus lead

00:41:29.599 --> 00:41:33.199
is like it's a little bit more of just a lot

00:41:33.199 --> 00:41:36.500
of climbing like the moves are easier so it's

00:41:36.500 --> 00:41:41.280
not as like i feel like the bottom half of lead

00:41:41.280 --> 00:41:44.019
routes aren't as cool as like the cruxes of boulder

00:41:44.019 --> 00:41:47.250
routes I got that, yeah. Like, it's kind of cool

00:41:47.250 --> 00:41:50.449
to just try really hard. Yeah. I feel like in

00:41:50.449 --> 00:41:52.289
lead you don't get that as often because it's

00:41:52.289 --> 00:41:55.409
more like you're trying hard on, like, one really

00:41:55.409 --> 00:41:58.030
hard move, and it's just like you're just tired.

00:41:58.110 --> 00:42:00.449
Try really hard when you're pumped. Yeah, but

00:42:00.449 --> 00:42:03.130
it's only for, like, one move, and then you're

00:42:03.130 --> 00:42:05.650
falling down. For boulder, it's like you get

00:42:05.650 --> 00:42:07.010
to try hard, and then you rest, and you get to

00:42:07.010 --> 00:42:09.610
keep trying hard. Maybe you should be trying

00:42:09.610 --> 00:42:11.170
harder on the end of lead routes. Yeah, I should

00:42:11.170 --> 00:42:13.800
be trying harder on lead routes, yeah. I guess,

00:42:13.800 --> 00:42:16.559
like, what's your long -term thinking, like,

00:42:16.619 --> 00:42:19.940
strategically in terms of choosing boulder or

00:42:19.940 --> 00:42:23.699
lead or boulder and lead? Is there any, like,

00:42:23.760 --> 00:42:25.920
thinking or is it just what you feel like? I

00:42:25.920 --> 00:42:27.699
mean, I think if you're a good climber, you're

00:42:27.699 --> 00:42:30.539
going to be good at both. So I think that's more

00:42:30.539 --> 00:42:32.440
the goal is just being a really good climber

00:42:32.440 --> 00:42:34.920
and being good at, like, everything. Because

00:42:34.920 --> 00:42:37.260
then it doesn't matter if you're training lead

00:42:37.260 --> 00:42:38.420
or training boulder, like, you're going to be

00:42:38.420 --> 00:42:41.539
really good regardless. I think definitely, like...

00:42:41.849 --> 00:42:44.190
I noticed this gap a couple years ago just comparing

00:42:44.190 --> 00:42:47.949
against, like, other people my age who are, like,

00:42:47.949 --> 00:42:49.570
really good in lead, but they're also really

00:42:49.570 --> 00:42:51.750
good in boulder. And I was, like, not even making

00:42:51.750 --> 00:42:54.349
semis at youth nats or, like, not making finals,

00:42:54.469 --> 00:42:57.230
and I was, like, I feel like this is a bit of

00:42:57.230 --> 00:43:00.710
a problem. So I've definitely been, I think I'm

00:43:00.710 --> 00:43:03.590
definitely closing the gap now. Like, I've been

00:43:03.590 --> 00:43:06.190
bouldering a lot more this year, especially,

00:43:06.269 --> 00:43:09.550
like, getting to travel and climb on different

00:43:09.550 --> 00:43:11.980
styles, I think, has helped a lot. Yeah. I've

00:43:11.980 --> 00:43:15.639
done a lot of the cash comps recently. It's been

00:43:15.639 --> 00:43:19.400
cool. Oh, yeah, you did... Wait, which one was

00:43:19.400 --> 00:43:22.159
it? Oh, Battle of the Bay. I think I did a comp

00:43:22.159 --> 00:43:25.360
every weekend of October. Oh, gosh. It was like...

00:43:25.360 --> 00:43:29.380
I was gone for 18 days, which is the longest

00:43:29.380 --> 00:43:32.440
I've been away from home. So I first... I took

00:43:32.440 --> 00:43:35.460
a train to New Mexico because there were no good

00:43:35.460 --> 00:43:38.760
flights, so they were like $400. I took a 20

00:43:38.760 --> 00:43:44.559
-hour train. Oh, my. No, it was chill. So that

00:43:44.559 --> 00:43:47.800
was for Yankinyard. Oh. It's, like, the one with

00:43:47.800 --> 00:43:50.360
the highballs and, like, the airbags. They, like,

00:43:50.460 --> 00:43:53.159
set a boulder on their lead wall and put an airbag

00:43:53.159 --> 00:43:54.960
under it. I did not see this. No. Yeah. That

00:43:54.960 --> 00:43:56.900
was really cool. Was it streamed anywhere? It

00:43:56.900 --> 00:43:58.960
was on YouTube. Oh, really? Okay. I just wanted

00:43:58.960 --> 00:44:01.460
to go because it seemed really cool. Yeah. I've

00:44:01.460 --> 00:44:03.219
never been before. And then it was Japan, and

00:44:03.219 --> 00:44:05.699
then flew back to San Francisco for Battle of

00:44:05.699 --> 00:44:09.570
the Bay. Right. And then I did, um... Battle

00:44:09.570 --> 00:44:13.730
for the Fort last weekend in Colorado, but I

00:44:13.730 --> 00:44:15.949
didn't make finals. And then you did Boulder

00:44:15.949 --> 00:44:17.670
Fest right before that, right? I did Arizona

00:44:17.670 --> 00:44:20.789
Boulder Fest, like, beginning of October. How

00:44:20.789 --> 00:44:24.969
do you guys like doing cash comps? I have a lot

00:44:24.969 --> 00:44:26.849
of fun just, like, being able to see my friends

00:44:26.849 --> 00:44:30.550
and go different places and hopefully win some

00:44:30.550 --> 00:44:33.949
money. Yeah. I think it's a lot more fun because

00:44:33.949 --> 00:44:37.349
there's no pressure. Yeah. But they're really

00:44:37.349 --> 00:44:39.800
far away. We don't have very many in San Diego.

00:44:40.340 --> 00:44:44.320
So then what are your, like, future plans for

00:44:44.320 --> 00:44:46.920
climbing in terms of, like, because you guys

00:44:46.920 --> 00:44:49.480
are both on the younger side. I mean, I'd like

00:44:49.480 --> 00:44:51.159
to be able to make a semifinal at one point.

00:44:51.239 --> 00:44:53.340
Yeah. I think that'd be pretty cool. Semifinal.

00:44:53.360 --> 00:44:55.820
I think if you make a semifinal, you have the

00:44:55.820 --> 00:44:58.280
ability to make a final. Yeah. It's just, like,

00:44:58.340 --> 00:45:02.719
you just have to be really good and, like, perform

00:45:02.719 --> 00:45:04.960
really well. Or, like, making the boulder team.

00:45:05.599 --> 00:45:08.510
Yeah. That'd be cool. I think. I think if I can

00:45:08.510 --> 00:45:11.369
make the Boulder team, then I'll have the skills

00:45:11.369 --> 00:45:14.449
and the strength required to make a lead World

00:45:14.449 --> 00:45:18.210
Cup semi. Yeah, I have similar goals, honestly.

00:45:19.070 --> 00:45:22.130
Just keep climbing, hopefully. I don't really

00:45:22.130 --> 00:45:26.489
have a very solid plan for the future with college

00:45:26.489 --> 00:45:31.829
and everything. I am committed to Carnegie Mellon,

00:45:31.829 --> 00:45:34.840
which is in Pittsburgh. Honestly, don't know

00:45:34.840 --> 00:45:37.179
if I will survive the winters there. Yeah. So

00:45:37.179 --> 00:45:40.760
I might change plans. Oh, like college plans?

00:45:41.099 --> 00:45:43.840
I might, like, reapply this year to somewhere

00:45:43.840 --> 00:45:49.139
else. Whoa. Yeah. Dang. Wow. But it's all up

00:45:49.139 --> 00:45:52.059
in the air right now. Yeah, I'm currently taking

00:45:52.059 --> 00:45:54.099
a gap year. What went into that decision? Was

00:45:54.099 --> 00:45:57.880
it about climbing? It was about climbing. And

00:45:57.880 --> 00:46:00.119
I'm, like, really happy with my decision. Like,

00:46:00.159 --> 00:46:01.739
I think everyone should take a gap year, honestly.

00:46:02.400 --> 00:46:03.880
Like, my friends are all jealous now that I'm

00:46:03.880 --> 00:46:06.059
not in school. Yeah, true. But, yeah, just, like,

00:46:06.139 --> 00:46:09.079
to compete as much as I can, like, train a little

00:46:09.079 --> 00:46:11.699
bit more because I was pretty busy in high school.

00:46:12.179 --> 00:46:16.500
I went to, like, a regular high school. So, yeah,

00:46:16.579 --> 00:46:21.460
getting to train and compete and travel. Yeah,

00:46:21.559 --> 00:46:23.960
I think I've been, like, I can afford to be really

00:46:23.960 --> 00:46:26.619
spontaneous with my travel now. So I think it's

00:46:26.619 --> 00:46:30.239
really nice. Where are you thinking of applying

00:46:30.239 --> 00:46:34.920
instead of carnivore? I have no clue. Like personally,

00:46:35.300 --> 00:46:38.780
I mean, you're doing like computer science, right?

00:46:39.579 --> 00:46:44.199
I'm doing my intended major was information systems,

00:46:44.199 --> 00:46:46.500
which is like computer science with a side of

00:46:46.500 --> 00:46:50.780
business, really. Yeah. I honestly don't know

00:46:50.780 --> 00:46:54.219
where I would apply. It's summer with better

00:46:54.219 --> 00:46:56.679
weather. Probably, like, west coast. You can't

00:46:56.679 --> 00:46:58.480
get better than right here. Yeah, that's kind

00:46:58.480 --> 00:47:00.300
of hard. Well, yeah, I just, yeah. I don't know

00:47:00.300 --> 00:47:02.440
if I could stay, like. I say as it's currently

00:47:02.440 --> 00:47:05.639
raining right now. Well, I mean, we talked about,

00:47:05.679 --> 00:47:08.199
like, driving in the rain for, like, 30 minutes,

00:47:08.300 --> 00:47:10.739
which, like, no one else ever would do ever.

00:47:11.400 --> 00:47:14.159
Did you grow up here? I moved here when I was,

00:47:14.179 --> 00:47:17.300
like, five. Okay. I'm from Seattle, though. There

00:47:17.300 --> 00:47:20.519
was a lot of rain there. Yeah. I like the rain.

00:47:22.110 --> 00:47:26.849
Okay. Yeah. Occasionally. Well, I think I was

00:47:26.849 --> 00:47:29.269
in a similar, well, I wasn't in a similar position

00:47:29.269 --> 00:47:32.309
to you, but I know Carnegie's a good school.

00:47:32.670 --> 00:47:38.449
Yeah. So that part is good. Yeah. I think. I

00:47:38.449 --> 00:47:40.349
don't like Pittsburgh, though. I grew up in Pennsylvania.

00:47:40.789 --> 00:47:43.349
Oh, really? Yeah. I didn't. I toured Carnegie

00:47:43.349 --> 00:47:46.409
and like University of Pittsburgh and I did not

00:47:46.409 --> 00:47:50.849
like the vibes. Did you tour? I went for admitted

00:47:50.849 --> 00:47:53.610
students day. Oh, okay. Like, two days. I think

00:47:53.610 --> 00:47:56.829
it was nice. I think, like, the academics are

00:47:56.829 --> 00:48:00.269
definitely very good. Mm -hmm. And the name,

00:48:00.309 --> 00:48:04.829
too. Yeah. Like, I think would help. Yeah. But

00:48:04.829 --> 00:48:11.030
the weather in the winter is questionable. And

00:48:11.030 --> 00:48:13.250
the climbing isn't great. Mm -hmm. I don't have

00:48:13.250 --> 00:48:17.610
any friends there. So, sort of, like... Yeah.

00:48:18.139 --> 00:48:20.360
It's okay to not have your friends there, but

00:48:20.360 --> 00:48:23.380
I did not like the weather. I thought Pittsburgh

00:48:23.380 --> 00:48:27.980
looked depressing. And you can apply to, like,

00:48:28.000 --> 00:48:34.179
Berkeley. Yeah, I don't, I think, I mean, I really

00:48:34.179 --> 00:48:37.139
like the weather in San Francisco, but I just

00:48:37.139 --> 00:48:38.760
don't think I could do a big school like that.

00:48:38.840 --> 00:48:41.519
I think I'd just get lost. It's, like, too big

00:48:41.519 --> 00:48:44.440
of a school? Yeah. Interesting. Like, what are

00:48:44.440 --> 00:48:46.699
you looking for? This is turning into, like,

00:48:46.719 --> 00:48:49.139
a personal question. I don't know what I'm doing

00:48:49.139 --> 00:48:55.199
with my life. I'm just so curious. I mean, one

00:48:55.199 --> 00:49:02.280
of... I don't know. Like, probably somewhere

00:49:02.280 --> 00:49:10.440
near the West Coast. But I think, like, the biggest

00:49:10.440 --> 00:49:12.480
thing I like about climbing, like, more than

00:49:12.480 --> 00:49:14.630
the actual... Climbing itself is just the community.

00:49:14.929 --> 00:49:17.150
Yeah. I feel like it'd be important to be close

00:49:17.150 --> 00:49:26.050
to, like, some climbing friends. Okay. I don't

00:49:26.050 --> 00:49:30.489
know. Okay. Declan, what about you? Like, what

00:49:30.489 --> 00:49:32.670
are your future plans in terms of, like, are

00:49:32.670 --> 00:49:34.650
you going to go to school or are you going to

00:49:34.650 --> 00:49:36.110
continue training? I'm currently in a gap semester.

00:49:36.590 --> 00:49:40.150
Yeah. I mean, I'm not committed anywhere. I don't

00:49:40.150 --> 00:49:43.519
have any, like, super rigid plans. I definitely

00:49:43.519 --> 00:49:46.699
want to stay in San Diego. Okay, yeah. I can't

00:49:46.699 --> 00:49:49.079
imagine really living anywhere else. It's like

00:49:49.079 --> 00:49:50.940
when you're in paradise, you don't want to leave

00:49:50.940 --> 00:49:53.099
paradise. I agree with that. I agree with that.

00:49:53.800 --> 00:49:56.880
So, yeah, I think that's probably the most important

00:49:56.880 --> 00:49:59.760
thing is like location. And I know so many people

00:49:59.760 --> 00:50:03.239
here that also want to stay here. Yeah. I had

00:50:03.239 --> 00:50:05.599
thoughts of maybe going to Salt Lake City because

00:50:05.599 --> 00:50:09.079
so many people move out there to train. But I

00:50:09.079 --> 00:50:11.239
just don't like Salt Lake City very much. Oh,

00:50:11.300 --> 00:50:14.619
yeah. I just prefer being next to, like, the

00:50:14.619 --> 00:50:18.340
ocean and not having, like, insanely hot summers

00:50:18.340 --> 00:50:21.800
and then cold winters. But the training's really

00:50:21.800 --> 00:50:24.599
good there. But I think building up, like, San

00:50:24.599 --> 00:50:26.539
Diego would be really nice because we have, like,

00:50:26.559 --> 00:50:29.059
kind of this thing going. I think if you, like,

00:50:29.059 --> 00:50:31.940
keep building it up, then we'll have kind of

00:50:31.940 --> 00:50:34.139
a training spot that's on par with Salt Lake

00:50:34.139 --> 00:50:36.460
City, I think. Oh, you think so? I think so.

00:50:36.519 --> 00:50:37.539
I mean, because we have... What about the National

00:50:37.539 --> 00:50:41.400
Training Center? Well... Yeah, I mean that national

00:50:41.400 --> 00:50:45.699
training center is really nice, but they have

00:50:45.699 --> 00:50:51.579
like only one coach there, Josh, versus here

00:50:51.579 --> 00:50:54.300
we have like a lot of people that are kind of

00:50:54.300 --> 00:50:59.179
joined on like the same ideas and are kind of

00:50:59.179 --> 00:51:02.739
like building each other up with kind of like

00:51:02.739 --> 00:51:07.079
the same goal in mind. So I think... If we just

00:51:07.079 --> 00:51:09.219
get the facilities right, I think we'll have

00:51:09.219 --> 00:51:12.559
a really good climbing place down here. I feel

00:51:12.559 --> 00:51:15.559
like we train at the wall climbing gym. I feel

00:51:15.559 --> 00:51:20.039
like the facility is pretty crazy for what the

00:51:20.039 --> 00:51:24.460
gym is. We have two spray walls, a whole back

00:51:24.460 --> 00:51:27.539
area where we can set anything. They have really

00:51:27.539 --> 00:51:30.500
good boulders in the main gym. Honestly, that's

00:51:30.500 --> 00:51:32.880
all you need. Especially seeing the gyms in Japan,

00:51:33.079 --> 00:51:35.460
they're really small, but they utilize their

00:51:35.460 --> 00:51:38.420
space really well. So we have a similar idea

00:51:38.420 --> 00:51:40.980
where we have a lot of space and we just have

00:51:40.980 --> 00:51:45.000
different things that kind of do different jobs

00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:47.300
for our climbing. And that's really all you need

00:51:47.300 --> 00:51:51.619
is different stations. And then in terms of Salt

00:51:51.619 --> 00:51:54.119
Lake's weather, I do agree that it's kind of

00:51:54.119 --> 00:51:59.460
crazy there. I was there last year, not the 2025

00:51:59.460 --> 00:52:03.219
season, but the 2024 season World Cup in Salt

00:52:03.219 --> 00:52:08.500
Lake. And it was 80 degrees one day, and then

00:52:08.500 --> 00:52:11.440
the next day it was, like, snowing. Yeah. And

00:52:11.440 --> 00:52:14.579
I was so pissed off. Yeah. I hated that so much.

00:52:15.760 --> 00:52:18.739
And it was really windy. Well, the day was 80.

00:52:18.880 --> 00:52:21.760
It sucked. And then in terms of staying in San

00:52:21.760 --> 00:52:23.599
Diego, you mentioned really wanting to stay here.

00:52:23.739 --> 00:52:25.699
Is there anything else here that you really like

00:52:25.699 --> 00:52:28.739
to do? Like, are you a surfer? I do surf a lot,

00:52:28.860 --> 00:52:33.019
yeah. I mean, I just like the weather. Yeah.

00:52:33.500 --> 00:52:37.400
I feel like we have a good community here. Like,

00:52:37.460 --> 00:52:40.619
in North Park, there's a lot of stuff to do.

00:52:40.679 --> 00:52:43.880
Those are, like, really good restaurants. When

00:52:43.880 --> 00:52:47.460
I travel to other places, I, like, realize how

00:52:47.460 --> 00:52:51.260
good we have it here. So that makes me want to

00:52:51.260 --> 00:52:54.300
stay even more. I got that. What about you? Is

00:52:54.300 --> 00:52:55.420
there anything else you'd like to do outside

00:52:55.420 --> 00:52:59.480
of London? I mean, not really anything, like,

00:52:59.500 --> 00:53:02.440
related to San Diego. Sure, it doesn't have to

00:53:02.440 --> 00:53:05.739
be. Yeah. I don't surf or anything. I don't like

00:53:05.739 --> 00:53:07.900
the beach. Oh, you don't like the beach. No.

00:53:07.940 --> 00:53:12.260
Yeah. But I recently started working part -time

00:53:12.260 --> 00:53:16.599
as a stagehand. So, like, setting up concerts

00:53:16.599 --> 00:53:21.420
mostly and taking them down. I did, like, theater

00:53:21.420 --> 00:53:23.239
tech all throughout high school. It's kind of

00:53:23.239 --> 00:53:26.840
been an interest. I was like, I think this year

00:53:26.840 --> 00:53:30.400
is just a good time to join the industry. and,

00:53:30.420 --> 00:53:33.920
like, see what it's like. Hmm. Of, like, theater?

00:53:34.219 --> 00:53:37.159
Like, the live event industry. Oh, really? So,

00:53:37.300 --> 00:53:39.699
I think it'd be cool to try to work my way up,

00:53:39.760 --> 00:53:43.519
like, maybe into rigging, like, hanging stuff

00:53:43.519 --> 00:53:46.400
up and, yeah. Have you worked with any of these

00:53:46.400 --> 00:53:48.099
rappers? Yeah, you should have helped me, like,

00:53:48.119 --> 00:53:51.619
set up this thing. I worked on Night Hearts Festival

00:53:51.619 --> 00:53:54.519
a couple weeks ago. I think, do you know Skrillex?

00:53:55.139 --> 00:53:57.800
Oh, yeah. You don't know Skrillex? I don't. You've

00:53:57.800 --> 00:54:00.059
never heard of Skrillex? I've never heard of

00:54:00.059 --> 00:54:03.280
Skrillex until that. What? That was... It's a

00:54:03.280 --> 00:54:05.639
generational thing. Oh, my God. Don't say it

00:54:05.639 --> 00:54:09.960
like that. I'm not that much older. No, I mean,

00:54:09.980 --> 00:54:12.440
I don't, like, know them. Like, I'm not a huge

00:54:12.440 --> 00:54:15.820
fan, but, like, I've heard of Skrillex. I'm working

00:54:15.820 --> 00:54:20.940
a WWE Survivor Series at Echo Park next week.

00:54:21.079 --> 00:54:24.679
Interesting. Have you heard of WWE? A generational

00:54:24.679 --> 00:54:29.019
thing? Yeah. Yeah. Huh. Okay, cool. Yeah, you

00:54:29.019 --> 00:54:31.099
should have helped me set up this. Oh, I don't

00:54:31.099 --> 00:54:33.800
know anything about audio. Oh, okay. So it's

00:54:33.800 --> 00:54:36.159
just like we're getting a lighting tech. Okay,

00:54:36.219 --> 00:54:40.480
well, these lights are very fancy. They're set

00:54:40.480 --> 00:54:43.739
up for me, I guess. Okay, cool. Good to know.

00:54:44.199 --> 00:54:46.780
Okay, I guess now we can get into some of the

00:54:46.780 --> 00:54:49.800
audience submitted questions that came in. So

00:54:49.800 --> 00:54:54.659
the first one, this was from Discord. With your

00:54:54.659 --> 00:54:56.539
experience from the team event, how would you

00:54:56.539 --> 00:54:58.980
have wanted a team climbing event to be shaped

00:54:58.980 --> 00:55:01.780
differently, if anything? I think it went pretty

00:55:01.780 --> 00:55:07.780
well, especially for the first version of this

00:55:07.780 --> 00:55:11.139
format. I think it went really well. I don't

00:55:11.139 --> 00:55:13.000
know if you, because it wasn't live streamed,

00:55:13.000 --> 00:55:15.239
but after the comp there was a speed traverse.

00:55:16.019 --> 00:55:18.440
Oh, no, I didn't see that. Yeah, it was crazy.

00:55:19.440 --> 00:55:24.280
They took down all the climbing walls. routes

00:55:24.280 --> 00:55:26.400
on the boulder wall and they put up like this

00:55:26.400 --> 00:55:30.239
really big traverse that we just like ran through

00:55:30.239 --> 00:55:33.219
and they're like really big jumps and it was

00:55:33.219 --> 00:55:36.920
like it showcased like just the experience of

00:55:36.920 --> 00:55:39.579
climbing I think the entire comp was just like

00:55:39.579 --> 00:55:42.760
this is what climbing is so I think it did a

00:55:42.760 --> 00:55:46.739
great job and the audience was like really psyched

00:55:46.739 --> 00:55:50.539
for a couple of the rounds they brought in like

00:55:50.539 --> 00:55:53.650
school kids Yeah, they brought, like, a bunch

00:55:53.650 --> 00:55:56.329
of schools, and they were just, like, super psyched

00:55:56.329 --> 00:55:59.489
to watch. And you would just, like, be, like,

00:55:59.489 --> 00:56:01.449
really showboating on these routes, and, like,

00:56:01.469 --> 00:56:04.010
as soon as you did anything cool, it would go

00:56:04.010 --> 00:56:07.429
crazy. So it was really cool. I honestly can't

00:56:07.429 --> 00:56:12.369
think of anything that I would change. Yeah,

00:56:12.510 --> 00:56:14.070
I think it was very well executed, especially

00:56:14.070 --> 00:56:17.570
for the first one. Would you want to do more

00:56:17.570 --> 00:56:19.289
of these, or do you think... I don't know if

00:56:19.289 --> 00:56:22.440
the goal of this event was to, like... test it

00:56:22.440 --> 00:56:24.420
out and see if like world cups are always going

00:56:24.420 --> 00:56:26.380
to be like that but how would you feel if like

00:56:26.380 --> 00:56:28.039
the format changed more towards something like

00:56:28.039 --> 00:56:33.360
this i actually don't i would not prefer world

00:56:33.360 --> 00:56:36.000
cups in this format because it's hard to be really

00:56:36.000 --> 00:56:39.179
competitive because the routes are easier and

00:56:39.179 --> 00:56:43.500
it's like for the like mixed boulder a lot of

00:56:43.500 --> 00:56:46.260
the guys would like do it in a few attempts and

00:56:46.260 --> 00:56:49.059
the kind of discrepancy and results would be

00:56:49.059 --> 00:56:51.599
like if the women got it So it's a lot harder

00:56:51.599 --> 00:56:53.699
to be competitive in. But it is just, like, really

00:56:53.699 --> 00:56:57.340
fun. So I would do it occasionally. But it's

00:56:57.340 --> 00:56:59.059
hard to do, like, championship events like this.

00:56:59.260 --> 00:57:01.219
Yeah. I think it would be cool to hold, like,

00:57:01.219 --> 00:57:03.059
one of these kinds of events at the end of the

00:57:03.059 --> 00:57:05.159
season just as, like, a fun way to cap it off.

00:57:05.920 --> 00:57:08.400
Yeah, I'd really enjoy seeing it, like, more

00:57:08.400 --> 00:57:11.840
consistently, like, maybe every year. Yeah, I

00:57:11.840 --> 00:57:13.940
forgot to ask earlier about, I guess, like, how

00:57:13.940 --> 00:57:17.880
the, like, gender -combined boulders felt. How

00:57:17.880 --> 00:57:21.090
did that feel for, like, both of you? I think

00:57:21.090 --> 00:57:24.929
it's really hard to set, like, mixed boulders

00:57:24.929 --> 00:57:29.210
that, like, balance well between the two genders.

00:57:29.230 --> 00:57:31.909
I think they did a pretty good job. But I think

00:57:31.909 --> 00:57:33.969
for boulders, like, it always has to be slab.

00:57:34.489 --> 00:57:37.829
And that just makes it a little boring. But I

00:57:37.829 --> 00:57:40.030
think it was good to test out. Did it feel, like,

00:57:40.030 --> 00:57:43.550
reachy? No, it felt pretty good. Yeah, it felt

00:57:43.550 --> 00:57:46.329
fine. It's always going to be really technical

00:57:46.329 --> 00:57:48.690
slabs because you can't just have, like, a really

00:57:48.690 --> 00:57:52.519
powerful climb. Yeah. And so, yeah, it's not

00:57:52.519 --> 00:57:54.880
as fun to watch. I think Slab isn't as fun to

00:57:54.880 --> 00:57:57.360
watch because you're just, like, standing on

00:57:57.360 --> 00:57:58.920
the wall for, like, a minute straight. Yeah.

00:58:00.059 --> 00:58:02.960
But our first, it wasn't live streamed, but our

00:58:02.960 --> 00:58:06.579
first qualities route for the mixed boulder was

00:58:06.579 --> 00:58:08.199
actually pretty technical. There were, like,

00:58:08.199 --> 00:58:10.579
some small crimps, and there were a few girls

00:58:10.579 --> 00:58:12.260
that did it and then, like, a few guys that didn't

00:58:12.260 --> 00:58:13.820
do it. So I think that one was actually really

00:58:13.820 --> 00:58:17.880
well set. Like, some good tiebreakers for that

00:58:17.880 --> 00:58:20.719
one. Yeah. Which was cool. Yeah, I think for

00:58:20.719 --> 00:58:24.019
finals I saw some discussion on maybe like Reddit

00:58:24.019 --> 00:58:28.960
where people were saying that the finals mixed

00:58:28.960 --> 00:58:32.780
route was like a bit reachy looking for the women.

00:58:33.460 --> 00:58:37.239
Maybe like the last move. Yeah. Yeah. I wasn't

00:58:37.239 --> 00:58:39.960
sure if it was just if it was actually reachy

00:58:39.960 --> 00:58:42.320
or if it just looked like that because we saw

00:58:42.320 --> 00:58:44.420
it look so much easier for like the taller guys

00:58:44.420 --> 00:58:47.800
to do it. I mean, Mao did it. Yeah. And she's

00:58:47.800 --> 00:58:50.079
like. really short yeah so i don't think there

00:58:50.079 --> 00:58:53.719
was a hype problem at all yeah yeah maybe if

00:58:53.719 --> 00:58:55.380
you have like i'm more in there there'll be like

00:58:55.380 --> 00:58:59.420
a question yeah yeah oh but then there would

00:58:59.420 --> 00:59:02.880
just be the whole argument about yeah yeah okay

00:59:02.880 --> 00:59:06.980
cool um next question from the audience um any

00:59:06.980 --> 00:59:09.400
memories from youth training or advice that stuck

00:59:09.400 --> 00:59:13.739
with you there's like a famous like idea from

00:59:13.739 --> 00:59:18.440
al it's like uh kind of the like instructions

00:59:18.440 --> 00:59:20.599
of climbing i guess you could say where it's

00:59:20.599 --> 00:59:27.880
like you uh throw catch settle throw it's like

00:59:27.880 --> 00:59:31.019
how you do like a move or something or like even

00:59:31.019 --> 00:59:32.880
a climb it's just like what you're doing the

00:59:32.880 --> 00:59:35.380
entire time is you're like throwing to a hold

00:59:35.380 --> 00:59:38.820
you catch it and there's like the time that you're

00:59:38.820 --> 00:59:41.579
settling to prepare for the next hold or the

00:59:41.579 --> 00:59:46.360
next move and that idea was like kind of what

00:59:47.000 --> 00:59:49.719
started how we trained at class five, I think.

00:59:50.360 --> 00:59:52.860
And then like all of our ideas kind of flowed

00:59:52.860 --> 00:59:56.460
from that. It was like, oh, this is how you should

00:59:56.460 --> 00:59:59.059
throw. This is how you should catch. And then

00:59:59.059 --> 01:00:03.340
this is like why it matters. It's like a weird

01:00:03.340 --> 01:00:06.940
way to think about it. I think maybe for a lot

01:00:06.940 --> 01:00:08.280
of people, it's like really weird to understand.

01:00:09.099 --> 01:00:12.409
Yeah, like what are you supposed to do? Like,

01:00:12.409 --> 01:00:15.949
that's just it. Okay. It's like a language thing.

01:00:16.070 --> 01:00:19.110
I guess you just have to, like, feel it and,

01:00:19.130 --> 01:00:22.309
like, understand it. You understand it when you,

01:00:22.369 --> 01:00:25.590
like, start to feel it out. It's hard to describe

01:00:25.590 --> 01:00:28.730
in, like, words, I guess. Is there, like, a tip

01:00:28.730 --> 01:00:31.789
you can maybe give to, like, people who want

01:00:31.789 --> 01:00:33.829
to get better at climbing in order to, like,

01:00:33.829 --> 01:00:37.610
do this? Or, like, something that made it click

01:00:37.610 --> 01:00:41.630
for you? I feel like just... the intention behind

01:00:41.630 --> 01:00:47.090
like figuring out what part of the move feels

01:00:47.090 --> 01:00:50.670
hard because the throw, catch, settle, throw

01:00:50.670 --> 01:00:53.969
is just like the move in its entirety and there's

01:00:53.969 --> 01:00:56.389
different parts of that kind of section that

01:00:56.389 --> 01:00:59.309
can feel harder. If it's like, oh, this move,

01:00:59.530 --> 01:01:02.670
what's really hard for me is the throw is like

01:01:02.670 --> 01:01:04.630
really weird. Like the catch, the end position

01:01:04.630 --> 01:01:07.130
is like fine. It's like a good hold, but it's

01:01:07.130 --> 01:01:09.170
just like a really weird throw. Then you have

01:01:09.170 --> 01:01:12.449
to like... really kind of hone in on why does

01:01:12.449 --> 01:01:15.829
this throw feel weird you know and then you like

01:01:15.829 --> 01:01:17.989
figure if it's like oh it's just like a really

01:01:17.989 --> 01:01:20.809
weird squeeze or the foot's bad and that's where

01:01:20.809 --> 01:01:22.610
you go even deeper and you're like okay how do

01:01:22.610 --> 01:01:24.869
i make this foot better or how do i you know

01:01:24.869 --> 01:01:27.329
connect these two holes okay yeah that makes

01:01:27.329 --> 01:01:29.489
sense yeah you're just really specific and like

01:01:29.489 --> 01:01:33.110
um just your intention is like what makes you

01:01:33.110 --> 01:01:38.650
better i think an idea i was introduced to pretty

01:01:38.650 --> 01:01:41.489
early on was like practice versus performance

01:01:41.489 --> 01:01:44.909
um when you're thinking about a comp yeah i always

01:01:44.909 --> 01:01:48.469
thought like like i was like okay like maybe

01:01:48.469 --> 01:01:50.690
maybe these locals are all practice right they're

01:01:50.690 --> 01:01:53.269
like sort of low stakes but like nationals youth

01:01:53.269 --> 01:01:54.889
nationals has to be performance right because

01:01:54.889 --> 01:01:57.409
like if it isn't then what is but i feel like

01:01:57.409 --> 01:02:02.829
i slowly realized over time that like nothing

01:02:02.829 --> 01:02:05.389
really is performance like it's all practice

01:02:05.389 --> 01:02:09.619
for the next thing and that mindset kind of helps

01:02:09.619 --> 01:02:13.000
you relax and see the comp as a learning experience

01:02:13.000 --> 01:02:16.980
and also just like you know a place to have fun

01:02:16.980 --> 01:02:19.940
um instead of like putting a lot of pressure

01:02:19.940 --> 01:02:23.719
on yourself to succeed did you see on uh did

01:02:23.719 --> 01:02:26.860
you watch the live streams on youtube for the

01:02:26.860 --> 01:02:29.780
football yeah there was a comment on it that

01:02:29.780 --> 01:02:33.519
said i didn't read the comments um that japan

01:02:33.519 --> 01:02:37.219
brought the avengers yeah and then the u .s brought

01:02:37.690 --> 01:02:40.309
The Benchwarmers, Benchwarmers. Yeah, how do

01:02:40.309 --> 01:02:43.309
you feel about that? I think it's fine. I mean,

01:02:43.309 --> 01:02:45.929
we definitely weren't, like, the strongest on

01:02:45.929 --> 01:02:48.090
the U .S., but I think we did actually really

01:02:48.090 --> 01:02:51.570
well regardless. Yeah, I think for being, like,

01:02:51.590 --> 01:02:55.550
the, I don't know, B -team, Benchwarmers, Benchwarmers,

01:02:55.550 --> 01:02:57.530
we were pretty good. Yeah, I think we did good.

01:02:57.530 --> 01:03:01.170
Not bad at all. I mean, still made finals. Yeah,

01:03:01.210 --> 01:03:05.059
still made both finals, which was cool. But I

01:03:05.059 --> 01:03:07.199
saw some people defending us. They're like, well,

01:03:07.219 --> 01:03:10.139
they made both finals, so pretty good. Yeah,

01:03:10.179 --> 01:03:12.539
it's pretty good to make both finals. Yeah, I

01:03:12.539 --> 01:03:16.159
guess I didn't ask during the episode, but what

01:03:16.159 --> 01:03:18.820
are your guys' outdoor goals, if you have any?

01:03:19.079 --> 01:03:23.019
I've been trying buttermilker in Bishop for quite

01:03:23.019 --> 01:03:26.400
a while now. And every year I get a little bit

01:03:26.400 --> 01:03:30.260
closer, because I only try it one day a year.

01:03:30.380 --> 01:03:34.750
Yeah, fair enough. So it's like one year, it's

01:03:34.750 --> 01:03:37.090
this really big move, and I wasn't strong enough

01:03:37.090 --> 01:03:39.969
or tall enough. And then last year, I was able

01:03:39.969 --> 01:03:43.809
to do the stand from it, which is a 12. And then

01:03:43.809 --> 01:03:46.650
hopefully this year, if I go back, I'll maybe

01:03:46.650 --> 01:03:51.230
send that one. Yeah, every year, I just try to

01:03:51.230 --> 01:03:54.190
take off another climb. So last year, I did a

01:03:54.190 --> 01:03:57.510
mystery, which you probably don't know it because

01:03:57.510 --> 01:04:00.099
you're not thinking about outdoor climbing. Is

01:04:00.099 --> 01:04:02.719
it in San Diego? No, no, it's in Bishop. Oh,

01:04:02.780 --> 01:04:06.099
okay. Yeah. Well, like SoCal area, I mean. The

01:04:06.099 --> 01:04:10.519
Buttermilker's also in Bishop. Oh. Yeah, we only

01:04:10.519 --> 01:04:12.960
go to Bishop. I mean, there is outdoor climbing

01:04:12.960 --> 01:04:17.420
in San Diego, which I think would be cool to

01:04:17.420 --> 01:04:20.199
go to. But I just have not experienced it in

01:04:20.199 --> 01:04:25.019
that way. Okay. Yeah, I just go wherever everybody

01:04:25.019 --> 01:04:28.780
else goes, honestly. So long for the ride. I've

01:04:28.780 --> 01:04:31.739
been trying Maze of Death, which is also in Bishop,

01:04:31.920 --> 01:04:35.800
like the past two years, and some of my teammates

01:04:35.800 --> 01:04:38.480
are not really psyched on it, so I think I want

01:04:38.480 --> 01:04:41.239
to try to do it this year. Okay. Is Bishop not

01:04:41.239 --> 01:04:45.059
considered SoCal? It's pretty central. Oh, okay.

01:04:45.760 --> 01:04:51.460
I've been there once. Yeah? Yeah. So I have been

01:04:51.460 --> 01:04:54.420
there. Five, six -hour drive up north? Yeah,

01:04:54.420 --> 01:04:57.679
that feels like it's in California. I wouldn't

01:04:57.679 --> 01:05:00.460
consider it. Okay. Maybe some people would. I

01:05:00.460 --> 01:05:02.940
stayed in a really cool, like, goat farm Airbnb

01:05:02.940 --> 01:05:06.239
there. Really? But then it burned down. While

01:05:06.239 --> 01:05:09.559
you were in it? No, I was not in it, but it burned

01:05:09.559 --> 01:05:12.119
down. So now, unfortunately, people can't stay

01:05:12.119 --> 01:05:15.760
there anymore. But I would recommend it if it

01:05:15.760 --> 01:05:18.820
was still existing. But maybe one day they'll,

01:05:18.840 --> 01:05:22.590
like, build it up again. Yeah. Okay, I only had

01:05:22.590 --> 01:05:26.170
one last question. And it was also, it was like

01:05:26.170 --> 01:05:28.869
an audience question just for Declan. And it

01:05:28.869 --> 01:05:31.070
was also not really an audience question. It

01:05:31.070 --> 01:05:35.710
was Jaden's question. So, yeah, I guess you beat

01:05:35.710 --> 01:05:39.030
Elden Ring, Night, Rain. Do you want to discuss

01:05:39.030 --> 01:05:44.750
that? Well, I beat Cruz. Do you know Cruz Padilla?

01:05:45.070 --> 01:05:47.590
I mean, I've seen all these people. He's like,

01:05:47.670 --> 01:05:51.300
I've... grown up with him like competing in youth

01:05:51.300 --> 01:05:53.960
so he's one of my biggest competitors but also

01:05:53.960 --> 01:05:55.780
like one of my best friends because we we have

01:05:55.780 --> 01:05:58.519
like pretty different styles yeah when it comes

01:05:58.519 --> 01:06:02.360
to climbing um and so you know we'll just play

01:06:02.360 --> 01:06:05.400
games on the weekends or something and jayden

01:06:05.400 --> 01:06:09.000
also joins but i i beat we beat the the final

01:06:09.000 --> 01:06:12.760
boss without jayden but it was his fault anyway

01:06:12.760 --> 01:06:17.340
wait is it a multiplayer game yeah oh yeah It's

01:06:17.340 --> 01:06:21.159
like multiplayer, but you're fighting computer

01:06:21.159 --> 01:06:25.239
bosses. Oh, okay. Yeah. Oh, I didn't know it

01:06:25.239 --> 01:06:26.900
was multiplayer. I thought people were just out

01:06:26.900 --> 01:06:30.320
there playing that by themselves. Well, I'm staring

01:06:30.320 --> 01:06:32.599
at the wheel. Should we spin the wheel? Since

01:06:32.599 --> 01:06:35.179
we're filming in this interesting studio, we

01:06:35.179 --> 01:06:43.300
get to spin the wheel. Okay. I might cut this

01:06:43.300 --> 01:06:49.000
out. Okay. Are you giving him two free concert

01:06:49.000 --> 01:07:01.619
tickets? Crap. What's spinning in? Okay. Oh my

01:07:01.619 --> 01:07:05.960
god. What concert are you taking me to? I guess

01:07:05.960 --> 01:07:08.960
it is fate. Do you guys want concert tickets

01:07:08.960 --> 01:07:14.420
to something? Skrillex? Yeah, next time Skrillex.

01:07:14.889 --> 01:07:20.070
If it's two free concert tickets. Relationship

01:07:20.070 --> 01:07:22.809
advice. Yeah, let's get your guys' relationship

01:07:22.809 --> 01:07:24.590
advice. Do you want relationship advice, or are

01:07:24.590 --> 01:07:25.690
you giving it to us? I think you guys should

01:07:25.690 --> 01:07:29.409
give your general relationship advice as 18 -year

01:07:29.409 --> 01:07:34.349
-olds. Go climbing. Okay. I think that was actually

01:07:34.349 --> 01:07:38.010
pretty good advice. Legitimately? Yeah, I think

01:07:38.010 --> 01:07:42.469
it is good. You see how they think. Yeah, it's

01:07:42.469 --> 01:07:46.019
problem -solving. Okay. Yeah, if they just, like,

01:07:46.039 --> 01:07:49.000
get really mad at a boulder. True. Maybe that's

01:07:49.000 --> 01:07:51.300
a red flag. Yeah, when they, like, come down

01:07:51.300 --> 01:07:53.159
and then they, like, punch the boulder. Yeah.

01:07:54.159 --> 01:07:56.079
That's a red flag. We don't want that. Yeah.

01:07:56.179 --> 01:08:00.360
Okay. Do you have any relationship advice? Well,

01:08:01.260 --> 01:08:06.519
I'm curious if you guys would prefer to, like,

01:08:06.519 --> 01:08:10.380
date climbers or non -climbers. That's interesting.

01:08:10.519 --> 01:08:13.599
A lot of my friends... say they'd rather not.

01:08:14.860 --> 01:08:17.760
Because it's really weird if you go to a competition

01:08:17.760 --> 01:08:21.260
and you're like, I have to focus on this thing

01:08:21.260 --> 01:08:22.859
that I've been training for for a really long

01:08:22.859 --> 01:08:27.539
time. Oh, actually, I also have to think about

01:08:27.539 --> 01:08:30.520
this other person that they're also focused on.

01:08:30.739 --> 01:08:34.439
I think if you do it right, it's fine. But for

01:08:34.439 --> 01:08:37.300
the most part, it's at a level of stress that's

01:08:37.300 --> 01:08:41.399
just not needed. But I feel like normal people

01:08:41.399 --> 01:08:45.600
might I find it hard to, like, understand why

01:08:45.600 --> 01:08:48.340
you're just in the gym. Yeah. Yeah, but that's

01:08:48.340 --> 01:08:50.140
the same with, like, a lot of sports are like

01:08:50.140 --> 01:08:52.880
that. That's true. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I don't

01:08:52.880 --> 01:08:55.840
know if other sports. I guess if you could date

01:08:55.840 --> 01:08:58.239
someone else who's, like, doing another sport

01:08:58.239 --> 01:09:01.079
at a similar level. Yeah, that's true. But, yeah.

01:09:01.239 --> 01:09:02.619
Yeah, but then you're not competing against,

01:09:02.859 --> 01:09:04.899
like, you're not competing together. Oh, so you're

01:09:04.899 --> 01:09:07.479
just talking about, like, people in the competition

01:09:07.479 --> 01:09:09.979
scene. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. That's a very small

01:09:09.979 --> 01:09:12.579
scene. I guess maybe I interpreted the question

01:09:12.579 --> 01:09:15.859
differently, but I think if they're doing a different

01:09:15.859 --> 01:09:20.000
sport, I think it's fine. So date climbers and

01:09:20.000 --> 01:09:22.640
go climb. Go climb. Okay, I'm going to leave

01:09:22.640 --> 01:09:25.199
it at that. I'm not giving any advice. Okay,

01:09:25.239 --> 01:09:27.159
cool. Well, I think that's all the questions

01:09:27.159 --> 01:09:30.159
I had then. Thanks for joining me today. Any

01:09:30.159 --> 01:09:32.420
last -minute words of wisdom you guys want to

01:09:32.420 --> 01:09:36.319
get out there? I have no wisdom. I'm not a wise

01:09:36.319 --> 01:09:39.630
person. I'm not very deep. Okay. All right, then

01:09:39.630 --> 01:09:42.550
anything you want to shout out or let people

01:09:42.550 --> 01:09:44.689
know where they can find you? Shout out Class

01:09:44.689 --> 01:09:49.449
5. Oh, yeah. Yeah, shout out Class 5. With their

01:09:49.449 --> 01:09:52.609
weird training methodology. Yeah. Okay, cool.

01:09:52.970 --> 01:09:54.750
Well, then, thank you guys for joining me today,

01:09:54.829 --> 01:09:56.789
and it was good to talk to you guys. Thank you.

01:09:56.890 --> 01:09:58.449
Thanks so much for having us, yeah. Thanks for

01:09:58.449 --> 01:10:01.390
joining in the rain. Thank you so much for making

01:10:01.390 --> 01:10:03.729
it to the end of the podcast. Don't forget to

01:10:03.729 --> 01:10:05.909
like and subscribe if you enjoyed. Otherwise,

01:10:06.090 --> 01:10:09.390
you are a super fake climber. If you're listening

01:10:09.390 --> 01:10:11.949
on a podcasting platform, I'd appreciate if you

01:10:11.949 --> 01:10:14.890
rate it five stars and you can continue the discussion

01:10:14.890 --> 01:10:18.050
on the free competition climbing discord linked

01:10:18.050 --> 01:10:20.489
in the description. Thanks again for listening.