i've tried to be strong and like not tape and
see if i could just toughen it up and i just
it bleeds everywhere and it's awful so tips for
getting sponsored is tough because i had already
won two world championships before i even got
a free bag of chalk um so it's it's the the barrier
to entry is high it's funny um you know it's
a real sport when all of a sudden there's like
beef between athletes and like so there's some
petty drama and it sucks for those people, but
I'm in the background being like, guys, we're
a real sport now. Like, this is great. Welcome
to another episode of the That's Not Real Climbing
podcast. I'm your host, Jinni, and I'm excited
to introduce my guest for today, Mo Beck. Mo
is a paraclimber in the AU2 class, and she's
trying to qualify for the 2028 Paralympics. She's
been climbing for over 22 years and had actually
retired from competing until hearing about the
Paralympics. In this episode, we'll learn more
about what it's like climbing with a stump, whether
outdoor, indoor, or comp setting is most friendly
to her impairment. And we'll talk about petty
drama in the community and what sports shopping
is in the Paralympics. I hope you enjoy this
episode with Mo. Please pardon this brief intermission,
but I'm excited to talk about Madrock's newest
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Now back to the show. How are you doing today?
I'm great. Did you do training? I had a training
session in the morning, but puppies were also
there. So it wasn't a very focused training session
because I kept stopping to go, aww. Oh yeah,
that's hard. And came home, took a nap. and now
i'm here pretty much do you have like super long
training sessions or is it like right now i do
um i don't have nationals for another month so
i probably have another two weeks of double like
today was only one session um probably three
days a week i'll do climb in the morning come
home a couple hours and then go lift i got a
membership to one of those broey gyms and i actually
really love it okay um but yeah like a non -climbing
gym or yeah okay And it's huge. It's like 17
treadmills and 14 squat racks. And it's full
of like the kind of worded out guys that have
their boobs hanging out of those really deep
cut tank tops. But I love it because everyone
at the climbing gym is so nice that we end up
talking and it takes forever. And no one talks
to me at all at like the big box gym. So I could
see that. But it does make for long days. And
I get I'm focusing more on lifting now than I
ever have. And I am tired all the time. What's
the reason for that? Um, just a change. It's
something I've read more about, like, especially
now that I'm older, a little older, um, good
for general health. I'm kind of more focused
on power, um, than anything, um, you know, strong
over skinny. And so I'm just, I'm kind of just
mixing it all up this go around kind of like
flipping a lot of the training that I have done
in the past on Ted. Okay, cool. Well, I definitely
want to get a little bit more into training and
your plans for training and nationals a little
bit later. But just so people have a good idea
of who you are. What is your impairment? And
what sports class do you compete in? Sure. So
my name is my back. I'm a professional climber
first, probably para climber second. And I was
born without my left hand above the wrist below
the elbow. So kind of more towards the wrist,
my stumps a little longer. And that places me
in the AU2 class for IFSC competitions. And it
stands for amputee upper level two based on where
my amputation is. And I guess like what are the
classification differences between one, two and
three? Yeah, so one. doesn't quite exist anymore.
It got folded into another one. Maybe it'll change
one day as numbers grow, but they don't have
an elbow. So they're kind of like more of a truly
one armed or that's how they climb is using only
one arm. We have some folks who have an arm,
but maybe they had like a brachial plexus injury.
So it kind of just flops around like a fish.
And so they climb using one arm. AU2 is me. You
have an elbow, but no wrist. And then once you
have a wrist, you're in the AU3 category. There
is a minimum. impairment for that one like sorry
tommy caldwell but the half digit isn't going
to get you into the paralympics but um but yeah
those folks generally have the risk so it's kind
of about your joint count um for upper amputees
okay cool good to know and i just want to like
make sure that you do just like call it a stump
or is there like another word for it yeah i mean
when I was a little kid it was my little hand
and like cute nicknames but yeah stump is generally
what most people are gonna call it um you know
there's a more medical term but that's just like
very cold and dry so it's just a stump okay cool
I will continue calling it a stump then um I
noticed like in photos you like wrap it um is
there like a reasoning behind that or like how
much feeling do you have in it so I have I would
say all the feeling roughly. Because I was born
with my amputation, I'm a congenital amputee.
I don't have like scar tissue or raw bone like
you see in a lot of, especially leg amputees.
Most upper limb amputees, at least in the climbing
competition circuit are. congenital and most
lower limb amputees have had some sort of traumatic
accident. And so if you've lost a limb, you have
scar tissue and it can really hurt to grab things.
But for me, I can beat on it pretty well. But
the skin that I have there, it's like forearm
skin. It's not designed to callus. And I've tried,
I've tried to be strong and like not tape and
see if I could just toughen it up. And I just,
it bleeds everywhere and it's awful. There are
some folks like me who don't tape. I don't know
how. And so for me, the tape protects my skin,
but it's still thin enough. Like some people
wonder why I don't use a big, thick rubber sleeve.
And that's because I couldn't feel the holds
through that. Yeah, makes sense. So the tape
allows me to still have that dexterity and feel
what I'm grabbing while protecting my skin. Okay,
interesting. noticed now that i guess my forums
don't get calloused because i mean you'll like
sometimes hurt it on the wall or something and
then i never thought about it like when i climb
outside a lot the red river gorge which is big
buckets sometimes and like above my tape line
i will get like gabby and gross like a turn screen
it's really nasty but it never heals into a callus
like it just like the scab heals off and then
it's just it is so um I do have sort of a subdermal
callus, I call it, on the part of my stump that
grabs the holds the most. Like the skin on top
is still soft, but there's this lump underneath
it. And that has to be from climbing. I mean,
I'm sure there's no medical term for it, but
yeah, that's a new thing. I certainly, I haven't
had a new prosthetic in a long time, but I certainly
can't fit any of them from 10 years ago or 15
years ago before I was climbing a lot. Everything's
changed. Okay, interesting. But then the skin
on top is still like soft, so it can like break
and bleed. Yeah, yeah. Good to know. So then,
yeah, it sounds like you've been climbing a long
time and then also competing for a while. So
how did you get started climbing and then competing
eventually? Yeah, I started climbing in my first
climbing experience. I was 12 and it was outside
on a really cool grant boulder. I went to an
awesome Girl Scout camp in northern middle of
nowhere, Maine. And they had these big house
-sized glacial erratic boulders. Um, so it was
just some 30 foot top rope. I don't think I even
made it to the top, but something about climbing.
Um, I just, I loved it because I couldn't fake
my way through it. A lot of other sports, like
I played soccer, but like you use your feet or
like in archery, I could still use my prosthetic,
but in rock climbing, it was just like, I couldn't
fake it. I had to just do it. Um, and there,
I had to make up my own things, but it was just
a way, it's a really honest sport. It's really
pure, like your body and this rock sport. Um,
And I also liked it because when you're up there,
it's just you and the rock. And I always say
the rock doesn't care that I have a disability
or that I was a girl or whatever. It's just like
you and this rock and the rock doesn't care.
Versus all the other sports I had done. But when
you're 12, you don't have a lot of agency to
like go rock climbing if you're not from a rock
climbing family. So in high school, I started
saving my babysitting money to hire a guy. I
grew up outside of Acadia National Park, which
has incredible climbing. So I would save up my
babysitting money to hire a guide with a girlfriend
here and there. And then in college, I, promptly
joined the outing club and climbing club and
that was kind of the beginning of the end but
that was 20 years ago now was college did they
kind of like treat you differently like when
you were trying to climb or was it um yeah kind
of chill just like everyone else i definitely
did the fake it till you make it thing um i rolled
in my freshman year and i was just like i've
read freedom of the hills seventh edition and
i know everything there is about climbing and
people are like yeah okay sure Um, but I definitely,
you know, there wasn't really, you couldn't just
Google how to be a disabled climber or how to
belay with one. In fact, it didn't exist. Uh,
so I spent those years just thinking I was, I
was the only person like me in the world. Like
I must be the only amputee upper limit PT rock
climbing. So it was a lot of trial and error.
Um, and it was a lot of, a lot of pressure on
myself to be better and like beat expectations.
Um, And I definitely had some doubts on whether
people would want to climb with me because I
just, I acted like I had confidence, but I definitely
didn't. I was just like, no one's going to climb
with me. I'm not going to ever climb hard. I'll
never be able to lead climb. So I kind of just
muddled through for a very long time. And it
wasn't until I moved to Colorado in 2012 that
I really met other, started climbing a lot with
other disabled athletes. But it wasn't until
2009 is when I had my first ever event I did
with Parallel Sports. It was ice climbing, actually.
And that was my first time climbing with other
disabled people. So I was 22. I had spent two
decades thinking I was the only person like me
or not hanging out with people like me. So that
was pretty mind -blowing. And then eventually,
how did you get into competition climbing? That
was kind of a whim. So I've been living in Colorado
for a bit, climbing a lot. Three days a week
after work, one weekend day, hitting the gym
whenever I could, just really bit it. And in
2013, the Bouldering National Championships were
in Colorado Springs. And a friend of mine said,
hey, they're doing a para category if you want
to come down. So I went and I did that and it
didn't suck. I didn't really get climbing comps,
but I was like, that was fun. And then 2014 was
the first ever para climbing nationals for USA
Climbing. And I went on a whim, last minute flight.
It was in Atlanta, Georgia in July. So it was
pretty miserable. But I won out of one person
in my class. And it counts. I have the medal
right behind me. And that's when the coaches
and directors said, like, well, if you want,
you had a spot on the team where the world championships
in Spain this fall. Do you want to go? And I
had never been abroad. Always wanted to travel,
but was always a little needed that push. And
here's the push. And so I went and I won there
out of three, which is better. Yeah. Um, but
that was kind of, that was my, my second level
of like beginning of the end of this new life
was I came home and like, well, I want to do
better and I know it's going to grow and it's
going to be popular. Um, and it's grown immensely.
That first nationals Atlanta was maybe 30 athletes
and next month in Houston where I am expecting
well over 200. Wow. Yeah. And the world's championships
to my first year, I won out of three. And last
year's World Championships, which I didn't go
to, there probably was at least 20 girls in my
category, which is insane to me that there are
20 one -armed female climbers who love climbing
enough to like spend the money, spend the time,
do this. But I think that speaks to how a para
climbing competition is more than just the climbing
competition, like the community within para.
You know, where else can I talk to other people
about how they tape their stump or what they
do? So it's just there's a deeper layer to it
than just a competition for all of us. yeah it's
really cool how much it's grown but also there's
nothing wrong with being winning out of one person
i always feel like that has like happened to
me in the past and it's always just like well
if people wanted to then they also could have
done it but i mean and for a lot of those smaller
comps or any comp at all like showing up to your
first one especially is the hardest part yeah
that's the crux Yeah. There's like difficulty
in just believing in yourself and signing up
to do it like that. I remember I was I was fundraising
for that Spain World Champs because I was just
like, I don't know, I'm like practically a kid.
But I think I worked for Vail Resorts for 12
bucks an hour. So I did a GoFundMe. And I remember
this guy in Mountain Project kind of ran his
mouth about like one out of one. That's not impressive.
And I was just like, ah, suck it. You could have
done it. Well, I mean, I guess you couldn't have
joined that category, but there's other things.
I mean, that's the one thing about para climbing
is we're all one. blown stop sign away from joining.
Yeah, exactly. So getting into para climbing
a bit in IFSC slash world climbing now, I don't
have the experience of what it's like to climb
with that impairment. So are there any moves
that are like easier for you with your impairment
and ones that they said that are like harder
for you? Yeah, I spent a lot of time just even
at like the gym daily talking to my friends about
that, or there was this route that I did really
well on. And a lot of my friends pumped off and
fell off. And I was like, you know, guys, I think
I actually have an advantage because there's
I have a left stump and there's just like left
reach around a steep roof. And if you have an
arm and fingers, you're like at this weird lock
off angle. I'm trying to cramp in your pump.
But for me, I can just go and like just the physics
of my lever of my arm. I could just hang out
there forever. So there certainly are times it's
an advantage. I would say usually it's a disadvantage
compared to most times. But I'm. still all these
years later constantly surprising myself by like
avoiding a route that has lots of pockets and
this is in the gym um but then I finally I'm
like well I'm out of 12s to try I might as well
try this one and then I try it I'm like well
actually that went better than I thought or something
that looks great for me and there's just like
something out of like open a pinch at a weird
slopey angle where my stump just as soon as I
let go with my right hand my stump just slides
off and that's the end okay So whenever someone's
like, what's your style? What do you like? I'm
like, I don't know. I'm just, I'm still learning
every day. Actually, yeah. Also, how hard is
it to like keep the tape on the stump? Because
whenever I like tape anything, it's just, it
just slides. Yeah, it depends. I have a fair
amount of surface area. So like the tape sticks
to itself and the skin. So that's just more stickiness.
Friends of mine with shorter stumps, if they
only have like an inch before their elbow, they
lose tape all the time because there's just not
enough. surface area uh if it's sweaty or if
i'm doing a lot of juggy climbs where like my
stump is spinning behind the hold a bit um like
especially someplace like the red where you put
it on something then climb past that can take
tape right off it's crazy how like sticky this
tape can be and then at the top of the pitch
i'm just like oh gosh i have started um this
spring it actually became a problem i did a red
trip during it was a little warm and it kind
of ruined the trip i was like i can't finish
a pitch without my tape sweating off So I started
experimenting with different antihydrals and
like, did you know that pole dancers have their
own hand cream for grip? Like I've tried that.
I call it my stripper socks and that works okay.
But finally I found this just like tough skin
free spray that is just the best combination
of it helps the tape stay, but also I can take
it off without losing chunks of flesh. And it
doubles great for my knee, for my knee bar pads
too. Like it's, it's a good product, but. That
was my big breakthrough this year, technically,
was just finding how to keep the tape on. Because
I can, a hard session in the gym, even with the
spray, I can go through a roll of tape in a day.
Oh, okay. So you do, like, re -tape throughout
a session? Yeah. Sometimes I don't have to if
I'm, like, dry enough or it's cool enough or
maybe I'm doing mostly crimp. But yeah, big,
juggy, hot, sweaty sessions. It's a multi -tape
day. Oh, geez. Okay, good to know. So then thinking
about climbing at general gyms versus at competitions,
how is the setting at these competitions? Does
it feel easier or more ergonomic compared to
regular gym setting? Not really. I think it's
just how a normal gym route compares to an able
-bodied comp route. especially modern comp groups,
we're seeing those big glass volumes, some like
weirder movements. You're not just going up.
You're like having to really interpret data and
what the route setter's intended. When I started
para climbing, it was long enough ago that even
like the Lee and Boulder routes are more straightforward.
Like they're hard, but they're definitely just
like hard climbs versus, you know, even lead
that you see these more gymnastic dynamic movements.
Para climbing has also changed towards that.
Oh, okay. Yeah. not as much like it's going to
be really hard to set a dyno that someone missing
a left leg or a right leg or above me and below
me can do equitably um and i will say like para
climbers all calm climbers like to complain about
the setting right if it doesn't go their way
um and with para climbers it's even more of an
extreme and i try to balance like i could just
be a better version of myself most times but
it is an impossible task to set a route where
someone missing a left hand and a right hand
have an equal shot and it comes down to their
skills not what side they're on but it's also
just functionally impossible to do that without
making it a boring mirrored ladder climb um but
i've certainly had competitions where when i
was competing in this last my first 10 year part
of comps there's kind of three of us cluster
at the top all the time um two of us were missing
our left hands one was missing the right And
the girl, Selene, missing the right, she was
always going to beat us. Like, she's so strong.
But certain comps, like Lucia, who was missing
your left, like me, we would tie every single
time with the exact same move. And it was usually
some big, steep move out to a left crimp that,
like, we just couldn't reach or we would tap
it. We couldn't latch onto it. And it's hard
mentally to, like, it's hard not to despair and
just be like, it'll never be fair. Why do I even
bother doing this? Like, it's not showing who
the best climber is because you put all three
of us in like a gym setting and we're like way
closer on regular gym routes or even outside,
like compared to what we score in comps. But
at the end of the day, I always talk with my
coach to be like, did I screw up or is that move
just impossible for me? And he's pretty honest.
Sometimes he'll be like, yeah, I just don't think
there's a world where you could do that move.
But oftentimes he also says, but also we could
work towards doing that move. So it's like equal
parts, holding yourself accountable to being
better. And then also being able to let go of
just like, this just wasn't the set. And that
happens with able -bodied too. Like we see it,
I think a lot in bouldering where like short
women versus tall women. And it's just like,
it's that, but just exponentially more obvious
with para climbing. I'm really surprised to hear
that it's that you guys like kind of tie more
often in like a regular gym setting. I would
think that with like regular gym setting where
they're not exactly thinking about setting for
different bodies, it's like or setting specifically
for like para climbing bodies that it would be
like more pronounced the differences. I think
with gym setting, it's more possible to come
up with your own beta or like. I was working
on a climb on the gym this week where, and this
happens a lot, I've been climbing long enough
and a lot where I can read a route and see what
the setter intended. And I'll often get to a
point where I'm like, do I do the intended beta
or do I do some weird mo beta? And it's 50 -50.
Sometimes I choose wrong. And as soon as I get
back on and do it the other way, I'm like, yep,
that was actually easy if I just do it that way.
And so I would say like commercial routes, even
at harder grades, still have some kind of options.
Where comp routes are just, they're weird and
they're hard to practice because our, you know,
commercial climbing gyms don't set comp routes
for the most part or use those big volumes. But
I think it's, yeah, it's the lack of options.
It's also our routes at comps. I wish we could
have just an AU2 route, but there's just not
enough time or surface area for that. So my routes
are usually shared with an RP or a blind. or
leg amp so it's not necessarily specifically
designed with arm amps in mind yeah that makes
sense yeah i feel like para climbing setters
have a quite a tough job trying to like it's
impossible i try to be really careful when i'm
like what i again everyone's allowed to complain
especially right after a comp that's why i usually
don't post about a comp i'm not happy with until
for a couple days sure yeah that's a good idea
but it was yeah my last season in 2023 was frustrating
because there was a world cup where Lucci and
I both felt the same spot. It was like a move
to a crimp on a steep fall into the left. And
I was like, man, I really hope the setters for
the Burn World Champs see that and learn from
it. And then she and I both felt and tied again
at the exact same place, exact same move at the
World Champs. And that was frustrating because
I was like, you guys should have watched us just
a couple weeks ago. But at the same time, they
have the most impossible job out of any setters.
Yeah, it sounds like the most difficult. Yeah,
I'm not about to sign up to become a pair setter.
Yeah. And I guess in general, it seems like the
vibes are a lot more fun and casual at pair climbing
competitions. Did you ever feel like pressure
to perform at them or was it just kind of like
a fun time? I was going to say, they can be.
I feel like they've gotten less fun. Not like
a capital fun, but like it's a real sport. It's
funny. um you know it's a real sport when all
of a sudden there's like beef between athletes
and like so there's some petty drama and it sucks
for those people but i'm in the background being
like guys we're both sport now this is great
yeah uh oh we've arrived people don't like each
other yeah actually that's even hard to find
in like able -bodied climbing competition community
as well i feel like people are too kind still
well we have some weird stuff where it's like
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to the show. Like the biggest drama I'm aware
of is someone's like, ooh, that person got misclassed.
Like they shouldn't be in class. They have this
that's not right. Like they should be not competing
against me. And that's actually common across
para sports. Like the more involved they get
in the Paralympic level, you hear... that stuff
all the time like oh he's faking his disability
or something like that yeah um but again as much
as that sucks i also take it as a grain of we're
a real sport with like real people want this
badly um it's not just a friendly competition
like it used to be it's still friendly it's still
above and beyond like you know we're a community
first but it's still fun it's i remember one
time i won't say who but a really well -known
able -bodied climbers mom came up to me i think
she had a couple chardonnays And was just like,
Mo, I just love the para climbers because they
don't care about winning. They just have fun.
And I was like, ma 'am, I care a whole lot about
winning. They are fun. I would say like at our
nationals and locals level, they're definitely
more fun. But our World Cup and World Champs
level, it's pretty cutthroat, which is awesome.
Yeah. Do you like feel pressure to win? 100%.
Okay. One of the reasons I retired with the asterisk
coming back when I did was because it's like,
look, I've never missed an IFSC podium. Let's
just stop now. And I won all my national, I won
10 national championships. I was like, cool,
peace, I'm out. But I don't take on retiring
lightly because I know those odds, you know,
the field's bigger and stronger and younger now.
So I might have to let go of that. Never miss,
never not won. But it's a good, it's a good thing.
Was that the main reason for retiring or? It
wasn't the main, it was just, it was like hitting
that 10 year mark. I have a really big love for
alpine climbing. So like outdoor sport climbing
and comp climbing can overlap a lot. And as far
as like, well, if I'm from comp fit, then once
comp season's over, I can get right outside.
But I have a big love for like alpine expeditions
and you just cannot do both. And actually, para
climbing is getting so serious where you might
have a hard time. Like next summer when I'm full
World Cup tour, I doubt I'll be able to have
like a fun trip to Ten Sleep to sport climb.
It's probably going to be training. Um, so a
lot of it for me was just, I've done my time.
It's time to make way for like, let the new generation
have at it. Um, you know, sometimes I felt like
I was sticking around just to be a number to
keep the body count up. Oh, like hair climbing,
growing, keep our numbers up. And they didn't
need that anymore. Um, but it was mostly wanting
to be able to just like let go of the rigid training
schedule and just focus on outdoor projects,
both hard projects and Alpine style trips. Um,
so when I retired, it was with the asterisk of
unless we get into 2028, because it will be our
first Paralympics and it's a home games for us.
And I'm like, that's a, that's a one, two thing.
I can't say no to. Um, and so we got in, I want
to say it was like spring 24. Yeah. Spring 24.
We knew that we got into the Paralympics, but
we still didn't know which classes got in. That
wasn't until last spring. They announced that
women's AU2 was. So that's when it became like,
cool. There's no more red tape between me and
making it. I just have to make it now. So I had
a good two years off of competition. And so this
year I'll be doing nationals and two world cups.
I know 2027 is when the qualifiers will be. So
that's the year to qualify for 28. So that will
be kind of a heinous schedule. Nationals, five
or six world cups, world championships, possibly
a separate QE. Yeah, it's gonna be a lot. Yeah.
But the reason I quit comps, too, is I'm training
after nationals and World Cups. But friends of
mine are going to Potrero. They're like, do you
want to go? And I have to say, I can't. Yeah.
So I got sick of saying no to stuff like that.
And that was another reason to retire. But something
about the Paralympics, too. It's the one date
in 2028. And after that, I truly can let go.
But not be gone. I definitely see myself as some
kind of team manager. some type of coach or something
like i'll be around forever for sure yeah it's
super cool that it has become serious enough
now where people are kind of um letting go of
the other stuff that they want to do in order
to like train for um the competition specifically
you have to now even through like like in 2016
when i last won my my second world championships
um in my head i was training and i was strong
But looking back, I'm like, that girl would not
make finals now at all. There's no way. So just
you, the field has become so strong and so diverse
that like you really have to, if you want to
make finals at a World Cup now for my class,
for AU2, it has to be, you have to be dedicated.
I guess like what did training look like for
you at the time? And like, what did you think
that you were doing wrong? Yeah, back then it
was just like climbing a lot. You know, and I
still had a nine to five then. So I would just
go to the gym like three or four nights a week.
And just, just climbing a lot, which gets you
for sure to a certain point, but eventually you
do plateau. So it wasn't until 20, probably 2022
that I like really started working with a coach
to do off the wall training, cross training,
lifting and stuff like that. And now. Last summer,
I started a huge training regimen for an outdoor
project. I'm kind of carrying that through now.
And I don't know. The people that can climb at
this level while still holding down a job, let
alone also having kids, I don't know how they
do it. I don't know how they do it. Well, I mean,
who's doing it? It's hard. There's some para
-climbers who do. Oh, really? Yeah. There's some
para -climbers who have regular 9 -to -5s and
kids and compete out of a club. It's insane.
So that's extra pressure on me, too, because
it's like, well, I should just win everything,
right? Because this is my full time job. But
that's just how good everyone is. Nothing's guaranteed
anymore. So does that mean that you're also like
coming up with a schedule of like doing Paraworld
Cups again as like competition practice? Yeah,
this year I'm doing two. um world cups just to
kind of again dip the toe back in there's five
total this year um which is incredible i think
that's the most we've ever had they added they
added laval france last year so that's coming
back um salt lake and innsbruck are are they
happen every year they're the anchors of before
uh and then this year they added a japan and
a south korea world cup um cool i'm not gonna
do those i'm just gonna do salt lake and brook
um salt lake's practically local innsbruck i've
been there a bunch so it's like the easiest like
mentally to just i know the gym i know the town
yeah let's just go um and i love doing that one
because if that's the end of my comp season then
i can stay for a couple extra weeks and climb
outside oh nice um but next year i i have a hunch
next year is going to be and i will do the full
tour next year um it will be five or six world
cups plus the world championships in spania did
they already put that out 2027. Yeah, world champs.
Oh, okay. I should know. I'm totally blanking.
They added one next year, Para World Cup in Manchester,
UK as well, which I'm really excited for. So
it's really amazing to see, you know, Innsbruck
and Salt Lake have been the para climbing anchors
for so long. And it's really great to see other
federations stepping up and saying, oh, we believe
in para. We're going to put resources into hosting
world level competitions in our countries. Do
you already know what the qualification process
will look like for? We don't. So we know that
there should be 10 spots per class for the Paralympics.
So there should be 10 of me. However, I've heard
there's some wiggle room where like, like my
class should get 10 because we're very large.
But, you know, there's talk of, oh, well, if
this class is smaller, maybe this one should
be 12 spots and that one could be eight spots.
We don't know how many countries per class can
go or will just be like six. country six spots
per country overall but you know like we just
we just don't know how that will work um and
i just can't and we don't know we i can assume
that the 27 world champs will give away some
spots like the able -bodied world champs do well
we don't know um we don't know if the other spots
would come from your world ranking or if there's
going to be a standalone qe we just don't know
so rather than dwell on that i'm just telling
myself if i'm the best version i can be it'll
work out i'll make it yeah you just kind of have
to prepare for anything yeah i do really hope
that it stays 10 for class and i keep it as simple
two per country per class um because one of my
best friends here is in my class and i'm just
like i don't want to have to like worry about
beating you until la like let's just like stay
friendly super friendly and then you know sabotage
each other just once versus the whole time okay
yeah do you like feel more pressure now that
it's in the Paralympics or like do you feel I
know like yeah it's a pretty big thing to declare
yeah like I was pressing post on that Instagram
post that says I'm back and I'm going to 2028
I'm like well saying that publicly that's a big
declaration now I have to do it And I do think
people understand if something happens where
I don't make it. But it really holds me accountable
to do my best to make it. And then as of right
now, I just I have those goals that I can't even
think about my performance right now in 28. I'm
just trying to see how this year goes. I think
I'll get overwhelmed if I start thinking like.
I'm going for a podium. I'm going for goal. I
think I just need to slow down and be like, okay,
let's just focus on this next six months. I know
I've heard in able -bodied climbing competitions
that inclusion into the olympics has maybe kind
of like changed the camaraderie aspect a little
bit like there's a little bit more competition
going on behind the scenes or maybe it like changed
people's relationships with climbing a little
bit do you feel like that announcement has changed
anything within the para climbing community of
like more interest bigger teams more competition
like people not being as friendly i don't think
friendly is the thing i think i mean tbd right
it's our first we're not there yet um but as
far as interest goes yeah last Last Nationals,
I commentated for, which I have to say is way
more fun, but just as stressful as competing.
For sure, yeah. And we definitely had some new
people show up. And by then, we didn't know who
was going to get through class -wise, but we
knew we were going to be in 28. And we had some
Paralympic swimmers showing up to try their hand
at rock climbing. Oh, really? Cool. Sports. Uh,
sport shopping is pretty popular in para sports.
Um, that's funny. Yeah. It's, Oh, I've thought
about it too. I'm just like, Oh, I like Nordic
skiing. Maybe I should be a double, double season
Carolina athlete. Um, but yeah, so we've definitely
seen some other high performing athletes appear
on the climbing scene. Um, I have a hunch in
Houston. We'll see even more like the buzz just
is going to keep building as we get to 28 on
the world stage. It's almost, I don't know. to
say the opposite but um usac again i like how
they do it we have if you place first or second
you make a national team and you get support
um but the ifsc gives us like four spots per
class and so usac's approach is you're not going
to get cash from us you're not going to get support
from us but if you want to pay your own way here's
your here's your bib here's your t -shirt like
you can compete uh and that actually helped grow
the sport more because that was just bodies to
let classes run because there are minimum requirements
like there has to be four countries Or five countries
and four people or six countries and five people
for world champs. And that category just gets
canceled if it doesn't happen. So I think we
sent a lot of people to comps that maybe weren't
ready yet, but were just like, go, do it. And
I think we're still doing that. Other countries,
though, now that it's Paralympic, are actually
kind of shrinking their teams, where they only
want to send people that are probably going to
make finals or have to do so well. So this past
year was a lot of people's last chance to like
do so well in the world stage. And a lot of folks
have been around from like the German team. We've
been around for years are no longer coming because
they just don't have part of their country and
they're not allowed to go without. So I still
like it means we have a really big team. which
still takes up some bandwidth. But I really think
it's good for the sport that we are sending anybody
who's willing to pay their way. It's interesting
also that you called it like sport shopping for
the Paralympics. That's a new term for me too,
yeah. Because one of my teammates on Team USA,
he also is a competitive paracyclist. And he's
like, oh yeah, yeah. Like once you're an athletic
para -human. You kind of want to pop around and
experiment to see which sport you're best at
that gives you the best shot at making the Paralympics.
That's a lot of people's goal is just to make
the Paralympics. And para sport is still relatively
small compared to like. I think climbing will
be a harder sport to sort of walk on and like
make the team. Yeah, I'm wondering, like, how
has that gone? It's so funny. Last year, we had
some very muscular athletes show up like, again,
those para swimmers, para other sports. But climbing
is such a technique. thing that like i do think
we're not likely to see too too many dark horses
just show up out of nowhere and crush uh it's
more likely to just be some climber we had never
heard of than someone coming from another sport
yeah that makes sense um but yeah one of my friends
so the sad thing about this paralympics is not
all sport classes got through um only only four
per gender got through so i have friends who
didn't get through but have since turned around
and now they're trying swimming and track and
field and rowing because those classes that they
would class for and those sports are in the parallel
and they're just like i just want to go man and
i'm like you know what i respect the hustle yeah
we we all want that super ugly opening ceremonies
uniform to rock is that ugly i didn't see it
i know i don't know i haven't seen 28th uh but
i just feel like historically they're kind of
like over the top no i've seen some really good
ones though i feel like in the past i hope it's
a cowboy hat We'll see. Yeah, we'll see. I feel
like if I were a para climber, I'd be like, yeah,
I'd be like kind of pissed if someone came from
another sport and I'd be like, I spent so much
time training just for climbing. Yeah, I'm just
going to come from another sport. Like I said,
I think I think climbing is I think the only
dark horses will just be other climbers who have
just been like quietly climbing outside. No one's
really heard of them. And then just like, boom,
they decide to show up, which is cool. But yeah,
I don't think we're as likely to see other. pair
of athletes from other sports kind of swooping
because it's just there's so much technique and
root reading and like so much that's not just
muscles thankfully yeah yeah that's what i tell
myself yeah exactly anyone mentioned that yeah
some sports classes didn't get into the paralympics
for climbing were there any like surprises or
feelings surrounding that well and again we hope
that we hope it's like able -bodied where tokyo
they got the one medal and then paris they got
two and now they're gonna have all three So I'm
really hoping that we're going to knock the socks
off in 28. And then by 2032, they're like, OK,
here's eight medals. And then by 2036, maybe
it's OK. Every all 11 or 12 classes, may I count
it, are through. I guess, like, first, can you
give an overview of which ones got in? So it
is AU2, which is my class for men and women.
AL2, which is leg amputee for men and women.
RP1. RP is you have all your body parts that
just don't work right, whether it's from an injury.
Or you have some kind of nerve condition or something.
They just don't work right. And RP1 is the most
disabled of those. RP2 and RP3 is progressively
more abled. Sometimes RP3s, if you see them walking,
you're like, you're not disabled. But they are.
So RP1 got through for that. And then for the
blind category, they ended up doing a split where
it's men's B1, which is totally blind, and women's
B2, which is in the middle of sighted. My friend
Sineda, she's the world championship. She's B2.
She absolutely cannot drive and can walk into
road signs sometimes. But she still can see some
things when she climbs. And I think they split
that one just because of numbers. Like there
weren't a lot of women B1. So they want to keep
the field competitive. And I guess I don't want
to make you have to like speak for all of para
climbing, but just like the general idea of like
what the what the talk has been around, what
sports classes were included, like was were there
harsh feelings or was it kind of like understood?
A little bit of everything. I think the only
surprise for me was AL1 not getting through,
which is the kind of the seated wheelchair, because
Angelina Zeller's. He is one of like probably
the most well -known para -athletes because he
just campuses 513. He is paralyzed from, I think,
a paragliding accident and just wins everything,
campuses everything. It's insane. And it's so
visually stunning to watch. But they didn't make
it through because there's practically no women,
is my theory. But also it could be that in the
A class, the AL lower, AL2 did get through. So
they'd rather have someone from RP, visually
impaired, upper and lower. But I just, man, I
was really hoping we would get five medals because
AL, I think, would have been. But we do need
more women. Right now, they are the only class
around where if there's not enough women, the
women merge into men's and it becomes a co -ed
class. Which is really cool because Pavitra is
a Belgian climber and she podiums with the men.
And it's so cool to see such a beast. Wow. Yeah,
the merging gets so complicated. It is really
hard to keep up. They kind of stopped. Yeah,
they kind of stopped. They started merging when
they started enforcing the minimums. But then
as it became Paralympic, you can't merge for
Paralympics. It's just kind of frowned upon.
And so now it's... And the sport has grown enough
where it's... last comments not hit those minimum
numbers now so they pretty much have done away
with merging um except for al because they still
really want to grow that sport merging was funny
though like i won my last world cup when there
wasn't enough au2 and so you always merge into
a more difficult class and so on paper i should
not have done well and but finals ended up being
some kind of vert slab thing so i ended up winning
and so for the paralympics like angelino can't
um go into the al2 category sadly no i still
hope that um i mean it'd be so cool especially
because climbing doesn't have to share the venue
with other sports right it's not like track and
field where it's busy i really would love it
if they could do some kind of exhibition while
we're there like let the other class behind and
touch that wall but especially al because what
a wild class OK, that'll be interesting to see.
And so how are you changing going back to like
your training process? How are you changing your
training this time to qualify? Yeah, it's it's
I started training specifically more for outdoors
and I found myself getting kind of sick, strong
all over. And I'm like, well, I'm still going
to do comp specific training as far as movement
goes. Like I'm actually heading to Salt Lake
for next week to train at the National Training
Center and work with their coaches on like those
movements. But overall, my training now has shifted
to really like strength and power. I used to
be such a fan of endurance because it's fun to
get your endurance up. But, you know, with the
way the route settings change and the competition
has changed, I'm never pumping off clients anymore.
I'm falling because it's a power that I can't
do. Or if there's like a movement that I can't
do, I'm never just like, it's not like the Red
River Gorge where you fall off of huge jugs because
you're pumped. That's not what's happening at
comps anymore. And then I've also found some
39 now. which is, but, um, strength training
is playing into that. The I've, and I've even
shifted from like the, I used to do a ton of
orange theory, like lightweights, low reps and
stuff and love that cardio. And then just the
past couple of months, I quit that. I'm trying
to lift heavy. Like I'm squatting, I'm dead lifting.
I'm like bench press and I've never been healthier.
Like outside of an acute injury that I gave myself
this fall, like everything feels great and I
feel strong. I'm hungry all the time, but all
of a sudden I'm doing these moves in the wall
that I look at it and I'm like, oh, it's going
to be so hard. And then I just do it. And I think,
whoa, that was actually not that bad. But it
is. Yeah, I do think I'm having also just like
this age body shift where I can't train like
I was when I was 25. I take more rest days now
or I should at least. and it's just you know
as you get older your body responds to rest better
like not only do you not need them when you're
younger but it's like easier to detrain when
you're younger but when you're older your body
has this memory now and like more rest days can
be more beneficial in your late 30s than it would
have been in your mid -20s was that just something
you felt like gradually happened or was there
like a moment or like an injury or something
where you know i never felt like i was slowly
starting to suck more um but when i when i had
this shift in training i felt myself improving
all of a sudden in a way that i haven't had that
kind of plateau breakthrough in a very long time
um and i think the breakthrough is still happening
like i am this wasn't intentional but i think
it's gonna be really cool to come back to comps
in the best ship i've ever been um like there
is a yeah it's part of me it's just like these
girls don't know it's coming like you're thinking
oh she hasn't been climbing for two years has
been competing like in my first year after comps
i like for sure mostly alpine climbed put on
some helpful weight i had a blast um But it's
been really fun to just like dial it back in
and discover that I haven't peaked yet, which
is really cool. And going back to you like doing
training at the National Training Center, do
they hold stuff for para climbers often or what
does that look like? One of the most transformational
things to happen with becoming Paralympic is
USAC now has USOPC, which is so many acronyms.
has funding um specifically for para and that
kind of opened up once those four classes got
named because usopc was like yeah you don't really
know who's going yet like we can't really like
um but now that we know the four like we know
that those four are supported so we now have
a full -time para specific coach based in salt
lake um which is great because i he's i met him
10 12 years ago in colorado where he was my personal
coach um so i've known him for a long time Um,
but for him to have this facility where he can
just be like, okay, just set you something, try
this move. Like that's something I can't do at
any other, any other gym really. And like my
home gym here is fantastic. Like I'll send them
videos and they'll set stuff for me, but it's,
it's something else to be at the national training
center and just have this. Um, and it's a, it's
a newer training center for them. Um, and it's
just, it looks so cool. Like there's ropes now
and I used to not be ropes. And then Salt Lake's
just such a great spot. There's so many great
gyms there that, you know, you don't have to
be in the training center to go train. I love,
it's such a privilege, but I love traveling to
train. Like I have all the resources here that
I need, but when you're home, it's so easy to
be like, oh, I have to do laundry today or like
get distracted. But like when I'm in Salt Lake,
it's my job. That is my job is to be there and
train. And that's, it's really helpful. That
sounds super exciting. One of the audience questions
that come in was from one Megan one exorcism
on Instagram feelings about going to nationals
this year. Is this the time to qualify? What
does the process look like? Yeah, well, it's
like so we still don't know how to qualify for
the Olympics yet Paralympics, but I am extremely
skeptical that this year will matter at all.
I think it's too early, like just given how other
sports work and even how climbing works like.
No one on bouldering is qualifying for the LA
games this year. So I'm treating this year as
a warmup tune up year. Again, see where I'm at,
except that I might lose those records of only
winning nationals and never missing a podium.
It's very possible. See where I'm at. Keep it
fun. Knowing that 2027 is going to be like the
most intense, punishing, mentally challenging.
My poor husband is a saint. And but I am nervous
for nationals because I know Ellie and Isabel,
like the two women who podium around me there,
have been competing for the last two years straight
and are only getting stronger. You know, it's
both an asset to have been around a while, but
it's also like the levels I could the micro bits
I have left to improve. um are smaller whereas
when you're a newer climber and younger like
you can make these huge leaps of improvements
that said i did just say i feel like i'm in the
midst of a huge leap so that's cool and also
the technique that you gain after like many years
of climbing yeah and i wish i could say i like
have iso and the nurse for comps figured out
but i don't i don't think that it does that iso
will always suck for everybody it's just it is
what it is um The Nationals is tricky for me
because I try to balance being social as well.
I want to meet all the new people. I kind of
miss the days where you did know everybody because
it was small enough. And now I'm just like, I
don't know who these people are. And I want to
know them while also still taking space for myself
being like, I'm here to be an athlete and do
a job. That's a really hard thing for me to balance
at most comps. But Nationals will be great this
year. I think this will be our first real year
of reviewing who could be making up our Paralympic
team. Okay. Yeah. That'll be cool to see. So
you said like after all these years, you still
don't know how to, I guess, like break their
nerves of comps. Yeah. I mean, that's another
reason I quit is because I would be like in ISO.
And my friends have joked like, oh, poor you.
You're always in ISO because you always make
finals. But I'm just like, yeah. And it just
like every time back there, I'm nauseous. I don't
have an appetite. I'm just like, why? Why do
I do this? Like comps aren't fun. And then once
it's over, you just. Maybe that's why I also
like alpine climbing because you forget the suffering.
Otherwise, you would never do it again. And I
think maybe comps are like that. You forget the
lows, the nerves, the lack of sleep the night
before. And you just keep doing it because there's
something about it. But always keep going back.
Comps are tough, too, because, like, I know Selene
feels this way. We've talked about it where even
if you win, if you don't top, you're just like,
oh, I wish I talked or I wish it does better.
So, like, I think we're all. At the high -performing
level, we're all pretty hard on ourselves of
never really being happy. So that's something
I'm personally trying to work on. This is probably
going to be the season, or at least next season,
that I actually do start working with a sports
psychiatrist to figure out some better nerves
and things like that. But yeah, it's again, it's
like, do I miss the old days where it was easier
and more friendly? Sure. But... if the consequence
of the sport being more serious and the other
athletes have gotten so strong that I can't make
the team anymore that's like honestly a best
case scenario if they don't need if I'm not the
strongest anymore that means the sport has just
grown so much I'm still gonna make it though
I mean I'm in a podium in LA I'll say it now
I'm going to get a medal. Okay. I like it. And
it's a good way to think about it either way.
Okay. So going into outdoor climbing. So I guess
like just generally, how does outdoor climbing
compare to indoor climbing for you in terms of
like, if it's more or less friendly to your impairment?
That's even more of a depends. I'm not a giant
fan of, I guess, granite, which is ironic because
the hardest climb I've ever done was granite.
I love the red, which on paper. I shouldn't because
it's steep and steep climbing can be really hard
for upper limb because like your chest stays
so close. Then like, I can only ever clip with
my right. So if I'm like, Hey, yeah, it's just
like on paper vert should be my thing, but I
just, I love the red because the holds are so
good and you can, and there's so many of them.
You can make up your own micro beta instead of
like having to do specific stuff for a lot. But
I also love tense sleep style, like techie vert.
The only thing I hate, hate is probably friction
slab. And I think some people would say, oh,
but that's all feet. You don't need your hands.
And I'm just, it's terrifying. I'm just scared.
I think everybody is. That's the only thing I
feel like hard pass, no slab. No, thank you.
Okay. So you really just have to work on your
slab climbing. Pretty much. Oh, I would say,
I feel like slab climbing when there is a hand,
it's your only option. You have to use it. So
if there happens to be a key left, I'd just be
like, I'm screwed. I'm stuck on the slab forever.
No, no, because there's no bouldering in Paris.
The closest we have to slab is now and then.
Like in Villars, that wall was kind of skinny.
So some of our qualities in a finals route was
on speedball, which is still 15 degrees over.
Oh, yeah. So that's the closest to slab we get.
Sometimes at nationals, because we're in a commercial
gym and there's so many of us, some of the RP1
routes might be on more overt, but probably never
actual slab. That makes sense. So what projects
do you have going on right now? So I'm working
on, I was really hoping to get it this fall,
but I didn't. So I'm going back in a couple weeks.
I have, I want to push harder. So I made a film
years ago, my first 512. And turns out that wasn't
enough. And so now I want to do even harder things.
So I have a beautiful line I'm working on in
the red called Far From God. And again, it's
like on paper, my anti -style. It's 110 feet,
mega overhanging, like V3 boulder problem opening.
That's like. 55 degrees but there's something
about it that i just love huge falls do i'm kind
of a wimp when it comes to falls but on this
thing i'm taking like 30 footers just like it's
just it's so fun and i i love the red river gorge
it's it's it's a second home to us i go for like
two months every fall now um that's where we
host the adaptive climbers festival which is
probably where my heart and passion is even more
so than comps is this festival It's just a beautiful
world -class climbing spot and the locals are
incredible and it's accessible for so many people.
And I just love it. But again, on paper, steep
overhanging jugs is not great for AU athletes,
but there's something about it I just really
love. And you're getting out there in a couple
of weeks? Yeah, after nationals, I'll come home
for a week and then start driving to Kentucky.
Okay, best of luck to you there and at nationals
too. Thanks, yeah, it'll be good. Outside of
climbing, anything else you have time for? Yeah,
there's my other, I guess, passion sport, actually.
And there's days I like it more than climbing,
more than I should admit. I'm a big fly fisher.
But I love fishing. I catch and release because
I don't like the way they taste. But there's
something about being in the river. It's kind
of like climbing where when you're climbing,
it's so immersive that you lose track of everything
else. Fishing is the same way. You're in the
river. You're constantly reading the river. trying
to think like a fish and experimenting. So it's
just so immersive that you don't have time to
think about like, oh, I have this bill to pay
or I have to do laundry. It's just immersive.
The greatest irony of my life is my husband is
not a rock climber. He hates rock climbing. And
so he also fishes, but he's big into whitewater
rafting. We own two rafts, which I never thought
I would say. So I've actually kind of dabbled
with some raft only access rock climbing. And
I think one of the trips I would like to do post
Paralympics would be like a desert raft first
descent trip. Floating the Colorado River in
the desert and finding some like nice sandstone,
beautiful line that haven't been climbed yet
would be really fun. As well as I in 2018, I
did an expedition to the Cirque of the Unclimbables.
And we did not do the climb in the style we wanted.
So I've been wanting to go back for revenge.
But you can also, we flew in directly, but you
can also fly on the raft, float the Nahanni River
for a couple of days, jump out through the climb
and then float out. And I'm like, that would
be cool. Wow, that is cool. So in 2029, you're
going to see me all of outside big adventures.
Does that also mean like deep water soloing or
is that like different? Oh, no. Okay. No. Okay.
I've done, I haven't done real deep water soloing.
I've done like the sequel block wall a couple
of times. Low key hated every minute of it. So
scary. I was letting go before I was pumped because
I was just like, I can't, I do not want to fall
from any higher. I'm not in, I'm not a swimming
in the water person. Like fishing is my maximum.
For rafting, I like to sit in the front and drink
a beer. That's my level of. Oh, gotcha. Oh, so
it's like kind of chill. Okay. Yeah. Or if it's
not, I'll hang on and then go back to the beer.
But I. deep water soloing has never spoken to
me and I'm okay with that that's fair I guess
yeah I never really thought about like how scary
it would be to fall from that height into water
because it's not exactly safe if you don't know
how to fall into water no I mean there's a reason
why at these comps they have the lifeguards in
the water um and so the idea of doing it outside
in Spain where there's no lifeguards I'm like
what um and it's really hard this was surprising
to me I'm not a great swimmer as it is. Like
I'm finding Nemo over here. I'm lopsided. But
when you have climbing shoes on, you can't kick.
Like you're trying to propel yourself up to air
and it's just slicing through the water. It was
just. Oh, no. I never thought about that. Once
in Montreal, like my sports bra came off in the
pool. So I was like trying to get my bra down.
I was trying not to be naked. I was like teenage
lifeguards coming to rescue me. And I'm just
like topless and drowning. Yeah, I'm not a big
fan. I love it as a community building event,
though. Like the deep water solo comps are so,
so much fun. It's a beach party for climbing.
So hopefully maybe this summer I could commentate
the big event that North Face does. But I don't
think you're going to see me in the water anymore.
I did my time. Wow. No, I had no idea. That really
sucks. I guess. Yeah, I should definitely never
do it because I can't swim. Well, on the flip
side, the comp that was in. It was in New York.
Did you have to fall into the East River? It
was kind of gross. Yes. But were you then rescued
by, like, very fine -looking New York firefighters?
Also, yes. So, like, there's a balance. Okay,
nice. I mean, I don't know, though. I think I'd
rather not drown and, like, be in gross water.
Yeah. That sounds like too much for me. But,
you know, they make for good stories once you're...
out and alive yeah for sure that sounds fun um
okay let's get into some of the audience submitted
questions um this one is from lucky penguin three
favorite comp memory if it was the firefighter
one i don't know maybe i mean that's pretty good
right yeah like oh no i'm johnny come save me
handsome uh it probably was that that edinburgh
comp in 2017 that whole summer i was filming
stumped um for real rock and was just like not
sending not sending like could not get this climb
took a break to go do a world cup in scotland
mostly because i wanted to go around after and
drink a lot of whiskey um and we were merged
there weren't enough of me of au2 so we merged
into rp2 and like god the women in rp2 are so
strong and i was like oh well i'm not gonna do
well maybe i want to make finals i'm just here
for a good time and i made finals in like fourth
place or something and so i came out kind of
early did my climb I'm like eating a haggis burrito.
And the girl after me falls before me. I was
like, oh, wow. Holy shit. I got third. Cool.
I'm like chit -chatting, chit -chatting. The
next girl falls. I'm like, oh, my God. I think
I got second. And now I'm watching the last girl,
Hannah Baldwin, who is so strong. There's no
world where I should beat her. But again, because
it was just more of a slabby style, she had no
use of her legs. Like it was paralyzed. So because
it was this great slab, all of a sudden she pops
off. And I just look at my husband. And I was
like, did I just, did I just win? Uh, and it
was so, it was so unexpected. Um, so that's a
favorite. My other favorite was the world champs
in Branson in 2019. Um, I had just torn my hip
labrum like three weeks before, like kind of
badly. Like I, I was in so much pain. Um, I could
have pulled out of the comp, but I was just like,
fights are booked. I'm like, whatever. Um, and
so I made finals. And something happened at finals
where I just found this beast mode that I didn't
know existed. And I climbed like I had never
climbed before. I didn't notice the pain. I climbed
despite of it. Or like when you're competing,
you get this tunnel vision. Like you don't hear
the crowd. You don't feel pain. You're not afraid
of falling. And I get off the wall and our coach
was just like, who the hell was that? And I was
like, I don't know. I have no idea. And I got
silver, but that silver felt like gold to me
because I. I did beat one of my like long -term
neck and neck people and I performed despite
the injury, but it was mostly that even if I
hadn't medaled, I'm like, that is the best I've
ever climbed or the best I've ever felt. So I'm
always chasing that feeling of just like, like,
you know how I said, even if you win, if you
don't top, you feel shitty sometimes. Yeah. That
was one where it didn't matter the color of my
metal. I was like, that's the best I've ever
done and could have done. I just felt. Yeah.
I guess it's kind of like the power of not having
expectations. And I always block out my climbs
anyway. Like I get to the ground. I'm like, I
don't know what just happened. I have no memory
of anything. So, but that one, but that one,
I kind of remember being in the steep part of
the wall and just being like, yeah. Chasing that
high. No, I totally agree with that. Yeah. Okay.
Next one from Gimpen and still crimping. If you
podium at LA 2028, will you eat a cupcake on
the podium? I don't know if there's like backstory
to this. Yeah, there's a long time where I was
eating cupcakes on podiums. Okay. And sadly,
I've lost my sweet tooth with age a bit. No.
Which it's funny as a kid. Like I remember my
mom being like, oh no, I don't like any cake
or ice cream. It's too sweet. I'm like, mom,
you're nuts. But now I get it. Like we do kind
of lose it. Oh no. But when I podium in LA. Absolutely.
As long as I'm not breaking some weird like IPC
rule about celebrating too hard or something
like as long as it's cool. I don't want to get
fined or kicked off or anything. But there will
be cupcakes regardless. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like
a fine would be worth it. Well, depending on
how much you're right. A fine would be worth
it. I'm done after L .A. I don't I don't have.
Yeah, exactly. I can burn all the. Wait, when
do you feel like you lost your sweet tooth? Because
I'm like big into sweets and I don't know. I
don't know if I'll ever lose it. I think it started
when I was maybe, like, not that long ago, like,
mid -30s, where I was like, oh, I can't eat like
I used to, and I have to eat more carefully.
And that means you accidentally start liking
vegetables, which is not cool. And, yeah, it
just kind of happened. Or now it's like, oh,
yeah, two bites of ice cream is all I need. But
there's always a spot for, like, good European
chocolate. Like, I can destroy a giant milk bar
like a pro. Did you... actually stop wanting
sweets or was it just like, oh, you don't feel
good now when you have sweets? Better both. Just
like I used to live on bagels and king cheese.
Now I'm like, oh, if I have a whole bagel, I'm
going to feel gross. But I'll still do it. Just
curious. I guess this got a little derailed,
but it's like a big thing on my mind. Yeah. Like
back when I was like really dirtbagging, like
I lived like my lunch every day at my like low
paid retail job was like a bagel and a cream
cheese. OK, we'll see, because I've considered
I've considered like, oh, maybe I should cut
out sweets. But I'm like, that's kind of the
only thing that brings me happiness. Yeah. And
like as I'm dumping sugar in my coffee, like
should I? No. But are there worse things that
I'm doing to myself than sugar in my coffee?
Yeah. So the sugar in the coffee. Okay. I'll
just not worry about it then. Okay. Um, last
question that I think will be pretty interesting.
Cause I think people are pretty interested in
like the finances of climbing. Was it tough to
get the North face to sponsor you as a para climber
and tips for getting sponsors? So tips for getting
sponsor is tough because I had already won two
world championships before I even got a free
bag of chalk. Um, so it's, it's the, the barrier
to entry is high. I wish I had advice. Um, I
think a lot of athletes would say that they got
lucky, which sounds like pop out, but I mean
it. Like I got lucky because we made Stumped
and Cedar Wright was one of the filmmakers and
he's a North Face athlete and he got it picked
up by Real Rock and North Face has a habit of
signing whoever goes to Real Rock. And I think
between Cedar and Conrad Inker, I know as an
advocate for me, they just said, you should sign
her. And they were like, the current, the athlete
manager at the time, I think was on his way out
and didn't care anymore. And so I got lucky there
too, because he's like, sure, we'll ever sign
her. Oh, interesting. And then the rest is just
like networking. And you just, again, which sounds
like such an old boomer LinkedIn thing to say,
like, oh, it's networking. But it's a lot of
luck. I mean, I don't think it would have happened
if I hadn't been living here in Denver, because
then I wouldn't have made the film with Cedar.
But yeah, I think resources are tough. Like,
it's not cheap flying around, especially for
American athletes, because most of the World
Cup events are overseas for us. It was really
funny when we started hosting the World Cup in
the States, like all the European athletes are
complaining about the expense. And I'm like,
yeah, welcome to our world for like three times
a year. It's tough. So I just, I think if you
truly have a passion for it and learn how to
tell your story, stuff will work out, I think.
But it's mostly about telling your story. And
I appreciate the athletes more who maybe are
undercover. and would rather eat ramen than try
to be sponsored so they can keep all of their
freedom. You know, my sponsors are awesome. I
feel like I could be myself, but I have a lot
of respect for the under the radar people who
are just like more into, you know, actually rock
climbing than posting on Instagram, which is
maybe why a lot of my Instagram posts are about
my dogs than rock climbing. Yeah. But no, I don't,
I wish I had like the magic formula, but I just
don't. So I think. Just sticking with the passion
part and not treating it like work. And that's
the balance I'm also trying to find is being
as outrageous as possible that I might get fired
one day. No, I think that's a good thing. I think
you kind of need to like develop. Yeah, like
you mentioned, like develop your story, develop
your personality. Otherwise, you could be like
really like a really good technical climber.
And they just they more so like need the story,
I think. Yeah. And it's just like having fun.
I think people are attracted to folks who have
fun. You know, there's a lot of folks out there
who are winning comps left and right and who
want sponsorships, but just like aren't it's
not clicking for some reason. And I think when
I think of those folks, I think it's because
like they're not having fun and you want to hang
out with people who want to have fun. OK, well,
I think that is a good place to end it then.
That's all the other questions I had. Thanks
for joining me today. Any other like words of
wisdom or like shout outs you want to put out
there? I'm a spot. I feel like I reached out
at my husband, but I can't, Oh, I can't undersell.
I can't oversell how incredible it is to have
a partner who, uh, like I actually, it occurred
to me, a friend of mine actually asked me, she
was just like, Hey, so did you like ask Brian
if he was okay with you on retiree and like doing
this nightmare run to the fair? And I was like,
no, I just kind of told him, um, he's sticking
with me. So, I mean, he's having that support
is more important than any sponsor. There's no
paycheck that replaced having that kind of support.
yeah um words of wisdom for like other para climbers
out there other climbers do it try hard um but
not so hard that they would beat you exactly
try a little less power if you're women they
use you but um um no get it and they're usc this
year especially is launching local competitions
um so it's never going to be easy used to be
your first competition ever would be nationals
which is a lot of pressure But this year, there's
going to be four or five across the country.
Oh, wait, I didn't know about that. Yeah, there
was one last weekend in Boston. I'm not sure
where the rest of them are going to be, but there's
now a more accessible, less scary way to try
Paracomp. And they're great. Cool. Okay. I didn't
know about that. So that's great to get out there.
That's something that, again, USAC is investing
in paraclimbing and putting resources into growing
the team and community. So it's time. 20 -year
-old me is so jealous right now of all these
kids. That's good. Of course, yeah. Yeah, it's
a good thing. Want to let people know where they
can find you? Yeah, so MoenMountains on Instagram
is where you can really follow the adventures.
And I swear I'm going to be better about updating
my website more, especially this sort of like
journey to the Paralympics. It's a new world
for me, so maybe some people will come along
for the ride. Okay, well, thank you again. It
was amazing to chat. Yeah, so great. Thank you
so much for making it to the end of the podcast.
Don't forget to like and subscribe if you enjoyed.
Otherwise, you are a super fake climber. If you're
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