Daniel Woods Interview

Recently married to Courtney Sanders

Welcome to the Hood video this spring

(c) Heiko Wilhelm

(c) Woodsfamilyclimb.com

(c) Woodsfamilyclimb.com

"Climbing is opinionated though and it is up to the climber to decide what is appropriate."

Daniel has been one of the leading boulderers in the world since 2006 when he was 17 year old. Totally he has done 12 boulders 8C and harder out of which five in 2011. He has entered eleven Boulder World Cups being Top-5 in six of them. As a sport climber he has done two 9a's and one 9a+. Most of this interview was done during 15 minutes on-line chatting on Facebook!

So what is your plan for the spring and 2012?
This spring I am home basing out of Boulder,CO. I want to start sport climbing more in March. Some areas that I will visit include Southern Utah, Red River Gorge, New River Gorge, Smith Rocks, and local stuff in CO. I will still boulder, but primarily sport climb. During the summer, I am traveling with Paul Robinson, Courtney Sanders, and Alex Kahn to Africa.

And what about World Cups?
I am still on the fringe with about doing World Cups. I am so addicted to outdoor climbing and know how much dedication you need to do the full circuit. I plan on doing the ABS nationals, TNF cup in Tokyo, and the UBC series. Depending on how these go, i may do a few WCs, but will not do the full circuit.

What about training and continue your progress? How will this be possible?
I feel like this year I want to still boulder, sport climb, and compete. The one thing all three have in common is movement. All I need to run off of is motivation. My goal is to transform into a well rounded climber and with this goal will come much failure (and alot of sacrifice), but will create more motivation to overcome the failures and grow as a climber... and by sacrifice I mean losing some bouldering strength.

Training...just climbing or do you have a structured plan?
I have learned that the best way to get stronger is by allowing your body to rest when it feels run down. There is no point in training the extra few hours when you are beginning to degress after the first 2. Last year I tried climbing too much and pushing myself too much, so climbing felt like this job I had to do rather than my hobby. My training consisted of doing 3 hour power sessions with a campus board workout at the end. I grew strong physically, but mentally I was really weak. The mental side to climbing is more important than the physical. I want to grow my mental side by doing different forms of climbing instead of just one. I have a one track mind, so multi-tasking will be difficult ha.

How to increase maximum power?
For me to increase my maximum power, I focus on 2 hour power sessions 3 days a week. During these sessions, I pick out 10 boulders and make half of them 8A and the other half 8A+ - 8B+ (these are all problems that I have done before, or maybe a couple are uncompleted). I try to complete the set of boulders within the 2 hour period. Using this technique, you will increase maximum power and resistance. I try to start out with 2 of my hardest boulders, then do 2 "easier" ones after and repeat this leap frog process. By the end of the session, the goal is to complete 1 8B+,2 8Bs, 2 8A+s, and 5 8As.
Anyone can do this same pattern and adjust the levels of problems. 

The best training tip I have discovered though is finding out or being told from a peer your weaknesses. Once you pinpoint your weakness, develop problems (also have someone set problems for you) that are geared toward your weakness. I have tried to do workouts at the end of sessions, and do not think they helped me that much. The best way to grow in climbing is by climbing and learning from others.

What is your sport ambition this spring?
I feel like a novice when it comes to sport climbing, so I want to experience the full grade spectrum. The easier graded climbs are just as important as the difficult ones. I also want to climb lines in every style from long to short, or steep to slab. I had this mentality with bouldering, so I will apply it to sport climbing. Besides redpointing, I also want to improve my onsight skills. My plan is to pick a difficult redpoint route and "train" on it, then find some climbs a couple grades below and give them good onsight attempts. This pattern will hopefully allow me to achieve both goals. Onsighting to me is just as important as redpointing.

What are you thoughts on grades and inflation?
Any top climbers saying grades are not important are lying. What strive us to excel is seeing progression and without something to measure progression there is no point in trying hard. Grades should not be the only thing that matters but they play a hugh role in progression but it is important to show that climbing is a fun sport in which you can travel, meet new people and pust personal levels.

Regarding grade inflation, Dave did a good job with the grade inflation. Some boulders were inflated primarily for sponsorship reasons. I enjoy giving personal grades which I base on my personal experience doing different types boulders on different types of rock. For me 8B+ on sandstone is harder than granite simply because of the texture of the rock. Granites texture is more aggressive which allows you to bite into the rock more. The style of sandstone climbing tends to be more extended, whereas most grantie climbs are not as reachy. This is just from my personal experience, but obviously everyone has different opinions. A 200 cm person could put up a climb using holds at his full span which could be the hardest boulder in the world if he had +20 cm in armspan. (Daniel is 170 cm with a +10 cm armspan)

Is it OK to touch the holds before a flash attempt?
I believe it is ok to touch holds before a flash attempt. Flashing is essentially trying to complete the route or boulder first try with as much beta as possible.  I view touching holds, watching videos, looking at photos and direct beta while you are climbing acceptable. The only thing that is not acceptable is weighting the holds with your feet off the ground.  In my eyes, anytime your feet leave the ground, your first try attempt has been made.

Onsighting is another game. With an onsight it should be pure. This means that the climber has received zero beta from videos, photos, and others. Also, unlike flashing, the climber should not have touched any of the holds prior to the ascent attempt. Also, rappelling down to view the holds breaks the mold for an onsight. Everything should be made ground up. The goal with onsighting is to freestyle your way to the top. This is what makes the ascent so special.
The two have a distinct difference, but the one thing they have in common is a first try effort which is always impressive.

To me climbing is such a rehearsed discipline. There are so many hold types, textures, and movements to memorize. Though movements are different, many moves and holds have similarities in which you can point out before an onsight or flash attempt. It takes years of climbing on different rock types and practicing moves to gain a large vocabulary in climbing. Once this vocabulary has been built, climbing starts to click, and redpointing quickly and onsighting takeover.  Once you have mastered a certain redpoint level, I believe you can follow suit with onsighting at it or just below it with the right amount of fitness and mental preparation.  To onsight or flash something at your redpoint level takes a special kind of climb. The climb usually will fit your body type perfectly and will be in your preferred style of climbing. I get psyched to try for flashes and onsights on steep roof problems that range from 5 to 10 moves. On lower angle climbs, I have no chance at flashing anything hard (I need to work on this).

It is more honest to onsight in sport climbing than bouldering. With bouldering, it is so tempting to touch the holds due to the accessibility of them.

Padding up to reach the same start as taller guys?
I mentioned about how the climber should start the same as the first ascentionist. If the repeater is significantly shorter and has to stack a pad(s) to reach the same position as the first ascentionist, then I believe that is fine. If the climber is doing it to bypass a crux position and put them higher to make it more comfortable, then that is not doing the same move. The same thing also goes with stacking pads for stand starts. It is up to the judgment of the climber to make the situation resemble that of the first ascentionist.