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.

Eliminations and Variations?
Bouldering is a contrivance in itself. We search for the craziest moves that our body can do and create the hardest way up the boulder. It is obviously much easier to walk up the backside, or take an easier path of the rock, but this is not the goal of bouldering. Bouldering is like doing gymnastics (short, acrobatic, and powerful). That being said if a climb is put up as an elimination to have others test their abilities on a certain set of moves in which the first ascentionist did, then that is cool.  I have done many eliminations that are fun and climbing allows for this artistic freedom. If the climb is considered an eliminate, then a rule book should be considered.
I tend to be inspired by the lines that have just enough features to make getting to the top possible, and anyone can use these features in whichever way they want. The only thing I believe in is starting and finishing the same as the first ascentionist.  The in between climbing is free game for whatever beta. It is rare to find a line in which all climbers have to use the same feet and hands to reach the top. When you find this boulder, it is a work of art.
I use eliminations as a way to train, but climbing pure hard lines that have beautiful color and a set of uncontrived unique moves is what gets me psyched!

 

Back in 2004 I carried out my first research project. From my research I found that training dead hangs with maximum added weight on an 18-mm edge for 4 weeks, and then proceeding to train for another 4 weeks on the smallest possible edge without added weight, led to the following changes:

- There was a remarkable improvement in maximum finger strength (as indicated by the maximum added weight held while hanging from a 15-mm edge);

- A noticeable increase in the maximum time hanging from an 11-mm edge (finger endurance);

- Finally, the participants were able to hold their body weight off a smaller edge than before.

After that study, I and the climbers I have been training (Luis Alfonso Félix, Nacho Sánchez, Eric López, Andrea Cartas, Pablo Barbero, Dani Moreno…), have used this method along with others that I later developed.

Leaving aside individual factors, and given that I found that training finger maximum strength had a positive effect on finger strength endurance, my training schedule consists of using maximum strength methods in a first stage (3 to 5 sets x 5”-10'':3'), and then performing a strength endurance phase, doing intermittent dead hangs of 5 to 10 seconds in duration with an incomplete rest of 30 to 3 seconds.

The key aspect of this methodology, though, is that each person must adjust and control their training load. Just as some people when doing 8-rep sets of biceps curl will choose the 10 kg dumbbell, and some other the 40 kg one, we will choose each day, or even each set, the edge size or the amount of added weight (depending on the method used) that will allow us to hang for the stated time.

In order to accomplish that, we need a fingerboard that provides us with different and progressive edge depths.

That is why, together with Dafnis Fernández and Joan Machado I've developed, for JM Climbing Surfaces, Progression™ and Transgression™; two fingerboards that include different and progressive edge depths, so that climbers of a lower or medium, or a higher level in the case of the latter, will be able to train in an effective way their finger strength and strength endurance. To achieve that goal, each board comes with a training guide based on the conclusions of my researches and my broad experience from training climbers for more than 10 years.

In Europe in the 70's, rock shoes with flat friction rubber, get into market definately to climb hard climbing routes. The most used flat sole rock shoes initially were the style Pierre Allain (black and red), very popular in the boulder area of Fontaineableu, and after that EB shoes (model Super Graton, white and blue).

BOREAL was born as an spezialized mountaineering boots company in 1975. The director and founder, Jesús García López, tecnically assisted by Miguel Angel García Gallego, produeced the first sticky flat rubber prototypes in the 75's and 76's and those were used in several ascents. The first Boreal climbing shoe was called "El Capitan".

There was not a this moment in the world, any rock shoe flat sticky sole and BOREAL started to experiment with the clear necesity of increasing the stickness of rubber to make this particular issue decisive for the development of this sport, but always controlling other important issues like hardness and abrasion resistance. The important thing was not only having a very sticky rubber, but also that it was durable and abrasion resistant.

Miguel Angel Gallego made some ascents during 1975 and 1976 with the protypes, remarking The Nose (1978) and Salathé (1979), and he was able to appreciate specially on Salathé, the exceptional friction of the last outsoles of BOREAL that were used in the shoes at that moment, in 1979.

In 1.980, Jesús García López, designed and produced the last definitive prototype, a mythic model, called FIRE. The name of FIRE does not come from the english name fire or anything like that. The name was given as it was used to open a route at "Mallo FIRE" in Riglos (Huesca, Spain). FIRE it is an spectacular rock spire of 300 meters, of red and soft conglomerate sandstone, where some of the hardest routes have been opened in Spain and Europe.

On the following year (1981), the Gallego brothers, used this shoe to open at the left side of "The Nose" the first non american route to El Capitan "Mediterraneo", using FIRE shoes with sticky rubber. In the following days to this ascent, they have shown the shoes to many climbers in Camp 4. One of them, John Bachar, was literally impressed, and after trying the shoes in the famous boulder problem "Midnight Lightning", he started a long period of cooperation together with Mike Graham, both becoming the first BOREAL distributors in the United States.

After that, BOREAL has designed and manufactured a lot of tecnical rock shoes, as well as revolutionary as legendary, being involved in the confirmation process of the eight grade and the opening of the ninth grade in climbing: models like Ninja, Ace, Laser, .......

BOREAL has got always a very good cooperating with climbers, but it was necesary as well a person as Jesús García López, with his industrial and commercial vission, as well as his passion and work capacity to develop a revolution that impacted at that time the world.

An important part by the developing of the shoes and rubbers was as well the know-how and the input of some of the best climbers in the word: Güllich, Moffat, Bachar, Kurt Albert, Lynn Hill, Hirayama, Destivelle and a long etc. until nowdays.

Three years ago, in 2009, Boreal and its colaborators started working on the Zenith project: the goal was clear - once again developing the stickiest rubber for a climbing shoe. This rubber was suppouse to mantain its sticky properties from very cold to very warm temperatures and another important criteria: the rubber was suppouse to be as abrasion resistant as the rubber that Boreal still uses in most of its shoes – the FS Quattro

At the Outdoor Show 2011 in Friedrichshafen, the result of this project was presented to the public – the Zenith rubber and the two new climbing models wearing it: the Kintaro and the Lynx. The Zenith offers to the climbers the possibility to reach a completely new fricition dimension, mantaining its properties same in every climbable temperature and controls the abrasion resistance. The first shoes  with Zenith, the new Kintaro and Lynx, started leaving Boreal´s factory in Spain (where Boreal produces all its footwear) in January 2012.

Yuji Hirayama on Boreal - UKC/UKH at OutDoor 2011 from UKClimbing.com TV on Vimeo.

Aris Theodoropoulos:  More info at ClimbKalymnos.com

Tufa King Pumped” 7b+, Iannis, Kalymnos. Photo: Spyros Apostolopoulos

The end of Mythos” 6c+, Balcony Helvetia, Arhi, Kalymnos. Photo Nikolaos Smalios

Harlem nights”7b+, Spartan Wall, Kalymnos. Photo Nikolaos Smalios

Lowering from “Padroni e Pagliacci” 7c, Iliada, Kalymnos. Photo Nikolaos Smalios

Aris Theodoropoulos aka Mr Kalymnos  gives us the story of how Kalymnos became the most popular climbing destination in the world. He also gives some thoughts on how the future development can be secured.

How and when did you first climb at Kalymnos and what was your reaction?

I first climbed there in 1999. But I’d heard about the potential of Kalymnos earlier, in 1995, when my friend Yiannis Torelis, one of the best Greek climbers from Patras, went to Kalymnos. He didn't climb then, but he took some poorly-lit photos of the cliffs and showed them to me enthusiastically. In fact he was mesmerized by Grande Grotta and its stalactites! I was skeptical at first, because at the time I was mostly interested in multi-pitches and Kalymnos didn't feature particularly long cliff faces. Yiannis went to Kalymnos again in 1998 with George Kopalides, another very good climber from northern Greece. Together they bolted the now famous Aegialis  in Grande Grotta and a few more routes at sector Odyssey.

When I finally made it to Kalymnos in early 1999 and the cliffs were revealed before me, I was literally speechless. I climbed my first routes there and couldn't believe the quality and sheer climbing possibilities of the island. I had never seen so many potential crags crowded next to each other competing for space! I lost myself in a climbing nirvana for a few days, and then realized I had to get in touch with the locals. I met with mayor Diakomichalis (who recently returned to office) and tried to explain the huge potential of Kalymnos as a climbing venue. I suggested a few things to better organize climbing and attract climbers. Even though the locals had never heard of climbing, they did their best to support this venture. Okay, at the time I never expected Kalymnos to top the list of best sport climbing venue in the world someday, or that I would become a ‘local’ and spend half my life there. But the climbing there kept growing, and last October a record-breaking number of climbers came to the island. 



How did you get involved in the development and how have you taken part since than?
I basically got involved since my first visit back in 1999, by proposing a set of measures to the municipality and helping implement them. In our first actions to develop climbing, we established a standard for the equipping of routes (stainless steel bolts, clipable lower-offs with a chain and two bolts –most lower-offs at the time were on a single bolt); we printed route names discreetly at the base of each route in blue paint; we performed maintenance of the existing routes and equipped new routes; we established and marked the footpaths going to crags and put white markers at the starting point of each by the roadside; we secured a supply of hardware for equipping and maintenance; we started to promote Kalymnos as a climbing destination; we created an info point for climbers; and we created a detailed page on the internet with information about travel and the potential of the island (fellow climbers helped translate the webpage into five languages).

The following year (October 2000) we had the 1^st international climbing festival on the island with the official participation of the legendary Catherine Destivelle. It was a great reward for our efforts. Approximately 180 climbers from 13 countries took part, and the island was buzzing with energy, ideas, and climbing. It was fantastic. That’s also when the first climbing guidebook was published. It was funded by the municipality and was distributed to all there for free. The festival really made a difference in that Kalymnos was now on the global ‘climbing map’.

Since then it has grown continuously. In numbers, between 5.000—7.000 climbers visit every year; there are about 2.100 routes at the moment, and more or less 200 new routes are added every year. As for me, I spend more and more time on the island. The last few years I have divided my time between Kalymnos and Athens. I continue to promote Kalymnos whenever and wherever I can and to help with the festivals. Besides climbing, I spend my time on Kalymnos equipping, locating new crags, doing maintenance of older routes. With constant pressuring, the municipality has agreed to fund the maintenance of 100 routes every two years. I do the maintenance with help from friends and colleagues, but I am still pressuring for more maintenance. It’s simply not enough – I get emails and handwritten notes (left for me at the climbing shops) all the time about a loose bolt here or a dangerous handhold there, and whenever I am on the island I make the repairs that have priority. I permanently have a stash of hardware and my drill ready for these jobs.
 

Also since then, my other Kalymnos project is the guidebook. Five editions have been made so far (2000, 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2010). I have done my best to create a book with a lot more than just the basic black-and-white photos and route sketches. I want to do justice to Kalymnos, and I think a more complete publication, with color photos –both action and lifestyle- and as much information as possible about crags and routes truly inspires and recreates the special vibe of Kalymnos. I also started the website climbkalymnos.com about two years ago; it features the latest info and news about Kalymnos, an e-shop for the guidebook, a forum and an interactive database of climbing routes (where people can also comment on routes).  These are ongoing projects that require constant work, but I am lucky to have a great team of people helping me. We are very happy and proud that Kalymnos has become a favorite of the global climbing community even though nobody had ever heard of Kalymnos 12 years ago.
 

What do you think and hope for the future?

Well, I think the economic mess in Greece pretty much eliminates any possibility for municipal (or other government) funding towards maintenance of routes, rescue, festivals and so on. But what I hope is that the municipality realizes how vital climbing is to the island, and that it will do everything in its power to protect it, perhaps through some EU funding program. Climbing on Kalymnos has grown to a critical point, where no single individual can manage or supervise it. In my opinion, it is absolutely necessary to put together an official entity to manage climbing on Kalymnos. I have proposed this to the municipality in writing, along with everything that I believe must be attended to (very) soon:

- There must be an organized and well-staffed climbing info point in Masouri.

- There is no comprehensive official website with info for the visiting climbers; explore collaboration with climbkalymnos.com.

- There must be a screening process whereby all new route setters will be evaluated before bolting, based on their previous equipping experience, the hardware they propose to use and the crag where they plan to set up new routes.

- The promotion of Kalymnos needs to be organized, perhaps through collaborations with the private sector for the climbing festivals (as planned with The North Face for the next three years).

- More route maintenance is absolutely essential. With 2.100 established routes and 200 new routes added annually, at least 200 routes must be properly maintained every year to keep things under control.

- Hardware for maintenance and new routing needs to be made available.

- New route setting must be done at select crags and parts of the island; some areas must be off-limits (i.e. crags with a high density of routes, archaeological sites, etc).

- Footpaths need to be restored, defined or marked, preferably using natural materials such as stone.

- Lastly and perhaps most importantly, Kalymnos needs a Rescue Team.


According to the hospital staff, an estimated 180 climbing accidents happened in the last three years, mostly because of human error. There must be a rescue team which can transport an injured climber from the crag to the ambulance. Also, we ought to create a small first-aid station at select points near the crags with a stretcher and first aid kit.

To be realistic I don’t have very high hopes, since funding can take years (if it happens at all). In the meantime we must explore more immediate solutions; for example, a rough idea is the creation of a ‘Climber’s Pass’, which will be sold everywhere on Kalymnos for a small amount, say 3 euros, and it would grant free entry to museums and free bus transport for a certain number of days or weeks. The details will have to be worked out, but the proceeds would go towards maintenance or rescue and so on. As for me, I plan to be involved with Kalymnos no matter what. For me it is paradise and my heart is rooted there indefinitely.

What is your plan/goal for 2012?
I have lots of ideas for this year, but no fixed plans. At the moment I am in BIshop, bouldering and focusing on training my biggest weakness - Power. I will most probably stay in the US until mid March, then head back down to Australia, to attempt to make the first female ascent of Punks in the Gym. Over Summer I hope to be in Europe, sport climbing in Ceuse and doing some long routes in the Dolomites and the Swiss Alps. Then in the Fall I will be returning to Yosemite Valley.

How do you train?
I mainly train by climbing... I consciously choose routes, or boulders which will work my weaknesses. And occasionally, when I am based in one place for a while, I do a block of power training - Weighted Pull-ups, Campusing and hang-boarding, but this is very rare at the moment. 
How is the competitive environment for the different disciplines?

Concerning training: ... where should I start!? I made a lot of experiences and tried a lot of training exercises over the last years.

Well, if I want to have "progress" on hard problems or projects, trying and working on the moves or sections of these problems works best for me. In Austria weather is really changing a lot, which means a lot of rain and not so good conditions. In these forced "rock free" periods I try to keep (or even rise) my level with some special exercises and methods for gaining power / maximum recruitment. I guess you are curious about those exercises ;))!?

Mainly it’s a "personalized" mix of campusing and dynamic moves on small holds and crimps. My campusboard is "only" the same as my 45° overhanging bouldering wall - I do various plyometric moves/exercises on small crimps (also with closed crimp position!?). The dynamic moves include jumps and other coordinative challenging moves on small crimps for example. Another favourite exercise of me is the "crimp to closed crimp squeezing" with one hand (only a little relief)...

I’ve started working on my <a href="http://www.schwaigerbrothers.com/training-bernhard.html"target="_blank">"POWER CONCEPT" which will be (and already partly is) online</a> in small bites/appetizers in the near future - including some of my experiences and ideas from the last years! The main thing is, that it’s all trained with "high intensity techniques" adapted to maximum recruitment training for climbing - really stimulating your muscles to the maximum with only one set per exercise for example.

So you train with minimum quantity (only 2 or 3 times a week, as your muscels need the time to grow and recover completely) but maximum quality and effectiveness - saves a lot of (useless) time. Sounds impossible but also fascinating - doesn’t it!? And if weather is getting better you’re perfectly prepared for sending your projects... ;)))

There might also be some critics about this methods - of course it needs a lot of experience with training and your body as well - but for me it’s definitely the most effective form of training ever tried - the still possible improvements/increases in power over the last years have shown, that it works perfectly (at least for me) ;)...

Apart from that I also have a look on a healthy and well balanced nutrition - it’s very important what you eat (or don’t eat) before and after training or climbing. I don’t use supplements - it’s a waste of money in my opinion!
I hope this gives you an idea (small bites and infos on our website already), nice greetings,

All pictures by Luka Fonda

Mina Markovic has had a steady competition progress the last ten years, resulting in winning the WC Lead overall as well as the last Boulder event in 2011. After the third event with tied winners in Barcelona, Mina was very critical, "We train hard and deserve better routes than this."


How could you be so successful in 2011?
At the end of 2010 I set up a plan and decided to attend both - lead and bolder, with more focus on lead, sure :) and I admit, I had very high motivation and big goals. I think training smart, with a good set up plan, with my coach Roman Krajnik and with the Slovenia climbing team was a big advantage. I also have 'luck' with health, no injuries. All I have to say is - I REALLY enjoy climbing, I like to climb, train and compete (hard:) and I have good people around me. That's it! :D


How could the World Cup be improved?
Hmmm, about WC format ... For sure, I think they need to take the rule of super finals back or at least the routes should be set harder and more dynamic, like I think the year before was done. It seems that the trend is moving to more dynamic, powerful, technical and also interesting-to-watch lead climbing competitions. But I don't know what happened the last year as the longer routes with more/all 'happening' to last few moves returned. OK, I admit, that routes like this are very 'safe' and pleasurable to climb but on the other hand ending the final route with more quite fresh competitors is not what we are looking for. OK, it is acceptable that maybe at the beginning of year they didn't know the level of climbing, but later... SUMMARY: I don't know... but as I said in the beginning - super final or more 'intensive' routes.


What are your plans for 2012?
I am planning to compete in lead and boulder again :) I wish to stay healthy so I can climb hard, improve my climbing and enjoy in this perfect sport! :)

"About my OS of Hidrofobia... after quite looooong competing year 2011 I took a long rest - 3 weeks totally without climbing :(. During the NY I went to Siurana with friends, just to enjoy company and nature and to start easily climb again. One day I went to climb 8a (os) and the guy who belayed me told me to continue straight to the top... I had no idea what I was climbing or where it finish I just following the quick draws and having a good feeling after long time without climbing! :) I have to said that I was also impressed about the level on my climbing after the break :)"

Now, I have already started to train and prepare for this year! And it is such a nice feeling! :D

(c) Christiane Caballero

Last Dance 7C, Bishop (c) Matt Moore

US Bouldering Champs 2011(c) Bob Lockhart

Working Petit Tom 8a+, Céüse, France (c) Aleya Caballero

Mirko Caballero (10) is the latest new wonderkid setting new standards by sending three 8A's and four 7C+' during the last two months. With the permission and help from his father, here is his first interview.

Tell us about you….
My name is Mirko Caballero, and I am 10 years old. I live in Los Gatos, California. I was born in New Hampshire, USA, but my parents are from Switzerland. I got into climbing early because my Dad, Mom, brother, and sister were all climbing. I started to climb seriously when I was 6 years old.

Are you a competitive climber?
Yes, I have been competing for almost 5 years now. Until this year I only competed in Bouldering. I finished 2^nd at the Pan-American Games 2010 in Ecuador, and 3^rd at US Nationals in 2010. I became the US National Champion in 2011. I competed in sport and speed climbing for the first time in 2011. I got 1^st place in Speed and 2^nd place in Sport. I compete in the Youth-D category (11 years old and under).

I have also been competing in gymnastics for several years, but climbing is my passion, so when I'll have to choose, I’ll focus on climbing…

You climb a lot outdoors. Do you prefer that to competition?
I love competition and I feel that competition makes me progress, but I will always prefer outdoors because it’s my true passion in climbing. I try to go climbing outside at every opportunity with my parents and my friends, Nate, Nick, Garrett, Sammy, Clara, Courtney, Natalia and Niamh. I also like meeting climbers at crags, and working out problems with them. It’s kind off easy to connect with climbers as they all ask me how old I am. I also love visiting new places, and I got to climb in Bishop, Red Rocks, Jailhouse, Céüse, Kalymnos, La Turbie, and Annot. My dream is to go to Rocklands and Rodellar!

You had a huge breakthrough in 2011. What’s in store for 2012?
2011 was just amazing for me! I sent my first V10 (7C+) in Dec 2010, and was hoping to maybe repeat a couple more in 2011. But in the last 2 months of 2011, I sent my first three V11 (8A), four more V10 (7C+), and several V9 (7C) and V8 (7B+). I also sent my first 5.13a (7c+) in Sport Climbing. So now I’m trying to figure out what my goals should be for 2012. I think I will first try to improve my sport climbing skills. I also hope I can send my first V12 (8A+), I got really close in Hueco Tanks, but I couldn’t link it before I left. I just like to climb the hardest I can, and that’s what I will try to keep doing in 2012.

How do you train?
I climb about 4 times a week. Most of my core strength and flexibility training comes from my gymnastics training also 4 times a week. My Dad has been my coach until now, and he always tells me: just climb a lot, climb hard, climb smart, and most importantly have fun doing it! That has worked great for me until now. We also work on technique and on sighting skills. For sport climbing, we did a lot of endurance, which was hard, but I got strong really fast, so that was cool. In September 2011, I joined the Zero Gravity team here in California, and we also started doing endurance and strength training.

What do you think about your 8a ranking?
Well, I know that it’s just a game, but it’s kind of fun to play… I was really excited to see that I’m now ranked in the top 20 juniors worldwide in Bouldering, especially seeing that Adam Ondra is in 1^st place… I also was really excited to see that I was able to send 20 V8 (7B+) to V11 (8A) in 2011, but then I looked at Dave Graham’s tick list, and wow… He sent 426 V11 (8A) or harder so far!!! So that was humbling… 8a helps me compare my progress to others, and makes me want to climb even harder.

You seem to focus on Bouldering. What about Sport Climbing?
I really like Bouldering, and at first I was a little afraid of heights. I finally got over it, and I really started enjoying sport climbing as well. Right now it is Bouldering season in competition so I'm focusing more on it, but after US Nationals in March, I will focus completely on Sport Climbing. I really just started in the spring of 2011, so I think I can progress a lot.

Do you have any Sponsors?
Well, I guess my only Sponsors are my parents right now, but I’m starting to look for Sponsors, so if anyone is interested, please reach out to me… ;-)

All pics by Christina Dalla-Bona  http://www.schwaigerbrothers.com

Memento 8B+ (C) First repeat

Anam Cara, 8B+ (C) First repeat

Fucking Hostile 8b+, Saalachtal

Another Kick in the Ass 8b+, Saalachtal

Zunami, 8C Saalachtal

Berni Schwaiger is a very establed hard core boulderer but even so quite unknown although he made the first repeat of classics like Memento and Anam Cara for which he proposes 8B+. In Saalachtal he has opened some 60 boulders 8B to 8C in Saalactal but most of them are unrepeated.

I was born into a very sportive family, where hiking and mountaineering was a part of everyone´s life. I definitely started real sport climbing rather late at the age of 19 (together with my brother Hermann). Soon we became addicted to that sport, pushing ourselves higher. The hard thing (compared to many youngsters these days) was, that we didn't have a good climber nearby, so we had to find out everything on our own (technique, tactics, …). 


For a long time bouldering was only a part of training for doing hard redpoints in sport climbing. Things changed in 1998 when we explored some boulders near our home at Fuchsloch. We soon knew that there were several problems for the future! Since then bouldering became my favourite “game”.

In 1999 our father died at a fatal mountaineering accident at Matterhorn in Switzerland, which was quite a shock and hard to believe – but somehow I was able to get some sort of extra motivation and energy out of this situation …

For us it was always important having fun – no matter which kind of sport we did. Even now fun is the most important thing in all the sports I do, but especially when working on hard problems – having fun in doing hard moves or in making impossible looking moves possible. For me bouldering is the purest form of climbing: It´s only a battle between the rock and you – the most intense way of dealing with the challenge given to me by nature – especially when working on new and futuristic problems.

Due to the fact, that bouldering is not my profession, it´s a very important thing for me – even if it sounds strange - concerning (resulting in) relaxation. When working on hard problems my focus has to be fully on the moves, no place for other thoughts – a very good way to get rid of the thoughts (and problems) appearing from “normal life” – resulting in mental balance.

My profession is being a headmaster (principal) and teacher at a Polytechnical School (prepares pupils for their skills) in Saalfelden, where I live with my wife Christina. This means a lot of work and responsibility for everything in our school, resulting in a rather high time effort, minimizing my time for climbing ;-( ... I (mostly) love my job and it also gives me some sort of security in financial ways - also for my future – I´m not addicted to any good efforts in climbing. For me climbing must be fun without creating any form of pressure.

The good thing in my opinion about not being a professional climber is, that I don´t have any pressure with earning money for my living through climbing. I really live a “normal life” with work, family and so on – climbing ”only” is some sort of intense hobby for me ;-) Time (the lack of) is the very big disadvantage. I don´t have the time to travel around in the world, which would for sure be great. Or I often don´t even have the time to go climbing when conditions and weather are good. Also short trips for instance to Switzerland when weather is bad in Austria are nearly impossible, besides the big holidays in summer – meaning warm weather.

It would be very interesting to see what could would be possible, if I would only concentrate on climbing, because of the fact that preconditions between me and the “professionals” are very different! But enough with the wailing! Life is good the way it is right now – maybe it´s the best solution for me…

For me the fascinating thing about hard bouldering is doing problems that seem to be impossible, doing cool moves, having fun and being out in the nature … In bouldering I´m still improving – even if the steps are getting smaller – and that´s exactly what fascinates me the most right now: Pushing further and further, not knowing where there is an end – besides knowing there most be an end some time. As long as I can improve myself for example in doing projects that where found years ago and thought being impossible, I will be addicted to bouldering! Right know I still have some bouldering projects where I need to improve at least a little more ;-) …

Considering the process behind some of the problems (including my first ascents) I would say “Dust Devil”, “Hurricane”, “Whirlwind” and “Zunami” might be my hardest up to now – definitely weighing in somewhere around 8C – compared to other problems I´ve done – that´s my subjective opinion. But also “Flying Circus” seems to be really hard. After the first ascent back in 2001 we suggested Fb 8B+ as Fb 8C didn´t exist at that moment. Considering different opinions (also from other strong climbers) it might be Fb 8C (the world´s first!?) – but let´s wait for a repeat and see what happens! As already mentioned grading is very subjective – downgrades and upgrades are part of the game (if they are valid and reasoned)! Grades are not important for me – it´s all about one´s personal challenge and the process behind it!

My repetitions of for example “Memento” and “Anam Cara” show, that I can also do hard problems of other climbers, even “rather fast” compared to the effort given to some of my first ascents.

I don´t know exactly why the most of our hard FA are not repeated - it´s definitely not the access! A lot of people know where problems like “Zunami” or “Flying Circus” are. I´ve already answered a lot of e-mails and met a lot of people describing and showing the locations and problems.

A lot of other also strong climbers know where the problems are and often talked about trying/visiting them!? I would really like to see a repeat of one of our test pieces – getting a confirmation or correction (down or even up) of the grade!

One reason for “not visiting” the Saalachtal might be the lack of a really huge amount of blocks. We´re definitely not comparable with Tessin or something like that. We don´t have the huge amount of boulder problems here, though it´s getting more and more and some of the problems are really nice.

From my (subjective) point of view Saalachtal is a very beautiful place to be. It offers a great variety of possibilities – not only for climbing. You can do boulders, sport climbs, alpine climbs (trad.), you can do hiking, rafting, biking, skiing, cross country skiing – simply everything you want.

For me it´s not a big disadvantage that there are not so many people – mostly you can really enjoy nature and some sort of silence – which also is a very important point for me in climbing. Nevertheless I hope some strong guys are visiting Saalachtal in the future, trying some of our problems ;-).


And last but not least - even if it might sound arrogant - it seems that some of my (our) FA are “not so easy”. For instance some very strong climbers (also from other countries) tried Zunami and Flying Circus some years ago, but gave up rather fast for some reasons – right now some guys are working on a repetition of Zunami very intensively – so we will see what happens.

My skiing accident last spring showed, that life could change very quickly! Things like this, where you have a lot of luck, let you see things from a different angle!

So have fun, enjoy life, don´t take yourself to serious/important and try to be a “good” man/women ;-) …

Chris with his girlfriend Alex Puccio, #3 in the WC 2011.

(c) Chris has often done the IFSC live streaming commentary

(c) Heiko Wilhelm

Chris Webb-Parsons has been one of the best boulderers in the world for several years. In 2011, he did all eight WC's together with his girlfriend Alex Puccio and his best result was #6. Next year, Chris aims for the podium and he is training some 25 hours a week based on a programme from his coach Christian Core. "To be honest, I simply trust Christian and I do exactly what he tells me to do with the training."

Could you please give some insight of your training?Well the training I'm doing right now is all for the world cups in 2012. Christian Core is training me. The training I'm doing is planed out on a day to day basis. Christian and myself have been close mates for a long time now and we talk about many things by skype and since Christian is one of the most accomplished climbers in the world with loads of experience it seemed appropriate that he should be the one to train me. I have never had a trainer/Coach before.

Over the last year I don't feel I have progressed as much as I should have given the amount of training I have done. I have been training the wrong things at the wrong times and doing far to much which has made me go backwards with my climbing. If anything my main problem I have had is my training has not been structured and I have over trained, I have not given my body enough time to recover. For most of last year I felt tired and worn down all the time and I'm sure its because I was doing to much unstructured training. I did not do horrible last year in the world cups, I did have one good result in USA where I made finals so I know I can do well in the comps.

I am the type of person who needs to train lots and lots to be a good climber. The training I'm doing now is based on percentages of how much I train each week, for instance week one I will stop training when I'm 60% fatigued and then do other exercises. Week two is 80%, week three is 100% and week four is 30% etc etc... The training is involved, right now I also do weights one day per week.

I meet with Christian once or twice a week on Skype and we talk about the training. I have the next two months planed out but we might need to make some changes along the way.

A big thing with me and the world cups though is getting my head in check. I do not have much competition experience at all so 2011 was a massive learning lesson for me and aside from learning what I need to train physically I have also learned that I need to do lots of mental training to be able to block out certain pressures or expectations. When I say expectations, its expectations I put on myself. I had to put aside the fact that just because I have climbed hard boulders on rock does not mean I will do well in the world cups. I have to learn to relax and just climb like I would when I'm rock climbing or training.

To be the best in the world cups does not mean you have to be able to boulder 8C on rock, for me bouldering 8C was much easier than winning a world cup is going to be. I'm sure I can go and sit under an 8C get to work on it and one day ill climb it but I have no idea if ill ever have what it takes to win a world cup, but I have to believe I do.

I'm training three days on and one day off then two days on and one day off. For instance this week.... Monday is rest day, Tuesday short hard boulder in the morning and a hangboard session then a campus session in the afternoon. Wednesday is weights and weighted pull ups, Thursday is power endurance with a hangboard session. Friday is rest day. Saturday is bouldering in another climbing gym and sunday I can go on the rock or any climbing gym I want. I'm never climbing on easy boulders, all the boulders are at my limit, so i'm always trying hard. Christian is a great friend and I'm grateful to have a person like him coaching me.

But there is no glamour, not even a shoe sponsor, just very hard work and absolutely no financial support from his Australian federation.
"I'm in debt on my credit card right now due to the last WC season costing me so much money. I'm slowly paying off my debt now although as soon as the 2012 WC season starts the credit card will come out again. I have to pay for everything including my uniform to compete in, my IFSC license, my climbing association membership, competition entry, hotel, travel etc.... So it all adds up.

I'm sure I could climb so much harder if I had more financial support. I think another thing is the added pressure I put on myself being a self funded climber in the WCs. If I don't do well in the comp I get really down, ONE because I did not climb well and TWO because I know how much money I have spent to be there."