Vertical-Life
Becket Hsin, 13, does his fourth and fifth 8B
His brother and coach, Samuel, who just did his first 8B+, Warrior up, has filled us in on Becket''s approach to climbing.
"Beckett started climbing with me when I transitioned to climbing from gymnastics. For a couple of years, it was nothing more than a hobby. When he was 9, however, he had a season where he made Divionals and Nationals for the first time, both in the same season. That was maybe the first time that really got him interested in trying to get better. The following year, he had a better season making finals at Nationals, which is when he realized that he had really improved.
That got him very excited to continue training harder, which really kicked off when I started training a small group of a few focused athletes during Covid, including him. Then, shortly following, I started to take him climbing outside. He learned to lead climb and a couple of weeks later, I took Beckett to Rifle Mountain Park, where he did his first 5.12s. Then, last spring, I think he really started to see the fruits of his training pay off when he did his first 7C+ boulder and then started coming on alpine trips with me week to week. He realized his strength when he started to climb hard boulders, which only fueled his motivation to train even harder.
The last year I really saw that passion for trying hard push him. He's told me that his goal is to really find what his limit is, and push that. He's very hard on himself when he doesn't think he's doing enough though. As his coach, I want to help him achieve his goals. But, especially as his older brother, I also want him to be able to love the sport as long as possible. So helping him keep his expectations in check is important. I write training for him. He trains on his own, and he trains hard. He also takes every opportunity to get outside he can get. Our dad has been a great support in this, giving up many weekends to take him to whatever his latest project is. I've been really grateful to climb with Beckett so much in the last year and look forward to all the years of going out with him and our younger brother, Asher, to come."
Jernej Kruder sends Martin Krpan (9a) sans knee pads
Jernej Kruder, who won the Boulder World Cup in 2018, has done Martin Krpan (9a) in Mišja Peč. “I would like to expose something here: I spent many tries on t…
Welcome to Vertical-Life Web
Six years after partnering with 8a.nu, we’re excited to announce the unification of the 8a.nu website and the Vertical-Life app into a single platform: Vertical…
Will Bosi repeats Return of the Sleepwalker (9A)
William Bosi has made the second ascent of Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) in Black Velvet Canyon, after projecting it for 12 sessions. This was th…
Sera Gearhart does Carnage 8B, calling it 8A+
Sera Gearhart has done Carnage (8B) in Guanella Pass, after trying it for just two sessions. Since 2022 she has done six 8A+'s and this was her first 8B but s…
Katie Lamb puts down another two 8B's
Katie Lamb has done Evil Backwards (8B), and Death Trout (8B), both at Mt Evans. The 25-year-old has now done 22 boulders 8B to 8B+ and she extends her lead in the 8a ranking game where she has been #1 for more than two years.
Sera Gearhart sends Evil Backwards (8B)
Sera Gearhart has logged her first 8B, Evil Backwards in Mt Evans. "I thought I'd do this boulder quickly because everyone told me I was doing the hard part. Tu…
Sera Gearhart does Carnage 8B, calling it 8A+
Sera Gearhart has done Carnage (8B) in Guanella Pass, after trying it for just two sessions. Since 2022 she has done six 8A+'s and this was her first 8B but s…
Katie Lamb puts down another two 8B's
Katie Lamb has done Evil Backwards (8B), and Death Trout (8B), both at Mt Evans. The 25-year-old has now done 22 boulders 8B to 8B+ and she extends her lead in the 8a ranking game where she has been #1 for more than two years.
Sera Gearhart sends Evil Backwards (8B)
Sera Gearhart has logged her first 8B, Evil Backwards in Mt Evans. "I thought I'd do this boulder quickly because everyone told me I was doing the hard part. Tu…
Katie Lamb makes history
Katie Lamb has become the first woman to climb 8C+ by completing Box Therapy (8C) in RMNP. Daniel Woods made the FA back in 2018, and only Drew Ruana and Sean B…
Schubert sends Project Big during his 6th Live attempt
"It was dramatic to the very end." On the 8a finish of Project Big in Flatanger, Jakob Schubert explains that a horn broke and he was close to falling. The last three minutes of the video show just how much this climb means to him."This horn could have ended my career... This was the biggest mental …
Will Bosi repeats Return of the Sleepwalker (9A)
William Bosi has made the second ascent of Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) in Black Velvet Canyon, after projecting it for 12 sessions. This was th…