David Mason peaks at 39 with two 8B+’ in a month

David Mason has during the last month done Last Wave Goodbye (8B+) in Peak District and The Boss (8B+) in Yarncliff. Amazingly, just 14 months after undergoing ACL surgery due to a skiing accident, the 39-year-old is hitting his peak. David boasts one of the flattest grade pyramids ever recorded, with over 600 boulders graded 8A and above—yet only four at 8B+. (c) Dave Parry

How was it possible to recover from the surgery so fast?
Recovery wise I still don’t think I’m fully recovered as I don’t yet have full flexion, and full extension without activation is only just returning. From a climbing perspective I very rarely notice this but I’m yet to fall off something of a decent height or totally out of control. The actual rehab was a lot of hard work and very tedious especially in the first few months. I was doing physio 3-4 times a day for the first 2-3 months. As the intensity increased it dropped to once a day, then 3 times a week and now I try to do 1 leg session a week with mobility work a further 2-3 times. I started climbing around 4 months post surgery just on our board, which is very low and then a month or so later started to put some outside climbing in. As my confidence increased I tried a larger variety of moves etc. Climbing itself is great rehab as we need to put force through our legs in a variety of contorted positions.

How does a typical climbing week look like for you?
I typically try to climb 3 times, if I can get a fourth session in then I will. These sessions will be a mixture of inside and outside predominantly focussed on strength or projecting and then 1 session focused on bouldering fitness. I try to do 2-3 exercises of upper body conditioning 3 times a week, 1 leg session a week and then some form of finger board or pick-ups work 1-2 times. If I get all this in then I’m pleased but invariably I end up dropping the odd session.

Why does your grade pyramid appear so unusually flat?
Before Mina [Leslie-Wujastyk] and I had children we were lucky enough to be able to travel a lot and I always wanted to be able to go to an area and climb as many different styles as possible. This meant I focussed on being the most all-around boulderer I could be rather than honing my skills in one small niche area. My training also focussed around having good capacity so I could climb multiple problems in a day and lots of days on, rather than projecting at the very top of my ability. This has meant I have climbed a huge amount of boulders at around 80-95% of my max but very little in that last 5%. I think when I was younger this was good for my ego, I loved ’ticking’ problems and coming back from a day without having done something I found hard mentally. I’d love to have had my current outlook and mental capacity for failure when I was younger as it means I would have really been able to explore what was possible for me but I’m also really proud of my ticklist and all-around ability (except on slabs!).

How would you explain your recent peak performance, managing to send two 8B+ boulders within a single month?
Regardless of these 2 boulders I’ve actually had the best winter season of my life. I’ve climbed more hard boulders on the gritstone than I have ever done previously. I think there are a few reasons for this. Firstly, being a father of two means I don’t have as much time as I used to and so sessions have to be much more efficient and focussed. Instead of big day trips to do something below my top level I’ve focussed on quick hits close to home on problems that require me to be better technically, mentally and physically. I don’t have much “mileage” to do around the Peak as I’ve done a lot so I’ve been forced to work on problems in that top 5% of my ability. I also have a local project that will require me to be the best I can be in order to do it and that has kept me motivated. It’s long but the moves are also hard (for me) so a lot of my outdoor bouldering has focussed on problems that will help me build towards to this. My legs are stronger and so I can do moves I previously couldn’t or take weight off my fingers by using my legs more. I’m basically a bit stronger but also better at climbing.

Lastly, I’m much stronger mentally. I’m ok with not ticking for longer periods if it’s building towards me being better. I want to be a better climber and I think this requires us not to always be climbing problems quickly, although that challenge can be included. Becoming a father has helped my mental game so much - I love climbing as much as ever, if not more, but at the end of the day Isaac and Lily don’t care whether I’ve sent my project or not, they just want to play and learn, and this really helps me to be more relaxed, most of the time ;).