Kai Lightner does Planet Garbage (9a)

Kai Lightner made his first 8a headline when he sent Southern Smoke (8c+) at age 13, in 2012. The next year, he won the Youth World Championship and completed Era Vella (9a). Then it took him ten years until he sent his next 9a and during the last year he has sent another five including Planet Garbage (9a) in Rifle (CO). (c) Joe Kinder

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Since moving to CO Rifle has become a local-ish crag for me, and I’ve began taking random 2-3 day trips to climb around and enjoy the canyon! I decided last weekend to try this cool Joe Kinder Rifle Classic as a way of reacclimatizing to rock and building fitness for the start of the season. Suprisingly, it all came together in just a few days and managed to send it pretty quickly! Definitely a confidence booster and a testament to the good training I’ve done in prep for the Fall season.

What are your autumn plans?
I won’t tell you my exact plans, but I will say my goals are much bigger than they were in the Spring. You guys will know in due time 😉