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EXCLUSIVE - INTERVIEWS
Exclusive athlete interviews by Urban Climber Magazine: Reinhard Fichtinger, John Evans, Whitney Hoose, Brad Weaver, Lynn Hill, Christian Core, Jonathan Siegrist, Colette McInerney, Courtney Hemphill, Sam Elias, Joel Zerr, Christina Pilo, Angela Payne, Dave Marquess, Melissa Lacasse, Lee Means, Lauren Lee, Ethan Pringle, Liz Hajek, The Chancellor Brothers
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 Stone Summit – The Nation's Largest Climbing Gym
There are some big things going down in Atlanta, Georgia. Things like climbing walls that let you take 30-foot-plus whips; routes that, all counted up, contain more than 2,000 quick draws; and 30,000 square feet of climbable surface. There’s even a climbable dinosaur with a built-in slide. And you can find all of it at Stone Summit Climbing and Fitness Center, which opened June 19 to a crowd of more than 600 people.  Angie Payne and Clear Blue Skies: How Female Climbers are Getting Stronger
Last week, Angela Payne nabbed the third female ascent of Clear Blue Skies (V11) in Mt. Evans, Colorado. This is part of a recent female sendfest, with Alex Puccio and Thomasina Pidgeon both nabbing double digits in Rocky Mountain National Park and Squamish, respectively. As women continue pushing the envelope and crushing difficult problems, it raises questions such as how hard women are capable of climbing, and whether they’ll be at the same level as the boys someday.  Carlo Traversi Talks About Jade Ascent - Updated
On May 27 in Rocky Mountain National Park, Carlo Traversi completed the sixth ascent of Jade, a notoriously crimpy problem established in 2007 by Daniel Woods. Graded V15 after its FA, Traversi suggested a downgrade to V14 due to his admitted weakness on crimps, despite the harder grade confirmation by previous ascents.  Caryn Courcier
If you visited Rifle Mountain Park in the summer of 2008, then undoubtedly you’ve seen Caryn Courcier. The small girl with dark brown curls streaming from underneath a black helmet spent her time projecting hard routes that whole season. Helmets are great and save lives, but let’s face it, they’re a little dorky. Caryn’s helmet usage was one out of necessity though. Though she was advised not to climb due to factor V Leiden...  Dave Pegg - Wolverine Publishing
THE iPHONE GUIDEBOOK COMETH - Wolverine Publishing founder Dave Pegg originally hails from Leeds, Northern England (“Home to such awesome bands as Chumbawamba, Embrace, and The Sis ters of Mercy,” he wants everyone to remember). Today he lives on a 10-acre ranch in Western Colorado — closest town: Silt, Colorado — from which he runs Wolverine Publishing, maker of quality guidebooks since 2001.  Jon Cardwell
Jon Cardwell, the New Mexico native who recently turned 21, has been spending much of the last few years in Europe climbing, sending, and working on something called The Island with Dave Graham and company. He’s accrued an impressive tick list in both sport climbing and bouldering, and given his streak, the list will, continue to grow.  Sasha DiGuilian
In 1999, seven-year-old Sasha DiGiulian walked into an Arlington, Virginia, climbing gym for her big brother’s birthday party. Eleven years and a trunkful of trophies later, the seventeen-year-old climbing phenom still trains at Sportrock, where she recently nabbed fourth at the February ABS bouldering nationals, one month after winning the Sport Climbing Series National Championships in Salt Lake City.  Brady Robinson / The Access Fund
Brady Robinson, 37, is the Executive Director for the Access Fund (accessfund.org), the national advocacy organization for climbers in the United States. You’re likely already familiar with the Access Fund, whose mission is to keep climbing areas open and conserve the climbing environment. Robinson took the executive director position in September 2007, after spending 12 years working with Outward Bound and a stint with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).  JON GLASSBERG
Jon Glassberg’s a bit of an outlier. He’s relatively tall (6’3”) and heavy (185 lbs.) for a climber, but has still managed some crimpy testpieces, including Bishop’s Mandala and Secret Splendor in Rocky Mountain National Park. Also unusual: he has two college degrees (he’s only 25). Lastly, Glassberg spends a lot of time working towards the growth of the climbing community . . . but without trying to make a living doing it. Why would he do that? How can he? Read on!  KELSEY FAIR
Kelsey Fair, 21, hails from Toronto, but spent much of her early life moving around: New York, Oregon, California, Switzerland . . . Most recently, she landed in Los Angeles, but has been on the road for the past year or so with her boyfriend and fellow climber, Ryan Held. Together, the two tour the United States with their dog, Sharka, in a big red sprinter van, looking for the endless climbing season…and maybe the meaning of life.  KASIA PIETRAS - 2009 TRIPLE CROWN QUEEN
I met up with Kasia Pietras, who won the 2009 Triple Crown Open Women’s overall title. The interview took place at Kasia’s workplace, the Tennessee Bouldering Authority (www.tbagym.com), a southeastern bouldering institution where several of the regions strongest rock rats train. Pietras grew up in Chicago and regularly drove seven hours to Kentucky, to sport climb in the Red River Gorge. Before the recorder began, she explained that she’s currently attending the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, but plans to start attending massage therapy school in the fall.  MISINTERPRETING ARCHITECTURE
THE ARD ARVIN/BUILDERING.NET EXTENDED INTERVIEW - Since a rock has no apparent purpose on this earth beyond just being, it’s fair to say that climbing is the interpretation of a rock’s surface through the vehicle of the body. On the other hand, since architectural structures are created by people for specific reasons, such as shelter or bridging a body of water, buildering could well be defined as misinterpretation of architecture…or at least that’s how webmaster Ard Arvin describes the pursuit on his site, buildering.net.  Alan Carne: British Expat King of the Verdon
I was born in Manchester in the industrial north of England in 1960. Some would say on the wrong side of the Pennines, being one hour from the Gritstone Edges as opposed to Sheffield being only 20 minutes. But I have always loved my hometown, Its fine old Victorian buildings, Its industrial heritage, and though less well known for, a certain mountaineering heritage. British legends such Don Whillans, Joe Brown, Alex Macintyre, Al Rouse, and others were from Manchester or nearby.  KYLE OWEN
“Who is this kid?!” More than once, I heard this phrase issue from the crowd at the 2009 Bouldering World Cup at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado. Half of the six male finalists were American, and two of those were among the best-known, strongest boulderers in the world (Paul Robinson and Daniel Woods). Going into finals, “this kid” was sandwiched between Robinson and Woods. His name: Kyle Owen.  PAIGE CLAASSEN
Paige Claassen was raised amidst the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains and the rough granite pillars of Lumpy Ridge. Still, the 19-year-old CU-Boulder sophomore got her start on plastic. (“My dad tried to get me into other sports, and I sucked at everything,” she says. “He took me to the gym in Estes, and it totally clicked.”) Young, polite, and humble, Claassen for years focused her efforts on comps, but today is more stoked on stone. |
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