Jamie Emerson

Jamie Emerson began climbing in 1998 at a small sandstone cliff in Grand Ledge, Michigan, where he grew up. While earning a bachelor’s degree in earth science from Michigan State University, Jamie climbed at the tiny crag five days a week and memorized every move on every route. That year, Todd Skinner gave a slideshow at MSU that fully converted Emerson to climbing. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s unbelievable, I want to do that,’” he says. In 2003, he moved to Boulder, Colorado, began setting routes at The Spot bouldering gym, and within a year was setting for national competitions.

However, Emerson isn’t just a routesetter; he’s also a bookworm and can frequently be found kicking back on the couch, nose-deep in postmodernist literature. Recently, Jamie’s put his love of books and boulders to use, collaborating on a new bouldering guide to Rocky Mountain National Park and Mount Evans with Sharp End Publishing.

When you first meet Emerson, his desire to talk about everything but climbing might surprise you, especially if you’ve read his blog, B3Bouldering.com. On B3B, Jamie loves to debate controversial issues like grades and sexism—a habit that’s earned him the nickname, “The Sheriff.” But he isn’t interested in telling people what to do; he just wants to argue—objectively, of course. “I respect that Jamie stands up for things he believes in,” Dave Graham says. “That’s more than a lot of people, even if it’s not always justifi - able or perfect.”

From climbing and developing new areas to writing a guidebook, updating his blog, and setting, Jamie reflects a wholehearted dedication to the sport. As U.S. climbers gain international fame, Emerson is challenging climbers to hone their brains as well as their bodies.

What have you been up to recently?
Dave Graham came to town this summer, sat me down, and said, “Where can we find new boulders?” We discussed the possibilities, looked on Google Earth, hiked to Lincoln Lake the next day, and were both like, This place is incredible. There’s a ton of Internet hype about Lincoln Lake [near Mount Evans]. The reality is, there are a bunch of awesome alpine granite boulders we’ve been cleaning and climbing on. It’s an amazingly beautiful place.

What boulder problem that you’ve done means the most to you?
Probably Slashface [in Hueco Tanks]. The first exposure I had to climbing, outside Michigan, was Josh Lowell’s Free Hueco, and the hardest problem in it was Chris Sharma on Slashface. At the time, it was the hardest boulder problem in the world. So to go to an area like Hueco and climb an amazing, hard, classic boulder problem was really awesome. I think I did it in five days. I put a lot of pressure on myself; it was an amazing feeling.

You’ve been setting routes for national comps going on eight years now. How has routesetting evolved? Where will it go in the future?
Five years ago, the U.S. didn’t have a bouldering World Cup, and now we’ve had three in Vail. And we have competitors like Alex Puccio and Alex Johnson who compete internationally. That’s huge progress for the U.S. in the international climbing community. As gyms get more popular, routesetting will play a more important role in climbing. Gym owners need to understand they’re not selling the wall, they’re selling the routes. If you have good routes, you have a good product.

How do you train?
I train once a week using video analysis on the campus board and systems wall. Flannery Shay-Nemirow is kind of my coach. She uses Dartfish, a video program that overlays images so you can compare consecutive attempts at the same time. You can even watch two different people trying the same move at the same time. It’s so cool.

What’s the best way to get stronger?
The campus board. It’s such an amazing thing. I love it.

How would you describe yourself?
I’m obsessively analytical. I think too much about everything, which is positive and negative. I also try not to think that I’m ever right about anything. I’m passionate, objective, and very curious.