This climber/doctor/movie maker wants you to try harder

The Chicago native Noah Kaufman, 34, is a true Renaissance man. He’s not only a medical doctor (Tulane Medical School, class of 2003), but also a double-digit climber, slackline master, and filmmaker (his new joint, Try Harder, will be available soon). He currently lives in South Lake Tahoe with his soon-to-be wife and fellow climber/doctor, Siemay Lee, and holds down sick dream jobs you’ll never get.

Sponsors: Metolius, Evolv, Gramicci, Rock Candy Holds, and Slack.fr.

Memorable Ticks: Shoshaloza (V12), Gliding Through Waves Like Dolphins (V12), and many other Rocklands classics, including my proudest FA ever, a four-star V11 called The Hatchling.

What’s your typical week like? I work shifts in the local emergency departments and ski clinics, climb as much as possible, devote 10 hours to the in-depth study of something like chess, medicine, guitar, or more recently, the stock market. I can work when I want and as much or as little as I want, so my typical week is very atypical.

You made Try Hard, the underground cult-classic bouldering vid, back when VHS was cool; when can we see the sequel, Try Harder? Might be out in the next two years. I’m paying all the climbers who appear in it. It is real moments of ultimate effort, with very little rehearsed climbing. Much of the unused and cutting-room footage has gone to YouTube; I also have some vids up on myuctv.com, which is a great new resource for climbing media.

Why did they almost kick you out of med school? It was a combination of me seriously asking what was wrong with euthanasia, asking during an essay test what the word “hegemony” meant, and wrestling with a fellow student before a final test. (I think I asked him if he wanted some “monkey-love.”) Bastards! It was a great education though, and Tulane is an amazing medical school. There are just a couple physicians there whose tires I’d like to slash.

You’re blatantly honest — do you have a noclosed- door policy with everyone you meet? Yes. Life’s too short for any other method. I like intense, real relationships, and if I let my guard down first, people know I come in peace. Plus, I have nothing to hide; I’m okay with my flaws.

Tell me about your Yosemite gig. Oh, it’s sick — the dream job for the climber/doc. I’m on-call 24/7 during my predetermined threeto 10-day shifts. I carry a cell phone and need to be within 30 minutes of the clinic, and I’m the supervisor when I’m there. I get paid an hourly rate, and they give me a pimped-out house right in the Valley. I boulder on the best granite all day long, and then play poker at night with great friends and climbers.

OK, one story from the ER . . . Well, there was the time we had to remove a bottle of hair conditioner from someone’s ass. There are just so many. That’s one of the greatest parts of being an ER physician: the stories. I may write a book.

You have the uncanny ability to give energy to other climbers. Explain. I honestly want to see people succeed. I pour all my energy and focus into a climber while they are climbing. I usually yell and intimidate them into success. Young kids like Daniel [Woods] and Paul [Robinson] can take a lot of juice and do well with it.

What does it mean to “Try Hard”? I don’t believe anyone tries their hardest, to their limit. If you say something like “I tried my hardest,” then you’re already setting limitations on yourself. But if you can tap into that subconscious lift-the-car-off-the-baby wellspring in your mind, you can sometimes eek out an increase in your effort.