On Monday, June 2, 2008 Jonathan Siegrist, 22, made the third ascent of Grand Ole Opry at the Monastery, Colorado. Originally rated 5.14a by its creator,Tommy Caldwell, the climb was uprated to 5.14c by Andy Raether after he did the second ascent, in 2007. UPDATE: On July 7, 2008 Siegrist made the third ascent of Country Boy (5.13d) at Lumpy Ridge, placing all of the gear on lead (perhaps the first ascent done in this style?) Stay tuned for more details. Climbing hard and under the radar, Siegrist, a full-time student at Naropa University and routesetter at the Boulder Rock Club, did the route in just around 10 days.

Siegrist has been climbing for about four years and is sponsored by Mad Rock, Sterling Rope, and Bumble Bar. Siegrist climbs often with his father, Bob, and his girlfriend, Marisa Ware, seeking routes closer to home rather than making the four-hour drive to Rifle, as do many Front Range sport climbers. Siegrist has also redpointed the technical arête Sarchasm (5.14a), at Chasm Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, and made a quick ascent of a Flatirons’ semi-neglected testpiece, Rock Atrocity (5.13c), on Dinosaur Mountain.

After Siegrist’s ascent of Grand Ole Opry, Climbing caught up with the modest Boulder, Colorado, resident for a little Q & A about his life as a student, Front Range local, and rope partner to his dad, Bob.

Climbing: How long have you been climbing?

Siegrist: Around four years now.

Climbing: How many years did it take your father to convince you to start climbing? Did you get into the sport through your dad?

Siegrist: I think my dad probably tried to make me climb when I was still an infant, and through my youth he dragged me up a handful of Colorado alpine classics like the Petit Grapon, Spearhead and The Diamond, but I was not really too interested until I was about 18 and I had some patience…climbing is hard!

Climbing: What is it about climbing with your dad that makes the experience special to both of you?

Siegrist: I climb with my father all the time; he is like my number one climbing partner. We have 100% support for one another. He has hiked hours with a heavy pack to projects with me to give me a belay in crappy weather and even skipped work to do so. I have done the same for him (although surely not as much). Climbing together has made us into even better friends and also solid training partners that push one another.  

Climbing: Your dad climbs hard, too – what have you learned from him and how long has he been around Boulder?

Siegrist: I've learned basically everything from him, but most notably how to balance climbing with real life and a strong safety ethic. He has been 'around' Boulder since you could camp at the base of the Bastille, but we have been living here for about 14 years.