The One Thing

Ten climbers share their best performance secret

Becoming a world-class athlete takes more than simply being genetically gifted or having a rabid passion. It takes sophisticated introspection into how one relates to one’s sport. Rock climbing is no exception, and each top climber dives deep into his or her psyche.

We started with a simple, performance-oriented question asked to some of the country’s finest rock climbers. The result was 10 surprisingly unique and genuine answers. Despite the personal nature of each reply, or perhaps because of that, the insights shared by these elite athletes will benefit all climbers, regardless of experience level.

We talked to young pups brought up on plastic, old masters who cut their teeth leading trad on stoppers and hexes, as well as the middle guard, who know how to climb a big wall, but do so in sticky rubber instead of aiders. Here’s how 10 of America’s best rock climbers answered the question, “What’s the one thing you have done that has most improved your climbing?”

Although recently known for his 5.14 trad pitches, Matt Wilder, 31, has made the most of his 16-year climbing career. Wilder did the first free ascent of the South Face of Washington Column (IV 5.14a), has climbed seven in-a-day El Cap routes, bouldered up to V14, and redpointed 5.14d. Wilder is now working toward a Ph.D., studying machine learning and cognitive science.

“If I were to distill the answer into one word, it would be diversification. At each point that I’ve noticed a significant improvement in my climbing, I have found that, most of the time, it happened shortly after I switched up what I was focusing on. Basically, I climb what I am psyched on, and when the enthusiasm wears off, I’ll change my focus. Climbing with lots of motivation lets me push myself to new levels. It also keeps me from getting stuck in a rut where I might get used to what my limits are. When you know what your limits are, it’s very hard to break them. An example is, I’ve been able to apply the mental space gained from highball bouldering to hard trad climbing. And after being psyched to climb in the gym, I took a new level of power outside and climbed The Egg in Squamish. It was my first V11 and was the start of me breaking a plateau I was on.”