I met September's Player one fall day while bouldering with friends of mine at Mount Baldy in South Dakota. We assumed — as history had taught us —  that we'd be alone on Baldy that day; however, Justin and a couple of his Colorado friends walked up the trail, totally surprising us.

If I remember correctly, he had three pads strapped to his back, a feisty Australian sheepdog, a stickbrush, and dripping with sweat. I have since come to understand that he arrives to all boulders sweating profusely, because he takes such a fevered-pace when approaching. For the normal hiker, he's running. That day — Justin's first time at Baldy — I witnessed him dispense with nearly every V7 and V8 I knew of, flashing several, doing most in a few burns, seldom projecting. I also witnessed him get throttled on V9s (I'm not sure he did one that trip), which surprised me given the strength with which he sent the preceding.

What shocked me most about Justin's climbing was not the sending, but the psychotic blitzkrieg approach he took to sending EVERY boulder problem.  He literally looked helpless against their pull. At the end of the first day, Justin bled from every other fingertip. The next day, he taped and kept burning through the problems. Having dispatched over half the problems at Mount Baldy by the end of day four, still climbing from dawn to dusk, Justin had every finger taped, his palms were rubbed raw, and he had blood-dried cuts on his arms, legs, and ankles.

He's the guy who works a full-time, professional job, but manages to climb as much — or more — than the professional climbers with unlimited time on their hands. He doesn't climb super hard.  He climbs where he can, when he can.  He's the everyman. You will see him when you get up early to walk your dog; he's the guy smashing five pads into his car. You will see him running up trails, running down trails, running from boulder problem to boulder problem.  He's probably climbed in your local crag, and you might have met him, but you probably forgot his name (if he stood still long enough to tell you it).  It's German.  It's hard to pronounce, unless you drink Jäegermeister. Climbing's "Player" for September: Justin Jaeger.