Conversations with Climbers: Morning Rituals

What is your morning ritual before a day of hard climbing?

Cedar Wright

“I wake up at 5 a.m., meditate for an hour, go for a ten mile trail run… No, just kidding. I get up feeling crusty and drink coffee while I watch hip-hop videos.”

Chris Schulte

“Coffee, for sure. But more particularly, it depends where I’m at. Food sort of sets the day for me, and if I’m out in the desert I tend towards bacon and eggs with toast types of stuff. It takes a while to dry out in the morning in Font, so like two breakfasts there. I eat muesli in Switzerland with strawberries. I make crazy pancakes in Bishop, steak and eggs and migas in Hueco….”

Heidi Wirtz

“Meditation with some yoga, tea, good breakfast, warm up at the crag and some breath work.”

Jesse Huey

“I like to have a coffee or two and usually not that much to eat unless I am going to be out all day long for something alpine oriented. If it is rock climbing I like to try and warm up really slowly. If it is a trad climbing day, I stretch for a while before heading out as it seems to really make a big difference these days.”

Jon Glassberg

The start to a hard climbing day is pretty much the same as any other day, I just try and eat a good breakfast, drink a ton of coffee and often watch videos of the boulders I’m going to try, to refine beta. I try to “get in the zone” a little bit but nothing too crazy, and keep it chill and start the day positive.

Lynn Hill

I try to eat a good meal, enough food, pack enough water. I put my left shoe on first. It feels comfortable to do things the same way, and the reason why I put my left shoe on first is because my right foot is slightly bigger. It makes more sense that you would have less time in an uncomfortable shoe. Oxygen is part of what I do, making sure I get enough oxygen—it’s kind of like doing a yawn, [before getting on a route] I get a big lungful of air.

Paige Classen

“Eat pancakes for breakfast and listen to ‘Save Tonight’ by Eagle-Eye Cherry on the ride to the crag.”