Heroes

I have three big climbing heroes. The first is Patxi Usobiaga because I am eternally impressed by his dedication to training. I kind of feel like I'm in the same boat; I think I will have to always train if I want to reach the top and climb with the best of the best at their level. The second is Adam Ondra. He is young and goofy(well it is kinda true haha). He climbs like a mad man though, inspiring in my opinion. Then there is also Nalle who, to me, came out of no where and was just climbing at the top. He also started climbing a little later than most top climbers; I thought that was cool. Now that I think about it, there are a lot of climbers I look up to. Among the larger than life ones are: Alli and Kevin Wilkinson, Joe Kinder, and Jonathan Siegrest. Then of course, even though this isn't actually the point of this blog, are the local climbers who I really feel I owe a thank you to for so many things. Mike Snyder was the guy that took me climbing outside when I really didn't have any climber friends. I can't tell you how appreciative of his patience with a little climber like myself I am. Aaron Mulkey had the largest impact on me. His gym introduced me to climbing (introduction is step number one to obsession). He introduced me to the now deceased climbing team and competitions. Clint Cook is someone who I look up to. He not only pushes his climbing in the midst of an actual life, but he has an attitude towards everything I admire. Leif Gasch: he has had an influence upon my climbing like none other. From him, I learned progression; he showed what training actually was. That it really could be used to make climbing harder stuff a reality. BJ Tilden is one of my biggest heroes. I used to be all worried that I would never receive a sponsorship. Hearing him though, I realize why was I ever worried about that. He climbs extremely hard and has an actual job and no sponsorships. He has chosen to go that way. He loves to climb just to climb. That is how I climb, but I would worry about the idea of a sponsorship. Now I know that doesn't matter. So I am just climbing to be better. That is all I truly worry about now: bettering myself.

Thrilling post

Ok, I don't really have anything to write about, but I need to just give a quick update on this because I think it is appropriate. Downgrades are as follows haha-
Perpetual Motion was a 9 and is now an 8/9.
Hypervelocity star was a 7? and is now a 4.
C.E.O. was a 9 and is now an 8.
Hot Hot Heat, a contrivance, was a 9 and is now an 8.
Heart of a Masochist was a 12 and is now an 11/12.
The last three were personal downgrades. I am fine with downgrades because everything I say is an estimation. And truthfully, I was never a quality grader. An update on me: I still love climbing, and I am learning to experience ecstasy with training. Puh-Pow