SKYLAR SMITH -USA-

I started loving climbing after joining the Boulderdash climbing team in southern california. After
moving to Colorado, my love for climbing began to develop into a love for the outdoors. What
keeps me interested in climbing is not only the complexity of moving between holds on routes
and boulder problems, etc., but sharing the passion with other people in tight knit communities
and enjoying being outside.

Chris Sharma was and still is my hero. His outlook on climbing and his easy-goingness is
admirable. He has helped shape the climber I am today. I can't deny that I influence other
people in my community. I know other people look up to me and want to climb like I do. This is
also a great responsibility because I have to act professionally, be accepting, and spread good
energy.

Sure, climbing some difficult sport routes could be considered as my most important milestones
in climbing such as redpointing Zulu (14a) and more recently Waka Flocka (14b), both in Rifle,
CO. However, more recently I have been focused on loving the process of flowing effortlessly
up a rock climb. Learning different moves by practicing stretching routines, training weaknesses,
and being more in tune with my body as I move. I view this as a "milestone" but more so as a
mindset in my climbing career. If people can learn to shift their mindset on learning to love the
movement of climbing more than the achievement of climbing a hard grade, your life becomes
blissful.

Throughout my climbing career, I've suffered from multiple ankle injuries, tendonitis, and wrist
issues. The most important thing to do during this time period is not to dwell on what you can't
do. Ankle injury? Train fingers. Tendonitis, wrist, or finger injury? Focus on flexibility, core and
mobility with other parts of your body. Make a ticklist! Make training plans for when you're
healthy again. Pick up something else other than rock climbing! The possibilities are endless,
it's all about the mindset.

Before simuling up to the Hairstyles and Attitudes pitch in Eldorado Canyon in a group of 3
(myself being tied into the end), I was fumbling with my headlamp and all of a sudden it stopped
working and wouldn't turn on. I was forced to use my phone light and put it underneath the
headlamp's strap. I couldn't tilt my head even the slightest bit backward or it would fall off, so
climbing the whole approach pitch was very sketchy, haha.

I usually go through cycles of training finger strength, power-endurance, and
core/flexibility/mobility. Depending on my goals for the moment, I shift my focus on one of the 3.
I would say the most important thing to train, if looking to move past a plateau that most
climbers do not focus on, is flexibility! Being flexible allows you to move more freely on the wall
and do moves you didn't think were possible in the past. Stretch!

Yoga, meditation, flexibility. The power of the mind is incredible if you are able to understand
how it functions.

If you're looking to pull harder and for a longer duration on the rock, indoor climbing can be an
incredible help. Nowadays, gyms have system boards, moonboards, kilter, etc., hangboards,
pulley systems, campus boards and a ton of routes and boulder problems. These tools are very
beneficial for developing upper body strength, and finger strength that can help you crank on the
rock!

Anything is attainable for anyone. It's all about how much you actually want to do it. If on had
incentive to do the Eiger, one would do it. If one had incentive to do a one-arm, one would do it.

Setting goals is important because it allows your brain to keep coming back to one thing. If you
want to achieve that goal bad enough, your entire daily routine should revolve around
accomplishing it.

Of course I get frustrated. With big goals comes a variety of emotions such as anger, frustration,
sadness, etc. It's important to stay present and enjoy the process as much as possible. If this
seems impossible to do, maybe it's time to modify the goal.

I would like it if climbing started to go in the direction of taking grades less seriously. Nowadays,
people are overly concerned about climbing a particular difficulty and not enjoying any part of
the process of rock climbing, finding a badass line, fighting on the rock, etc. Where are the days
where a psyched group of climbers would walk up to a cool looking wall and climb it?

I chose to be with Edelrid for a reason. Edelrid does a great job of inventing creative technology
while integrating an incredible work ethic of recycling ropes and using less chemicals to harm
our fragile Earth. This is definitely a step in the right direction. In the next few years, the Earth is
going to have a harder time dealing with us humans, therefore, it is our responsibility to leave as
little trace as possible and take care of the environment around us for future generations.