Favorite places to live / climb / visit
Ticino, Switzerland for bouldering
Innsbruck, Austria for trainig and the athmosphere of the city
Definitely having climbed Casavino, one of the best blocs out there, European bouldering cup finals and Bouldering world cup partecipations.
Ticino, Switzerland for bouldering
Innsbruck, Austria for trainig and the athmosphere of the city
Bouldering
I got into climbing thanks to my parents, I’ve always gone to the crag with my dad since I was a baby.
It all started as a game but I fell more and more in love with the sport as I was growing
I don’t really have a childhood hero, but watching world cups has always been something that really inspired me and now being there competing with all the athletes I saw as a kid is definitely a great experience.
Setbacks are for sure part of the game, they just happen, it’s really Important to analyze what was wrong and use them to improve and getting better than before.
It would be impossible to choose one but definitely one of the many winter trips to Ticino with my friends!
Yes, as the majority of competition climbers I stick to a strict training schedule, I train from December to the end of the season in September almost every day, but when the season is over I like to enjoy one or two months of rock climbing to recharge my batteries and keep the psych high!
Setting a goal is the main point, why do you train for?
Once the first stemp is done for sure consistency is the key, you may non see the results in the first period, but just trust the process and they will come for sure!
Also talk to your trainer a lot, this is something not a lot of peole do, but giving feedbacks and understanding the reasons why you do an excersice will lead to a better personalised training routine.
Recently Indoor climbing and especially comp climbing has become more and more a discipline on its own with its spectacular and dynamic style, so it’s hard to compare it with outdoor climbing but for sure it’s a great tool to improve your power and technique.
Yes, I can do a few one-arm pull-ups, but monos really scare me, I’m not even sure I can hang two-handed on them!
In general to be successful in the climbing world and to become a pro you just have to be really good at it and achieve great results, however there are a few examples of really popular climbers that owe their success to their social media abilities and their communication skills more than the actual climbing.
I think genetics play a big role in all sports, you have to have a certain amount of talent to be the best at something.
There are however a lot of examples of really good climbers that aren’t talents at all, I think that a world Cup semifinal is something achievable, naturally with really hard work, even if you aren’t really born for it.
Setting a clear and achievable goal is maybe the most important thing not only in climbing but in all aspects of life.
In climbing not having a goal, especially in comps, means you don’t know what you train for, therefore is almost impossible to keep the motivation high and have a well-structured training program.
Setting the right goal is also really important, you really have to set the bar at the right height, don’t over-underestimate yourself!
I have a love-hate relationship with projecting problems at my limit: on one hand I really like the process of devoting all myself to one climb, inspecting all the detail and crafting the best possible beta, on the other hand, especially in bouldering, progress is often very slow and you happen to fall on the same move over and over and I often get really frustrated about it.
In the past I have given up a project, especially when I was really close, countless times as it became an obsession and I couldn’t enjoy the process anymore.
Now I obviously still get frustrated but I really try to put myself in “warrior mode”, forget about everything, and make an attempt giving 100%.
Actually I don’t dislike the direction our sport is going, my only fear is that the comp format will change to make it more understandable for the people watching and to make it fit in the television times as we already saw this year, all this will ultimately ruin the spirit of our sport( for example the creativity-problem solving skills won't be a thing anymore if we can see other competitors climbing) and shouldn’t be allowed.
With climbing being an Olympic sport we are for sure going to see our sport growing really fast.
With more people climbing and more media attention hopefully being a pro climber will be easier and there will be more training gyms and facilities, for sure the differences between comp climbing and outdoor climbing will get bigger and bigger but that’s just the evolution of the sport.
On the other hand, especially outdoors we really do need to teach all the new climbers the ethics of our sport respecting rock and nature!