Favorite places to live / climb / visit
Ticino, Switzerland for bouldering
Innsbruck, Austria for trainig and the athmosphere of the city
Interview
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Climbing
When and how did you get into climbing and what kept you interested / fascinated in the sport?
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
Who was your childhood hero and do you consider yourself a role model now? Does it influence you at all that other people look up to you?
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.
What were your greatest failures / setbacks / injuries? How did you cope with them and how did you come back from them?
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.
What is your favorite climbing related story / experience?
It would be impossible to choose one but definitely one of the many winter trips to Ticino with my friends!
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Training
Do you have a strict training schedule for when and how you train throughout the year?
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!
What advice can you give to somebody looking to improve their training routine?
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.
What do you think of indoor climbing gyms in relation to climbing on actual rock?
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.
Are you able to do a one-arm pull-up? How about a single finger?
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!
How much of the success as a pro climber is due to show and how much due to actual climbing skill?
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.
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Psychology
Is it possible for anybody to eventually perform a one-armed pull-up or get to the top of the Eiger/Matterhorn, or do you really have to be born for it?
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.
How important is it to set goals in professional sports? What are your goals / targets you are working towards in climbing and in life?
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!
How to you deal with extremely hard climbing problems? Do you ever get frustrated and give up on them or do they motivate you even more?
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%.
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Future of climbing
Is there anything you would like to change about the current developments in climbing?
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.
Where do you see the sport going in the next years, what will change and what is your role going to be in it?
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!