WRC-Dropbox-October-01

Q: Sasha, what does collaboration look like when
prepping for a climb? And what does it look like when
you're on the climb?
Sasha: While climbing is an intrinsically individual
sport, more often than not it is not possible without
a climbing partner. I have a really special
relationship with each climbing partner that I
have because there is a lot of trust built into
this dynamic.
Currently, my climbing partner (Edu
Marin) and I are prepping for a
two-month long trip in the Canadian
Rockies around the Banff region. We
have three big walls of the most
challenging technical faces that we
want to complete, each in one day. In
order to prepare for this project we have
been mapping out the gear that we
need; from ropes, to trad and sport
gear, to the on-the-wall sleeping
gear, etc.
Q: What role does creativity play
when you're on a climb?
Watch Sasha completing the first female ascent of
American Hustle in Oliana, Spain
A Columbia University grad, when Sasha’s not ascending a
grade 9a, 5.14d (as the first North American woman to climb
what is recognized as one of the hardest sport climbs
achieved by a female), she gives her time to organizations
that inspire the pursuit and access to sports, and female
empowerment. She is on the Board of the Women's Sports
Foundation and serves as a Global Athlete Ambassador for
Right to Play, Up2Us Sports, and the American Alpine Club.
Check out what’s she up to today - Sasha D iGiulian
Sasha: Climbing is all about solving a
gigantic jigsaw puzzle; putting
individual pieces of the puzzle together
in order to “send” or “summit” the
climb. The creative process mainly
happens during the climb - there is an
element of visualization and
thoughtfulness that happens beforehand
but a lot of the creativity is packaged
within the flow experience of climbing.
Q: What inspired you to start climbing and
what's inspired you to keep climbing?
Sasha: I started climbing when I saw six; I
loved the fact that I was in control of how I
moved up the wall.
Climbing is this input-output formula; what you
put into it is what you get out of it. This varies at
times - the effort that I put towards training,
exploration, and big projects, but what has
remained constant is my passion for it. I love how
climbing has taken me around the world, given me a
lens to experience remote corners and interact with
different cultures.
I love the process of not knowing I am capable of doing
something, physically, then revealing to myself what I
am capable of when I figure out the mental side. There
are many aspects of climbing that I love; the sheer
physical experience, the mental puzzle-solving, and
the community.
FLOW OCTOBER 2018
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