Chelsea had a killer season, sending a ton of V8s and V9s – several of them notoriously difficult for shorties. I caught up with her to ask a few questions about her training and mindset for this sending spree!
A lot of tactics probably contributed to your success this season, but what were some of the biggest factors?
My top 4:
- Mobility. EVERY SINGLE DAY. I’m on day no. 509 (I started a challenge with myself to do a year straight of flexibility work and just kept going after the year mark) as of writing this. I didn’t start stretching to help my climbing but it CERTAINLY has.
- Resting more. Dull, I know. Out of every session this fall there’s only ONE that I can recall where I felt wrecked after. I held back more than I normally would and because of that, I recovered WAY faster. It can feel really unproductive to not be tired at the end of the day so I think climbers usually try to smash themselves into the ground to feel like they “at least did something” but I wanted to not do that this season and instead focus on quality over quantity. It worked. 10/10 would recommend.
- Prioritizing climbing. I’m very fortunate to work for myself so I knew this year I wanted October to be completely untouched by other obligations. I cut down on any extra work hours and just focused on serving the clients I already had. I took a month break off social media and marketing for my business and HOT DAMN that extra mental space (and the extra time I got back!) really made a difference. I also said no to a lot of other social invites and any travel that would take me away from Leavenworth in the fall.
- Skin!! I finally figured out a skin routine that works for me. I apparently have quite wet skin. If you don’t know, now you do but wet skin + granite = disaster. Twice a week I used the super-drying Tip Juice from Rhino followed by Performance and that really did the trick. I also didn’t use my actual skin to wash dishes or apply facial products–this is what gloves are for ? in the past I swear the reason I haven’t been able to send is it felt like my skin was trying to grow back before I was done with a session but I didn’t have that problem at all this year! Side note: then going to climb on the Moonboard was hilarious because my skin was WAY TOO DRY and I’d dry fire off everything. Still a very worthwhile tradeoff.
What things in your training do you think contributed the most to your success?
Low. freaking. gear.
I don’t tend to like small holds or crimping in general so this was a perfect way to get me to feel more comfortable on smaller holds.
I’ve been strength training for quite a few years now but the specific power block we did right before the season started/as the season was in full swing was also super effective. As a shortie, I needed the jumping power! It was also lower volume than I was used to (it was hard to get out of the “do more = get stronger” mindset) but when I actually just trusted Jesse and the programming it OBVIOUSLY worked.
Controversial maybe but I didn’t spend a single day in the gym since February. Moonboard all the way. Thankfully Jesse was happy to write me workouts for the Moonboard and I loved them!
I also wanted to work with Jesse specifically because he’s local to Leavenworth and understands granite climbing extremely well. Most of the time his belief in me was far higher than my belief in myself and THAT really helped.
What send (or sends) are you the most proud of this season?
It’s honestly hard to say because everything I sent this season was something I had been on A LOT in the past. I didn’t open up any new projects (on purpose) so to have things feel freaking easy?! That was wild.
If I had to pick:
Geronimo (the first move is MASSIVE!)
Pretty Hate Machine (caught the lip one-handed ?)
Fridge Left (longest-standing project!)
Mountain Man (really proud of my small-person beta)
Cotton Pony Pointer (small holds, ewww!!)
What’s one thing you’ll definitely take from this season into future seasons? And what’s something that you learned not to do in the future?
My brain still hates this but I’ll be resting more going forward DURING the season. It’s this weird simultaneous feeling of being in excellent shape because you’re fully recovering while also slowly getting out of shape because you’re doing the bare minimum to stay strong. I kept reminding myself I could build back up again after the season was done.
I also climbed alone A LOT this season. When I sent both Mountain Man + Pretty Hate I had hiked up two rounds of pads solo so I could get on the boulders when I felt like it and was psyched. I think it’s easy to cater to what others want and let ourselves (and what we want to get on) take a backseat but this way I let my goals remain a priority. I’ll def still do this going forward if it makes sense for the boulder.
Something I’m leaving behind? Besides the intense desire to feel completely smashed into the ground after every session, I’m also going to continue being less of a dick to myself. I did a lot better at being patient with myself (and detached from sending or not sending) this season than I have in the past. The boulders WILL be there and I’ll keep coming back until I do it, there really isn’t any rush. It’s felt like I’ve truly embraced the process of projecting and being in the “in progress” stage which has (not shockingly…) resulted in more sends. An “I care but I also kind of don’t” attitude feels much better for me than clinging tightly to the outcome.
What advice do you have for other climbers on the short end of the spectrum who climb in Leavenworth?
I cannot stress enough how important it is to learn to move dynamically. Yes, you’re probably going to hate it at first, (it’s a skillset like anything else that you have to LEARN!) you can only lockoff so much before you’re gonna get hosed. You can either embrace it or stall out at v7. Once you learn how to use momentum to climb you’ll open up SO many more climbs for yourself.
One thing that was really important for me to remember is that while a climb might be “v7” the majority of people who have agreed on that grade are VERY LIKELY taller than me. It doesn’t reflect or define what I’m capable of. There are some reachy v7s that I will need to climb solid v11 before doing and while that can feel frustrating it’ll be that much more proud when I DO send. Grading IS subjective but on the other hand, if you always tell yourself you can’t do something because you’re short that will become your reality.
Oh, and the more flexible you are = the better.
And remember – tall people have to deal with “limb management” because their gangly ass limbs (a joke, don’t come for me) get in the way. At least we don’t have to deal with that ?
Chelsea’s tick list from fall 2024:
Mountain Man V9
Cotton Pony Pointer V9
Fridge Left V9
Cole’s Corner V8/9
Hold Your Tongue V8
Pretty Hate Machine V8
Geronimo V8
Crimpsqueak V8
The Heartbreaker V8