One of the things that separates climbing from other sports is how independent and personal it is. With most sports, you either win or lose, but climbing is about your own personal experience.

Climbing is a process - like yoga or running. We want to go to the spots where we're barely able to hold on. Those are the climbs that force us to become better athletes and grow as climbers.

Climbing is my lifelong journey. And in the same way you go running and you have days where you really feel in tune, you have some days where you don't feel that good. It's this never-ending process. Accepting that and enjoying that for what it is, that's really where the life of climbing is.

I'm going to be climbing for my whole life.

The strongest climbers aren’t always the happiest or nicest to be around; neither are some of them coming from the purest motivation. Climbing another V17 is not going to save the world! This activity of 'rock climbing' is merely one of many ways to exist, pass the time, and evolve and grow from one moment to the next. That’s all.

Climbing is a full-body sport from your fingers to your toes, but at the same time, it's like a dance on the rock. It's about being strong and fit but also graceful and elegant and efficient on the rock.

That's what's so amazing about climbing - it's not just a sport. It's a lifestyle, it's a way of being creative, of connecting with yourself and with nature.