Starting from the Bottom and Moving On Up

Some time ago, I watched an interview with professional climber Dave Graham.  He mentioned in the interview how quickly he was able to start climbing hard.  If I remember correctly, I believe it was about 8 months since he started climbing when he began climbing 5.14.  I think that is incredible natural talent to be able to climb that hard so quickly.  Unfortunately, Ben and I both have to work very hard to climb at the level that we do.

      Ben and I both started climbing at the very bottom.  Within a year of climbing, I was maybe climbing 5.10.  In my first climbing competition at the age of 11, I might have not even been able to climb that and in my first nationals, I was probably maxed out at 5.10+.  During the six year period that I climbed and competed, I had done one 5.11b outside but was mostly a gym climber so my outside sends were not impressive.  

      When I got to college, I stopped climbing for awhile, and it was about 5 years later that I started back into it again (when I met my husband).  Taking a break from climbing left me no power or endurance when I began climbing again, but I did still have my technique.  I had to start all over again, however, with my first time down to the Red leading and sending 27 years of climbing which is a 5 star 5.8+.  I slowly got stronger, onsighting 5.9 again and then 5.10a.  Nobody talks about the excitement from onsighting or even redpointing a 5.9 or 10a but I think it is important to bring up that sometimes you do have to start from the bottom and work your way up.  Natural talent for some people can only take you so far, and hard work will bring you the rest of the way.  

      Shortly into our relationship, Ben and I projected a 5 star 5.10c called Loompa at the Chocolate Factory to gain some endurance.  It is an overhung and fairly pumpy climb.  There were trips we took to the Red where Loompa was the only thing we climbed.  Some people might not understand this, but for us it was about getting back into the rhythm of climbing and gaining back what we both knew we had, together.  

Sara playing around on Loompa

      After sending Loompa, we worked our way to 5.11a.  Getting back to where I used to be was exciting for me, as I had always had a goal of sending a 5.12a outside, ever since I was younger.  Moving our way up, Ben and I were both able to send our first 12a together in 2012, 2 years after getting back into climbing.  This was an exciting time for us, as it had been a goal for both of us for awhile.  

      Ben and I made a goal for this year to try to send a 5.13a.  We trained all winter with Power Company Climbing and were both able to send Jesus Wept (12d) this past spring.  It was an incredible experience to work on this climb and send it, as long ago this grade was far out of my reach.  At the time I started climbing around age 11, climbing 5.13 was considered something only for the incredibly strong, and 5.14 was for the non human.  Sending a 5.13a would be a personal accomplishment for both of us and a previously only imagined goal that would finally be reached.

      Ben and I are currently training, and looking forward to seeing what happens this fall!  Climb on.

Sara sticking the redpoint crux on Jesus Wept

Ben pulling the first crux on Jesus Wept

Strength Training

We had our second session of phase 2 of training yesterday which is strength.  We started training last winter with  Power Company Climbing that our friend Kris Hampton runs. He writes training programs and blog posts about climbing.  The results over the spring were amazing and we decided to continue the training program through summer to get ready for the fall.  Our current program phase is intense and involves hangboard workouts with weights, something I have never done before.  Ben and I always thought we knew what training was.  We would go into the gym, do a few routes two times in a row, maybe do a 4x4 once every couple of weeks, and that was it.  We quickly found out once beginning the training program how intense training can be, but how beneficial it is in the long run.  Training pushes you physically and mentally which is good for all aspects of climbing.  You learn how to push yourself to the max even when you think you can't go any further.  If I want to send hard, I have found that I have to teach my body to climb this way, something that takes practice.  I am very excited to see the results that this season of training brings for the fall!

Click on the Power Company Climbing link above to see what the website has to offer!      

Our Marriage on the Rocks

We are Sara and Ben Berg and we have a marriage on the rocks.  Now this is not  your typical kind of marriage on the rocks.  Our marriage is great!  Our marriage on the rocks refers to rock climbing.  We are both avid climbers.  I, Sara, have been climbing for close to 17 years now, growing up competing when the Junior Competition Climbing Association (JCCA) still existed and taking some time off during different parts of my life.  Ben has been climbing for about 7 years.  We have lives outside of climbing; Ben is a firefighter/paramedic and I am student applying for Physician's Assistant school, but everything always seems to relate back to climbing.  Climbing is how we met (through our good friend Grady Bagwell who I used to compete with), how we built our relationship, and eventually how we got engaged.  We have many other things in common other than climbing, but it is wonderful to be able to share something like climbing together.  I hope you enjoy reading about our adventures, being a married couple, climbing, and life!