Over the last six years, Boulder's Jonathan Siegrist, 25, has quietly climbed his way to international fame.The hardest routes on the Front Range are his training ground. He's one of only about a dozen American climbers to redpoint 5.14d a rating just two steps below the hardest routes in the world.
Last September, he made quick work of Kryptonite (5.14d) near Glenwood Springs. One month later, he established his own 5.14d called Pure Imagination in Kentucky. Siegrist is lean and ripped, with a 5-foot-5-inch frame. Brown, tousled hair tops his chiseled face. He often sports black fingernails and black earrings -- hints of self-confidence and a personal style that's balanced with a healthy dose of humility.
Siegrist graduated from Fairview High School in 2003 and earned a BA in environmental studies from Naropa University in 2009. He's a route-setter at the Boulder Rock Club, a part-time graphic artist and full-time rock climber. His sponsors are Arc'teryx, La Sportiva, Metolius and Maxim ropes.
I've been climbing with Siegrist in Las Vegas for the past week, and we sat down for an interview Monday afternoon.
Q: When and why did you start climbing?
A: "I started bouldering in 2004 as a form of cross-training for downhill mountain bike racing. I wasn't an exceptional climber, but it didn't take long for me to fall in love with climbing, the lifestyle and the community. My dad was a huge influence."
Q: Describe your early training.
A: "From the beginning, I climbed five or six days a week. In early 2006, I did my first V10s (99 percent of climbers will never climb this hard). I started roped climbing and training indoors after that."
Q: What keeps you in Boulder?
A: "My parents are here, and we have a really close relationship. I'm an only child.
"I love living in Boulder. I love the access to the mountains. I love the community. The weather is amazing. More than anything, I have a strong foundation here.
"I'm fascinated with climbing history. I respect and admire the roots of climbing, and the climbs around Boulder are historically significant. I'm inspired to climb them. I see a lot of the pioneers of the sport in town."
Q: What's your favorite local cliff?
A: "The Monastery is my favorite cliff on the Front Range. In Boulder, it's the Flatirons."
Q: What mental tactics do you employ for success on hard routes?
A: "When I'm working on a difficult climb, I'll incessantly go through the moves in my head. I mentally recited the crux of Vogue (Boulder's hardest route) over 1,000 times. The more I visualize, the more I can just zone out on the climb. I focus on breathing, resting, core tension and footwork. I totally forget that I'm off the ground. If I fall, I don't even feel the sensation of falling. I'm just trying as hard as I can.
"You can't think about success or failure while you're climbing. You can only think about individual moves. You can't think about finishing the route, or what you're going to tell your friends if you fail."
Q: What are some of your upcoming goals?
A: "I like to keep my goals kind of secret -- I put too much pressure on myself as it is."
Q: What does an average day of training look like?
A: "A normal training day involves three to four hours of climbing in the gym. I climb five days a week. I also run or ride my bike for about an hour five times per week. Overall, I train and climb about 24 hours a week."
Q: Which accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: "The accomplishment I'm most proud of is flashing (first-try ascent) Transworld Depravity (5.14a) at the Red River Gorge, Kentucky (only a few Americans have ever flashed a 5.14). I was also psyched to win Climbing Magazine's Golden Piton Award for the Breakaway Success of 2009. In 2007, I climbed one 5.14. In 2008, I did three. Over the next two years, I did over 40."
Q: Why are you driven to climb?
A: "For me, climbing is a vehicle for traveling and meeting new people. These things mean the world to me. If it weren't for climbing, I would never watch a sunset from the top of a cliff in the middle of nowhere.
"Climbing offers profound mental and personal challenges. It makes you deal with ego and introspection. It doesn't matter how hard you climb. We all get the same feeling from the sport."
Chris Weidner/Daily Camera
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