Climbing · Worth knowing

Bouldering Project is hosting its largest climbing competition, Boulderfest Grand Finale, on October 23–24 at its St. Paul gym, bringing together elite boulderers from across the country and internationally to compete for two wildcard spots in the Red Bull-sponsored Pro Climbing League series in London, Paris, and Berlin. The competition features a $10,000 largest cash purse for a climbing competition in North America, with top six competitors from Minneapolis and top three from other Bouldering Project locations nationwide joining international climbers. The PCL format differs from typical competitions by pitting climbers head-to-head on identical routes, and spectators can attempt the pro-set routes afterward, with competition routes remaining available for local climbers to test themselves.

Jerry Moffatt, a climbing legend who helped shape modern climbing through trad routes, sport climbing, and competitions, reflects on his career and the sport's evolution. He discusses how climbing transformed from traditional gear-only climbing to bolting, redpointing, and indoor competition climbing, emphasizing that modern training methods like strength programs and sports psychology—which he pioneered with his homemade wooden training board in the late 1980s—accelerate performance. Moffatt notes that today's elite climbers master the same fundamentals he worked on (footwork, precision, quick movement reading, mental visualization) but execute them at a far superior level, and he acknowledges that while modern climbers benefit from nutritionists, coaches, and structured training that weren't available to his generation, the core skills remain timeless across eras.

Train for your tactical job first using dedicated law enforcement programming, then add climbing as a secondary activity or on off-days to avoid compromising job-specific fitness demands. For climbing-specific training, a weekly Bouldering V-Sum protocol simultaneously builds finger strength and climbing technique, while feet-on campus board intervals at 6-10 rounds of 1 minute on/one minute rest provide efficient grip strength and strength endurance training—the most critical fitness attribute for bouldering. Maintaining a lean bodyweight through proper nutrition supports climbing performance while preserving the relative strength needed for tactical work, and programs focusing on high relative strength rather than upper body hypertrophy are preferable for those balancing both disciplines.