Khaled: Tell me about yourselves. Who are you, what do you do?
Brandon: I work in a medical office right now. I did Biochemistry at UVic and recently graduated. Just working 9-5 now, climbing, hanging around downtown and in Fernwood… Trying to get outdoors as much as I can.
Gigi: I also went to UVic, I did Art History and graduated a couple years ago. I have been working as a 911 operator, lots of night shifts. I’m on my sabbatical right now, doing lots of climbing, painting, sculpting…
K: Nice! I studied Art myself at school as well. Interior Design and then I did my Master’s in interior design for theatre. I haven’t worked with it but I love it.
G: Cool!
K: When did you start climbing at Crag X and why?
G: How long have we been here…
B: I started a few years ago with my buddy Zach; he boulders and has been coming here since highschool. He got me here and it was the first place I climbed indoors, I think. I bouldered here with him, and then Gigi and I started coming here regularly last September. That’s when we did our Top Rope class.
K: Why Crag X?
G: We had been bouldering before and then just wanted to expand the kind of climbing we were doing. We live right up the street, so it was hard to say no to coming here.
K: Bouldering is often a gateway to Top Rope.
G: Yeah, definitely.
K: And then trad, and then you go crazy and do free solo, of course…
G & B: Laugh
G: So far we’re at lead, and that’s comfy, but… laugh.
K: Do you have a favourite memory of climbing, outside even?
B: We just went to Squamish for the first time a couple weeks ago! We’re pretty new to outdoor climbing. I think we started a few months ago with some friends who do sport outside so we’ve learned from them and then went to Squamish. Did a bunch of single-pitch sport routes and everything.
K: Where in Squamish did you climb?
G: We were at Smoke Bluffs and then Brohm Lake and Murrin Park.
K: Nice, so you did quite a lot.
B: It was pretty fun.
G: Area 44, Brohm, was the best. It was so awesome.
K: I love Squamish, I haven’t been in two years.
B: It’s our favourite, at least thus far.
K: What motivates you to climb?
B: Everyone here is just really nice and friendly, it's a really nice vibe here all of the time. Say hi at the front desk, people are pretty approachable generally. You can ask about beta, or ask if they’ve tried a climb, and it’s a nice way to get lost in the day, especially if you’ve had a harder day. You don’t have to think about any of that and just get to be around nice people and try hard.
G: Knowing that if I go for a climb, I’m going to feel better after. It’s motivating to do better because it’s very tangible and easy to track improvement.
K: Do you have a project here in the gym?
G: The pink mystery climb!
K: You’re both projecting it?
B: Yeah, and also the pink 5.11c that’s upstairs on the autobelay right now.
K: That’s a fun one!
G: The V4 boulder on the corner upstairs, too.
K: I haven’t tried that boulder set, but that one looked cool. Do you have any climbing trips planned for the future?
B: I think eventually. Squamish was our big one so far, so we haven’t thought about it yet.
K: Europe, Thailand…
G: Definitely, but he doesn’t have a passport yet, so he has to get that first.
B: Everyone’s been razzing me about that, so I think I need to pull the trigger.
K: Sometimes these trips come very spontaneously, so it’s good to have the privilege of the passport. I got mine a couple years ago and now I can just go anywhere. I did deep water soloing in Mallorca in Spain and it was the most beautiful thing I’ve done in my life. You should try deep water soloing.
B: That sounds amazing.
K: You can boulder super high and you just fall in the water. Bring a couple pairs of shoes and cycle through them.
G: That sounds super cool!
K: What do you like most about Crag X?
B: I like the variety, it’s got everything here. The bouldering, the lead climbing, the top roping. It’s nice to be able to go to one gym and choose what you want to do that day. Plus, the studio is great as well. Not to mention the community, everyone is really nice.
G: It’s hard to pick a favourite! Good variety. I think it’s interesting that the autobelays change spots every once in a while.
K: They do because of inspections actually! We have five spots for autobelays so if the two long ones go to inspect, we go back to a short one upstairs. I enjoy changing autobelays too. Sometimes climbs you want to project are on autobelay, so you’ll see it change to top rope and go “yes!”
G: Yeah! Being able to do new ones yourself when they change is really fun.
K: No one has mentioned that to me before! Do you recommend we always change them?
B: I like the change too!
K: Some people don’t like it, haha.
B: Humans are creatures of habit.
K: Is there something you’d like to see?
B: I heard you’ve run highball competitions…
K: We’re doing it in November!
B: Great! That’s what I'm most excited about.
G: I would love to do a top rope routesetting course.
K: We’ve thought about it. We do it for staff, but haven’t done it for the community. I will put the idea forward again, however… Anything you want to add?
B: Nope, just thanks for interviewing us!
