Last week one of the best climbers in Russia visited St. Petersburg. Rustam Gelmanov conquers dizzying heights every year, but in the Northern capital he took up a quieter activity - he gave a master class and helped design the tracks. Just a week ago, Rustam accomplished the almost impossible. What did he do? I climbed one of the most difficult routes in the world - Hypnotized Minds in the American Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado - in the night along a sheer rock.
In St. Petersburg, Gelmanov was a guest of the Lucha Cup - the largest event of city climbing walls. And a few days later, new competitions await him - already in France. The correspondent of “Sports Day by Day” met with Gelmanov and learned from him that a rock climber is a person who, weighing 54 kg, does a hundred pull-ups, holds himself on a sheer cliff with two fingers, storms multi-meter boulders and keeps everything under control.
Only my wife controls me
- You’ve barely had time to visit St. Petersburg when you’re getting ready for a new start. Aren't you tired?
- I didn’t really strain myself at the Lucha Cup. Only my voice broke. I often had to shout over the speakers. I prepare three or four tournaments a year, but usually abroad. In Russia, I previously prepared for a year for a small audience (I was involved in children’s competitions), and at the Lucha Cup I worked for the first time with an adult, seriously prepared audience.
- We can say that you had a debut in Russia. How did everything go?
- It was interesting. It's a fun game to create new routes and come up with challenging routes. Watch how the guys climb them. It seems to me that every athlete should be able to prepare for competitions. I learned from my own experience how this happens. I am a guest in St. Petersburg. I don’t know much about the climbing wall and the level of training of the athletes. Therefore, he was not the main one in the group of trail preparers. If I had prepared the route myself, probably none of the local girls would have passed them. It would be too difficult. I think next time I will agree to work only as the chief preparer.
- Why?
- I don’t like being controlled! In sports and in life, with the exception of my wife. She can.
- You are hardly at home often.
- My wife was doing these calculations. I used to be at home for a maximum of six months out of the year. Lately the schedule is more intense.
- Did you manage to walk around St. Petersburg?
- I've been here before. This time I lived on Krestovsky Island, where there are no shops - only expensive restaurants. I visited them, but never went anywhere else. It’s funny that this is not the first time I find myself in St. Petersburg at the height of “Scarlet Sails”. The streets are constantly full of schoolchildren.
- They don’t recognize you by sight?
- Of course not. Schoolchildren recognize only heroes computer games. In Russia, people will probably never recognize me. Rock climbing is not that popular. Although one day the passport officers found out at the airport. They started saying: “Wow, that same Gelmanov!” I was even surprised. It's a different matter, for example, in France. Rock climbing is taught in schools there. Ask a person on the street if he has ever been rock climbing, he will answer: “Of course, yes!” - and will tell you what kind of species he was interested in.
- Inclusion in Olympic program can add popularity to rock climbing.
- Perhaps, but the big question is how it will look in the Olympic program. The result will be something like a mixture of gymnastics, parkour and rock climbing - in that order. But it won’t be rock climbing anymore. One way or another, getting to the Olympics will bring increased funding to climbing. More people will start doing it. But what kind of people will they be? Will they love nature? Or will they prefer not to climb out of the climbing wall? This is not what I want. I am for rock climbing to start with climbing rocks and loving nature.
- Do you like speed competitions less?
- They are so far from real conditions that, in fact, they are not rock climbing. Another sport. But the speed tournament is clear to the viewer. Bouldering is difficult for a non-professional to understand. Perhaps some people find it boring. I am for the inclusion of speed competitions in the Olympic program, but let them be called not “climbing,” but “vertical running.” It will be difficult to introduce real rock climbing into the Olympic format.
Five days to train
- What does the season of a top-level climber look like?
- Many tournaments take place throughout the year. The most important one is either the European Championship or the World Championship. They alternate according to the seasons. The World Cup usually starts in April, consisting of five to six stages. It is impossible to train between competitions.
- Why?
- Usually you have five days from one tournament to another. You spend two days lying down and resting. Everything hurts. Then you need to cope with psychological fatigue. There's just no time left. And if you stayed for the final tournament party, you definitely won’t be able to train properly!
- The parties are probably noisy, because sport climbing is mostly young people.
- I wouldn’t say that there is such a youthful spirit in our sport. Yes, on average, competitive climbers are 23-25 years old, but to achieve success, you need to be an adult. You need to think, use your head. It happens that titles are won at a respectable age. The 2005 world champion in bouldering was the 37-year-old Ufa resident, famous Soviet and Russian rock climber Salavat Rakhmetov. So far this is an age record.
- Climbing is not one of those sports where you have to wind down your career after 25–27 years.
- Of course not. You can calmly practice and break records until you are forty years old.
- How do you prepare for the biggest tournaments, such as the World Championships?
- I usually climb intensively at the climbing wall and try to complete routes on the first attempts. Immediately before the World Championships there is no time to build up endurance and other “bases”.
- Are you allowed to familiarize yourself with the route in advance?
- In no case. We go into the first rounds of qualifying at the World Championships blind. Then, before the decisive rounds, you can familiarize yourself with the routes and even consult with each other. The beauty of rock climbing is that every start is a surprise and discovery. It is useless to guess what the route will be. You may have to do five jumps on the holds along the wall. Maybe none will be needed. You never know.
- Do you get scared when you look at a new track?
- Very rarely. It happened when I was young. Once in Baku at the World Cup, I competed with a back injury and could not bend back. The route was such that in one place there was no way for me to climb with my injury. At the same time, the tournament was one of the best in my memory. Excellent organization and unique audience. In Baku, people are excited, incredibly sick and worried. Besides, my name is Rustam - the Azerbaijanis recognized me as one of their own. They shouted: “Rustam is the king!” It's a pity that injury prevented me from coming first. Later I started doing yoga and qigong. Since then, injuries have not bothered me much.
- Many people are afraid to go rock climbing for fear of falling and getting injured.
- Speed and difficulty disciplines are absolutely safe. It is impossible to get injured. Even if you want! Bouldering at proper preparation also safe. Yes, there are specific injuries to professional athletes: knees, hands, fingers. However, you get such injuries in any sport. If you wash dishes for a long time, your joints will also hurt. Falls are rare because you simply will not climb to a height that is too difficult for you. This is the advantage of rock climbing. When lifting a barbell, you risk miscalculating the weight, dropping the bar and injuring yourself. Climbers always feel the limits of what is possible.
The Frenchman spoke Russian
- Do yoga and qigong help a climber?
- In my opinion, we should start with them. Yoga is about stretching. Qigong - psychological preparation. Working with the energy of the body. It was proven a long time ago that by thinking about specific things, sooner or later you will realize them. I personally checked it several times.
- For example?
- At one time, I unintentionally, but subconsciously waited for a soul mate in my life. Once I met a girl at a party. I saw her briefly, but firmly told my friends that she would be my wife. Oddly enough, just a few days later I met her again quite by accident. We've been together for five years and have an eight-month-old baby!
- We are very happy for you! By working on your energy, did you achieve the ideal shape?
- Yes. Several times, and there was always a story connected with it. Once in France I won a tournament, broke away from everyone else in the standings, but decided from excess energy to make one more attempt. I fell off the track and fell face first onto the mat, so that the sweat stain spread there. I looked at this spot. Got up. He looked at the preparer. He tells me in Russian: “Rustam, I made this route for you. Go ahead and climb through.” I wipe the sweat from my forehead, go to the start and walk the track. And only after that I understand that the French speak Russian... Apparently, being in ideal condition, you unconsciously understand languages.
- Wow!
- During competitions, you must turn off your consciousness and give control to the subconscious, because it acts much faster. When consciousness turns off, the perception of time changes. The seconds stretch. When you are physically and mentally ready, everything is fine in the family, victories come. You also need self-confidence. Even arrogance. A climber must be confident in himself and his success.
- Sports arrogance.
- Naturally. There is no need to be rude to people. You have to be bold within yourself and for yourself.
- You can still put pressure on your opponents.
- Certainly. I like to do a crazy hairstyle before the race. People are afraid of spontaneity. Those around you are shocked, your opponents immediately faint. Or you can somehow cleverly do one-arm pull-ups in front of your opponents.
I didn't waste my skin
- You recently conquered the most difficult American trail, Hypnotized Minds. Second in the world after its pioneer.
- This route was discovered by the American Daniel Woods, who mostly climbs outdoors. The course is located in a designated climbing area of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. I think this is one of the two most difficult tracks in the world.
- Usually they are listed much more.
- There are two really famous and incredibly difficult routes. One is in Italy, the second is this Hypnotized Minds.
- What is their complexity?
- The climbing area is at a high altitude. On average 2600–2800 kilometers above sea level. The uppermost part is 3500 km. Sometimes it snows. Cold. Strong mountain wind. After Woods, many athletes from all over the world tried to climb the route. No one managed to get through. I came to try it, and it became unexpectedly easy. I started working on each element. People around were surprised. Why “clean” the passage at the top if you’ll never get there? And I abstracted myself. I was in a good mood. The day before I performed well in the World Cup final...
- Didn't win?
- I took fifth place, but I put on an excellent show. So I was happy in Colorado. After my first attempts, people in the park heard that someone was seriously storming Hypnotized Minds. A crowd of spectators gathered for my next pass in the evening. Like going to a concert. They even interfered a little. When there is noise around you, it is more difficult to gather yourself. It's already late evening. It’s dark, everyone has flashlights. I conserved my energy before the passage. Without any physics. “Wasted no skin,” as climbers say.
- What does it mean?
- If you strain your fingers in advance, you won’t be able to complete the route. I just walked around the stone, touched it and did a stretch. I made one warm-up attempt and fell at the very end. I rested for half an hour and decided that if I didn’t make it the second time, I’d climb the third and last time. I started and walked as if it was the easiest track in the world. It's not interesting to watch on video on the Internet. It seems that everything is simple. But in fact there were very difficult interceptions and very difficult sections. The audience gave me a standing ovation, screaming and squealing. They seemed to be happier than me. I rested and said to everyone: “Okay, let’s not separate! I’m climbing for the second time!” Everyone started asking: “Why, why?”
- Have you decided to become the first in history to climb this stone twice in a row?
- Of course not. It’s just that, in order to climb at least once, I was determined to do two climbs in a row. This was the key to success. “Hypnotized Minds” is a real record for many.
|By the way
What is bouldering?
In modern sport climbing there are three main disciplines, not counting all-around. In bouldering (from the English boulder - boulder), an athlete climbs a large boulder three to six meters high in a small number of interceptions (five to eight). From the outside, lifting does not appear to be a sophisticated task, but in reality requires exceptional technique and preparation. Special mats protect the climber under the boulder.
Competing in popularity with bouldering is a discipline where climbers compete on difficulty, climbing dizzying rock or climbing walls (up to 18–22 meters). However, speed climbing, popular in Russia and previously in the USSR, has the best Olympic prospects. This is the most dynamic and “telegenic” type of rock climbing, although very far from real mountaineering.
Rustam Gelmanov. Obsession Action Direct
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Top 12 results in international competitions
Best climbs on rocks Kinematix, 9a, Gorges du Loup, France
Part I. Life BEFORE Action Direct MR: Prone to adventure. About a trip, the purpose of which was to get from Moscow to your place of birth in a car purchased two weeks before departure, not verified by the service
RG: 2009 turned out to be an interesting year. I became second in the world rankings and in the Big Cup, then I got a little injury in America, and in the end, I decided that the season was successful, I have money, I’m buying a car and going to travel. The idea of making a big trip was immediately born, not just go to Kazakhstan, but to India. I tried to explore all these boundaries. It was possible to get to India only through Pakistan, through some terrible things, or through China, and a car without a Chinese license is not allowed into China. It's Complicated. And Murzaev and I decided to go to Kazakhstan, to Almaty, and figure it out on the spot. MR: Machine selection
RG: Which? Must be an SUV. We took a Mitsubishi Delica.
Photo from Rustam's archive We took some money with us and drove towards Kazakhstan, decided to cross the border near Orenburg and enter practically without a highway.The conditions were terrible, about 20 kilometers before the border the road completely ended. It has not been repaired, it is considered not Kazakhstan yet, and no longer Russia. No one needs it. That's how it started. We stopped at a gas station, it is unknown what will happen in Kazakhstan. The gas station is wonderful, two pumps, a hose, no lever, just a duralumin tube, you raise your hand, wave, look into the tank, then wave with your other hand, and the diesel turns off, but it still flows out. And the gist was this, is it possible to get to the place where I was born on asphalt? According to Google or some map it showed five thousand kilometers. Border zone with China, the city of Tekele, 300 kilometers northeast of Almaty. Well, that's very far. And surprisingly, it turned out that maybe not everywhere there is asphalt, but in principle, you can get there on asphalt, that is, everything is paved with asphalt, the whole world. But I had to prove it to myself. We came to Almaty, hung out, went snowboarding and moved on. And when we entered the town, which I had not been to for almost nine years, we left in 2001, the car rolled there, rattling, it was simply incredible. MR: Has anything changed? RG: The trees have grown, as usual, as they say and should.
Photo from Rustam's archive Let's go to Alma Ata. I trained the Kazakh team. We held a local competition with CSKA.And then they wrote to me from Red Bull, come for a test, and I realized that I had to train (that year they took me to the Red Bull team), but I was already fat and didn’t want to do anything. I realized that I need to run. And it's already freezing outside. We decided to go to 3200m and rented a house there. We lived in this house, one day we had a holiday, almost everyone died in the snow, as happens on a holiday. We went to the mountains and did some backcountry riding. I ran a lot and prepared. Until I turned my finger in the opposite direction while snowboarding. Just this one (Shows the middle one), which is on Action Direct and needed. I thought nothing would happen, but the next morning he became blue and big. A week later everything was fine, he was already moving, and for some reason I decided to do push-ups on my fingers, and he got sick more. Let's go home. I had to go for a check and apply for a visa, it was in December. It's not very cold for Alma Ata. A little snow fell. We drove away a little and found ourselves in a storm, blizzard, ice, it turns out that the climate there is changing very sharply. The car is without studs, on Velcro, even if it’s new, it doesn’t matter when you’re going uphill, you don’t shift, if you start shifting, you’ll just roll.
Photo from Rustam's archive I don’t remember those 400 kilometers of road, it was some kind of nightmare, I experienced it and forgot.We crossed the border. Before reaching 70 km from home, my license was taken away. This was the fifth time we were stopped by the cops, I no longer had any strength, I already felt important, I started to fight, and my license was taken away. We didn’t have a speedometer, and I argued that the speed was such and such, and not what it was. After this trip, I went to Red Bull, they took me to the team, I relaxed. The next year I tried to lose weight from 63, and it was hard for me. MR: What was the idea with the weight? RG: There was an idea that I would now swing, I’ll be heavy, my fingers will become stronger, I’ll start climbing, I’ll feel awesome, then I’ll lose weight and start chopping everyone up. But the fact is that when you start to lose weight, the fat drops at some point, but then the proteins begin to break down, the weight is still high, under 60. There is still such a stereotype, an absolute mistake, when you want to lose weight, you drink little, they begin your ligaments hurt and you start to get injured. I had four annular ligaments pulled and inflamed.
The season passed, the season was rather bad, and I started training my fingers. The day I decided to practice my fingers, my tendons were cut off (Approx. domestic injury, cut by glass) . I realized that I wouldn’t be exercising my fingers any time soon and I just started taking care of myself and not gaining weight. MR: How long were you in the cast? RG: I was in a cast for three weeks, it was a big mistake. Athletes have a different regeneration. A week and shoot. Heals. It takes ordinary people three weeks. It is impossible to restore full mobility after three weeks. Contractures. It also happened that I took off the cast and went to help buy a kitchen. And they tell me, you’re an athlete, go carry it. I won’t explain that I just removed the plaster. I take it, the box, but I couldn’t straighten my arm before, I take it and feel that something has been torn away from me. There is a tendon under the skin, but it was very painful. For two months every morning I went to stretch, for rehabilitation. At first the fingers all just moved together, but did not move in different directions. I did such cool exercises that would suit any climber. Exercise therapy helped me. I learned to do things that I couldn’t do before, to sort out sticks, pencils, and roll wheels. He recovered, and it was already the 2011 season. It wasn't that long ago actually. I thought: I’ll never recover, I won’t be able to Action Direct get into the hole. And this year I realized that you just have to believe, and everything will be fine, although I had difficulty understanding how this could be, my fingers just move together, and then I have to fall into the hole. MR: When did you first try Action Direct?
Action Direct RG: Action Direct I tried it for the first time, in the year when the World Cup was held, it turns out, in 2009.Before going to Kazakhstan, I came to Germany for the first time, at the World Championships I became second, Lyokha (Approx. Rubtsov) - first. I'm so upset. The gap between China and Action Direct- less than a week. We arrived, immediately took the car and drove there. I tried this route and realized that it was absolutely incredible, even though I was still in shape and I couldn’t do anything. Nothing lights up at all, I can’t hang out on it. Under the half-phalanx, the hold is incomprehensible, and it is taken in a grab better than straight on. Don't pinch a pinch. The finger is very painful. It just comes off stupidly. I didn’t watch the video before, I didn’t know how to climb, I later found out the layout, came to Nuremberg and looked it up somewhere on the Internet. I didn’t even really try the jump, I twitched a little, but I didn’t understand how to even get there and stay there. I tried the next clue, it seemed normal - a handle. I figured that now I would definitely be able to do it, but in my next attempts it didn’t work. You snap the guy from the handle and make a big cross. Note The pen is conventional, as in the fairy tale about Pinocchio, “even their hearth was painted on a piece of old canvas,” so, on Action Direct, it seems that all the clues are drawn with magnesium and blood.
"Uncomplicated" cross on Action Direct I couldn't get the cross, although the cross is generally not complicated, an absolutely uncomplicated cross. The cross – okay – didn’t work out, but only the next two holds didn’t hold either. I tried to climb using the classic layout, the classic layout is a little more difficult than the usual one, or you just need to get used to it.I'm not faced with the fact that my fingers don't hold, it's clear they don't hold - Action Direct, but I couldn’t pull myself with my legs. I really couldn’t control my legs. My legs couldn’t stand up, I couldn’t pull myself to the rock, but there I had to pull myself all the time, place my legs correctly, work flawlessly. There was a pinch, but I like pinches, the pinch was fine. And the ending seemed incredible to me, because there was a whole lot of effort there, after such a start... Now I do it a little differently, I put my heel down, I take the worst hold on the track with two fingers, but then I thought, it’s unrealistic.
I was even just scared by this overhang, these clicks, these spans between the guys... It’s hard. I tried it nearby" Armstrong» (Note 8c+) and realized that it was completely unrealistic. I can't lift my belly and put my legs there. It throws back a lot. Also this hole for one finger... Now I was jumping and didn’t change the position of my finger, I stuck it in and took the pinch, I already had the strength, but before that I had to turn my finger and pinch it with both hands. Now it seems easy to me 8b. And then my legs kicked back with all my might, and I climbed with a breakaway. And then almost everything climbed with a gap. Even Ondra said about Armstrong that it was a decent route, not his style. So it’s still complicated.
Armstrong, 8c+ The next year we came with Rubtsov, I fell on top of Armstrong, the guy didn’t click, he yawned, and I fell to the ground.We had crashpads, nothing bad happened. I didn’t climb the route because I was afraid that I didn’t click the quickdraw. Tried it Action Direct, five pieces were already working out consistently. The first jump didn’t work out, it was a bit difficult. All the time in the off-season, after competitions, after parties. You arrive and you can’t get through anything. He returned to Frankenjura that same summer, already with Murzaev, and Armstrong tried to get out. Almost climbed it out.
Armstrong Action Direct I tried, but we mostly climbed in the Eldorado sector.Tried it Infiniti, got out there 8s short, complex, very complex. Tried it Wall Street. It seemed unrealistic. Then I made the ending, it seemed easier. That year, Arman and I went (Ed. Ter-Minasyan), at the beginning of the year nothing really worked out, but I climbed Armstrong. There was one warm day, we left on March 2, and March 2 was + 15C, and before that it was always a minus. Action Direct I tried it too, but it didn’t work, so we went home.
Armstrong Last year after the competition, after Spain, when I became second, Gigi first, two days later I tried Action Direct.
Action Direct MR: Kinematix, 9a, which you got out in France, is just resistant... RG: I climbed it to prove to myself and everyone else, so that there would be no questions, you are a boulderer and you don’t know how to climb long.It was hard. The first rope was 8s . While 8s, Now 8s+ it became, one pinch was broken off, I tried it later, I stopped by for fun, in general, it doesn’t affect the picture. 9a, as it was, remains so. So, I climbed this first rope 35 times without falling.. I climbed the first 8c 35 times without failing! To be honest, I almost lost count there. We were there for 30 days. I made two attempts at it a day. I never fell off the first rope, in the rain, in the wet, in the heat, I never fell off. Broke down on the second, on 8b+, it is in the style of difficulty, in full swing, as if in one interception, you reach with one, you need to remove the other hand, along the ceiling. The first one is also on the ceiling, but here there are wide interceptions, they are different. And the ending was just incredible. I couldn't click. As a result, I changed my plane ticket and stayed to climb it. Although I had the thought, I’m so strong, so cool, I’ll go home now, do some pull-ups and climb it easily, but at some point it dawned on me that it’s easy 9a you'll never get in. And we stayed for another week. I already knew that I would be the first to climb into the CIS 9a. I rested for three days. And he climbed in without any strain. By the way, I climbed in and was immediately upset. My mood dropped. I took some incredible step, spent so much effort, and how can I continue to live and for what? There was the European Championships in Paris, I asked to be nominated for difficulty, but they didn’t, I realized that there were two weeks left and I needed to train bouldering. I understood that the strength was incredible, especially the liabilities for some reason, I got into the finals, sixth place, true, but in the finals. Normally, after a month of rock climbing, without a climbing wall. That same year I won Argentiere and Montauban. MR: Frankenjura RG: What I like about the rocks here, there are incredible activists here, I suffer from them, I suffer, this means cool activists, they need to be trained. There are holes, but not all the tracks here have holes. Holes are, of course, a local feature, but I can’t say that this is the hardest thing that is here.
Armstrong The hard part is putting your feet up. Because these holes don't hold.And you learn to work with your legs. That is, the first thing you train is your abs and legs. And then from the body, right from the shoulders, the whole body begins to work. You come to the climbing wall and position your legs completely differently. Here, if you hold on to the hole with one finger, then it is almost impossible to put your foot in there. Therefore, upon returning you feel differently, more freely. But here stiffness appears. Let’s say that here it’s an extra risk, it’s very difficult to jump onto a hole. It’s better to reach it in some unknown way. Otherwise, you may injure yourself. Therefore, the dynamics need to be further trained upon arrival. MR: Preparing for Action Direct RG: I realized that I was leaving here after all. and a week before leaving I sold my car and bought another one.
Action Direct No, not even like that, we arrived right under Action Direct. Everything is wet, pre-wet.I knew that soon there would be no rain and therefore everything was cool. Tomorrow everything will dry, and we will climb it. I feel like it’s cold, I think, well, it’ll probably get warmer. The next morning we wake up, brush our teeth (I realized that it was a bit wet even just to run, let alone climb), and while we were brushing our teeth, 10 cm of snow fell. We should probably get out of here. In Switzerland there are no crashpads and no intention of bouldering. As a result, we went to Holland. It was a good week to prepare for Action Direct, considering that a week before this, I started training my left middle finger for jumping. I only trained him. Then more good exercise– I held the horizon on two fingers. That is, I trained a lot. I inserted my fingers into the holes and held the horizon on them, because here the legs need to be held quickly, and they are not very strong. They still don’t hold their hands here, they slide. Then the side one, you hang on one arm and raise your body to the side, because here you have to throw yourself sideways, not from the elbow, and without changing the position of your arms. Because you start floundering, and they fall out. Regular exercises. Trained my left finger RockZone, there they have some kind of bad hold, in sneakers, he hung on it and tried to jump, jump, jump. I think this was a plus. MR: Today the jump worked RG: I take the leap, it’s truly a success.
Action Direct There is a wonderful huge climbing wall in Holland. Four days before our arrival, they built a new plane, a gigantic one. It hangs, and the range of holds is very wide. Action Direct, the first route in the world category 9a. |
The 65-time Bouldering World Cup winner talks about his journey to the top of rock climbing.
I started training last November.
Gradually increasing the load, the Red Bull athlete reached the peak of his readiness just in time for the start of the season. Ahead of the event, the 65-time World Cup winner spoke about his life goals, proper daily routine and revealed his secret to calm.
Start
I started playing sports when I moved to Moscow. At first I took up kayaking and trained a lot. One summer, when I was 14 years old, I was faced with the choice of going to the rocks in Karelia or seriously rowing all summer. I chose rock climbing.
Before this, I had done 20 pull-ups with two arms and was in good physical shape. Now I can do five pull-ups with one arm, but, ideally, I need to be able to do 15 pull-ups. The most interesting were probably the first two years of training. When I remember that time now, I get the impression that there was no time for rest at all. I trained every day, spending all my time at the climbing wall.
I remember that every day, step by step, my results improved. I felt that what I couldn’t do today, I would definitely do in a month.
And so it happened! In the first two years, I went through the path that other athletes cover in 10 years: I started winning local Moscow competitions, the Moscow Championship, and the Russian Championship.
In 2005, I took part in international competitions in Kyiv for the first time, which I won. After that, I was included in the Russian national team, and I took part in the World Championship. I performed poorly at the World Championships, which I’m even glad about now. Usually, if a climber performs well, he ruins his future career.
Why bouldering?
I chose bouldering rather than another type of rock climbing because previously it was difficult to conduct difficulty climbing training in Moscow.
Did not have closed premises with a high climbing wall, so in a small room it was necessary to train in a circle. And in bouldering, the routes are short: five to six meters high, up to ten interceptions with heavy holds. Either small, razor-thin miniatures, or round passives that are even difficult to hug, or compression movements where you need to hug two corners in order to grab hold and jump over.
The main difference between bouldering and other disciplines is that you never know what the route will be like. Knowing who prepares it, you can only guess and try to predict what it will be like. The American style is giant moves, the European style is a technical style designed for flexibility. Bouldering is a fusion of rock climbing and gymnastics.
Competitions take place in both America and Europe. Therefore, you need to be prepared for anything. You need to be able to jump well, hold your hands well and be flexible.
Trips
I have been leading a nomadic life since I was eighteen. At the age of 22, I traveled a lot: I spent three or four months in France, returning to Russia for a month, then leaving again somewhere. Now I have a house and a wife. I live in Holland, although I was only at home for five days last month. However, I am looking for a coach in the Netherlands.
Competition is work and pleasure
For me there is no line between sport and pleasure. I boulder because I enjoy it. For me it's a way of life. I like competitions, I understand that I can compete with athletes and be better than them.
However, bouldering is work. And in order to achieve results, you need to overcome many problems and obstacles. I like to compete with opponents not only physically, but also mentally. This interesting job, for which you need to prepare.
Victory
In order to achieve good results, I had to lose a lot of competitions. Only by going through mistakes can you achieve something in sports.
For many years in a row I became second, third, and so on, first place was not given to me. And finally, the first serious competition that I won was the World Cup in 2007.
At the moment I have 65 victories. From six to nine stages of the World Cup and one World Championship or European Championship are held per year, which alternate with each other.
I took part in five World Championships.
The most successful years for me were 2009 and 2011.
In 2009, I became first in the world rankings and in the Big Cup, and took second place at the World Championships. In 2011, I again became first in the world rankings, winning the Big Cup, and became third at the World Championships. This year the World Championship will be held in Munich. Winning it is my main goal for this season.
Trails
And they immediately move on to difficult ones, but it is difficult for them to compete consistently, because in competitions it is not enough to just be strong - you need moral preparation and you need to think a lot with your head.
I’m no longer 18, but my strength hasn’t diminished, only my approach and moral toughening have changed. The main goal of the competition is to complete the course the first time. You are given five minutes to complete it, but it is important how many attempts you take - one or five.
The rest of your strength to complete the remaining routes depends on this. There are five courses to complete in qualifying, followed by four courses in the semi-finals and four courses in the final. Therefore, it is important to complete the route the first time so as not to get tired. I want to become an athlete who can complete any course without thinking twice.
Head through the wall
Action Directe 9A is a low track in Germany, only 18 meters. This legendary route was first climbed by Alexander Adler in 1995, and after him no one succeeded for a long time. The start of the course is a one-finger jump. Then you need to grab it with two fingers at arm's length. The main hooks are small holes into which only half of the phalanx of the finger can be caught. The entire route consists of such clues. I have been preparing to complete Action Directe 9A for three years. Over time, the route began to give in to me, but I was unable to make the first interception. Firstly, he is quite high, and I am short, and secondly, from one It’s quite hard for your finger to jump out.
A lot depended on the weather: it was cold, my fingers were freezing, but I couldn’t afford to postpone this route, because the season was starting soon. 12 times I made the first jump. It was very similar to trying to punch a wall with your head. And I practically did it: having completed Action Directe 9A, I made history.
El Capitan
I also do mountaineering. In the USA, I have been trying to conquer El Capitan for two years now. This monolith mountain is located in national park Yosemite, in California. The route consists of 33 pitches of 50 meters each. This is endurance work that you complete over several days. You need to be mentally prepared for the fact that you will have to survive - even a small mistake can lead to death.
Health
In order not to feel pain, I practice qigong - this is an Eastern practice of cleansing, healing, strengthening tendons and muscles. This practice is calming, although it is difficult to be calm, and in family life and even more so. I don't use yoga to stretch, just regular exercises. Previously, I did a half marathon: I ran three times a week and then swam one and a half kilometers. Then I didn’t run at all for about two years, but now, in order to stay in good shape, I try to run for 30-40 minutes at least four times a week.
My day
I wake up early: at 6.30 - 7.00 am - but I don’t go to bed until midnight. I usually don't eat anything in the morning. I drink water with lemon and go for a run. In the middle of a run, I sometimes stop and do some light physical exercise. Upon returning home, follow 30 minutes of relaxation and qigong.
Then I eat and an hour and a half later I do a short workout: hanging from one hold with one hand. Taking a dumbbell in the other hand, I hang for three to five seconds, thereby activating the muscles. This is followed by general physical fitness exercises: a short load on the fingers, biceps, doing abdominal exercises - holding the “angle” - and finishing everything off with stretching. After that, I go about my business and try to sleep for an hour and a half during the day. The main training takes place from 15.00 to 18.00, and I end my day with qigong again. If I work out with a trainer, I do a 40-minute jog in the morning, and then two workouts, each a little over two hours, with a break for nap. I try to relax in the evening.
Bouldering in Russia
In French schools, rock climbing is a school lesson. In Russia people are also interested in a healthy way life. They understand that rock climbing is not only the development of muscles, reaction, coordination, stretching, but also the development of intelligence.
Bouldering in Moscow is developing by leaps and bounds. It’s easier to organize because you don’t need a high hall – a six-meter hall is enough. In the halls, special structures are made, the so-called “mushrooms”, on which even entire families can climb - they take up little space.
If we are talking about difficulty climbing, it is more difficult to organize, you need a high wall, a rope, a partner, a belay, and only two people can work on the same line. Therefore, bouldering is a more accessible and popular sport. More than 40 climbing walls, comparable to European ones, have already been opened in Moscow, but the preparation of the routes is still lagging behind. In Russia there are many climbing athletes who train in clubs, there are specialized youth sports schools
Instead of an epilogue
No matter what they tell you, you need to believe that you are the most strong man in the world, that you have the strongest fingers, the best muscles - it is important to believe in this. All the strength of a climber is in his head. It is impossible to be a strong athlete without this. Climbing makes it easy to feel that the impossible is possible if you believe in it.
