EP 87: Alita Contreras — Learning Languages, Coaching Women to Climb Powerfully, and Translating Training Books
Explicit content warning
09/20/21 • 105 min
Alejandra (Alita) Contreras is a half Colombian half Venezualan professional rock climber, coach, and translator. We talked about the economic situation in Venezuela and why she moved to Colombia six years ago, about living in Germany and translating training books by Udo Neumann, about coaching women, our global climbing family, and her current 5.14a project.
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Become a Patron:
Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/alita-contreras
Nuggets:
1:50 – Alegria
3:52 – Alita vs. Alejandra
6:40 – The situation in Venezuela, and why Alita emigrated to Columbia
14:21 – Studying languages, Alita’s father, singing opera, and becoming interested in Germany
18:48 – Separating languages in your head
21:13 – Tips for learning a new language
25:36 – Thinking differently, and having different personalities in different languages
28:13 – Bad milk
29:42 – The many things Alita does for work, and coaching a women’s group
34:05 – Patterns Alita notices in working with women climbers, and what she works on with her group
39:23 – Empowering girls and educating guys
41:46 – Researching a new project to help women with cancer regain physical and emotional health through climbing
45:55 – Translating Udo Neuman’s books into Spanish
48:30 – Parallels with translating and the podcast, and the big takeaways from Udo’s books
54:51 – In Search of Greatness (documentary), going with the current of motivation, and being honest with yourself
59:11 – The powerful 13a that Alita is most proud of (even though she has climbed 13d)
1:02:29 – My season of seeking out obscure 12d’s at Smith, and the benefit of climbing easier routes outside of your best style
1:05:16 – Alita’s 14a project
1:08:59 – Macheta climbing area, and a description of the 14a
1:10:45 – Alita’s video of ‘Los Tenahos Contratican’, and similarities to Hueco
1:11:33 – Dreams of climbing at the Red, and climbing in Europe
1:12:53 – Alita’s favorite climbing destinations
1:15:00 – Living and climbing near the equator, and tactics for projecting when you don’t have seasons
1:19:10 – How Alita thinks about yearly goals
1:21:12 – Continuing to improve, and enjoying the process
1:26:07 – Living in Canada, competing in one competition, and Alita’s hype-up song
1:31:33 – Patron question from Eli: What is the local climbing like in your area? Similarities and differences in climbing cultures around the world?
1:36:18 – Gratitude for Alegria (her dog)
1:39:46 – A new opportunity
1:37:25 – Aspirations to be a pro-climber?
1:39:01 – Vulnerability and the gift of sharing
1:40:10 – Gratitude, and meaningful connections
Alejandra (Alita) Contreras is a half Colombian half Venezualan professional rock climber, coach, and translator. We talked about the economic situation in Venezuela and why she moved to Colombia six years ago, about living in Germany and translating training books by Udo Neumann, about coaching women, our global climbing family, and her current 5.14a project.
Support the Podcast:
Become a Patron:
Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/alita-contreras
Nuggets:
1:50 – Alegria
3:52 – Alita vs. Alejandra
6:40 – The situation in Venezuela, and why Alita emigrated to Columbia
14:21 – Studying languages, Alita’s father, singing opera, and becoming interested in Germany
18:48 – Separating languages in your head
21:13 – Tips for learning a new language
25:36 – Thinking differently, and having different personalities in different languages
28:13 – Bad milk
29:42 – The many things Alita does for work, and coaching a women’s group
34:05 – Patterns Alita notices in working with women climbers, and what she works on with her group
39:23 – Empowering girls and educating guys
41:46 – Researching a new project to help women with cancer regain physical and emotional health through climbing
45:55 – Translating Udo Neuman’s books into Spanish
48:30 – Parallels with translating and the podcast, and the big takeaways from Udo’s books
54:51 – In Search of Greatness (documentary), going with the current of motivation, and being honest with yourself
59:11 – The powerful 13a that Alita is most proud of (even though she has climbed 13d)
1:02:29 – My season of seeking out obscure 12d’s at Smith, and the benefit of climbing easier routes outside of your best style
1:05:16 – Alita’s 14a project
1:08:59 – Macheta climbing area, and a description of the 14a
1:10:45 – Alita’s video of ‘Los Tenahos Contratican’, and similarities to Hueco
1:11:33 – Dreams of climbing at the Red, and climbing in Europe
1:12:53 – Alita’s favorite climbing destinations
1:15:00 – Living and climbing near the equator, and tactics for projecting when you don’t have seasons
1:19:10 – How Alita thinks about yearly goals
1:21:12 – Continuing to improve, and enjoying the process
1:26:07 – Living in Canada, competing in one competition, and Alita’s hype-up song
1:31:33 – Patron question from Eli: What is the local climbing like in your area? Similarities and differences in climbing cultures around the world?
1:36:18 – Gratitude for Alegria (her dog)
1:39:46 – A new opportunity
1:37:25 – Aspirations to be a pro-climber?
1:39:01 – Vulnerability and the gift of sharing
1:40:10 – Gratitude, and meaningful connections
Previous Episode
EP 86: Dylan Barks — Spray Wall Sessions, RMNP Rampaging, and Recovering From an Eating Disorder
Dylan Barks is an elite-level boulder and sport climber, and a dark horse in the climbing scene. He sent ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’, his first V16, just two weeks after this interview. We talked about how Dylan uses a spray wall for 95% of his training, how he prepares for both bouldering and sport climbing trips, and about recovering from an eating disorder to climb his hardest ever.
Support the Podcast:
Become a Patron:
Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/dylan-barks
Nuggets:
4:00 – Vanlife pipedreams, Dylan’s work and school, and finding his groove climbing outside
7:05 – Being in both the competition and outdoor worlds
8:30 – Bad haircut timing, and the alpine as a harsh and special place
11:32 – How Dylan prepared for his trip to RMNP, and spray wall training for both bouldering and sport climbing
14:11 – Dylan’s training philosophy, and why he uses the spray wall
16:24 – The value of benchmarks, and mixing limit bouldering with perfect repeats
17:58 – ‘A Day in Boone’, how Dylan has trained his capacity, and session format
21:40 – The line between capacity training vs. junk mileage
23:45 – Deep dive: spray wall session format
26:32 – 60 move circuits, running, and pushing through vs. resting
31:23 – Watching Dylan on ‘Wild Cat’, and his story about competing against Daniel Woods
37:00 – Internalizing the feeling of a move, and bringing intention to all of your climbing
39:17 – Sending ‘White Noise’, and finding another gear on this trip
40:20 – Taking the lower grade, and being his own harshest critic
41:32 – Where Dylan sees a lot of climbers going wrong in their training and improvement
43:44 – Coaching Jon, and coaching the team in MI
45:43 – Starting climbing at summer camp
46:33 – ‘Southern Smoke Direct’, taking a hiatus due to an eating disorder, and the light at the end of a dark tunnel
48:52 – Sharing about an eating disorder, and how Dylan’s struggle started
51:51 – Dysmorphia, and “Your body’s got it.”
56:00 – A couple of paragraphs from ‘Weighing In’
1:01:13 – Trusting the process, seeing things working, and the tricks our mind can play on us
1:04:57 – Looking at old pictures
1:06:04 – What 18-year-old Dylan needed to hear
1:08:28 – Going to the hospital, rebuilding relationships, and turning things around
1:10:48 – Mike, and “feed the beast”
1:12:14 – Untapped potential for strength, and thoughts vs. actions
1:15:08 – Navigating negative thoughts
1:17:00 – Using your climbing and training as the main driver for body composition
1:20:19 – Climbing ‘Arrested Development’ second try
1:24:15 – Mindful climbing, and being in the present moment
1:25:52 – Practicing mindfulness
1:26:52 – If you could only do one more hard rock climb...
1:28:35 – That “click”
1:30:14 – Southern sandstone
1:31:21 – Go-to climbing shoes
1:33:02 – Warming up your technique
1:34:35 – Trying ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’
1:36:04 – School, and getting out his “ya yas”
1:37:25 – Aspirations to be a pro-climber?
1:39:01 – Vulnerability and the gift of sharing
1:40:10 – Gratitude, and meaningful connections
Next Episode
EP 88: Ben Ditto — Early Climbing and Photography, Dynafit Dangling, and Adventures With the ‘Wild Bunch’
Ben Ditto is a professional climber and photographer from Bishop, California. We talked about Ben’s upbringing and early climbing, competing against Chris Sharma and Tommy Caldwell, falling in love with the mountains, Dynafit dangling and near-death experiences, advice for aspiring photographers, The Adventures of the Dodo, and climbing ‘Father Time’ with his wife Katie Lambert. You can learn more about Ben at bendittophoto.com
Support the Podcast:
Become a Patron:
Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/ben-ditto
Nuggets:
3:26 – Filming a car commercial
4:54 – Ben’s studio, and staying interested in learning new things
6:58 – Ben’s photography, Instagram captions, and visual storytelling
9:18 – Getting started in photography, Ben’s first camera, and photography as a ticket to freedom
11:42 – Pursuing a life that doesn’t fit in a box, growing up in Chattanooga TN, and Ben’s dad
16:01 – Early climbing
19:34 – ‘Scared guy’
24:18 – Hunter S Thomson quote, “the edge is still out there.”
25:05 – Belaying his dad, improving, getting into competition climbing, and flying to San Francisco
34:54 – Failing to perform well on a national stage, and competing at Mission Cliffs against Chris Sharma and Tommy Caldwell
39:09 – Early sponsorships
42:28 – Moving to Salt Lake, working at the Patagonia store, and falling in love with mountains
44:46 – Climbing in the Wasatch, climbing with heroes, American Fork, and finding a different crew
50:28 – Career choices, going with what feels natural, and delaying big decisions
53:38 – Making stuff, trade booths, getting back into photography, noticing the impact we have on the planet, studying photojournalism, and learning by managing other photographers
1:01:30 – Ben’s advice for aspiring photographers
1:05:22 – Patron Question from Elliot: How to take photos while alpine climbing?
1:08:01 – Behind the scenes of great alpine photography
1:10:40 – Climbing and photography as separate things
1:13:38 – Patron Question from Tim: What location or climber are you most proud of photographing?
1:18:55 – ‘Dynafit dangler’
1:32:48 – Processing risk and death, and “You owe it to your climbing partners to really want to be there.”
1:38:01 – Stacking the odds in your favor, and being involved in search and rescue
1:44:17 – Driving as a pet peeve, and environmental considerations
1:47:17 – The Wild Bunch
1:57:11 – Harmonica, traveling solo in Patagonia, and sailing to Greenland
2:04:20 – ‘The Adventures of the Doto’
2:10:32 – The group’s current adventures
2:13:29 – Climbing ‘Father Time’ with Katie, and the strategy vs. ethics of big wall free climbing
2:30:16 – Relaxing after the climb, and difficulty of the route
2:34:08 – Beefing up the resume, and jumping into the commercial world
2:38:11 – Gratitude, and plans for a trip to the South
2:40:24 – Update on my climbing, Ben’s website, and working on accident reports
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