This Season, So Far

Last we spoke, I was coming off the Brazil World Cup and getting mentally ready for Salt Lake City. Here's a recap of what's happened since then:

I made another semi-final in Salt Lake City, qualifying in 12th place. Semis didn't go so well, and I dropped to 24th place.

In Prague, I missed semi-finals by just one spot, but learned a lot and was happy with my performance and consistency.

Last weekend in Bern, I qualified for semi-finals in an unexpected 3rd place and finished the competition in a solid 15th place.

After finishing last in the semi-final at Salt Lake City and then missing out entirely in Prague, the Bern qualifier felt like a breakthrough. I gave everything I had, and when I topped the fifth and final boulder, I couldn’t help but get choked up. It was one of those moments that reminded me why I keep showing up. All of the frustration and dissapointment from the past few weeks lead me to this moment, and I truly earned my result.

One of the goals I had in the back of my head this season was to make every semi-final. Missing out on the Prague semis - by one spot and what turned out to be just 0.1 points (equivalent to one attempt) - was the end of that goal. It was a daunting one, to be fair, but nonetheless a failure after Prague. I was frustrated and disappointed in myself, even though I knew I’d done a lot right.

I find that specific result goals, like top-24 at every World Cup, are stressful and ultimately unproductive to have on your mind. You can't control what boulders you get or what other athletes do, so setting an arbitrary numeric goal is sort of setting yourself up for failure.

I told myself I wanted to make every semi-final because I thought I could, which isn't a bad thing to acknowledge. But at the end of the day, I'm really just looking to perform better than I did last year, and I've achieved that this year so far. I also proved that the goal of making every semi was indeed very plausible - something I couldn’t say last year.

But regardless of the positives that came out of Prague, it still stings to watch from the stands instead of competing on the stage. And in Prague’s case, that’s been the story for the past three years. So when I qualified so high for the Bern semi-final, it felt all the more rewarding.

I left Bern feeling proud, but not finished.

With one more World Cup to go, I’m focused on showing up with everything this season has taught me.

This last World Cup is the Austrian World Cup in Innsbruck. I've competed in this city four times - three World Cups and one Youth World Championship. Not once have I advanced to the semi-final round.

I'm not superstitious, but I am intimidated. Innsbruck is typically the most stacked World Cup of the year. It sits right in the middle of the season and acts as the handoff from the boulder circuit to lead. It's also a combined event, featuring boulder, lead, and para climbing. In short, it's the biggest of the season, second only to the World Championships.

Typically, by the time Innsbruck rolls around, I'm spent. I find it very difficult to maintain my motivation, energy, and form as the season carries on, but this year I feel different.

Although I haven’t been home in a month, I feel surprisingly comfortable. The more I travel for competitions, the more at home I feel, no matter where I am.

I know what brands to look for, which stores to shop at, and what it’s like to share space with other national teams at the gym. These little things used to throw me off. Now, they just feel normal.

It also helps a lot that Zach is here with me, so I don't have the discomfort of travelling - and being - alone. It also goes without saying that his being here makes me feel considerably more at home.

Of course, I’m still looking forward to going back to Canada, but I try not to think about that too much. With one-fifth of my season still ahead, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself and lose focus on what’s in front of me.

I also know that six months from now I'm going to wish I could be back on the road, peaked and ready to perform at a World Cup. So for now, it's best to stay present.

Head game is more important than ever going into Innsbruck because the caliber of the event demands it. I have just under two weeks left in Europe, and nine days until the last World Cup. I’m feeling good, but we’re only halfway through this European leg, and travel fatigue is still very much on the table.

I’m writing this on a train bound for Munich. There’s nothing officially planned for us there - no training camps or mock comps - but it’s a city we know well. We spent some time in Munich between Prague and Bern, and now we’re heading back - to the same hotel infact - for the week and a half between Bern and Innsbruck.

It’s close to Innsbruck and settling in Munich helps keep the month feeling familiar and manageable. With no new environments to adjust to and no extra logistics to think about, the routine stays predictable - which is exactly what I need heading into a competition like Innsbruck.

That said, I really do love Munich. While we're not here on vacation, there’s still space to enjoy ourselves and take in everything we're doing.

This same feeling hit me just before my semi-final round in Bern. As I stood behind the curtain waiting for the clock to count down and my turn to run out onto the stage, I looked at the audience.

It’s not every day you get to perform in front of a huge, excited crowd like that - and for some people, it never happens. I felt privileged to be there. After everything it took to make it back into a semi-final, standing on that stage felt surreal.

Not long ago, this kind of moment felt completely out of reach. And yet, there I was. In that brief pause before the round began, I was reminded: this is something special, and there's nowhere I'd rather be.

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