A brief interview with
Sean Drolet
late November, 2003

FRB: How did you get into climbing Sean?

Sean: When I was younger my parents took me hiking and camping a lot, and I always played around on boulders. When I was thirteen I decided to take classes at ISRG (Inner Strength Rock Gym), and have been climbing ever since.

FRB: How long have you been climbing?

Sean: I have been climbing for 5 years.

FRB: Who were some of your early climbing partners?

Sean: My sister Adie, and quite a few climbers from ISRG. When I first started I climbed with kids my age at the gym. Then, I met some older climbers and they took me outside to climb. Until I was able to drive most of the people I went outside with were older than me.

FRB: Who do you climb with now?

Sean: I climb with my sister, Adie and Pat Noonan most days. There are several different groups and people that I climb with, lately I've been climbing Eric, Jason S., Brian K., Stephaine M.,Fiona, Mark H., and Wade D.

FRB: What else do you like to do besides climb?

Sean: I like to run, swim, and play basketball.

FRB: Have you done any first ascents?

Sean: I did a pretty cool problem at Vedauwoo, Wyoming called SPF.

FRB: What do you think of enhancing, chipping
          and gluing holds?

Sean: There is no place for it because there is so much rock around, if you want to make your own route or problem do it in the gym. You're not challenging yourself, you're bringing the route down to your level instead of rising to its. I really don’t have much else to say because I just don’t agree with it.

FRB: Do you compete?

Sean: Yes, usually in the winter because that’s when most of the comps are.

FRB: What competitions have you won?

Sean: I won the DCL series in Denver at Paradise last year, also a few ABS comps, and the Front Range Bouldering Tour a couple years ago.

FRB: What makes for a good competition route
          in your opinion?

Sean: It has to have a tricky sequence and be consistently hard. I also like it when they throw in a jump start or a dyno, or something out of the ordinary.

FRB: Where do you think the best bouldering
          in the Front Range is?

Sean: I think we have many amazing areas along the Front Range. Two of my favorites are RMNP and the Poudre.

FRB: Do you have any favorite problems or
          ones that you thought were incredible?

Sean: I think Flakey Roof Pull at Carter is a unique and fun problem, and I do it every time we go there. RMNP has a lot of great problems. Some of my favorites are Gang Bang, Deep Puddle Dynamics, and Bush Pilot. Moon Arete and Can Opener are also two really good problems.

FRB: Do you have any projects right now?

Sean: Right now I am working on Eternia at RMNP. And I have some projects at Arthur’s and the Poudre.

FRB: What are your thoughts on Highballing?

Sean: There are definitely pros and cons. I think that if you are going to do a highball you have to know your limits, like if you're a V5 climber you probably aren't going get on a V10 highball. You have to look at the problem and find out what the risk is if you fall, and if you are willing to take it. Then when you are on it you have to be aware and sharp, because your not 2 feet off the deck anymore. I think why a lot of people like to do highballs is because it puts them into a different mind set then being close to the ground. It's also a different feeling when you do a highball, you're relieved that you didn't fall, and happy that you kept your cool when it was hard to.

FRB: Do you ever hit a plateau in your climbing?
          How do you overcome the plateau?

Sean: Yes, when I hit a plateau I think it is because I've been doing too much of the same thing. So, I try to change it up, say I've been bouldering a lot, I start doing more routes, or if I've been going to one area, I go to another. Just mix it up a little.

FRB: How do you train for hard bouldering?

Sean: I do push ups, crunches, campus, and I run off and on. I also think climbing on hard problems is good training in itself.

FRB: What do you think about the climbing community
          in the Front Range?

Sean: I think it’s an all around great scene, and I think we have so many good climbers and so many good places to climb that it's pretty cool.

FRB: Are you going to school?

Sean: I 'am attending Front Range Community College.

FRB: What are you studying in school?

Sean: I'm not sure yet.

FRB: Parting words of wisdom?

Sean: Work hard and love what you do. Just have fun, and don’t be too serious about everything.

FRB: Thats for the interview Sean.

Sean: You're welcome.

<HOME>