With her send of Dinosaur Highway (5.14a) at Horne Lake, BC,Island-based climber Amanda Berezowski became the seventh Canadian female to accomplish 5.14a. Amanda has made substantial gains in her climbing this year that she attributes her move to Vancouver island that gave her the focus she needed to realize her goals. We thought it would be best to catch up with Amanda before her trip to Spain (in which she has been crushing!). Here is what she had to say,
Amanda Berezowski on Globtrotters, Horne Lake. Photo by Andrew McVey ©
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. How are things going?
Things are going quite well right now! It’s a busy and exciting time as I’m training, competing and preparing for Spain which I leave for at the end of November.
Spain! What will be your first destination and how long are you staying and do you have any route in your sites?
I have a month in Spain. The plan is to head straight to Oliana and see how it goes. The route I am most excited to try is Los Humildes pa Casa, which is a 14a with 30 metres of continuous tufa.
Congratulations on your send of Dinosaur Highway! Can you tell us a bit about what drew you to the route and the process of working it from the end of the summer until sending last week?
Thank-you! I’m pretty happy about it! My goal of 2016 was to climb 5.13. By the end of August, I had finished all the 13’s in the amphitheater. Dinosaur Highway was next in line that was the nicest of the 14a’s. Considering there was about 2 months left of good weather, I thought it was worth a shot. On my first attempt I didn’t make it to the second draw. To start, I couldn’t even reach the first draw to clip from the resting stance at the top of Wart Hog the 12a portion. Then it starts off with a crux to a committing move far from the last draw. I was a little intimidated at first, since earlier in the year I wouldn’t have imagined being on a route of this caliber.
The following weekend, I ran into Dan Beland in Squamish (while watching Alex Megos work out Dream Catcher!), who always has the best shorty beta. I returned 2 weeks later, this time with a more open mind and determined to get at least to the next draw. I ended up doing a move into the crux to clip the first draw and then staying low avoiding the better holds…but, it worked and I was psyched. Knowing that was a crux I had climbed through, gave me what I needed to continue. After that my progression was pretty steady with about 3 more days of working it out through the next month. I was lucky to have Marcel Aarden working it during the same period to share beta with and keep motivation…and belayers who were happy to be cold for up to an hour. My redpoint burns started Oct. 1st and with that came the feeling of anticipation knowing I would soon climb my first 5.14. During the final three weeks I definitely had a bit of anxiety towards sending… although Horne Lake stays dry with the summer rain it eventually seeps…on top of that I had my first bouldering competition of the year, taking away focus and a weekend out of the diminishing time. As the weather turned and the rock started seeping I had what I planned to be the last weekend…my last few attempts were not my best by far. I felt pretty discouraged and just couldn’t leave it at that. I asked for a week day off work two days later… Nothing was ideal about this day either…it was pouring rain with literally 97% humidity. My first attempt of the day I finally made it past all the crux’s right to the last move at the anchor and fell out of being pumped. Again, heartbreaking! I didn’t know if I could make it there again…and I didn’t want to wait 5 months for my next try. I kept it together, gathered up the courage and went for it one last time. That was it.
Lowering off the send of Dinosaur Highway. Photo by Jon Thorpe ©
You have been making steady progress in your climbing throughout this year, including sending you first 13c as well as your first 14a. What do you attribute to the progression?
I made a decision to compete in the Canadian Difficulty (Sport Climbing) circuit back in January. With that commitment I thought it would be a good opportunity to put some attention towards outdoor routes as well. I hadn’t been on anything that I couldn’t send in a few tries in over 7 years and was curious what I am capable of. Over the past few years I developed quite a bit of mental strength and personal drive…using this I wrote out goals and dedicated myself.
Did it take any sacrifice to stay so focused or did it come rather naturally?
I didn’t have any time not to be focused. I was either landscaping (thinking about climbing) or climbing. I guess it came pretty naturally! I found it helped to have some sort of vision board/project list up on my wall.
November Sessions 2016. Photo by Shane Murdoch ©
We often see a lot of people really come out of the gate after figuring out how to handle Horne Lake and then transferring. Why do you think Horne lake tends to teach so many people a lot about climbing and what does it have to offer in the learning process?
Horne Lake is a limestone crag with the grades mostly ranging between 5.12-14…For a somewhat small crag is has a wide variety of 5 star routes all offering a unique 3D style of climbing which teaches you to think outside the box. You learn to climb with your whole body and take rests in interesting positions. I found every route had different moves and types of holds that once learned and combined with others of the grade, it prepares you perfectly for the next grade. It doesn’t hurt that its mostly permanent draws as well. It has now opened my mind to trying more routes of this level.
I wanted to get a little into your background for our reader. When did you start climbing and why and how?
I started climbing on a competitive youth team at the “CCC” in Calgary back in 2002. My brother, Tony had been climbing and competing for about 6 years already and my family was pretty involved in the sport. We drove around to watch the majority of his competitions and my dad had taken me outside climbing in the Bow Valley a couple times. I really enjoyed sports where I could push myself individually, especially when it included being in nature. I had been on a 6 month break from riding horses competitively after breaking my ankle and my dad brought up the idea of switching to climbing. Once I started, I never stopped.
2016 Rampage. Photo by Ken Chow ©
You seem to have come on to the bouldering scene strong and then disappeared for a little while. What brought you back to climbing?
Moving to the island allowed me to put attention towards parts of my life that needed change in order to be more balanced. This allowed me to re-focus my climbing.
How does revolving things around climbing affect your overall daily life?
Climbing has a lot of weight in every decision I make. I really enjoy it being like that since its a large part of how I identify myself. Balancing work with climbing can be difficult though. Training and climbing enough to reach my goals takes time. But, I need money to live and to travel. I have to remember to keep balanced.
Do you see yourself staying on the island and continuing to train or perhaps moving to Squamish one of these days?
I love Squamish. Moving there definitely could be on the horizon. I’m just not sure when yet.
What is next in your progression? Will you stay with competing or continue to put your efforts towards outdoor goals?
Right now, I am sort of feeling it out. I think I will always compete for fun and motivation, but the level of seriousness depends on how the next year or two goes. As for outdoors, I definitely want to see how far I can progress. I can’t wait to start trying my 2017 route and boulder projects!