If you’ve been in this climbing world for more than a few days, you know that my guest interview today, Jonathan Siegrist, needs no introduction. He’s simply one of the world’s top climbers, and he’s crushed it in all major facets of this game we play — sport, bouldering, and trad.
We’re going to mix things up this week and feature Jonathan not because he’s pursuing a life of financial independence or running a business, but because he works damn hard and is a man with a plan. He is laser focused on his goals, but he knows there will be more to life than professional climbing. There’s not much luck in this story.
We’ve just wrapped up a two-week stay in Europe, most of which was spent on Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands of Spain. As previously discussed, we jumped on what was essentially a free flight to Frankfurt, Germany, spending a night on either end of the trip there. We also leaned on our five key tips for saving money while traveling abroad. Shall we take a look at some pretty pictures and tally the final bill?
Kris Hampton is a hustler in the modern world of climbing. For decades he’s kept himself close to the action—not only with his own impressive climbing achievements—but, more importantly, his intense presence as a figure in the climbing world. Kris challenges the status quo and wants you to get uncomfortable. As such, he makes for an interesting guest interview. After all, we want to look at this life differently, right?
Charlie is indeed his first name, but I playfully made up the “Brown” part. Isn’t that fun?! Charlie has asked to remain partially anonymous (as we do here), because he’s discussing some stuff that his bosses might not like. We get it — nothing says I want a big bonus this year like “save money, retire early, blah, blah” on the internet.
The real Charlie Brown is kind of a downer, but not this Charlie. He and his wife are gaming out their life, and that’s pretty cool.
When it comes to climbing, skin is the interface between you and the rock. Climbers don’t wear gloves. Well, crack climbers sort of wear gloves, but that’s another story. For the rest of us, the condition of our skin can mean the difference between success and failure. Justin Brown has made the condition of your hands his business.
This article is a completely unsolicited review. No one at Power Company asked for my feedback, and frankly, they may not want it. I paid full price for their Custom Training Plan, and there are no imbedded affiliate links in this article.
Training for climbing has many parallels to pursuing financial independence: You can hit the low-hanging fruit and see huge gains early on, but then it’s a game of stacking small short-term gains for long-term growth.
If you’ve been following this site, you know by now that we are very intentional about our spending. After watching from the sidelines for several years, I recently jumped on board a personalized training plan with Power Company Climbing. Here’s what I thought…
Mark Anderson is more than just an impressive climber. He’s also the co-author of the wildly popular The Rock Climber’s Training Manual, a husband, a father of two young children, and a prolific route developer. Oh yeah, and he balances all of this with a full-time career completely independent of rock climbing. On top of all that, Mark and his wife are pursuing financial independence!
For those unfamiliar with the climbing world, climbers — perhaps more than any other sport participants — routinely restructure their lives in very unconventional ways to pursue the sport more fully. As we’ve discussed here and here, in the U.S. at least, this usually means taking on an increasingly mobile existence — sans house/apartment/permanent dwelling — and instead living in a van, pull camper, or some other makeshift shelter on wheels.
Today we want to highlight Chuck and Maggie Odette, one of many climber couples living this lifestyle. What’s different though is that they’re sort of doing it all in reverse. Instead of hitting the road and blowing off traditional life in their 20’s or maybe 30’s, Chuck and Maggie are now in their 60’s and 40’s, respectively, and are incredibly talented climbers who have retired early to live the climbing life.
Well…almost free anyway. But more on that in a moment.
Hot off the heels of our trip to Germany in June, I had no plans for any big international trips in 2019, in line with our general “Big Trip Every Other Year” family policy.
All that changed over the course of the last few days, when Mrs. CC caught wind of an incredible deal from Delta offering low-point fare to select European and UK cities, including Zurich, Frankfurt, and London.
The binary solutions for work/life balance in climbing tend to be one of the following:
The Lifer
The lifer pursues climbing at all expense and makes ends meet as best as they can. The lifer participates in seasonal work or other flexible jobs that provide an income capable of sustaining life, but allowing for little to no saving for the long term. Individuals on this path are reluctant to place any roots: careers, property, family, long-term relationships. These individuals experience unparalleled freedom, but may harbor deep-seated concerns about their financial future after the youthful years.
The typical van scene in early spring outside St. George, UT. The climbers at these crags are often a nomadic bunch, and as such, they warm up on my projects.
The Optimizer
The optimizer pursues a career and climbs as much as they can in the margins. This is where most of us fall in modern climbing. We have careers, we may have children, perhaps even own a home. As life demands increase; careers develop, children enter the equation, climbing progressively gets shoved further towards the back burner.
These are the weekend warriors and the people who fill up the campgrounds on the holiday weekends. There is comfort in that this life is a shared experience with most others; almost anyone can relate. These individuals tend to have much healthier and stable incomes, but also tend to fall victim to lifestyle inflation: As income increases, so does unnecessary spending.
Despite vastly higher incomes, the optimizer’s financial future may be no less secure than the lifer, but they may have lots of nice stuff.
