Sasha DiGiulian speaks to her plan of enrolling at Columbia this fall in a lengthy piece on her in The Washington Post:
“Most of my competitors, in the World Cup circuit especially, are just climbing,” DiGiulian adds. “But I decided to go back to school.
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Because I know that, in the long term, I can’t be a climber forever.”
The whole piece is well worth reading as you can get a good feel for the level of success DiGiulian has achieved in a rather short period of time. While DiGiulian has always been a talented climber, remember that even two years ago she had done “only” one 5.141. What’s she’s done in the interim both in competitions and on real rock has been well documented, and her success seems well-deserved.
- She’s added 20 more since then ↩
Fred Nicole would beg to differ.
But then he also doesn’t see “climber” as a job title.
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Brilliant
j
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Good for her, go get that education. She’s 19 and the rock isn’t going anywhere.
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Good for her. It’s a good reminder to all that climb doesn’t pay.
waka waka!!
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I like how everyone is congradulating her for making the fiscally responsible choice of spending a quarter million dollars on an education. Unless this girl studies something very specific and dedicates her life to a career, she isn’t just getting an education, shes getting a lifetime of debt. Oh wait, her parents are paying? In that case, I am pretty sure she is set fiscally regardless of what she does with her future and should probably just remain a rock climber.
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Your comment would be better received if it weren’t obvious that you didn’t actually read the article. It specifically mentions how she is paying for college.
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Regardless of how she plans to pay for school, you would be wise to look at the quality of the asset she is investing in: an Ivy League education. I realize it is popular (and sometimes appropriate) to criticize the decision to take on debt to go to college, but Sasha isn’t investing in an overpriced home in Florida during the height of the housing bubble.
Hats off to Sasha, hope to see you at BKB.
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ever heard of the education bubble?
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hah. Going to college is for fools with no fiscal sense. Much smarter to stay dependent on mom and dad your whole life.
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“Citing numbers from the Climbing Wall Association, Raleigh estimated that there are between 3,000 and 5,000 climbing gyms in the country, and about 10,000 buildings that have some type of climbing wall.”
I found this quote interesting. At 5,000 gyms, that’s an average of 100 gyms per state. Even in California, I’d find that hard to believe, let alone in many states around the country, where I’m quite positive there are less than 10 per state (Missouri, Kentucky, Michigan, etc.). I’m sure someone can correct me if I’m wrong.
As for 10,000 buildings that have some type of climbing wall, even a number of 5000 might strain credulity, although many schools now have installed walls. That seems possible.
I’m glad to hear she’s smart enough to see school as a viable alternative. I’ll be interested to see what she plans after a few years of school or immediately after.
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I suppose one of the things you should look at is the number of colleges. Many colleges have at least a climbing wall if not a climbing “gym”. I was staying in Waterville ME and there are two “gyms or walls” in the town. One is at the community center and the other is at Colby College. Neither was very large and neither could be used in the summer. We had to drive 1.5 hours down to Portland to climb in a tiny gym where my daughters got in for free by setting a route. I also wonder if the number of climbing walls include home walls…
I’d be curious about the number of climbers in the US vs other countries. I would think the climbing shoe companies would have a better feel of the total true market size.
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shes just sweating julia stiles…
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I have to say I find it a little distasteful that someone who has only been climbing for a few years says “I can’t be a climber forever.” First of all you are only 19 and have a great deal more to learn from and about this sport if you are open to it. Second, climbing can be a job but its never just a job, or at least it shouldn’t be. Beyond that, we can all be climbers for as long as we like, its a life long sport / passion and for some of us its a necessity.
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I don’t think she is talking about not being able to climb “forever”, but moreso the idea of not being able to climb professionally forever.
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The only thing I find distasteful is the stoner anti-intellectualism that seems to have taken over climbing culture.
I’m 31 and have been climbing since I was 13. When I was 17 I was bouldering V11-12 (not bad for 1997!) and probably could have made a life of it if I wanted. However, as much fun as camping, climbing, and smoking weed every day was, I had other interests as well and decided to go to college. I ended up getting my PhD and am now a professor.
I don’t climb “hardcore” anymore or as much as I would like, and I probably missed out on a lot in that other life that might have been. But because of the choice I made I’m now able to appreciate other things—interesting important things—that I never would have been able to if I had stuck with climbing full-time.
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Narc, OK but she’s really just started as a professional climber, she only got contracts in the past year or so. I think its strange for anyone who has only been doing something at a professional level for a year or two, to be talking about the end of that professional life. I guess I’ve heard that sort of thing before from climbers for whom success, sponsorships, and fame came quickly and easily. They thought they had reached the pinnacle of professional climbing when, in fact, the hadn’t. They just lacked the vision to see what they could do as climbers. Anyway only time will tell what SD will do as a climber and how long she will do it. I do hope that she pushes herself, finds challenges that others haven’t, takes women’s climbing to a new level, and is more than a flash in the pan.
Jason, as someone who has been a professional climber and who has an MFA from an elite program I hope you don’t think my comment was participating in the anti-intellectualism of the thread. Frankly I found that climbing full time gave me plenty of time to do research and write. Climbing and the life of the mind go together quite well I’d say.
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No worries; and I agree. I’m a professional philosophy professor rather than a climber, but I find that I get some of my best work done at the crag rather than my office.
Anyway, I would never judge someone like Sharma for dropping out of HS to climb full time. However, I can honestly say that I get much more out of climbing now because of my education than I ever would have otherwise.
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Someone needs to create a society for rock climbing philosophers — I bet our conferences would be more a lot more fun than, say, the Eastern APA.
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No doubt, but my morning dump is more interesting than the eastern. Hopefully this will be my last year on the market!
Anyway, I’m glad I’m not the only philosopher to read this blog.
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Jason,
You make a great point, when you say “I get much more out of climbing now because of my education than I ever would have otherwise.” I agree 100% in both direct and indirect ways.
Philosophy is such a great way to spend one’s non-climbing time, and climbing is a great way to spend one’s non-philosophy time.
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Hey Narc.
This has got nothing to do with SD, well sort of, but I was wondering what your most commented post were?
Seeing the amazing and thought provoking replies on this post makes me wonder where people are applying themselves on other post.
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Outside of posts that had high comment counts due to contests, here are the top 5 all time:
http://climbingnarc.com/2008/02/hard-unrepeated-american-boulders/ (123 comments)
http://climbingnarc.com/2012/05/issues-of-race-class-and-gender-in-the-2011-reel-rock-film-tour/ (96 comments)
http://climbingnarc.com/2010/08/climbers-are-sexy-but-is-the-sport-getting-too-sexy/ (81 comments)
http://climbingnarc.com/2011/01/whats-on-your-climbing-bucket-list/ (75 comments)
http://climbingnarc.com/2012/03/10-year-old-ashima-shiraishi-repeats-crown-of-aragorn-v13-hueco-tanks/ (66 comments)
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Thanks Narc.
Heaps of respect for what you do.
Loving the app.
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Seconded!
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