Height: 5’10”

Fav Pre climb meal: bananas or strawberries

Hype Song: nothing specific

Fav quote: “Be patient with the process”

Inspiration: The people I get to compete and train with everyday

Future Job: Wants to study Psychology

 

Wingspan: Requirements to be a climber?

Buhrfeind: “You just have to be really dedicated, I practice like five or six days a week for many hours everyday. Dedication is a big part of it.”

Wingspan: What’s the difference from climbing indoors to climbing a mountain?

Buhrfeind: “Well I don’t climb mountains so indoors is a manmade wall and the competitions are either based on speed or difficulty. With difficulty it’s either climbing on a rope or bouldering, which is shorter climbing. Climbing outside is like climbing a cliff face basically It’s not really a mountain. Mountaineering is completely different, It’ something I don’t do.”

Wingspan: What’s it like being sponsored by Adidas? How did that come to be?

Buhrfeind: “I won this competition in Utah called Seco Block which is basically a race over the olympic pool its 55 feet tall. After I won that, Adidas contacted me about wearing their clothing at competitions and also they’re helping me pay for flights and travel.”

Wingspan: What does your training look like?

Buhrfeind: “I actually show up at the gym at 3:00 p.m. every day and I coach for two hours. Then I warm up which consist of a lot of cardio and core exercises, and then basically just climbing and training, endurance and general fitness.”

Wingspan: What’s your favorite type of rock climbing? Why?

Buhrfeind: “I would say lead climbing which is probably what you think of when you think of rock climbing, it’s climbing on a rope. I’m not afraid of heights, so I guess that’s a part of it because you get to go really high and that’s probably the part of climbing that’s allowed me to travel and compete the most.”

Wingspan: Where have you traveled to climb? What was that like?

Buhrfeind: “I have traveled to 15 or 16 different countries for competitions and every place is different but it’s my favorite part about climbing, how many different places I get to go to and how many different people I get to meet.”

Wingspan: Biggest challenges to do with climbing? How do you overcome them?

Buhrfeind: “I think climbing is extremely mental you really have to be on your game and confident all the time, otherwise you won’t be focused on what’s in front of you. I think the biggest challenge for me is being able to focus on what i’m doing at the moment.”

Wingspan: How do you plan to pursue climbing in the future?

Buhrfeind: “I’m on the adult U.S. national team so I am going to college in Seattle next year and I plan on continuing to train and compete internationally.”

Wingspan: Greatest accomplishment?

Buhrfeind: “I am the only person in the country to be on the U.S. team for speed sport and bouldering for the adult disciplines and for the youth.”