Featured Athlete: Claire Buhrfeind

Sport: Rock climbing | Grade: 12 | Years Played: 8

One of the country's top rock climbers, senior Claire Buhrfeind is part of the U.S. national team.

provided by Claire Buhrfeind

One of the country’s top rock climbers, senior Claire Buhrfeind is part of the U.S. national team.

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?

Senior rock climber Claire Buhrfeind works out both indoors and out as part of her training.
provided by Claire Buhrfeind
Senior rock climber Claire Buhrfeind works out both indoors and out as part of her training.

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.”