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NOV/DEC 2019
Endurance is vital
MIRA CAPICCHIONI
Age: 14
School: Summit High School
Sponsors: Grassroots sponsorship from Five Ten/
Adidas, Bend Endurance Academy
Take us all the way back to the beginning, what attracted you to climbing?
How old were you when you started and how did you get into it?
I’ve always been climbing, since I was really little. My parents said I started walk-
ing when I was 8 months old and then climbing everything right after that. My mom
used to be a climbing guide, and my parents climbed a lot when they were younger
so they used to take me climbing outside sometimes, but I didn’t know about the
competitive world of rock climbing until I was about 8. I was visiting my cousins in
Portland and their neighbor’s kids were competitive climbers and told me about the
Bend team, and they knew my coach, Mike Rougeux. I joined the Bend Endurance
Academy and did my first comp when I was 9. I actually didn’t do that well because
I was really nervous and shy, but then I got more experienced climbing in front of
people, and I got better and better.
Did you ever compete in traditional team sports?
I was never really into any traditional team sports, they just never interested me in
ways that climbing and snowboarding did.
What other sports do you participate in?
Climbing takes up most of my time, but in the winters I love snowboarding and
Nordic skiing.
At what age did you start to realize that you were pretty good at climbing?
My first year, I started competing when I was 9, I made it all the way to Nationals
and realized that I was pretty good at it. Climbing has helped me build my confi-
dence so that now I can climb in front of people at comps and feel totally myself
and relaxed.
What is the difference between Bouldering indoors and Bouldering outdoors?
Do you prefer one over the other?
They are very different. When I climb inside, it is mostly training and competing,
but climbing outside is more for fun. I definitely climb inside much more than I do
outside, but I like climbing outside better. Outside climbing is really cool because
all the routes are natural and not set by a gym staff. Climbing outside I feel so much
more laid back, without the pressure of timing and scoring.
Bouldering is your specialty, but do you rope climb both indoors and out?
Not as much as I’d like too, I boulder way too much. I practice rope climbing in-
doors a lot during sport season, but one of my goals this year is to get out to Smith
Rock more often. Smith is incredible and were lucky to have such an amazing crag
just 40 minutes away.
Do you set goals each season?
At the start of the season, I like to set small personal goals in climbing as a whole
and one overall goal for my competition. Whenever I feel myself drifting from train-
ing hard, or hanging out with my friends too much, I try to think of these goals and
keep myself on task. It’s fun to set goals and see If I can achieve them by the end
of the season. One of my goals from last season was to make U.S. team, and I
made it!
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INTERVIEW BY NEIL KORN | photos courtesy of the capicchioni family
At this point do you have any desire to strive for the US Olympic Team or are
you just focused on smaller goals and just trying to keep it fun?
I think someday in the future it would be really amazing to be on the U.S. Olympic
team, and that is one of my long term goals. But my short term goal, while I’m still
a youth competitor, is to make it back onto the U.S team for bouldering and sport
and not be injured if I make to the Worlds again. In order to do this, I need to be top
three in my category at Nationals.
To make the US Olympic team you have to climb Bouldering, Speed, and Lead.
Have you dabbled in all three?
I am mostly a boulderer, it is my favorite thing ever. For the past couple of years
I have only competed in bouldering competitions and skipped the sport season.
As I’m getting older, and this is becoming more of a profession, I’m going to start
competing in sport climbing too. You have such an advantage in competitions if
you can do well in all three disciplines. Also, you can get a score for combined at
Nationals and U.S Olympic team can be in reach.
Except for Nationals, when you go to major Bouldering events you are usu-
ally climbing against women sometimes twice your age. Was it intimidating at
first?
I started competing in “Open” competitions when I was 11, and at first, whenever
I made finals, I would be so nervous and intimidated by all the amazing, strong
women. But everyone in the climbing community is so encouraging and supportive.
All those older women have really helped me learn how to have a competition mind-
set and how to be like them. Now I really love competitions where I can compete
against pro women, and it is so much fun. I have made friends with a bunch of
people and they are all really sweet and awesome.
Everybody says climbing is one big family. Is it that way at competitions?
Ever since I started climbing, everyone I have met has been so nice and fun to be
around. No one is ever mean to each other, and it’s that way in competitions too.
All of my competitors cheer each other on, and congratulate one another. It’s a
very unique sport, because everyone is always happy for each other, even if they
beat you. A lot of my friends play other sports, and they are all so competitive
towards one another and I’ve never seen that in climbing. Its really cool. In school,
sometimes girls can be very clicky and mean but in this community we all look out
for each other and make sure we stay above all that. Also, boys and girls and men
and women are very equal in this sport, I feel like we are all just trying to support
each other to be as strong as we can be and have fun while we do it.
Tell us about your injury leading up to the JR Worlds?
About three months before Worlds, I broke my foot, tripping over a shovel (I know,
I need a better story). It took a lot longer to heal than expected. The doctor gave
me a boot and told me it was a very minor fracture and I would be back to climb-
ing within four weeks, in time for Divisionals for Sport climbing (I was hoping to
make the U.S. team for Sport climbing too). Four weeks later, I went back to the
doctor and we took an x-ray, the fracture had separated making it much larger
than it had been in the beginning. I had to skip Divisionals and my chance at Sport
climbing Nationals. I got put into a cast for 6 weeks, and I couldn’t do anything.
When the six weeks were up, I got another x-ray. Most of the bone had healed up,
and I got shoved in another boot for two more weeks. I tried to keep my core, and
upper body strong but it was hard. Finally, eight days before we left for Italy, I was
cleared. I was still very afraid to fall on it, but was able to practice a little. It was the
worst summer ever and I got really sad because I couldn’t climb or do anything