Sonnie Trotter: Trainin’ Like A Rock Star
June 12, 2008
Sonnie Trotter recently redpointed “Rhapsody” an E11 7a (5.14c R) in Scotland. Those of us that have little clue as to what the numbers signify–well, I will just tell ya, It is a pretty tough bit of climbing. So tough, in fact, that only one other person had ever done it before. Dave MacLeod made the first ascent back in 2006.
I’m not going to sit here and highlight this event, nor Mr. Trotter’s amazing rock climbing abilities. Nope. I’m just going to let you watch a small video of Sonnie Trotter training. Why? Well, you’ll soon realize why he is one of the best climbers in the world today. He is dedicated. Watch and cringe. You just might want to grab an icepack out of the fridge before you hit “Play.”
This video has actually been out for a year, or so, but Summer over at the Vice/Virtue blog brought this to my attention. You don’t get training videos like this often, but it does let you in to the rare world of being a top notch climber. I feel my fingertips bleeding and breaking every time I see it.
Sonnie also happens to keep up his own blog. This was news to me, as well. Will Gadd, who runs the Gravsports blog, mentioned this in a recent post, and for anyone that follows Sonnie, his blog is the place to be. Not only is he an amazing climber, but he is also the intellect behind this great piece of literature:
A Canadian man from Timmins, is walking down the street with a brown paper bag tucked under his arm, when suddenly he bumps into a buddy on the corner.
“whatcha got there Joe?” He asked.
“A case of beer Rick. I got it for my wife.” Joe replies.
“Oh. Good trade!”
Sonnie shares anything and everything with the world. It is a fascinating journey into the life of one of today’s top climbers. Just because these guys (and girls–had to get that in there for Summer) climb, doesn’t mean they don’t lead pretty normal lives away from the rock. Once on the rock, though, they become monsters.
Speaking of Monsters, check out Will Gadd’s blog. He is always doing something crazy…
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Written by Jason A. Hendricks · Filed Under Blogs, Rock Climbing, blogging |
Now I want to go to the gym….
My exercises look very tame compared to this, I will have to start being serious!