Youth of Today: Leah Crane

by Adrian Berry on 8 April 2003

Leah Crane has a broad range of achievements for her tender age. Currently she is in second place to 16 year old Jemma Powell in the British Indoor Climbing Championships, and has gone from never touching rock to onsighting long technical sport routes of up to f7a+. She has onsight deep-water-soloed E4 6a, and even had a brush with big wall sport climbing. A gymnast of a very high standard, she has applied her strength and understanding of training to climbing – with incredible results. At the Italian Job competition at the Mile End Wall in London she got first place in the under 14 boys and girls category. At the 2002 BRYCS, she got third place, despite being at the very bottom end of her age category (13 – 15). Her goal is to compete on the British Competition Climbing Team, and has made a very clear decision – climbing will be her life.

Can you tell me the story of how you got involved in climbing?
When my brother was in scouts he went outside with the group and I was allowed to have a go. I was 3.

What do you most enjoy about climbing?
I most enjoy trying new things and meeting different people

What do you most enjoy about gymnastics?
I most enjoy experimenting different moves at harder levels at gym

Do you think you have enough energy and time to do both?
I put more time into climbing but I’m still doing gym because it’s a big help to my climbing and in terms of energy. I rest when I’m tired and don’t when I’m not.

What was it like to climb outside for the first time?
I went outdoors ages ago with some friends but didn’t take it seriously but now I know a lot more it was weird doing it properly for the first time. It was like I was a beginner and didn’t know how to climb

How is rock climbing different to climbing indoors on plastic?
Outdoors is so different from indoors because you get ’3D weirdness’ indoors and you don’t know what the holds are like, you don’t know where the holds are, if they are holds at all. Plus exposure and surroundings etc.

What are you most motivated by in climbing?
In climbing I get motivated by watching other people and by what other people have done. They psyche me and I psyche them.

What is the best and worst thing about competitions?
Worst thing about comps is getting psyched out in isolation. The best thing is having fun while you’re taking part, if your not it’s boring.

What sort of training do you do for climbing?
My training doesn’t really have a schedule I just do what I feel like doing, but I train for stamina before a leading comp

You’ve been on two climbing trips abroad, can you tell me how they went?
The first one to Arco was really good. I was quite new to sport-climbing then, if I’d done any at all, but all good experience. The Sardinia trip was cool as well – it’s the second time I’ve sport climbed before abroad and I got my hardest grade yet out of it

Tell me about your day at the deep water soloing festival, how did it feel to do Freeborn Man (E4 6a)?
The day at the DWSF was awesome. There were so many nice people there. I’d been down to Lulworth cove a couple of days before but didn’t like the idea of climbing above the sea so I just sat and watched. So when I did Freeborn man I just felt like jumping up and down and screaming my head off. I have to thank all the people that psyched me up for it though, because if they hadn’t, who knows – I might not have done it.

Tell me about the multi pitch route you did in Sardinia – a bit of an adventure?!
The multipitch was just the same but so much more weirder. I’ve never climbed in the dark before. We arrived there about 3 O’clock after about six times getting lost. So Jim and Steve [McClure] set off. Then about 30 minutes later me and Neil [Gresham] set off. The view just got better the higher we went. (around about 1,200ft ) but I soon started to notice the light was dimming and Steve made the comment “who turned the lights out!” it was 11 pitches long and we were on the 8th when the lights went out. Things just took so much longer, at one point I Wondered what was going to happen but then Neil and Steve just sorted it all out. Eventually we got to the top of the crag shattered. Then realised we had e VERY long walk through sharp bushes and unstable rock before we got back to the car. At last we found the road with Obi Wan (Steve) leading the way. 10:40 got to the car. Time to sit down. When we got back to where we were staying, there was nothing else I could do but crawl into bed. The next morning I had a look at my legs but could hardly see them from all the scratches. But now I look back and think what an awesome experience I had!

How did it feel to onsight your first 7a and 7a+ within a week?
When I do my next hardest grade outside or inside I just feel so relieved that I put all that effort in and got the best thing out of it. To do 7a and 7a+ in a week was awesome. One of the 7a+’s that I did was my favourite out of any of the sport climbs I’ve ever done.

20 Questions: Leah Crane »