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Over the year’s humans have achieved the impossible.
From Landing on the moon to summiting the beast called Everest, we stretch the limits and we test the boundaries. Often we achieve these amazing feats with a companion on our wrists.
In this month’s blog post we’ve got something exciting for you. Watch World spent some time with David Naude and we got to ask him a couple of questions regarding the world of boulder climbing.
David is a full-time sports climber from Cape town who has competed across the world with some of the strongest up and coming talents in the climbing scene. His passion for the outdoors is incredible and has led him to some gem destinations in South Africa. Some of his favourite climbing spots include the Rocklands found in the beautiful Cederberg mountains.
In fact, David loves this area so much that he decided to start an NPO to protect the area for generations to come.
But more on that later, let’s jump to the interview we did with him.
When you go out on a climbing expedition, what do you normally pack?
Most of the time when I go climbing in Rocklands with friends we take all our camping essentials such as food, climbing clothes, sleeping gear and coffee for those early mornings. I also take like 4 pairs of climbing shoes for various climbs and climbing elements when I go out climbing. Other than that we take our boulder pads for some insurance when we do fall off the boulders.
Do you and your buddies challenge yourself when climbing and like how would that work?
With Bouldering, in general, the sport is based on challenging yourself. We use a grading system to decide what the difficulty level is of a certain boulder that we climb. Because climbing is really an individual sport, we try and get each other to attempt climbs that’s not particularly in our comfort zone and that’s where the challenge starts.
What are the elements that make up a good rock climber?
I think there’s a lot of factors that contribute to being a good climber. Things like physical strength, finger and shoulder strength play a huge role, but so does mental strength. Having a solid mindset goes a long way to ultimately achieving your goal.
When you guys are climbing how does the session work? And for how long do you climb?
So our session starts off with a cup of coffee and then we decide on which boulders we want to go and climb for the day. Usually, this involves somewhat of a hike where we also carry our crash pads with us. When we get to our preferred boulder we arrange the falling pads in a safe position so that you know the landing is good and that you won’t hurt yourself. After that, we normally start off with a warmup where we take an easier climb to get some blood flowing and then we slowly transition over to our harder boulder for today and start planning the route and our climb.
How many hours have you spent climbing and sharpening your skills?
I started climbing at the age of 12. My brother in law was into mountain rescue and he kind of got me into the climbing scene. Back in 2008 I bought my first harness and went to the climbing gym on occasion. I stopped climbing all together for a while and then in 2012 I decided to go and do a competition and from there on out, I haven’t stopped climbing for more than a few days at a time. In terms of climbing hours, I wouldn’t even know where to start counting.
You seem to be quite competitive, would you say that this characteristic is prominent in most climbers?
In the competitive climbing scene everyone’s quite competitive. The people I climb with today are all my competitors for the Africa Cup which is the qualifier for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. We went to Europe to train for that and unfortunately, the qualifier got cancelled due to Covid-19. We’re hoping that in December the competition will be back on and that at least one of us can qualify for the Tokyo 2021. I must say that when I’m out in the Rocklands I don’t take it to competitively like I said the only battle is against yourself. I try not to be competitive when I’m bouldering but when it’s a competition it’s obviously a different story and it’s exactly the same for the other climbers I hang around with.
How long does a good climbing session/workout last for?
Normally we will head on out for the day leaving at like 11h00 and coming back at around 17h00. Depending on who comes along and what types of boulders we are trying to climb will determine our session for the day. However, in general, I climb for a bit more than four hours with breaks in between and lunch on the mountain, before my body is just too tired to go on.
How many times a week do you train?
I train usually about six times a week with a rest day every now and again. When I’m in Cape Town training, things are a bit more formal than it is out at Rocklands. When we are climbing on a rock we climb when we feel fresh and when the weather cooperates because we really want it to be cold and super dry for climbing.
So David how Important is timing in the climbing process?
When it comes to conquering some of the hardest boulders in the world, timing is everything. Knowing how long to rest between attempts is paramount in giving your muscles the maximum amount of energy possible in order to continue climbing boulders.
Do you wear a watch yourself?
Yes, I do. When I go out and climb I’ll use a fitness tracking watch to keep track of my progress and when I go out with friends I’ll wear something a little bit more sophisticated but functional to the occasion of course.
What is the comfort level of your watches?
I have never really had any problems with the comfort level of my watches. However, I would say that rubber straps are far more comfortable to wear for me, than leather straps or links. When you’re climbing you need your body as close to the rock, especially when it comes to grips so you don’t really want to be wearing a bulky watch.
How’s the durability of your previous watches?
Not very durable hey. They don’t seem to last very long in my industry.
Would you recommend a compact watch to another climber like yourself?
Definitely, something as simple as having the time on your wrist in a compact, durable and low maintenance manner is so useful from timing rests to knowing when to get up for that dawn patrol mission.
Who is your role model in the world of Rock climbing?
Many people inspire me in climbing. I usually get all of my inspiration from any climber trying hard to achieve what he didn’t think was possible and then they achieve it. Braking that mental barrier from “I can’t” to “I can” is something we all should get to experience.
David tell us a bit more about your project, saving the Rocklands?
So before lockdown, we actively used Rocklands as kind of our bouldering HQ and when everything closed down it had some devastating consequences for the area and the local communities around Rocklands. Tony and I decided to get the climbing community involved and decided to start a crowdfunding site which eventually morphed into Save Rocklands. With the major loss in tourism, Rocklands can’t survive without our help, so we decided to sit down with the farmers and see what their needs are and how we can meet them. The Rocklands valley is one of the top three base bouldering destinations in the world, so it’s mostly depended on climbers that travel here every winter. Cape nature sold three thousand permits to international climbers coming down to Rocklands travelling from all over the world to come and climb these boulders. Without any of that income, the community was really struggling, so we decided to start helping where we can.
From humble beginnings, David has excelled and achieved the unachievable. With cool resilience, pure grit and determination he’s on his way to scale all the way to the top of his field. Humans have always and will continue to push the limits, moving out of the confines of the achievable and progressively pushing to achieve the impossible.
A wrist companion that will be there when you achieve the unachievable is definitely this versatile and extremely durable CAT SPECIAL OPS1 which features a slim yet sporty design construction. A watch for any man who loves the outdoors and values spending time with nature.
Shop our Online store now and discover the latest collection of CAT watches. Watch World would like to thank David for taking the time to show us the incredible world of boulder climbing and we wish you all the best with Tokyo 2021.
