Ambassador Spotlight | Szu-ting Yi
Hometown: Taiwan
Q: What’s your climbing style?
A: Trad climbing, Alpine climbing
Q: What is your proudest accomplishment in climbing and outside of climbing?
A: Several alpine first ascents; climbed 40 desert towers in a season in 2015; got a Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Pennsylvania
Q: What advice would you give to your first-year climbing self?
A: Get some solid movement lessons from a climbing coach. Start bouldering as soon as possible.
Q: Who do you take advice from and why?
A: I haven’t had a particular person in mind.
Q: How has your training for climbing changed in the last year?
A: I dedicated more time to indoor bouldering and started a non-linear strength training program.
Q: How has climbing affected the people you surround yourself with?
A: Climbing makes me have more friends who are progressive thinking, open-minded, and inquisitive.
Q: What have you done to give back to the climbing community?
A: I have written a couple of climbing instructional books and gave classes on traditional climbing. I also have a blog sharing my climbing stories and reflections.
Q: What have you learned from failure?
A: I learned to dissect failures. This way, a failure is not just a failure but useful information. And by looking carefully into the information, I got a more reliable self-evaluation and can adjust my goals accordingly.
Q: Who are the climbers that inspire you the most, and why?
A: Mostly any badass trad/alpine female climbers because I am just that. There’re not many role models out there.
Q: What is your favorite climbing location, and why?
A: Desert Southwest. It’s simply beautiful, and I like sandstone crack climbing.
Q: Why Butora Climbing?
A: I love crack climbing, and Butora Alturas are the best crack climbing shoes I’ve ever worn.
Q: What are your favorite before and after climbing meals?
A: Home-made omelets loaded with vegetables and cheese. Hot soup with chunks of meat.
Q: What is your spirit animal?
A: Cats
Questions from the Internet
These are questions our visitors have asked.
Q: What differences have you found in climbing Narsha versus climbing in Acro?
A: I haven’t had any experience with Narshas.
Q: What tips would you give new outdoor climbers about crag etiquette?
A: Pack out whatever you pack in, and don’t play music loudly.
Q: What tips would you give someone stuck on their project? How do you stay motivated when you are stuck?
A: Try something different or put it aside for a while, climb something else fun, and come back later.
Q: How have you overcome the fear of climbing (fear of falling, failure, etc.)?
A: Try to focus on what I was doing at the moment. Stay focused and stay present.
Check out Dave and Szu Ting's wind traverse adventure.
