TBP 008 :: Alex Johnson on Training, Hard Female Ascents, and The Swarm

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After many months of trying to find a time that worked for both of our crazy schedules, Alex Johnson and I finally sat down and had a conversation about her climbing, training, eating, and other aspects of her life.

Alex Johnson is an athlete on The North Face team, and she travels the world as a professional climber. She has some V12 ascents under her belt, she's a 2-time world cup winner and 5-time national champ. She's currently living in Las Vegas, but before that she was living out of her RV, following the good weather to her favorite bouldering areas. She spent a lot of time this winter in Bishop trying The Swarm, a V13/V14, which we talk about in the interview.

I've always been a fan of Alex Johnson, and I remember watching her at The Spot competing when she was just a kid really. Her confidence and poise, as well as her incredible strength, have always impressed me.

What We Talked About

• Her biggest accomplishments and biggest failures as a climber
• Which training styles have worked for her and which have not
• What it was like for her to train with the Euros
• How she's training for Vail this year (it's a secret so don't tell anyone)
• How her diet affects her climbing (if at all)
• Whether or not her hard ascents have been downgraded because she's a female
• How she balances being friends and fierce competitors with Angie, Puccio and the other girls

Related Links

• Alex's website is www.aj-ontherocks.blogspot.com
• Alex on Facebook: www.facebook.com/alexjohnsonclimber
• An article in Rock & Ice about Alex's negative experience training in Europe: "Unbroken: The Alex Johnson Profile"

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Music

Intro and outro song: Yesterday by Build Buildings

Photo

Portrait of Alex Johnson by Forest Woodward

Thanks for listening!