EP 137: Drew Ruana & Cameron Hörst — Lessons from Recent Sends, Training for Bouldering vs. Sport Climbing, and Leveling Up to V18 and 5.15c

Drew Ruana is back on the podcast and is joined by his friend Cameron Hörst, who is one of the best young sport climbers in the country. We talked about lessons they’ve each learned from recent sends, what it was like growing up as kid crushers, training for bouldering vs. sport climbing, how to stay strong while projecting, Drew’s thoughts on climbing V18, and Cam’s thoughts on climbing 5.15c.

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Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/drew-and-cameron

Nuggets:

0:06:31 – What they climbed on today

0:07:59 – Drew’s skin injury in Bishop back in 2020

0:09:38 – Cam’s bouldering trip to CO, and plans to do more bouldering

0:12:04 – Why Drew pivoted to bouldering

0:14:38 – Why ‘The Ice Knife’ and ‘Dire Wolf’ stand out to Drew

0:18:58 – How Drew balances hard projects with quick ticks, and trying ‘Megatron’ V17 for 70+ days

0:23:57 – Cam’s experiences climbing ‘Bone Tomahawk’ 15a and ‘Resisting Arrest’ 14d

0:27:43 – Training mode for Big Claw 14d

0:30:00 – Patron question from Tristan: For Drew, what are 1-3 things you’ve learned from doing so many hard boulders in CO?

0:34:23 – What keeps the fire burning for Drew, and the drug rush of sending a new hard boulder

0:36:36 – How many V16s are there in the world?

0:37:22 – Drew’s thoughts on switching back to sport climbing, and how many 5.15s there are in the US

0:41:53 – The Grand Illusion

0:44:15 – Taking a gap year to try to climb 5.15, and what Cam learned from climbing with Joe Kinder and doing ‘Bone Tomahawk’

0:49:57 – Patron question from Howard: Cam, what position did you play in high school football? Did any skills from football transfer to climbing?

0:52:35 – Having a team (or climbing partner) who builds you up

0:54:59 – Wes Schweitzer (NFL offensive lineman)

1:00:23 – Patron question from Xander: Cam, do you still play football? Did you train for climbing during football season?

1:03:58 – How team sports helped make Cam a well-rounded athlete, and being exposed to lots of different things growing up

1:07:13 – Drew and Cam’s thoughts on their different upbringings as kid climbers

1:13:50 – Patron question from Eli: What did they love/hate about being kid crushers? What do they appreciate about how their parents handled their climbing lives?

1:19:02 – Patron question from Christoph: Cam, what was it like having a famous coach as a dad? And Cam’s plans to carry the torch

1:23:48 – Patron question from Xander: How do you balance training and sending? Do you cycle between training and sending, or can both happen concurrently? (Drew’s bench press and pull-up numbers)

1:29:22 – Drew’s thoughts on spending the last three years only focused on outdoor bouldering

1:33:14 – Cam’s thoughts on the difference between training for bouldering vs. sport climbers, and how he balances training and performance cycles

1:39:36 – Drew’s thoughts on maintaining his aerobic base when focusing on bouldering

1:46:25 – Patron question from Bryce: I’m about to hit the road for a year. Should I mix in training to keep my strength up?

1:49:52 – The guys give me their recommendations for keeping my strength up on a three-month sport climbing trip

1:54:28 – Cam’s goal to climb 5.15b (9b), what it would take for him to climb 15c (9b+), and plans for his career

2:00:35 – Drew’s thoughts on what it will take for him to climb V18

2:06:58 – Drew’s recent FA of Distortion V16, and plans to climb more V16s

2:12:13 – Cam’s plans for the Fin Cave

2:13:24 – Drew’s thoughts on his career

2:17:33 – Flow state

2:19:39 – Who Cam is most impressed by in climbing

2:21:31 – Who Drew is most impressed by in climbing