PAIGE CLAASSEN

Tell us how and when you got into climbing?
When I was 9, my family moved to Estes Park, Colorado. I had trouble fitting in and wasn’t very good at the activities I tried, but when my parents took me to the local climbing gym, I knew I’d found my place. Climbing, the sport for misfits, accepted me with open arms.
Over the next ten years, I spent my spare time training in the gym and my weekends traveling around the country for national level competitions. With the support of my family, I traveled to China, Austria, France, and Spain for both youth and adult World Championships.

What do you think was the highlight of your climbing career (so far)? 
Oh man, it’s never just one route. It’s a combination of so many great days out with your favorite people. But I would say Odin’s Eye in Norway and Just Do It in Smith Rock brought the most satisfaction because I didn’t know if they were possible (for me). 

What are you doing when you are not climbing?
I run an NGO called Southern Africa Education Fund. We help kids in rural Namibia access the education necessary to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Currently, we’re working to build new classrooms in a remote Namibian village. Aside from that, I love to cook and sing along to cheesy pop songs. 

Do you have any peculiar eating habits? 
I eat everything, except olives. I love sweets and butter. Most people don’t realize that butter belongs on everything. Especially browned butter. Browned butter on steak, mmmm!  

What stokes you the most?
The second day on a sport project way over my head with bouldery, technical movement and decent rests, in a beautiful setting with blue skies, chilly temps, and a light breeze, with a few eagles flying overhead. And if I’m being really specific, either my husband or close friends should also be psyched on working the route so we can unlock beta together. 

If you could choose a super power, what would it be?
I would choose the super power of being a laid back, easy going human who manages stress well, because that is a quality I just don’t posess.

What was your favorite climbing adventure?
So far, the Flatanger cave in Norway has checked all the aforementioned boxes, and I’ve never been so excited about climbing in my life as I was in that cave. The routes are burly, the stone is immaculate, the rests are mega (although the moves in between them are also mega), and the setting is out of this world. It didn’t hurt that I sent the route I had trained for specifically.