Click here for part 1 of the interview
Who was or is your role model, and how does it feel to now be a role model for others?
I never had a specific role model, but everyone around me is a role model for me – regardless of what level they climb at. Because everyone has something about them that you can learn from. Especially on the mental level. Some people, for example, can stay completely relaxed in their head, and I find that really impressive. That's why I don't really see myself as a role model either, even though it's hard to avoid when you climb hard. It's certainly a strange and unfamiliar feeling for me, but I hope I can pass on to others that they should simply enjoy climbing and not take things too seriously. Also, that they should simply try many routes and work on their weaknesses, and most importantly: simply have fun.
The difficulty rating is often "just" a guideline. Depending on what style suits you, one route will be easier or harder for everyone. What has been your most challenging route so far and why?
I can only confirm that. So often I climb a route, for example a 10, that feels much easier than a 9. That's why I never really worry about the grades and really only take them as a guide to know what to expect when starting the climbing route. Everyone also has different prerequisites. I am quite small and people quickly say that it wouldn't be possible on a multi-pitch route. But you can always stand high up or find an intermediate hold. Because of this, it feels differently difficult for everyone. But the cool thing about climbing is also that everyone can practice the sport regardless of their prerequisites, and therefore you cannot generalize the difficulty ratings for everyone.
What was my most challenging route? That's a tough question. Several come to mind, but one particularly stands out: Dures Limites in Ceuse, which I climbed this summer. In the first three attempts I couldn't even link the individual moves together and it felt like a very long way to the send. In the third attempt I also didn't get the individual moves that had already worked on the first try. Apart from that, I also had to link several moves before and after. I realized then: this needs a lot more work and repetition. I then made my fifth attempt and it was such a "magical go", where everything went like clockwork and I still cannot believe that this was the send go and I really climbed this route. That was such a huge difference between the feeling of outbouldering and the sudden send. But there are also many other routes that go back much further and were my performance limits at the time. I was often close to giving up and yet always such a lucky day would come, where you think afterwards: "why did it take me so long?", because it felt so carefree during the send. Those are always really beautiful moments, when everything just works by itself and you no longer have to think about what you have to do next.
This year you also got to catch a glimpse of the World Cup under Corona conditions. Will we see you more often at competitions next year or does rock climbing remain your great passion?
It was an awesome experience to be at the World Cup and it was simply something completely different from sport climbing on rock. Especially in the semi-finals: I immediately had the coolest starting position as the first starter. I think you cannot imagine anything cooler than starting without pressure and without the risk of getting worse. In that respect, it was a rather small audience with 3000 people, but for me a huge audience! It is something completely different to climb when such a crowd is cheering behind you. An amazing feeling! That was really fun and I definitely plan to start competitions again next year. But first you have to see how things go with Corona and whether climbing competitions are allowed to take place. Then I also have to see where I am allowed to start. But I really want to and I am definitely fully motivated! Nevertheless, rock climbing remains my great passion and I will continue to climb mainly outdoors. If I know that I can start competitions, then I will also go to the gym a few times, because I can train better for competition climbing there. There you learn the holds and screw styles, I also have to practice the coordination moves and modern climbing styles there, because I lack them from front to back. You simply cannot train that on rock. Otherwise, I will dedicate every free minute to rock climbing, because I simply enjoy it the most.
What are your goals for the winter and for next year?
It has often been the case that I achieved my goals unexpectedly quickly and therefore it is a bit difficult for me to set realistic goals for the near future. I am also simply satisfied with how things are going and I do not want to put pressure on myself that things have to go even better. It is normal that you achieve something and that makes you satisfied for a while and then motivation comes again, where you then see if you can somehow continue and still improve. In any case, I have the feeling that my limit has not yet been reached and I want to see where my limits are. I have now considered a few routes over the past time and last summer that are harder than 8c I think, but also routes that are a bit below 8c, which definitely challenge me enough. I have already tried some of them and partly outbouldered them or already managed all the individual moves, but it is simply still a long way to the send and I am excited to see what else is possible in the near future.
Otherwise my main goal is always to see and try as many routes as possible, and preferably not only at home. But I also really appreciate being able to discover a lot in the area at the moment and I really like being in Tyrol or Kochel at home and in between in Franconia and I enjoy not having any pressure, because you do not have to think "Now I only have one or two days left until departure". So I can simply try the routes in a relaxed way, because I know that I will stay here anyway in the near future.
It is also currently difficult to say when you will be allowed to travel again (hopefully soon!) and then I would be mega motivated to go towards Spain or France or maybe also Greece or Turkey. I already have a few routes in my head, from which I have seen something in movies or heard stories. They do not have to be limit routes either, but simply plenty of climbing routes in all grades that I really want to try. Probably a whole life is not enough for that.
My biggest goal, especially in the current situation, is to stay healthy myself, that family and friends stay healthy and that I do not injure myself. I was also lucky here that I have not had any injuries so far. I just hope to be able to fully enjoy climbing and would be happy if you could travel again soon.
Your questions:
How could Martina become so good so quickly?
Hard to answer and I don't really know that myself. What helped me is that I climbed many different routes and never thought: "that is my goal", but everything was somehow my goal or I had no concrete goal. I simply try every kind of route and I think that through this I have gained a wide range of moves and could read routes quite quickly. It went up quickly at the beginning for me and then I stopped setting expectations, which took the pressure off. That also helped.
How does Martina train?
Actually I don't train at all. I really only go rock climbing and my rest days are determined by the weather and then by how my climbing partners have time and desire. What I do, however, is stretch every day and a little black roll and I try to do a little Theraband and push-ups etc. every three days, because I feel significantly more balanced then. Probably I could climb stronger if I trained specifically, but I simply don't have that much desire and stupid repetitions of a certain exercise bore me rather. It is certainly cool when you then see the successes of the training, but I'd rather climb one grade less and use every free minute on rock for that, instead of "sacrificing" valuable rock climbing time for training. Maybe that will change in the future too – we will see.
Ticklist (personal favorites and highlights):
Sport climbing:
-Roof Warrior 8c 2nd go (Franconia, 2020)
-King of the Bongo 8c 3rd go (Rottachberg, 2020)
-Battle Cat 8c 3rd go (Franconia, 2020)
-Götterquergang lang 8c 3rd go (Götterwandl, 2020)
-Dures Limites 8c 5th go (Céüse, 2020)
-Kale borroka 8b+ 4th go (Siurana, 2019)
-I riflessi del rosso 8b+ 2nd go (Arco, 2020)
-Renegoide 8b+ 5th go (Siurana, 2020)
-Nola 8b+ 2nd go (Franconia, 2020)
-Baby love 8b+ 3rd go (Kochel, 2020)
-Black Bean 8b+ 2nd go (Céüse, 2020)
– Mastermind 8b+ 2nd go (Franconia, 2020)
-Pati pa mi 8b onsight (Siurana, 2019)
-Radote jolie pépère 8b onsight (Céüse, 2020)
-Avanzi di Galera 8a+ onsight (Arco, 2020)
-Sms 8a+ onsight (Franconia, 2020)
-Beauté de chine 8a+ onsight (Tournoux, 2020)
-Encore 8a+ onsight (Céüse, 2020)
– Fingerfood 8a+ flash (Franconia, 2020)
Bouldering:
-Panic Room 7C (Kochel, 2019)
-Amateur 7B+ (Franconia, 2019)
-Wini Two 7B+ (Silvretta, 2019)
-La rampe infinie 7B flash (Bleau, 2019)
-James Bong 7B (Magic Wood, 2019)
-Fangidifigidi 7B (Zillertal, 2019)
-Odin 7B flash (Silvretta, 2019)
-Donnerpfeiffe 7B 2nd go (Silvretta, 2019)
-Sir Borg 7B (Kochel, 2019)
-Tuccami tutta 7A+ (Cresciano, 2019) …
Multi-pitch:
-Gsi or not to be 7c, 8 pitches, 200m, crux pitch 2nd go (Martinswand, 2020)
-Fiedler flunger 7b, 8 pitches, 200m, onsight (Martinswand, 2020
-Tiramisu 7a+, 7 pitches, 180m, onsight (Martinswand, 2020)
