Josh Larson made a decision to dedicate his life to climbing and hasn’t looked back.
JOSH LARSON can confidently say that he has dedicated his life to climbing. However, things could have been very different as not too long ago he was working a nine to five job as an electrician.
After digging deep Josh made the decision to return to climbing and has gone on to pursue all the dreams and ambitions any young climber may have. He’s travelled the world and made first ascents which have made him a worldwide name in the climbing community.
In this exclusive interview Josh talks to us about what it was that drove him to give up his job and pursue his real passion in life and who have been his biggest supporters and mentors along the way.
Read on to find out about some of his incredible first ascents, his work as a coach and where in the world the sport has taken him.
When did you start climbing and who were your biggest supporters and influences at the beginning?
I started climbing when I was about 14 years old when I visited my Uncle Jeff in Jackson Hole Wy. He took me to an artificial outdoor wall where the wall instructor said that if I reached the top of the expert course (hardest route in climbing lingo) he would give me a harness to take back to Boston and learn how to climb. Needless to say, that was the beginning of what I will end of doing for the rest of my life.
My biggest supporters when I was younger were my parents and family, they were (and still are at age 30) so very supportive of my lifestyle, sport and hobby choices.
Some of the pro climbers who I looked up to and who I would watch VHS tapes of climbing during that time were: Dean Potter, Chris Sharma, Lisa Rands and Dave Graham. All of whom pushed themselves in different places and styles that made it clear to me that no matter what I wanted to do in climbing, there was something for me.
Tangy Dudeness V10 (first ascent) in the Tetons, WY. Photo Vince Schaefer
You trained as an electrician and started to live life with a 9 to 5 job. How hard was it to give that up and turn your focus back to climbing?
Well, right now I would say it wasn’t hard at all, but at the time I was scared and nervous. So many different perspectives and people giving advice kept it hard to really just dive one way or the other. But, I went from cold, and dove to hot, I fully flipped right back into climbing.
I didn’t look at a climbing magazine (or watch a climbing video on VHS tape) for five years, but I knew, no matter where climbing was, I needed to
be back.
be back.
Timing played a big role too, during the transition, I was put on an electrical job that required me to drive hours away from home, third shift (11pm to 7am) and work in freezers switching out fans. At the same time, the first major climbing gym was soon to open in my hometown and they needed setters and coaches.
At that point, I did a 180 flip and dove deep into the beginning of my climbing career.
The Baptist V10 (first ascent) near Rumney NH. Photo Vince Schaefer
What have been some of your biggest achievements in climbing to date and where in the country and the world has the sport taken you?
Climbing is something that can take you to places of the world you wouldn’t normally go as a traveling tourist. A lot of famous climbing areas aren’t in the tourist areas, you don’t go there to see the attractions, you go there for the pure adventure of doing something you love.
The sport has taken me from my hometown to Macedonia, Greece, China, Serbia, most of Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Belize and all over North America.
Some of my most memorable achievements in climbing have been making the adult US Climbing team three years in a row and competing internationally for the US Team. Placing 12th at an International Bouldering World Cup in 2013 and third at our 2015 US Bouldering Nationals and winning the the UBC Championship in 2012, were some of my competitive highlights.
I’m happy about my outdoor achievements because I’ve been able to put my training from competition to good use and climb grades up to V14 and 5.14b. I’ve put in a lot of my recent years into the development of climbing areas including Puerto Rico and in the alpine of the Grand Tetons.
The biggest and most proud achievement in my climbing has been making climbing my life and pouring all my energy into making it the only thing that I do. Because its the only thing I want to do. Having the opportunities to do such a thing, is rewarding by itself even without the competition results or outdoor grades.
Spectre V14 in the Bishop, CA.
Tell us about your passion for discovering and developing new boulders and cliffs and what have been some of your best finds?
I love the process and excitement that I get when I start to search out a new area or boulder. That feeling is something special to me and I think it goes back to when I was a little lad and I would go hunting with my father or exploring in our back woods alone, looking for something, anything that I could find.
I really enjoy picking up a guide book to a developed area and going out and pushing myself by climbing as hard as I can, but those things change when I go to an area that hasn’t seen much climbing.
In the Tetons (Jackson Hole WY) I would search for boulders on google maps in each of the canyons to see where I should hike, then I will go for a long hike into that canyon and surrounding areas to search and recon what is there. The next step is going back to what is worth the time and energy and clean up the boulder by creating a safe landing zone, brush off dust/dirt and chalk up holds. Then, we try to climb these lines by using skills that we have developed throughout our years of climbing and apply them to these random boulders that we find all over the mountains.
I really enjoy the challenge of searching for the correct methods, using the right foot holds, hand holds and sequencing. There is no previous beta from a friend or photo/video to help you. It’ s all on your own to decipher the puzzle and get to
the top.
the top.
Some of my favorite First Ascents are: ‘Tangy Dudeness’ (V10) in the Garnet Canyon of the Grand Tetons. This boulder sits at 11,000’ elevation with the hike starting at 6,500’. You have to work to get to this gem, but the movement, quality, experience and view is worth the two-hour hike. (Note: this is the longest hike in the Tetons to any of our developed boulders).
A second favourite is a climb in Puerto Rico called ‘More Dreams than Money’
(V8) is an on a big granite egg that sits on a grassy hillside overlooking the Caribbean ocean in the small town of Yabucoa.
(V8) is an on a big granite egg that sits on a grassy hillside overlooking the Caribbean ocean in the small town of Yabucoa.
Maybe my favorite line that I’ve had the opportunity to establish is something close to home called ‘The Baptism’ (V10) and is the next town over from a famous climbing area called Rumney, NH. The 25’ line climbs over a river with the water only being 3’ deep where the fall zone is, making it a scary, no falling
allowed shallow water solo.
allowed shallow water solo.
Tangy Dudeness V10 (first ascent) in the Tetons, WY. Photo Vince Schaefer
Where are you living currently and how much do you get to climb?
I am based out of Boston, Ma and I have family living there so I often
call this my home or base camp. I’ve been travelling for the last year and a half, splitting my time between living with my girlfriend in the South of France, Puerto Rico in the winter, Jackson Hole WY in the summers and filling in the blanks with small trips to climbing areas, new and old.
call this my home or base camp. I’ve been travelling for the last year and a half, splitting my time between living with my girlfriend in the South of France, Puerto Rico in the winter, Jackson Hole WY in the summers and filling in the blanks with small trips to climbing areas, new and old.
I’d say on average I climb five or six days a week, mostly outside, but it depends on the time of year. If I’m training for a competition, I devote 2 months to inside climbing and training. If there is not comp, I devote all of my time to the real rock.
What challenges and goals do you have set for the rest of the year and beyond?Are there any exciting projects in the pipeline?
I’ m excited for the upcoming year; I head to Paris as the Adult US Climbing Coach during the 2016 IFSC Climbing World Championship. I also head to China to coach the first University World Champions, then off to Serbia to climb with the Serbian Climbing Federation, teach clinics and climb on some of their
famous cliffs.
famous cliffs.
After that, it’s back to Puerto Rico for the winter. Something a bit further down the pipeline is a world climbing tour with my girlfriend and a pro climber from France Charlotte Durif. We are excited to start planning this adventure and visit places we dreamt of going.
In addition to your questions, I’d just like to give a quick shout-out/
thank you to my supporters – Gramicci clothing, Fiveten footwear, DMM climbing gear, Organic Climbing crash pads, Friction Labs chalk and Share roasters coffee.
thank you to my supporters – Gramicci clothing, Fiveten footwear, DMM climbing gear, Organic Climbing crash pads, Friction Labs chalk and Share roasters coffee.
To find out more about Josh Larson visit his website at www.thepushtosend.com or find him on Instagram at Joshlrsn or Facebook at
Josh Larson.
Josh Larson.
