On September 10, 2009, I sat down at The Standard with local hard-man and ex-PRG staffer Ryan Palo, to get the low-down on his latest climbing exploits.  Here’s what he had to say…

T – Most folks reading this probably know you from your days setting routes at the PRG…what are you doing now?

R – Well, since leaving the PRG I’ve been working on finishing up my post-bacc in accounting.  Currently I work as an intern at CMS, a heavy equipment manufacturer, in their accounts finance department.  I know it sounds boring, but the company and the people are great, which really makes a 40-hour workweek bearable.

T – How has school and the 8-5 grind affected your climbing?

R – Well, I’m a weekend warrior now…sad but true.  And since I spend so much time on my ass, I’ve found it necessary to double my training efforts.  Every day after work I do something, whether it’s climbing, running or lifting weights.  I definitely map out my climbing sessions in the gym, some days working contact strength on the hangboard, other days working endurance or power endurance.

T – How did you come up with your program?

R – I read a book a long time ago by Udo Neuman and Dale Goddard called Performance Rock Climbing, which advocated training with a specific goal in mind and then measuring your goal…nothing too radical, just taking principles people had been using for decades and applying them to rock climbing.  I also read a book by these guys Mark and Mike Anderson, a couple of my heroes…

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On Dec. 8, 2004 I had the pleasure of interviewing PRG member Marcus Donaldson, over breakfast at the J&M Café in Southeast Portland. The sun was bright, the coffee bottomless, and after a few minutes of off-the-record chit-chat, we got down to business…

T – You’ve been climbing for about 12 years…how’d you get started?

M – I was in Arizona, and I met a fellow from Switzerland…and he wasn’t really that passionate about it, but he had the skills, so I begged him every sunny day, which was a lot in Arizona, to go out and take me on routes and show me how to do the deal.

T – So were you pretty hooked right off the bat?

M – Oh, completely…completely. First times I remember getting out there, I was just, this is it, this is what I want to do. Basically just went out every day and got into trouble, led what we could, backed off a lot of stuff too…stoppers and rap slings littered all over Arizona from our learning days.

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