Half Life http://www.climbing.com/exclusive/features/half_life/

By Jeff Achey / Photos by Boone Speed

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Sharma has delivered everything that “the next generation” is supposed to
in rock climbing. He has been setting new standards for 15 years—half his
life. And now, on April 23, he turns 30.

You could define an old-school climber as one who remembers a time “before
Sharma.” From his boy-wonder teenage days to his meditative 20s, Chris
Sharma has captured our imaginations, inspiring us not only with his routes—
 Necessary Evil, The Mandala, Realization, Witness the Fitness, Dreamcatcher,
Es Pontas, Jumbo Love—but also with his humility. Sharma was so soft-spoken,
so mellow, that when he showed up at a national championship or the X Games,
he seemed almost out of place. And when he’d win, it was as if the victory
belonged to climbing itself, a triumph over the competitive and narcissistic
hang-ups tainting our art-slash-sport. Besides, his free-swinging style was
great to watch.

We caught up with Sharma in October, outside a bagel shop in Boulder,
Colorado, where he had come to do a benefit slide show. In a three-hour
interview, it became very clear that he’s still just as psyched as when he
was a scrawny 15-year-old, campusing to the top of the climbing world. He
firmly believes his hardest climbs are still to come. But now he has a house,
a girlfriend of three years, and a dog. His soul patch has grayed a bit, and
he has wisdom to share about climbing that all of us can relate to. Which
shouldn’t be surprising. An athletic gift is given by nature, but for the
gift to keep on giving, your guiding philosophy must stand the test of time.
Sharma’s has.

You have this public image as the “spiritual climber.” Is that an accurate
description?

I feel like I have been portrayed like that. People, interviewers, whatever,
they try to put you in a box, you know? Not that it’s not true, but at the
same time I feel like that’s not telling the whole story. I think it’s
really just trying to be true to yourself and as authentic as possible. Not
trying to strategically create some image.

So, as a professional climber, how do you keep it real?

I think for me, whenever I’ve gone climbing, it’s because I really wanted
to go climbing, not because I wanted to try to outdo someone or prove
something to the world. There is this side of my climbing that’s professional
—it’s like my job. But I feel like I’ve found a good way of separating
those things. If I go to a trade show, or a competition, or a slideshow, that
’s when I’m on the clock, being a professional climber.