EP 06: Brittany Goris — FFA of ‘Stingray’, On and Off Mode, and Living the Dirtbag Dream

Brittany Goris is a rock climber, graphic design artist, and self-proclaimed dirtbag. Her recent obsession has been projecting hard single-pitch trad climbs. We talked about her recent ascent of ‘Stingray’ 5.13d in Joshua Tree, the allure of dirtbagging, training on the road, finding community, tips for onsighting, free WiFi, and learning patience.  

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patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  

Show Notes:  

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/brittany-goris   

Nuggets:  

2:23 – Deciding to go to Joshua Tree, becoming infatuated with “The Dirtbag Thing”, and Brittany’s four goal-routes    

5:17 – Racking up attempts on ‘Stingray’ and comparing it to ‘City Park’   

6:57 – ‘City Park’ and ‘Stingray’ compared to Brittany’s other hardest climbs   

8:02 – Flirting with an overuse injury and her swollen right index finger   

10:39 – The breakdown of ‘Stingray’   

14:33 – The weather as a factor, ideal conditions, and added sending pressure   

16:55 – Thriving on pressure   

17:59 – Brittany’s process working on ‘Stingray’, dealing with tendonitis, ring workouts, and supplemental training   

22:24 – On or off mode, and Brittany’s life over the holidays, and vacation mode vs. projecting mode    

26:42 – Brittany’s endurance base and why she didn’t need to focus on endurance for ‘Stingray’   

28:36 – Making an effort to get more sleep and drinking too much climber coffee   

29:53 – The different catalysts that help Brittany find the “on mode”   

31:22 – Embracing the “off mode”, and balancing the two modes   

34:15 – Being discipline in specific ways, and being all in vs. moderation   

35:34 – How Brittany chooses her objectives and where she travels to next and finding a sense of place   

39:45 – Brittany’s thoughts on whether dirtbagging makes recovery harder, living in a CRV, and cooking meals in a JetBoil for a year   

42:32 – Brittany’s beta for camp chairs and working remotely   

45:54 – Favorite rest day activities, playing games, spending time with the people, and running and stretching to relax and Brittany’s version of meditation   

48:32 – Writing and journaling, writing one sentence per day, and tracking time spent in each location   

52:19 – How Brittany got into climbing and why she never fell in love with Bishop   

54:36 – How Brittany thinks about bouldering vs. route climbing and her plans to get in shape for Yosemite   

58:48 – Building on community from place to place, and the best thing about climbing   

1:01:50 – Brittany’s approach to onsight climbing, onsighting tactics, and why it might be her favorite style of climbing   

1:07:10 – Always going for the onsight, getting on ‘Weekend Whipper’, getting into sketchy situations, and Brittany’s close call this summer   

1:10:14 – Balancing onsight climbing with redpointing and projecting, Brittany’s thoughts on (not) warming up, and sussing out a route for a 2nd go redpoint    

1:16:53 – Creating art, making her van feel like home, and tips for feeling grounded on the road, van life, showers, remote working, and fast internet   

1:21:51 – Early road rage and practicing patience   

1:24:58 – Brittany’s struggle with self patience, and chasing her best self   

1:25:43 – Reading, most impactful books, and dropping everything to pursue the love of climbing  

1:28:26 – Developing routes vs. engaging with history and writing yourself into a pre-existing story  

1:30:24 – Dreaming of Yosemite, unknowns, and learning mindset  

1:32:57 – Plans for ‘The Stigma’ (aka ‘The Renegade’), ‘The Phoenix’, and ‘Cosmic Debris’  

1:34:53 – Brittany’s dream of climbing 5.14 on gear, sharing goals vs. the “pre-spray”, and bouldering on gear  

1:36:43 – The thing Brittany is most grateful for lately  

1:38:19 – The dirtbag dream—has it lived up to it?