EP 27: Audrey Sniezek — Corporate Work, Starting A Gym, and Telling Yourself You Belong

Audrey Sniezek is a software engineer for Microsoft and a former professional climber. We talked about her beginnings in both computer science and climbing, becoming a morning person, her 4 a.m. warmup routine, starting a climbing gym near the Red River Gorge, coaching in China, self-talk for confidence, and her most recent 5.14a.  

Support on Patreon:

patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  

Show Notes:   

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/audrey-sniezek  

Nuggets:  

1:58 – Peanut butter sandwiches, being a finisher of things, the lunch crux, and dry salads  

5:48 – Timex computers, studying computer science, and turning down Microsoft  

10:22 – Temporary job with Microsoft, REI, and “is there any climbing in Washington?”  

12:43 – Bigger and scarier, improving by climbing a lot, lead climbing and pushing personal boundaries  

14:21 – Flexibility with work, squeezing in climbing, and “I’m only as transparent as I need to be.”  

16:03 – Alpine style sport climbing, and becoming a morning person  

17:55 – Audrey’s morning warmup routine  

20:58 – Making the most of morning sessions, swapping days, and finding a COVID pandemic buddy  

23:45 – Waking up extra early to send ‘Lost Horizons’, and commuting to and from climbing  

25:41 – The corporate boomerang, living in a van to climb full time, preferring to stay places longer, and Audrey’s current trifecta  

28:58 – Fitness training, healthcare, why Audrey came back to a corporate job after freelancing, and building trust to achieve a better work/life balance  

34:11 – A shift in company culture due to COVID  

37:15 – A home in Vegas, and starting a gym in near the  Red River Gorge  

40:34 – Starting a computer science program at the Beattyville high school, and how the Beattyville climbing gym came to be  

45:22 – Audrey’s vision for the gym, old-school setting, and watching the kids climb  

47:28 – William’s stroke  

49:37 – How Audrey uses the Beattyville gym and how she balances climbing and training in general  

51:50 – Living in China and accidentally becoming a climbing coach  

56:53 – Splitting up training and coaching, the language barrier, a teary-eyed farewell, and Audrey’s training legacy  

1:00:20 – Audrey’s training session breakdown, Tabata style warmup, technique drills, going back to fundamentals, and training power on easy climbs  

1:03:56 – Why Audrey doesn’t do much Moonboarding or hangboarding  

1:05:39 – Recent finger injury, slowly getting back into the swing, and missing the “try hard”  

1:08:02 – What factors help Audrey “bring it”  

1:08:40 – ‘The Sickness’  

1:13:48 – ‘Black Plague’, linkups, milking climbs for all they’re worth, and new projects  

1:16:39 – Four-year gap between 5.14s, competing in the world cups, and a hamstring injury  

1:18:51 – How Audrey sent ‘The Sickness’ without any specific prep  

1:20:50 – Trying a 5.14 at Mt. Potosi  

1:23:39 – Goals and dreams  

1:26:05 – ‘Dr. Evil’, funky beta, and a surprise send  

1:31:03 –  “The only thing stopping me is me.”  

1:33:32 – 5.14 (or 5.15) in her 50s, “am I a machine”, and trying things sooner rather than later  

1:34:32 – How’s Audrey training changed in her 40s, her own fitness and training resources  

1:36:57 – What Audrey wishes she had known in her 20’s, confidence, and “I belong here”  

1:39:45 – Self-talk, the piece of paper, and “I’m capable.”  

1:41:43 – Low confidence, building yourself up, and reminding yourself that you create your results  

1:42:41 – Gratitude, heartbreak, and community  

1:45:06 – The victory cone