EP 63: Megan Mascarenas — Solving Puzzles, Pole Dancing, and Discovering a New Identity

Megan Mascarenas is a multiple-time World Cup gold medalist and the 2016 Open National Champion in bouldering. She is currently 23 years old. We talked about her fascination with puzzles, why she retired from competing in 2017, discovering a new self-identity outside of climbing, pole dancing, getting back to climbing, her goal to climb V14, and current training.

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Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/megan-mascarenas

Nuggets:

6:45 – Tuna sandwich and coffee

9:19 – Whiskey (the dog, not the alcohol)

10:35 – Sunday mornings

11:07 – Rubiks Cubes

15:20 – Megan’s cloud puzzle

16:00 – The puzzle addiction, and becoming a climber at age 2

18:45 – Siblings and coaches

22:33 – Retiring from competition and transitioning away from climbing

26:04 – The two sides of freedom, and the path to medicine 

29:26 – How Megan achieved a 4.7 GPA in high school, and getting an A- in Rock Climbing class 

31:56 – Losing a chunk of herself when she stopped climbing, and getting back into climbing 

33:26 – Hindsight is 20/20

34:42 – Pole dancing

39:46 – Applying pole strength to climbing

40:52 – Megan’s current pole dancing “project”

41:56 – Megan’s outdoor climbing goals in RMNP,  and current training

45:08 – Pole dancing = barndoor training

45:51 – Preparing for ‘Jade’, and outdoor vs. indoor climbing

48:10 – Advice for new/young climbers 

49:26 – Advice new/young climbers should ignore, and what Megan wishes she had done differently

50:44 – Magic Wood and ‘New Baseline’

52:43 – Question from Jimmy: Any tips for calming nerves during competition finals?

54:25 – Competition rituals

55:42 – Megan’s self talk when she is getting shut down by a climb

56:41 – Question from Jeffrey: What made you so dominant as a young female competitor?

57:51 – Megan’s drive to improve, and dealing with growing expectations 

1:00:04 – Question from Jeffrey: How do you view climbing vs. training, and has that changed as you have gotten older?

1:01:17 – Board climbing

1:03:39 – Making up boulders and working on weaknesses

1:05:19 – Megan’s favorite pun

1:06:10 – Dinner party guest

1:07:41 – Singing in the car

1:08:18 – The Golden Axe

1:09:04 – Happiest climbing day

1:09:45 – The ups and downs 

1:11:24 – What Megan would want a new best friend to know about her

1:12:13 – The Incredibles, mind reading, and superhero colors

1:13:25  – Molecules

1:14:26 – Gratitude

1:15:02 – Math

1:16:02 – Zion

1:17:09 – Enjoying the path