10 years of climbing through lows and highs
Sasha DiGiulian, 31, has faced thousands of miles in her career and now she is in a state of reflection. Her memoir, Take the Lead, covers her success in the male-dominated sport of rock climbing and her personal growth along the way.
DiGiulian began competing at the age of seven, only a year after she discovered her interest in rock climbing. The hobby turned into a career that has made DiGiulian a three-time world champion.
“It was something that just over time I had success in at an early age,” DiGuilian said. “I think that one thing led to another, one competition after the next, and I started building a presence within the sport.”
She landed her first sponsorship at the age of 12 after winning her first junior continental championship. The climbing shoe company Mad Rock kicked off her support, and recently she has landed on Red Bull’s athletes page.
Her expertise is free and lead climbing. Lead climbing requires the climber to attach the rope from their harness into quickdraws, steel clips that attach to the mountain side, in case of a fall. Free climbing excludes ropes or equipment and only allows the climber to use their hands and feet.
“It can be both a really liberating feeling, but also you can feel scared at times because falls, while they’re often safe, can be intimidating,” DiGiulian said when asked about the sensation of free climbing.
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The sport requires an immense amount of trust between the lead climber and their partner. DiGiulian has led all-female expeditions and made history, but it always comes down to the confidence in their training for that seamless integration of motivation and intention on the wall.
Her motto is to show up and do your best. It is a simple mentality that has kept DiGiulian at the peak of her career. In ten years, she has earned 30 first female ascents, hosted climbing clinics, created superfood bars, and is now an author.
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“I really wanted to be as vulnerable and honest with my audience and the reader as possible. So with that it meant holding no bars back on reliving and re-experiencing these really formative moments,” DiGiulian said.
Writing gave the pro athlete a break when she searched for a moment away from the crowd. Her blog captures the early stages in her career, leaving her memoir to handle the uncensored and monumental chapters.
Life lessons from her influential relationships and her experience with social media came when she began writing in the spring of 2020. DiGiulian suffered an injury that resulted in five surgeries to complete her double hip reconstruction. With her downtime, she turned to writing for comfort.
“After writing the book, I could look at these situations and even these people that I still can’t really understand with a sense of deeper gratitude for what those lessons taught me,” DiGuilian said.
She understood how to handle failure and success while chasing her passion, but she learned how to support herself through recovery. The time off from competing allowed her to connect with the present and believe in her current path.
A double hip reconstruction does not heal effortlessly, but she felt stronger than before after experiencing the full extent of her capabilities. The next step was getting back into tip-top shape.
“When you’re totally flattened and broken down into multiple pieces and you have that ultimate low moment, you gain a lot of perspective and appreciation for what healthy feels like,” DiGuilian said.
Returning to her extreme level of athleticism took time and fueling her body correctly was the method of restoring her body. This journey sparked the idea to create her company Send Bars, a superfood energy bar. DiGiulian’s goals are intrinsic; she has to see the vision before achieving it, and she put that mindset into action with her new project.
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“I had this deep appreciation for the power of food and the power of proper nutrition and recovery, not just as an athlete, but as a high-functioning individual,” DiGuilian said.
The product can be found online and they’re featured on DiGuilan’s Instagram page. Her content captures anything from breaking records during expeditions to personal memories like her recent wedding.
What comes next for the pro athlete will be her trip to Yosemite National Park and El Capitan. She holds space for herself to be kind and patient while awaiting her next milestone, but she is open to any experience the universe sends her way.
“I’m far from perfect, but what I try and reiterate to myself is that it’s this nonlinear path that leads to overall progression. And there’s always going to be ups and downs and plateaus, but if the overall growth trajectory is in a positive direction, then keep showing up,” DiGuilian said.
Header by Mei Harter
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