Teen Face: Santa Rosa High climber’s upward ascent

Justin Hall’s mom remembers when piano recital nerves would make a wreck of her son, and yet when it came time to play, he would sit down at the keyboard and perform flawlessly.

That kind of calm under pressure serves him well now when he’s on the climbing wall, focused and clear, whatever the stakes or the degree of challenge he faces reaching the top.

The Santa Rosa High School freshman proved his mettle recently at his first national climbing competition in Madison, Wis., where he placed fourth in his age group at the American Bouldering Series, winning a spot on the USA Junior National Team headed for Italy and the world competition this fall.

Part of Team Vertex out of Vertex Climbing Center in Santa Rosa, the lanky 14-year-old says having confidence in his own abilities is the only way to cope with the intense pressure of being alone on a wall with the clock ticking, a problem to solve and judges watching.

“You have to have that mindset of, ‘I know what I’m doing; I can figure this out,’” he said, just days after returning home with a new goal to contemplate.

High level competitions are indeed a pressure cooker, one of his coaches, Jordan Welch said, and not just because there are so many talented young climbers contending.

The format requires competitors to wait in an isolation area while each climber ahead of them tackles a series of walls set up with elaborate routing and hand-holds they have only moments to study before commencing to climb. Once a climber is on-deck to go next, he can leave isolation but has to sit with his back to the wall, listening to the voices around them and unable to know how well the other contestant is doing.

“It’s definitely a really high-pressure mental situation,” Welch said. “It takes a lot of mental strength to get through that without breaking down, but he is very strong that way. It’s why he’s done as much as he has.”

Hall had toyed with swimming and tennis as a kid before climbing caught his attention, after a birthday party he attended at Vertex when he was 8 or 9 years old.

He was an occasional presence at the center’s after-school camp when Welch started a fledgling youth program that eventually developed into three teams in which Hall and younger sister, Maren, participate.

Welch challenged the youngster to push himself to improve, and he responded with a so much enthusiasm it drove tremendous progress, she said.

Justin said the sport’s appeal is in the variety. Each day presents a different challenge.

His mother, Ann Hall, said her son was never particularly competitive, but seems to thrive on besting himself.

Over the years, he has become almost single-minded about climbing, though not to the exclusion of school. He especially enjoys science and math.

But he never tires of going to Vertex, and now trains with the team three days a week. He also works at the gym part-time, in part helping younger climbers, and goes just to hang out and climb whenever he can.

Welch said his next step is to get more experience on real rocks, outside of a gym, and begin to explore the idea of obtaining sponsors.

Doing as well as he did at nationals, “was a good experience,” Hall said. “I’m definitely excited.”

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.