- What's up, it's Chris Heria.
I'm right outside Mesa Rim Climbing and Fitness Center
in San Diego, California.
Last time I was here I was challenged
by Magnus Midtbo to give rock climbing a try
for the very first time.
He had me climbing this 70-foot wall.
And I'm not gonna lie, that was pretty scary
but I made it to the top.
Today I'm back and I'm linking up
with Mesa Rim's speed coach, Nayton
and their facility operator, Gage.
And this time, I have a challenge for them.
But first, let's meet them inside.
Nayton, it's an honor to meet you.
- Gage. - Nice to meet.
- Nice to meet you guys.
So can you guys tell us a little bit about what you do here?
- So I'm the head coach here.
I oversee all our youth programming,
competitive programming, and adult programming.
I help kind of basically set up the coaches
for success and help climbers reach their full potential.
I make sure the gym keeps running.
I do all the maintenance and stuff,
so I mean, just always fixing things.
- [Chris] How long have you been climbing?
- Five or six years now.
- I've been climbing for about 10 years now.
- So we gotta pick this guy's mind
and see what are the best tips to become a pro climber?
Seen some videos before where people are rock climbing
outside with all their gear on their back.
Have you ever tried anything like that?
- Last year, I climbed the nose of El Capitan
and I had over maybe 50 pounds of gear.
- [Chris] Wise.
- You climb up and then your partner climbs up
to you, and then you climb up.
So it's multi-pitch climbing.
And then you basically have to haul
like, 80 pounds of gear as you're climbing.
- What are in those bags?
Is it food?
Is it like gear to climb?
- I was on the wall for five days, slept on the wall.
So we have our bed, food, gear, clothing, poop bags
for when we take a shit on the wall.
- No way. (Nayton laughing)
- Whatever we need to survive, basically.
- Yeah, pretty much.
Well if you guys wanna see us climbing outdoors
let us know in the comment section down below.
I actually have a challenge for you guys today.
I brought three weight vests, three different sizes.
And we're gonna see if we can climb with them.
Are you guys down for that?
- I'm good. - Excellent.
Before we get into the challenge,
you guys wanna warm up?
- Yeah, let's warm up.
(trap music) - All right, climbing
with the weight vest is a really tough challenge
and I don't want these guys to hurt themselves.
So first things first, we gotta warm up.
Even without the extra weight of the weight vest,
there's always a risk for injury when it comes
to rock climbing, especially if you don't warm up.
Now before we start this challenge,
we'll be warming up our rock climbing skills
with some dyno movements like this one, exploding
to the next hold while catching with one hand.
(trap music)
After a couple climbs on some harder routes,
we're ready to get this challenge started.
And the first weight vest rock climbing challenge
is gonna be bouldering.
Bouldering is climbing with no harness or gear
and what your climbing resembles a boulder
where the angles are more challenging.
Let's see who's gonna be able to do this climb
with a 40-pound weight vest.
Comment down below if you think he's gonna make it
all the way up there.
And first up, we got Nayton.
That's a crazy move to do
with the weight vest, right there.
Damn, you're moving quick, bro.
Yo, that is crazy.
Of course, Nayton crushed that climb.
After all, he has been climbing for 10 years.
Yo, gage, you wanna give that a shot?
And next up, we got Gage
who's been climbing for six years.
Now, Gage is a bit shorter
and that will make it more challenging
on a climber for the same route
because the distance from the rocks will be further away
and that's where the dynos come into play
and having experience and technique.
So Nayton and Gage both passed
the weight vest bouldering challenge.
Now I'm up next.
I can't let them down.
- How do I think he's gonna do?
- You know, he might be able to get it.
(trap music)
- Good, now move it up.
Good.
Good. - [Gage] Nice.
- That was a tough climb.
You guys motivated me, bro, to be honest with you.
Hopefully you can motivate me
to climb up the 70-foot wall again.
So we'll be moving on to the next challenge:
the weight vest top rope climb.
But for Nayton, since he's the pro
his weight vest top rope challenge will be timed.
But first, let's see him do it without the vest.
- So this is our speed wall, a 15-meter wall.
This is the same wall that's used
in the Olympics for speed climbing.
It's a little bit more dynamic, explosive.
- What's the best time in the Olympics for this climb?
- Well, right now the best speed climbers in the world
are climbing around five seconds.
To train that level is really impressive.
- You gotta have a high level of strength
and a high level of technique.
(timer beeping)
(trap music)
- [Onlooker] Woo!
(onlookers shouting)
- That's insane.
Bro, you just blew my mind.
That was so sick, dude.
That's basically the goal of like, what to train up towards.
- Yeah. - What we're doing here
in the first place.
We know how fast it took you to do it without the vest.
Let's see how long it's gonna take him
to do it with the vest.
All right, world's first speed run climb
with the weight vest.
Let's go, Nayton.
(trap music)
Woo!
Damn, let's go.
Let's go!
Got that.
(onlookers shouting)
Woo.
(onlookers shouting, clapping)
That was one of the craziest things I've ever seen.
Nayton looked like Spider-Man climbing that wall.
He definitely crushed this challenge.
And next up we got Gage.
Let's see what he's got.
(trap music)
Nice.
(trap music)
(Chris clapping)
(trap music)
That was a great performance and effort by Gage.
And now it's my turn.
This is only my third day ever rock climbing
so I'm definitely not ready for the speed wall yet.
So I'll be climbing with the weighted vest
something closer to my level.
(Chris blows out) All right,
see you guys at the top.
(trap music)
Yes sir!
- You ready to come down?
- [Chris] Yes sir.
- All right, let's lower him.
- Yeah, I'm used to training with the vest
but, I mean, climbing with the fear factor involved,
the endurance factor, you know.
I'm still not using much of my legs
'cause I gotta get the technique down.
But yeah, it was definitely challenging.
And for sure, the pump is crazy.
Don't even wanna do a workout.
I'll just climb with the vest on to be honest.
And that's a solid back day.
All right, now, for this final challenge
we're gonna have the guys try the hardest climb
in the gym, of course, with the weighted vest.
And because this is a very difficult climb
on its own, they're gonna be using
the weight vest of their choosing.
This, I'm excited to see.
This is what I've been waiting for the whole day.
And this type of climbing is
potentially even more dangerous.
It's called lead climbing where you don't have a rope
that's safely holding you from the top.
You actually have to clip in your rope as you climb.
So the only safety you have is
from where you clipped in last,
and, of course, from the person holding the rope
and belaying you from below.
But if you miss a clip
you're gonna be falling a couple feet.
And I have a feeling we're gonna see
these guys take a far drop.
I'm personally gonna be sitting this one out
because I haven't learned how to lead climb yet.
But if you wanna see me learn how to do it, leave a comment
down below and I'll have the guys teach me how
to lead climb in the next rock climbing video.
You're halfway there, bro.
Let's go.
Okay.
(trap music)
Let's go.
Yo, that was crazy, dude.
That was seriously impressive, bro.
- Actually, kinda hard.
- Yeah, was it really?
- Yeah.
- How did it feel for the vest?
Did it feel like compact and comfortable enough to climb?
I'd say it felt really good.
- Yeah? - I was like,
I can still move like what I normally do
but it's just slightly harder, right?
- Dude, amazing.
All right, Gage, you're up.
Let's go, Gage.
You got this.
(trap music)
This will be the one.
Let's go.
Let's go, bro. (Chris clapping)
Hell, yeah!
Dude, that was so impressive, man.
That was insane.
Okay, that definitely inspired me to give it a try.
All right, so this black one is a lot more difficult.
Let's see what happens.
Sheesh, look at that footwork.
(trap music)
Nice, bro.
Nice.
Let's go
That's a crazy move right there.
You got this, bro.
Easy.
Let's go, let's go.
You got this.
(dangerous music)
(sudden silence)
(trap music starts)
Yo, that was crazy!
Dude, that was freaking sick, bro.
What the hell?
I know your forearms are-
Oh my god.
There were a lot of technical moves
that you made to get up there.
Like that crazy foot move, like-
- Yeah, this is actually very impressive.
- Yeah?
- Like, how much harder it makes it feel.
- Well sick, I want you guys to hold onto those
and continue training.
And when I come back we're gonna see
how much more impressive you guys are.
And maybe we'll take it outside.
You guys will teach me how to lead rope climb,
maybe speed rope climb, and take it to the next level, man.
Excellent, but Gage, dude, it was a fricking honor.
Thank you guys so much.
- Appreciate you.
- Nayton, you're the freaking man.
Thank you for all the motivation and the inspiration
and thanks for joining us today in today's video.
And if you guys wanna train with the boys
and level up your rock climbing,
it's all right here at Mesa Rim.
All right, guys, that wraps up our rock climbing challenge.
The winner of today's Weight Vest Rock Climbing Challenge
is gonna be Nayton.
But really, both of these guys are winners.
Extremely talented, humble
and incredibly strong and skilled climbers.
And it was a great experience learning
and climbing with these guys.
Every single time I go out climbing
I always learn something new.
And that's why I love it and I can't wait
to make more videos just like this.
So if you wanna see more rock climbing videos
just let me know down in the comment section below
and I'll make sure to make it happen.
One of the things I really wanna do is
try rock climbing outside.
But once again, a big thank you to Nayton and Gage.
If you want to climb with these guys
definitely pass by Mesa Rim at San Diego, California.
And you can catch these guys climbing
here any day of the week.
And a huge thank you to Mesa Rim
for always welcoming me into their home
whenever I'm in San Diego and treating me like family.
I'll definitely be back very soon.
And if you guys want to catch that
make sure you're subscribed.
Make sure you like this video.
Make sure you comment down below.
And if you guys enjoyed this video while I was out
in San Diego, check out the other video I made
when I was out in San Diego hanging out
with my friend Brandon William.
We did a try not to laugh challenge
and it was absolutely hilarious.
If you wanna die laughing right now
click that video and I'll see you there.
Mad love, peace out.