InnerView #2 – Arno Ilgner

Deep in the heart of Dixie, tucked between hills and hollows, monsters tower over hidden valleys and forests, waiting for suitors. Enter Arno Ilgner – slayer of beasts, tamer of minds. Arno has pioneered new terrain through some of the steepest and most difficult rock in the East. With his first free ascents of most of the routes on Whitesides’ infamous 800′ overhanging headwall, and of Looking Glass’ aesthetic Glass Menagerie, one is left wondering who taught who – Arno or Yoda?

With his upcoming Warriors Way Clinic at Vertical Ventures on September 9th @5pm, we figured we’d catch up with Arno and ask him a few questions.

InnerView #2…

1. Where are you from, how did you get into climbing and how long have you been climbing?
I was born in NY, but my parents quickly moved south to Tennessee. Too cold up north. I grew up and was introduced to climbing in middle Tennessee. Started climbing in 1973 and have loved it from the first time I tied in. I got into climbing because I failed at music. I didn’t make all-state tryouts and was disillusioned. But, I was then ripe for something new. Enter climbing.

2. One word question – Tubesocks?
Never wore those things, but I did wear lycra. That was cool stuff but looking back on it today doesn’t look so cool. I remind young climbers today that they may be doing something they will look back on with the same “not so cool” perspective. Shall I mention tatoos or piercings?

click to read the rest:

3. What was it like working out Glass Menagerie as a free route?
Brutal. It was really challenging NOT adding additional pro. We did replace some old bolts. Some of the climbing was challenging because the free line isn’t exactly the aid line. It weaved left/right a bit so existing pro for the aid line was difficult to use as free pro. Kinda reachy to get to it from the free line. I did enjoy applying myself to such a large project. It took a lot out of me but I learned a lot also.

4. What inspired you to get on the steepest, tallest rock in the southeast known as the Whitesides headwall?
My interest was 2-fold. First, everybody was calling the Headwall impossible. That in itself can drive you to check it out. I like tall stuff and in the southeast there isn’t much to choose from. Whitesides is basically the tallest when steepness is considered. Second, I think I had a bit of ego wanting to prove to North Carolina climbers that the Tennessee boys could do better. I think many young climbers have some ego motivating them. Ego was never the only reason for me. I truly loved throwing myself on new ground especially taller stuff. I like exposure and you can’t do much better than the Headwall for that. I’ve learned that I was able to climb the Headwall, while NC climbers stayed off it, because of something quite interesting: a mental misconception. NC climbers had climbed routes on the right side, which is less steep. They knew quite well how difficult, runout, and dangerous the climbing was. They felt that if the right side routes were that difficult and runout then the left Headwall must be even more difficult, runout, and dangerous. This was partly true and partly false. It was more difficult but because of the steepness the falls were less severe. I had never climbed the right side routes prior to Vol Wall. So, I didn’t operate from this mental misconception. So, because of this mental misconception the NC climbers had, I was able to be first to climb the Headwall. They were plenty talented to do it, but the mind can shut you down if you operate from false info.

5. Two word question – Aid climbing?
Isn’t that an oxymoron? Just kidding. I think aid climbing paves the way for climbing to progress. This has occurred everywhere. Layton Kor established many great aid lines in Colorado, then a generation later, Jim Erickson and crew freed them. My intent when putting up routes on Whitesides was to go back and free them. Aid was only a means to a free end.

6. You’ve obviously honed your mind – what made you decide to start helping other people hone theirs?
Mid-life crisis. When you reach 40 you wonder what you’ve done with your life. At 40 you question your motivations. I wasn’t working in a career I enjoyed. I found I had been motivated by fear and a desire to be comfortable. Early on we’re told to get into a career that is secure and pays a lot. That way of being motivated just isn’t satisfying after a while. It’s shallow. I found my life was shallow. I began researching how to work in climbing and that led me to studying fear. I’ve had to really dig deep to develop the Warrior’s Way material. Now, my life feels deeper and much more satisfying.

7. Any insight on how Alex Honnold is able to create his own reality and climb tall and hard objectives free solo?
I think we all have certain talents and we gravitate to them. Sharma with sport and bouldering; Tommy Caldwell with Yosemite free walls; and Honnold free soloing big stuff. I think free soloing just resonates with him. So, his mental discipline may not be much different than Sharma or Caldwell; he’s just in a different medium: soloing. Having said that, his feats are quite amazing when viewed from our perspectives. I see him the same way as Messner. Reinhold Messner blew away mental preconceptions in mountaineering. John Gill did that in bouldering. Honnold is doing that today in rock climbing.

8. Can you describe the basic mental approach that is the Warriors Way?
Focus on process and attention will be in the present moment. I don’t think anyone would argue that we climb better if we are in the present moment. All the skills we teach help climbers get their attention into the present moment. To do this we need to value processes. What we do when climbing is all process. It isn’t end result. There is an end result AFTER we’re done climbing. So, in order to climb well we need to let go of the result and truly value process. Doing that makes us more effective, and it’s more fun. Talking about process is much different than doing it. In other words, forget fancy talk just show me what to do on the rock. This is our emphasis in the clinics/camps we teach.

9. What are some good routes in the Southeast for practicing some Warriors Way skills?
Anything. You can get on routes you’ve done before, and by applying the ww skills you’ll find you climb more effectively. Choosing appropriate routes depends on each individual climber. Just choose a route with difficulty and fall consequences that are a little outside your comfort zone. Learn how to deal with that added discomfort and then build a little on it. Learning must be done in small steps, otherwise you lose it quickly.

10. How well does learning mental control techniques in a gym transfer to climbing outside on stone?
Gyms are great training tools due to being controlled environments. You can get a lot of practice in a short amount of time. The power of doing it in a gym time and investment. You can learn a lot and then take it outside. Essentially, what we teach you shifts your motivation from ends to processes. You learn how to do the exercises and what to pay attention to.

With that knowledge you can go outside with a more effective mental approach. Having said that about gym, it is more fun doing it outside.

11. Anything else you want to add?
Climbing is just a vehicle we use to become more complete human beings. The real goal isn’t to climb to the top of something, but to expand your self knowledge. That means, expand your understanding of who you are, how you respond to stress, and to expand beyond your individual self. I’ve transcended my ego quite a bit since the days of Vol Wall. I feel more complete and at peace because of that journey. Each climber should walk that journey also. You’ll be glad you did.

Wow… So much of climbing is mental. Thanks for your time. We’ll see you on September 9th!

2 spots are still open for the clinic, so if you’ve got the time – we HIGHLY recommend it. Did we mention he wrote the books on mental training too, literally?

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