Niklas - climber & professional route setter wants to share his story about life & work

Hey I´m Niklas and I´m a professional route setter, climber & passionate amateur filmmaker about climbing from Germany.
I´m 29 years of age and currently living in cologne & london. I want to tell you about my life and my love for climbing. This is a love which became my profession, and also my biggest challenge in life so far.
__

I began climbing when I started walking. My father was a well known climber in germany, and so everything just happened.

***4 years old and already an expert when it comes to safety issues ***

my 2nd climbing competition - 12 years old

All our holidays were climbing holidays: to France, Norway, Switzerland, Great Britain, all over Germany - the whole family travelled everywhere that rocks could be found. We stayed at camp sites, rental cabins in the woods, and by the time I was 19 years old, I’d never seen a "real hotel" from the inside. When I grew older my climbing buddies and I travelled further abroad. Thailand & South Africa - always climbing, living the dirtbag lifestyle in bungalows and on the beach, always meeting new people from all over the world. I hated and loved it at the same time. We were living cheap, and climbing until our fingers bled, all the while seeing beautiful countries and fascinating cultures.

bouldering somewhere in the middle of Germany - fresh 90s style

My real struggle started early in my childhood. I wanted to do something different than my father. He always took us along to climbing trips, but never asked if we wanted to do something other than climbing. So, when I finished school, I attended university and decided to study German & politics. I always struggle with systems and norms. I´m not a rebel, but I was afraid to ask for help. Simple things like how to get around in university, and I came to wonder why I was studying. I was learning things and working towards a degree, but I did not know what I wanted to do for a living. It felt like I was wasting my time.

bouldering at Magic Wood / Switzerland 2011

Even though I sometimes hated climbing because I put myself under a lot of pressure to perform well and climb hard, I never quit. Climbing outdoors, the rock offers you a way to climb to the top of a mountain or a smaller crag - sometimes with a rope, and sometimes without. Climbing indoors is different. There are artificial walls with plastic holds, which change from time to time, so that there are new climbs for every customer at all ranges of difficulty.
when i was 14 or 15 I tried to set some routes and boulders - to design some climbs - in the gym of my father. That’s when my profession began. I had no idea where it would lead me.

Setting for the Boulder Championship of Cologne 2015 - Mounting holds with screws on a wall is the basic craft of setting. knowing where it belongs and why is the real problem

Setting is a kind of craft - you attach holds, which are made of polyester resin or polyurethane, and come in all different kinds of shapes, onto a wall of plywood with bolt holes in it. The plywood walls have a surface with a rough coating on the surface which provides some friction so you don’t slip away, and it feels as close to outside climbing as possible.

You can set boulders or rope climbs: climbing on a rope is the most well known part of the sport. Rope climbs are mostly between 6 - 18m indoors, and you need a rope and a partner to climb them. A boulder problem is a short climb on a wall that is almost never higher than 4.5m. There is a thick mat on the floor to prevent any injuries if you fall off.

When I was 16 I took part in the team setting for our annual bouldering competition at my father’s gym. That’s when I started not only setting for regular customers, but also for competitions. It was at this event that I met professional route setters for the first time.

Every climber has a different style in how they climb. Every setter has a different style as well. You can set powerful climbs, delicate trick balancy dance-like climbs, dynamic and jumpy, or a mix of all of them. It´s a neverending world of moves and problems, always varied with different holds and wall angles.

Unfinished business for me - if you don´t finish a boulder or a route in 1 go without taking a break / touching the ground it´s not a valid ascent. Some day I have to return to South Africa and climb this boulder. Summer 2012

By the time I was 18, it seemed like I had a special style of climbing and setting which a lot of people seemed to like. I got asked by other gyms to set for their own competitions or to set new boulders at their walls.

It was around this time while I was studying at university, and feeling unsure of what I wanted to do with my studies, that I travelled to different gyms all over Germany. I was setting boulders, and earned good money. Well, good money for a student who can spend it on climbing trips abroad, partying, and not thinking about my future at all. I did this for a while, but it became a desperate time in my life. I was struggling to find the meaning I wanted in life. I needed to try something different. So, I quit university in 2010, and set a goal of becoming a full time route setter. That’s when my big journey to become a route setter started.

One of my happiest memories. Talking about climbing and the boulders I set 2016 for a competition in Singapore. I met so many new awesome & friendly people all around the world thanks to my passion and love for my job - so I try to share it everytime I have the possibility to

If you want to know what bouldering looks like here is a video I did about the setting for Sydneys first premier bouldering gym in 2015