Why I Quit My Job As Head Routesetter
After 7 years as a full-time route setter, I’ve decided to move on. This was a difficult decision but I know that it was time for me to make the change. In this post, I just want to share the experiences that led up to this decision, so that you can gain some insight into the life of a full-time setter.
For those that don’t know my backstory, I have been setting for Planet Granite for the past 7 years. I began as a part-time setter and then became Assistant Head Setter in Sunnyvale for several years, before getting promoted to Head Setter of Planet Granite Santa Clara. I worked in the HS role for about 2 years before quitting in September 2021.
I absolutely love route setting and I hope to stay involved with it in the future
Route setting is fun, really fun. And it’s very rewarding to continue to develop the craft of setting and see the community at the gym thriving. For me, it was all about creating fun and interesting climbs that help people become better climbers. And it’s so satisfying to see people having these breakthrough experiences on the climbs we create!
Watching a V9 climber flash a V4 really isn’t very impressive. Sorry. But watching someone pour their entire heart and soul out on the wall while smashing their way through their first V4…now that’s inspiring! Knowing that we played a direct role in shaping that experience for them is very rewarding. I think of good setting like a healthy diet; it’s our job to keep feeding the local climbers and watching them grow!
I really hope that I can continue to guest-set and make cameo appearances at various gyms moving forward. I’ve devoted so much time and energy into the craft of routesetting and I’d love to put it to good use in the future. But for now, I am moving on.
It all comes down to the toll it took on my body and my life
Setting is a physically-demanding job. Very demanding. We are engaged in tough, physical labor for several hours each day, followed by several more hours of climbing. Working part-time was no problem, but working full-time eventually became too much. The only way I could stay healthy for all these years as a setter was to make lots of sacrifices to my personal life and climbing. I was forced into survival mode.
Surviving, not thriving
Before setting, I absolutely LOVED to train hard. Weighted hangs, one-arm pull-ups, hang board, campus board, etc.; I loved it. Once I began setting full-time, I realized very quickly that I had to drastically dial back my own training in order to make it through the workweek. Intense training and a full schedule of setting just isn’t very compatible.
Now, I’ve done okay through the years, climbing V10-V11 and 5.13 pretty regularly, but still, 7 years without any real progress to my own climbing is a long time! The workload of setting was enough to KEEP me in shape, but I couldn’t ever seem to get stronger. There just was not enough opportunity to rest and recover properly. Also, I almost completely abandoned all training as it was the only way I could feel decently strong each week at work.
I slowly stopped climbing outside
Consider for a moment, setting 5 days in a row, and then climbing outside on the weekend. That puts you at 7 days on AND THEN you go back and set 5 more days in a row. So in order to have a full weekend of climbing outside, you would have to put your body through climbing 12 days on. Every time. Which is insane. And inadvisable.
Now, to be fair, we eventually landed on a schedule at work where we took Wednesdays to do admin work and behind-the-scenes tasks (washing, planning, etc.). This gave us a welcome reprieve midweek to get us through the remaining shifts. And this helped a lot. But climbing outside for the weekend still meant that I had to link Th-Tue; 6 days on.
The only way I could stay healthy through several years of this was to limit my time climbing outside.
I felt like my personal goals were drifting away
I was no longer able to climb or train how I wanted to. I was losing my identity as a climber. I felt like I had so much potential as a climber that I just couldn’t realize while enduring this rigorous lifestyle as a setter. And this was putting a strain on my relationship as well.
I was dating a climber at the time who worked as a nurse, and she was always ready to go every weekend! As time went on, I felt like I had to stay home and rest so that I could recover from the previous week and prepare for the next week. The last thing I wanted to do was drive 4+ hrs each way to Tahoe or Yosemite for climbing. After awhile, I’m sure she started to wonder why she was dating a climber that never wanted to go climb!
My strategy to survive did actually work though
Now, I just want to say that I did it! I managed to set full-time for 7 years without injuring myself. Each year, we would gain and lose several setters to the team due to injury. And I am thankful that I was not one of them. But I had to sacrifice so many of my own personal goals to the job. Eventually this no longer made sense.
Why did I stay there so long?
You’re probably wondering why I stayed for so long. Well, the truth is that my coworkers were literally my best friends. No matter how we felt, we were sure to have a good time together every single day. Even on the worst days, we were guaranteed to make each other laugh and set some cool climbs. It’s that sense of friendship and community that makes climbing so special. We ARE climbers. This is a deep bond that connects us all much more than your average group of coworkers. We climb for work, we climb for fun, we watch climbing comps, we talk about climbing…that level of connection is highly valuable in life.
Do I regret leaving?
Not at all. I miss my team, my friends, my community. I miss setting. But I love having full control of how I allocate my fitness each week. I can actually train and climb however I want again. I can climb until my fingers fall off and not worry about being destroyed for work the next day! If I need rest, I take it. If I want to workout, I go as hard as I want! This is a huge blessing in my life and it gives me a big boost of positivity as I am feeling a sense of growth and freedom as a climber again.
What’s next for me?
I have been pursuing a certification as a Yoga Therapist for a few years now and I’m getting closer to finishing up. I am constantly learning really wonderful and valuable things that help me unlock more of my own potential. I am sure that I can be of great help to my fellow climbers and routesetters! I will definitely be looking to host workshops, classes, and private lessons to share this beautiful knowledge with you all so please stay tuned!
Thank you to everyone who has been part of my climbing journey
This was the epic squad we got together for one final day!I’d like to end this post by saying thank you to everyone who has been part of my journey as a climber and routesetter. All in all, it has been such a magical and life-changing experience. You all are the reason the gym truly felt like home to me for the past 13+ years. My life opened up to a whole new realm of experience once I was welcomed into the climbing and setting community and I truly love you all. Thank you all so much! I hope to see you out there real soon.
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