In an Instagram post announcing that he had accepted the head coach position at The Climbing Academy, Kyle O’Meara wrote “I love the way we each find our own path in this sport. Some of us crave higher performance and chase the next level forever. Others seek an adventure where discovery and creativity are the primary focus. Most fall somewhere in the middle. We can ALL go further and bigger no matter what end goal inspires our personal pursuit, and if we’re enjoying the process, appreciating the journey, and smiling lots along the way, then that probably counts as ‘winning’.”

Climbing is an individual thing. What drives me may not be the same thing that drives you, and that’s ok.

While mentorship is, on its surface, a noble pursuit - it can often go wrong. Mentors are human and are just as prone as the rest of us to overvalue their own selfish ideas - and then pass them on to the next generation without much thought toward necessary change or evolution of those ideas.

Personally, I admire most the mentors and thinkers who work hard to directly engage with this unavoidable evolution. The ones who simultaneously continue their own growth. That interaction, even more than advancing the grades we climb, is what allows progress to happen and continue.

Mentorship isn’t dead. We just need more mentors like Kyle.

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