Professional climber Chris Sharma visited the Cal Poly Recreation Center climbing park on Thursday afternoon. Once described by NPR as “the world’s best rock climber,” Sharma stopped by campus to visit and climb with students and local climbing enthusiasts.
Sharma eagerly signed climbing shoes and took photos with students before hitting the park. A number of students like landscape architecture sophomore Nakos Sarkar-Frandsen were excited to watch Sharma’s signature climbing style come to life. “He’s really controlled but fluid. He makes it look like it comes easy to him,” Sarkar-Frandsen said.
After the climbing session wrapped up students were given the opportunity to ask Sharma questions about his travels and climbing experiences. He openly discussed growing up in Santa Cruz and climbing trips in Spain which he described as “the California of Europe.”
When asked why he climbs Sharma told students “Climbing is my life. You have to have some way to connect with people and I do that through climbing.” He told the crowd he was grateful to have this life and that it was “humbling and an honor to be here with you today.”
Visit the Recreation Center climbing park and follow the ASI Poly Escapes Facebook and Instagram pages to start your own climbing adventure!
