Edit: Apologies for the late post! Just a heads up that Quiet Crushers will be taking a break for the month of October as I’ll be off the grid in NZ till November.

Calling Tracey a “quiet” crusher might be the understatement of the year. If you go climbing with Tracey, you can expect fart jokes, inappropriate comments and an absolute truckload of laughs.

I first met Tracey in Maple Canyon, Utah in the summer of 2016. Riding completely solo at the time, I was looking for anybody and everybody to climb with. We quickly established that we were both Australian and both staying in the Canyon for a while, and you could say the rest is history.

Anybody who is familiar with my Instagram will see that Tracey and I spent the next few months crossing paths fairly consistently. From Ten Sleep, to Rifle and all the way out to the RRG, Tracey continued her year long trip putting down hard climbs wherever she went. Tracey is a genuine soul, absolutely in love with climbing and the lifestyle that comes with it. At the crag she’s focused, but doesn’t let it drag her down. In-fact she seems to see the brighter side of it, even if the project is going horribly.

You can find Tracey back in Brisbane these days, working in the dental field. However with a trip to China scheduled for the end of the year, stay tuned to her instagram: @ausrockhugger for some wicked sends!

How did you get into climbing?

Climbing? I climbed out of my mother’s womb, you could say I’m a natural. Jokes! I first found climbing through my brother. He took me to pretty much the only climbing gym in Brisbane. It was old, dingy and had a creepy owner. I was 15 at the time and it was love at first flapper. My parents were anti-climbing and didn’t like me doing any sport, so I had no financial support. I cleared out my bank account and stopped climbing. Finally, at 21 I had finished my uni degree and had a job! I started climbing again in the same gym and through some friendly people I flourished and never looked back again!!!

What keeps you coming back?

Mostly because I enjoy the physical activity aspect and the social side as well. I was always a bit of a nerd and a gamer, so I never thought I would ever have such awesome guns. Climbing just doesn’t feel like work or chore to get the fitness results, the muscles just came with the package. I also love it for the total bliss when I’m on the wall, it’s like a type of meditation. All that chatter goes away and leaves you with a sense of nirvana.

Do you train? What’s your philosophy on training/not training?

I did train before I went away for my year off. I usually did 2 days outdoor climbing with at least 8 laps and 2 sessions in the gym, consisting of 3 – 4 week blocks of power endurance, endurance, power or strength training. I also supplemented with running 5km twice a week. However, I’ve found that in the end, the more climbing you do the better you become, no matter how much training you do. It’s the 10,000 hour rule, do anything enough and you’ll be a pro at it. So right now, I just keep my fitness up. I’m still climbing well because I maintain a very good base fitness and have many hours of climbing under my belt.

Do you set goals? Have any huge ambitions related to climbing?

Goals are a great way of acquiring a desired result. I’m always setting goals, whether it be in climbing or in real life! One of my goals was to travel the world climbing for a year. If I didn’t have that goal in mind, I would still be in the general loop of life. Climbing wise, I would love to be climbing Grade 32 in a few years and travel to many more climbing locations. Up next is China in October and I can’t wait!!! What’s your most memorable ascent?

My most memorable ascents are usually the ones I’ve worked the hardest for. For example, Spoonman (Coolum Cave, QLD) and Sprout (Maple Canyon, UT). They both took a huge chunk of my time, mental stamina and a lot of shots. It’s always that age old question of “Can I really do this?”, but when you send and you have worked this hard the send feels last a long time and then you ask yourself what next? hahaha… Who or what inspires you in climbing?

The people who inspire me the most in climbing are the people who try their best when they are hanging off the wall. A power scream every now and then also helps! Duncan Steel is someone who definitely inspires me. He has mentored me through many of my sends and he has achieved many of his own goals. He’s also in his mid 50’s and still climbs way harder than me. It’s amazing to see and I hope to be climbing still when I’m an old fart like him.What also inspires me is traveling the world, seeing new rock and climbing it! I do love where I live but I wish there was more rock. Oh well, more excuses to have many more climbing trips…

How do you balance the “real life” with climbing?

This is a very tricky subject. Who can work full time and still have a real work-climbing life balance? I’ve always believed in work life balance and I am very fortunate that being a Dental Hygienist gives me a great degree of choice. I can work full time or can find a part time job. I can also find a few jobs that add up to the hours that I like. It has taken a while, but now I work a balanced 30-33 hours a week over 3.5 days. Long hours, but then I get 3.5 days off a week to go climbing, train, be social and the usual day to day, run of the mill chores. I work casually as well, which means I can take more time off than someone working full-time. I try to go on a 1 month trip a year and then have smaller trips in between. I love having a holiday in the works, it gives me an amazeballs climbing trip to look forward to… Through climbing, do you think you’ve learned anything you would maybe not have without climbing?

I have learned so much through climbing, from patience to knowing more about the diverse types of rock. I have a great, working knowledge of knots and anchors. I have learnt social skills and to be myself through amazing friends that I have met travelling around the world. Having the mental capacity for climbing and overcoming fear was learnt over time through climbing and adopted them in real life. Climbing is 99% failure, but what do we do? Get up and try your project again! Climbers and the environment, do you think we’re trashing the places in which we play?

I think for the most part climbers try very hard to keep the environment in good condition. We try not to poo at the crag, we try to leave no trace. Normally the most damage is done when people are making trails or bolting. We have many hiking trails so another trail and some bolts in the wall are pretty inconspicuous. What do you think about the direction that climbing is taking? Eg Olympics/gym culture?

Climbing can be appreciated in many ways. I just think of it like categories. From outdoor to indoor climbing and their various sub-categories. Honestly, if you are having fun and enjoying yourself in the way you want to, I think it’s awesome. I know friends that want to go to the Olympics, gym junkies and outdoor fanatics. Some people love competitions and others crave the outdoors. There are always politics in any sport, but we are so lucky as climbers we mostly get along and are very supportive of each other. So even though climbing can be more competition based, there will always be climbers that are also doing hard ascents in the outdoors. Everyone is beautiful in their own way, no matter what they type of climbing they do! 🙂

If you know someone who inspires your climbing community and would be happy to be featured, drop me a line @ nick_ducker@live.com