EP 11: Sierra Rose Knott — climbing double digits in Rocklands despite injuries, being Filipina, and not taking yourself too seriously

"Climbers are just big kids playing on compressed dirt. And we want to be better than others at playing on compressed dirt."

Sierra Rose Knott is a double digit boulderer and Organic Climbing athlete based in San Diego, CA. Her and her husband Richie are regulars at Black Mountain, a beautiful granite bouldering area in the San Jacinto Mountains surrounded by pine trees. 

She had just come back from Rocklands, a destination bouldering area in South Africa. She was able to climb at her limit, despite having three injuires leading up to the trip.

Sierra is a quarter Filipina! She shares her family history. And why she’s proud to be Filipina, while acknowleding that it’s just a part of her identity.

Sierra’s also a rock climbing coach, who helps boulderers level up. If you’d like to work with her, DM her on Instagram.

Sierra’s LinkTree.

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Chapters

• 0:10 Intro to Sierra!
• 1:06 Become a Patron
• 1:42 Start of the interview
• 3:43 How long have you been climbing at Black Mountain for?
• 8:35 How was Rocklands?
• 15:24 Injuries accumulated before the trip
• 49:02 "When there was no rain, we just charged it" 🤣
• 51:30 Richie sent a V11 and V12 on his fourth day on
• 1:06:01 Why Sierra doesn't take herself too seriously
• 1:10:37 Climbing ASMR
• 1:11:16 Being quarter Filipina, from two grandparents
• 1:20:00 "I almost feel like an imposter because I feel like I'm not Filipino enough"
• 1:25:43 How Kayla (Tim's gf) was able to tell Sierra was Filipina
• 1:29:45 "My family *is* Filipino. Even though we may not be full."
• 1:36:34 Chicken adobo, pancit, lumpia, bibinka, casava — all the things Sierra makes
• 1:38:00 "We're all just human. Your culture and background is not your entire identity."