Quiet and Accomplished on the East Coast
Sebastian Pacey-Smith
Presumably, you haven’t heard much about this guy. He doesn’t have a large Instagram following, a consistent Facebook presence or a Twitter handle. However, in his home province of New Brunswick, he is on his way to becoming a powerhouse in the way of elite climbing.
Sebastian Pacey-Smith first joined a climbing gym i n his early 20s and now sits on seven years of climbing experience. Professionally, he is a clinical psychology doctoral student at the University of New Brunswick. Before climbing, he was an accomplished competitive ski racer from Crabbe Mountain. Although he continues to coach, he has put his competitive skiing days behind him to pursue his indoor and outdoor climbing ambitions.
His most recent goal? Repeat all of Nova Scotia’s toughest boulder problems. “Tough” is obviously relative, but Pacey-Smith’s tick list consists entirely of problems V11 or higher. Sending even just one V11 in a lifetime is a dream many of us cannot fathom. Sending 21 problems of such difficulty is not for the faint of heart. Many of these problems have seen few ascents, which makes the endeavour even more appealing.
The goal itself came to him after a successful trip to Joe’s Valley, Utah, in March. It was there he sent Worm Turns V11, Resident Evil V10 and Nerve Extension V10 within 18 hours. His outdoor successes came at a surprise; he did not know that sending so hard was possible within a short period of time. Upon arriving back home, he felt inspired to keep the send train going. “This realization in combination with the fact I had not even attempted any of Nova Scotia’s hardest lines led me to set this goal. After my first successful trip [to N.S.] I was hooked; the climbing was amazing, which only served to increase motivation to try everything I could get my hands on.”
Nova Scotia was the natural choice. New Brunswick, although developing more boulder problems by the day, does not yet have much tailored to that level of climbing. Nova Scotia is notable for its classic lines and is constantly developing new areas and problems. Often visiting with nothing but his crash pads and downloaded podcasts, Pacey-Smith spent many hours hanging out at the boulders. His car essentially became a semi-permanent storage facility for borrowed crash pads and camping supplies.
April, the first month of this excursion, proved highly successful. Pacey-Smith sent six out of a total 21 problems while friction was still high. Among his six ascents were Kodiak V12/V13 (formerly V13/ 14), which was especially exciting to him because he quickly achieved the second ascent after Ben Smith. A week later he sent Papa Bear V11 and Grizzly V12 within an hour of each other. Along with the six tick list problems, he also f lashed Resurrection V9 at the loc which was, for a brief time, his hardest f lash to date.
May and June saw few ascents. Pacey-Smith visited the Halifax region only twice but managed to tick off Insurrection V11 and Phase VIII V11/ 12. He achieved another personal best after f lashing Aftermath V10 while climbing with visiting Louis Parkinson. Generally, rainy weather made for poor friction and a small window for climbing. Frustrating indeed, but typical of maritime spring weather.
Finally, July rolled in and summer was in full swing. Planning trips to Halifax in between heat waves became a tireless pursuit. Reluctantly, Pacey-Smith made the decision to put his goal on hold for the summer. “Starting my goal in late April meant I was just catching the tail end of the best weather. With every passing weekend I had to work harder and harder to climb routes of the same grade.”
Weather limitations are disappointing, but he remains optimistic. “I plan to spend the rest of the summer training and getting stronger. That’s the great thing about setting a long term goal that’s achievable yet will push me close to my limit. I’m now extremely motivated to train hard so that when those cooler temperatures do return in the fall I can take full advantage.”
Year-round, Pacey-Smith is absolutely relentless when it comes to training and nutrition. His training program was crafted upon reviewing countless pages of clinical studies with his training partner, Dave Quinn. On any given day, he is working on his finger strength, running at the gym or lifting weights. Everything he does is the result of hours of research and prep work. His rest days are few and far in between and almost always include cardio.
At his home gym, Pacey-Smith is well-known for his often out of the ordinary training practices. One would say he is a regular MacGyver when it comes to training equipment. He is well-known for using a clothesline wheel as a pulley system to train his front lever strength and a series of 2x4s and door hinges to strengthen his fingers. He also practices orthodox training methods both at the unb Rock and Ice climbing wall and at the university gym. Naturally, he is the go-to guy at the climbing wall when it comes to training advice.
His goals are not limited to bouldering, though. At the moment, Pacey-Smith has two 5.14 projects at the Utopia crag near Saint George, N.B. At the end of the summer, he will begin preparing for the upcoming competitive bouldering season. Needless to say, his sights are on his many outdoor projects.
Despite the temporary hiatus of his goal, Pacey-Smith is motivated to start up again in better weather. Eight out of 21 problems is quite a feat. His many sends thus far are the product of paying careful attention to all areas of his f itness and of course f inding optimal friction. With all climbers, determination and dedication are integral to overall climbing successes. There is no doubt that Pacey-Smith is on the right path and will achieve great things.