Kai Lightner Climbs Life of Villains 5.14d
This is his second 5.14d after climbing Era Vella back in April 2015
American climber Kai Lightner has repeated Life of Villains 5.14d in the Hurricave, Utah. His first 5.14d was Era Vella in Spain nearly a decade ago – read about his send here. His first 5.14c was Southern Smoke at age 13.
Lightner first walked into The Climbing Place in Fayetteville back in 2006 and discovered the world of climbing. In 2010, he won his first sport climbing national championship. In September 2014, he earned the gold medal for his age category at the Youth World Championships, becoming the first American Lead World Champion since 1995.
In 2015, at the age of 15, he became the National Lead Champion in his first year of eligibility. He has earned 12 national championship titles and is a five-time Youth World Championship medallist. He’s also the founder of Climbing for Change. In a follow up post to the one above, Lightner goes into depth about his struggles after a gain in height and size. In it, he says, “If I could send a message to my younger self, I’d tell him fighting your body is a battle you will never win. I’d tell him to trust the process and believe in yourself. I’d tell him it IS possible to achieve your dreams bigger AND better.”
Lightner on Era Vella
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