Štěpán Stráník
8b+ climber - both lead and boulder, successful competition climber and route-setter
ABOUT ŠTĚPÁN
I was born in Vysoké Mýto and grew up in Choceň, where my dad introduced me to climbing at an early age. When I was 19, I moved to Brno to pursue climbing, and I've been living there ever since.
I've been competing since 1995. My biggest achievements include a silver medal at the Youth World Championships and a victory at the European Cup in 2002. As an adult, I shifted my focus mainly to bouldering, became the Czech National Champion, and even won a Czech Cup event at the age of 35. My best result on the international stage is 26th place at the Boulder World Cup in Meiringen. Outdoors, I've climbed up to 8b+ both in sport climbing and bouldering.
When I'm not climbing, I enjoy spending time with my family, cycling, and following sports—from ice hockey to athletics. I'm also a big fan of statistics and always looking for the next climbing challenge.
SHOOT A QUESTION
- Warm up or warming up by climbing? I don't warm up much, so I usually warm up by climbing.
- Coffee or matcha? Both coffee and matcha.
- Climb in silence or with music? Silence outdoors, but I don't mind music at the climbing gym.
- Pull ups or hanging? Both pull-ups and hangs.
- Favourite snack in the crags? Poppy seed cake, a sweet energy bar, and glucose tablets.
- Lead or boulder? Bouldering for quite a while now.
- Alone or with group? I usually go to the crag on my own.
- Static or dyno? I prefer static, powerful climbing.
5 QUESTIONS FOR ŠTĚPÁN
1. What's your biggest f**k up in your climbing life?
A friend accidentally loaded the GriGri backwards while belaying me in Arco. I fell more than 20 meters onto the ledge below. I bruised both my heels, and he badly burned his hands because his first instinct was to catch me. Luckily, it wasn't a full free fall.
2. If you could pick anyone from the climbing history or the present climbers, who would you love to go climb with and why?
I'm a big fan of climbing legends, so I'd love to train on a spray wall with Ben Moon, Jerry Moffatt, or Wolfgang Güllich. Wolfgang was always pushing the limits of what was possible. He invented the campus board, so training with him on one would be a dream. I really admire how intensely they trained and how completely focused they were on improving.
3. What is your dream line?
I don't have a specific dream boulder, but my goal is to climb an 8C. I'm not sure it's realistic with my current job, since route setting takes a lot of time and energy away from training. I've also been dealing with a sore finger for quite a while. There are probably a few boulders in the Moravian Karst that I'd love to keep projecting.
4. What's your favourite part of being in the Rafiki team?
I already know a few people on the team, and they're all passionate climbers who are always striving to improve. That's something I really appreciate.
5. What's your advice for the climbers of all levels?
Above all, make sure you enjoy climbing. Once you build a real connection with it, it becomes an amazing lifestyle—whether you're climbing indoors or on real rock. And climbing outdoors comes with the added bonus of exploring beautiful places.
