EP 11: Shanjean Lee — From Surgical Residency to 5.13+ Trad, Dating Your Climbing Partner, and the Importance of Self-Belief

Shanjean Lee is an orthopedic surgeon and a badass climber whose accomplishments range from V10 boulders, to 5.14a sport, to 5.13+ trad and multi-pitch climbs. We talked about how SJ trained to climb ‘City Park’ during her residency, some of her biggest challenges, differences between men and women, dating your climbing partner, and the importance of self-belief.   

Support on Patreon:

patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  

Show Notes:  

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/shanjean-lee  

Nuggets:  

2:28 – I need a back massage  

3:14 – Bouldering in Bishop for the winter  

5:36 – SJ and Mikey’s shared goal of climbing V10, getting feedback from Nina Williams and James Lucas, and building the pyramid  

8:59 – Bouldering projects, night sessions  

10:36 – Moving to Reno, access to a wider variety of climbing, and climbing options while being on call   

13:24 – Planning vs going with the flow, and why SJ has learned to plan in more broad strokes  

14:35 – A wide ranging resume, and why SJ chose ‘City Park’ as a project  

17:59 – The gear for ‘City Park’  

19:01 – SJ’s process of projecting ‘City Park’, safety insight from Luke, and beta from Brittany  

22:50 – A lesson that SJ learned from climbing ‘Mr. Yuk’, her first 5.14a  

28:25 – Instagram post of Mikey doing bicep curls, and “you have to get your strength training in whenever you can.”  

29:24 – Why SJ decided to reach out to Justen Sjong  for a training plan  

32:01 – SJ’s training plan, her short pinkie, Lattice Lite, and the Crimpt App  

36:50 – Takeaways from the Lattice Training assessment  

38:51 – Moonboarding, no Moonboards in Reno, and SJ’s (very attainable) life goal  

41:32 – Making the first team free ascent of ‘Dark Side of Liberty’ with Mikey and finding the line  

47:58 – Breakdown of the route, debating the grade, recruiting Nathan Hadley for the second ascent, and SJ’s hardest boulder problem  

54:20 – Pitch by pitch breakdown  

57:00– SJ and Mikey’s style for team free ascents and the style they used to redpoint ’Dark Side of Liberty’  

1:00:51 – How this climb ranks among SJ’s top achievements and what made it extra special  

1:02:55 – Navigating a relationship with your climbing partner, why SJ jokes that “it’s a work in progress”, and the give and take of supporting one another’s goals  

1:09:21 – “Climbing heightens your emotions” and the importance of communication in a climbing relationship  

1:10:27 – The biggest challenge SJ faced when becoming a doctor-climber  

1:16:16 – Adjusting goals to make both climbing and her career work  

1:18:15 – What SJ wishes she’d know when she was starting her residency  

1:22:07 – What SJ is reading right now (‘Roar’), experimenting with intermittent fasting with Mikey and getting very different results, and timing birth control around climbing   

1:26:06 – What her intermittent fasting looked like, stress as a factor, and why she decided it wasn’t for her  

1:30:31 – SJ’s favorite recent purchase that dramatically improved her life (Casper light link in show notes), caffeine addiction, and why SJ switched to (mostly) drinking decaf coffee  

1:35:39 – Regarding past projects and routes: “They’ve all kinda taught me something.”   

1:36:18 – Advice for women trying to break into 5.14 or hard trad, shoulder girdle strengthening, and being aware of and training your weakest link  

1:38:53 – Shoulder girdle exercises  

1:40:40 – The importance of believing in yourself (especially for women), and the pattern SJ noticed during residency  

1:43:02 – SJ’s thoughts on whether an assessment could be used to give someone confidence to try harder  

1:44:14 – Working on flexibility and SJ’s yoga subscription  

1:45:19 – Yosemite plans, ‘Freerider’, and why the easier parts can feel like the hard parts to a lot of climbers  

1:48:55 – What SJ is most grateful for   

1:51:29 – Excited for this time in life and to be in Reno  

1:52:41 – Work-life balance now vs. back in residency  

1:53:58 – SJ’s social media handle (@shanjean on Instagram)  

1:54:28 – Shanjean vs. SJ, and the councilor to the emperor  

1:56:52 – Hustling, trying hard, and (almost) always smiling :)