Total Climbing's Total Climber

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Douwe van den Oever gazed up at the 800-foot tall Petit Grepon and felt a flash of intimidation. The famous rock spire, located in Rocky Mountain National Park, starts broad before narrowing to a sliver at its top. A cold wind blew through the 11,000-foot Sky Pond cirque on the mid-September day. Though athletic and skilled, van den Oever had never climbed a technical route of such scale. A high-powered consultant who lives in Zurich, works in Paris and climbs with the Colorado Mountain School, van den Oever exudes a quiet confidence. He thrives on challenges, but standing before this stunning spire he seemed a bit out of his element. Once climbing, however, his nervousness turns to excitement. After all, he comes here for a reason – because, as he says, “You offer an experience where the rubber meets the road.”

Douwe (pronounced “Dow,” like Dow Jones) came to Boulder after a few skiing trips to la Grave, France, in 2003, where he was guided by Keith Garvey and Joey Vallone, two of CMS’ most experienced (and most extroverted) guides. Douwe quickly recognized their here-and-now passion and infectious enthusiasm for the outdoors, particularly for climbing and skiing. Douwe had dabbled in climbing before and wanted to learn more. He knew from experience that the efficient way to gain skills and knowledge is to learn from experts. And climbing is certainly no exception. He told Keith and Joey that he’d be seeing them soon in Colorado.

Once here, Douwe was hooked like so many other climbers before him. The myriad of climbing options blew him away: “Just going through the guidebooks, the variety of rock and climbing areas is amazing, and there are so many routes.” Such terrain naturally attracts an incredible spectrum of climbers, resulting in a unique quality that impressed Douwe. While climbing, sometimes he felt like a kid sharing a basketball court with Michael Jordan. “It is a rare privilege to practice a sport where you interact with world-class athletes at a roughly balanced human level of rapport. This is so quintessential to this sport,” he says. And he soon saw something more, something long-appreciated by lovers of the American West. “There’s a rawness over here that doesn’t exist in Europe,” he says. “Europe is full, completely full. Every blade of grass is measured and cut. Roadkill is rare in Europe, because it’s too clean there are hardly any animals around in the first place.” The mountains here seemed more pristine, less domesticated, and the climbers gave greater respect to the rock. Furthermore, he appreciated the exuberant energy of the CMS guides relaxed, unpretentious and embracing guiding as something they love, not just a regular job. Their genuineness reminded him of qualities he’d seen in start-up businesses. “In the early days of successful companies, like Google and Microsoft,” Douwe muses, “boundless energy infuses the core group and drives the companies. That energy comes from deep down. It has to do with being relentlessly authentic.” Climbing here connects him with the unbridled passion that he sees stifled too often in the corporate world, a world from which he needs a momentary respite. He doesn’t talk work when he’s here. Rather, he comes for a different experience, one very unique to climbing in this region.

A self-described “technique junkie,” Douwe has never had a problem with focus, even in the sometimes chaotic natural environment where climbers venture. He seeks control internal control through a solid base. “Pursuing a sense of order is my prime motivation,” he says. “Technique is the foundation from which you build. Technique and attitude.” The vast array of climbing skills and techniques he wants to master attest to the unfolding of his own potential. And to his drive. One day, for example, he spent 90 minutes in the Boulder Rock Club trying to climb an easy indoor route hands free. He’d learned the simple drill as a means to improve his balance and foot technique. Sweat rolled down Douwe’s forehead; he refused to quit until he succeeded.

The day before climbing the Petit Grepon (which he cruised) he went to an Eldorado Canyon classic route, Blind Faith, with his guide Roy Leggett. He fell onto the rope at the crux difficulties. “I climbed Blind Faith, but not very elegantly. So I have to go back to it again because I hate unfinished business,” he says. Before Douwe fell, Leggett could see him struggling and mentioned that, if he wanted, he could pull on a piece of equipment to get past the difficult section. But to Douwe, this would be cheating. It’s not just getting to the top, but how you do it. His good-natured reply to Leggett’s offer? “No way, [screw] that. By now you should know me.”

Perhaps Douwe’s appreciation for climbing comes, at least in part, from consequence. “You can’t afford to distance your self from your body,” he says about climbing. Such immediacy and commitment, he believes, can profoundly affect other areas of life. He sees definite parallels between climbing and organizational potential like in the corporate world where, he says: “The room for tolerance is so much greater. Being part of a large company is like an immersion in a simulated world. It’s a world with a different perception of reality. It’s a game, like playing Doom or Half-Life. If an executive were to be trained in climbing, I think the depth of understanding and effectiveness of his or her decisions would be much better. With climbing, serious skiing, and a couple other sports, you just can’t lie. You either do it or you don’t. It’s very binary. And in climbing, if you don’t do it, the consequences can be severe. You can communicate your way through people and reorganizations. You can’t communicate your way through a mountain.” That direct relationship between hard skills and consequences makes a difference, he says: “Climbing is the most reflective mirror I know of.”

“I find climbing with guides exponentially more rewarding because I get the skill set, attitude and way of life. There’s value in climbing with someone who is vastly superior to your skill set, and it is refreshingly fascinating to hear his perspective,” Douwe says. He climbs with a variety of CMS guides to broaden his exposure to different skills and perspectives, because everything he learns contributes to the total package.

So, what’s next on his climbing agenda? “I’m going to precisely follow the winter training program that was developed for me at the Boulder Rock Club. Chris Wall [the BRC’s head coach and personal training director] gave me a routine for strength, conditioning and skills that I can perform in my local climbing gym in Zurich,” he says. And in terms of future climbs, no shortage of adventures dances through his mind South America next summer, Nepal the year after. “But first, I’ll return to Colorado.” After all, the lifestyle gets as addictive as the climbing.