For the past 20 years, Sasha DiGiulian has won climbing world championships, sent big walls from Madagascar to Spain, and pushed the boundaries of what’s possible for women’s climbing—all by age 33. But while DiGiulian has settled into a rhythm in Boulder, Colorado, she hasn’t slowed down one bit. In the past five years alone, she’s launched a nutrition bar company, published a memoir, recovered from five hip surgeries, completed an Ironman 70.3, starred in an HBO documentary, and returned to Yosemite to make the first female ascent of El Capitan’s longest free route, The Direct Line (5.13d). Her secret? Operating in the chaos, not resisting it.
The Most Important Decision She Ever Made
I was at a dinner in Salt Lake City in January 2013 with Reinhold Messner. He flipped over the wine menu and started drawing Bellavista, this 5.14b big wall in the Dolomites. He was like, “This is what you should go do.”
I didn’t have any experience with multi-pitch climbing or big-wall climbing. It’s every guide’s nightmare to hear this, but I was learning how to jumar [use metal ascenders to move upward on a rope] while hanging in free space thousands of feet above the ground, with Edu [Marín] screaming at me in Spanish and me using my limited knowledge of Spanish to figure it out.
I learned so much on that trip being thrown into the deep end … I chose to go [to Spain] instead of the World Games that year. After [Bellavista], I actively chose to stop competing as much and really started to fall in love with big outdoor experiences.
An Underrated Skill for a Professional Athlete
The ability to compartmentalize. You have to be able to put aside everything that’s going on, show up, and do your best. I’m a big Swiftie, so I think of that [Taylor Swift] song, “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
Her Workout Routine
I do about five days of cardio a week, normally a trail run or road biking. I really like swimming, too; that was the impetus for dabbling in the Ironman sphere. I train climbing four to five times a week. On a typical day, I’ll do a [training] session in my garage for two to three hours, then I’ll do about 90 minutes of strength and conditioning. If I’m going outside, I’ll truncate meetings or move them.
On Recovering from Five Hip Surgeries, Then Going Straight to Rayu, a 2,000-foot Big-Wall Climb in Spain
[In 2020,] I didn’t know if I’d be able to come back to climbing, or if I’d ever be able to climb 5.14 again. I literally had a panic attack the day before we hiked in because I was so nervous and had so many question marks around it. It was really empowering for me to get to be there with Matilda [Söderlund] and Brette [Harrington]. Rayu was the first stake in the ground of me being like, “Wow, I can still be a professional climber, and I can still push myself.”
On Finding Balance
I don’t even like to refer to it as balance; it’s just operating in the chaos and seeing what’s the priority, week by week.
Why She Started Her Own Nutrition Company
I’ve struggled for a lot of my life with disordered eating, especially in my early competition days. The way I got through it was learning how to fuel my body. When I had this massive surgery, two of the only things I could control were how I showed up to [physical therapy] and how I fuel myself … I’ve learned so much about ingredient sourcing, supply chain, and all of these skills I’ve always imagined I’d learn at business school. I feel like I’m getting a small business degree.
Her Advice for Female Athletes Entering Their Thirties
Be kind to yourself and be open to change. When we go through these big transition moments, it can be very chaotic and confusing. Taking stock in the day-to-day is important, but so is having that malleability and mindset of, “OK, I don’t know what this next chapter looks like, but I’m going to be open to it.”
This article is from the Fall 2026 issue of Outside magazine. To receive the print magazine, become an Outside+ member here.
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