He recently finished his first year of middle school, and the 12-year-old is thrilled to have more time to train for the biggest competition of his climbing career.
“I like showing people what I can do, how strong I am and how I’m getting better,” Noah said. “The last two years, I hadn’t made it to Nationals, I haven’t really gotten close even. It feels good to make it, in not just one but two disciplines.”
This past year, Noah qualified for the USA Climbing Nationals in lead/top rope and bouldering disciplines, which will be held from July 9 to July 16 in Salt Lake City. He is the only youth climber in Tucson and one of 12 from Arizona who will participate in the competition. Noah has been a climber since he was younger, thanks to his family’s long-time love for the sport.
His parents, Scott and Becky, have supported him throughout his journey, from training at Rock Solid Climbing Gym to qualifying events and every competition up until Nationals.
“You have to do two qualifying events, but Noah did three,” Becky said. “After each competition, you are ranked, depending on what place you get. You get a number of points for where you place.”
Noah qualified among 26 other climbers to compete at Regionals, including those from Arizona and Southern California. From there, he moved on with the top 13 to Divisionals, which brings multiple regions together to compete. He made it to the top 13 for Finals and ultimately, the top six to Nationals.
With each competition, Noah climbed in the two disciplines. Bouldering consists of a path of holds attached to the wall that a climber must complete in a certain order, all without a harness or ropes.
“The idea is to always get either to the middle point, or if you can, to the top of the problem, in the fewest number of tries,” Scott said. “If you can do it in one try, that would be as good as can be done.”
Lead/top rope requires athletes to climb a wall around 50-60 feet high in a harness. The goal is to get as far as you can on a particular route.
Noah trains for each discipline at Rock Solid Climbing, spending three days a week and a total of nine hours on the gym’s walls. Depending on the season, he’ll work on different muscles and movements to improve his skill.
“Every training session starts with a warm-up, then you’ll do a little climbing,” Noah explained. “If it’s bouldering season, we’ll do a workout that’s specific to power and strength. … When it’s rope season, I’ll still do the same warm-up but I’ll train more endurance.”
He trains with the gym’s youth climbing team and his instructor, Gustavo Figueroa, the head coach and route setter of Rock Solid. For almost a decade, Figueroa has helped athletes and nonathletes develop their climbing through skills and strength training.
He first met Noah a few years ago while watching him climb with the junior team. Figueroa saw a passion in his squirrelly energy, and as Noah progressed to Rock Solid’s 16-member youth team, the head coach played a larger role in his training.
From organizing practices to setting personal routes and coaching competitions, Figueroa does what he can to prepare Noah for the rocks ahead.
“Noah is an amazing rock climber and a brilliant, wonderful teenager,” Figueroa said. “He will definitely be leading the pack as far as youth Tucson climbers at a national level. I’m excited to see where he pushes the sport and puts Tucson on the map.”
Another part of Noah’s success stems from his family of rock jocks. His father, Scott, has been climbing for over 20 years, and got his mother, Becky, into it when they started dating.
Becky also teaches Pilates at Rock Solid a few times a week, and while Noah’s 8-year-old sister, Gracyn, is an accomplished gymnast, she participates in the gym’s club and has even qualified for Regionals.
Noah leans on his family for support throughout his climbing seasons, and it helps to have a culture that reflects, as Scott put it, more pride in progress than achievement.
“We try to focus more on the process of growing as athletes and what (Noah and Gracyn) can learn from their sports more than the outcome,” Scott noted. “But of course, we’re super proud that Noah’s been able to advance this far and it’s a testament to his dedication and his hard work.”
Aside from competing, Noah has found a way to connect with people through fun climbing. He’s made friends from all over the country who share his passion and help push him to do better. He also takes time with his family to climb rocks outside, with Mt. Lemmon as their favorite destination.
The Belangers have been there for Noah through all of his trials and triumphs, all of the competitions and fun rock outings. Becky, Scott and Gracyn are excited to watch him compete at Nationals, but to them, his love for the sport means so much more than winning.
“We’ve witnessed the disappointment in past years of not getting as close as he would like and not meeting his goals,” Becky said. “We have watched him take that disappointment and turn it into motivation. He works so hard. For as much as he grows in this sport, his love for it continues to grow too.”
