The Art of Building Pump – Daniel Cornella

As the routesetting field continues to become more professionalized, so do our standards and expectations. On this episode of The Impact Driver Podcast, host Holly Chen talks with Colorado-based routesetter Daniel Cornella about the state of routesetting education and the elements of good competition sport routes.

Dan first discovered climbing thanks to his high school biology teacher, took a detour to serve in the Marines in California, and eventually found his way back to the Colorado climbing scene. In 2013, he was introduced to routesetting at Life Time Fitness by Matt Lloyd. If you’ve climbed in a Colorado gym in the last decade—from the iconic 90s-era gym Rock’n & Jam’n (now The Spot Thornton) to various Movement locations—chances are you’ve pulled on something set by Dan, who is now the Assistant Director of Routesetting at Movement’s Centennial facility.

Dan is also a USAC Level 4 Setter and has set for Youth Nationals, National Cups and Vail Citizens competitions. He has also chiefed half a dozen youth championship events. Outside of climbing, Dan works in high rigging for concerts at major Colorado venues, such as Ball Arena. Above all else, he is a proud husband and father.

General Topics Covered

• A catch-22 of routesetting
• How gyms can work internally to educate setters through a standardized pipeline
• Balancing the creative and technical aspects when educating setters
• Preparing routesetters for their first competition
• Speed is style
• The elements of a good skeleton for a rope route
• Tips and tricks on building pump, from recreational to Olympian-level routes, and why every limb should have a job
• Systematic forerunning and how to approach skeletons versus near-comp-ready routes

Show Notes

• Find Dan Cornella on Instagram
• Movement x B-Pump Collaboration Brings Japanese Routesetting and Training to Colorado
• Rumble in the Rockies

Closing Notes

If you’d like to nominate someone as a next guest, have a topic you want to see us tackle or have questions, we’d love for you to reach out.

The Impact Driver Podcast is a production of the Climbing Business Journal. Today’s episode is sponsored by Essential Climbing and Strati. It was edited and produced by Holly Yu Tung Chen, Megan Cheek, Scott Rennak and the team at CBJ. Our theme music is by Devin Dabney.