Rob Pizem

Date of Birth:
June 1976

Hometown:
Kirtland, Ohio

What is your primary means of adventure, AKA what gets you most psyched?
New routing in less populated environments.

Invent your dream adventure by combining five places, disciplines, pitches, peaks, environments, etc. and stacking them together into a combination. Why did you pick each part?
I would link up some of the peaks in the Alps. A mixture of alpine and rock climbing. Routes would be on the following: Matterhorn, Eiger, Tre Cime, Marmaloda, and Piz Badille. These are the coolest and most iconic places that I have seen in the Alps! Those are my feel good places.

Describe 5 climbs, trips, or moments that have defined you as a mountain athlete:

1. Arcturus, getting the first free ascent with Mike Anderson after breaking my back on the crux during a prior attempt.
2. My two years on the road in my twenties reminded me that I love spending every moment outside in nature.
3. First ascenting on Mt Evans, at over 13,000’ in Colorado.
4. Bagging towers in the desert, the popular and the obscure.
5. My first 5.14 sport route and my first 5.13+/14a crack.

Describe your most memorable night in the mountains:
Epic on Epinephrine. I didn’t pass the slower party and got stuck in the night unable to find the way down. Sleeping out at the top of the wall watching the glam of Vegas twinkling below with a good buddy.

What has scared or intimidated you as a mountain athlete?
Dying or being severely injured on a committing pitch.

What would your adventure partners be most surprised to learn about you from before the time when they met you?
I am afraid of heights and traversers.

What are your top 5 all-time favorite pieces of CAMP equipment?

1. Photon wire
2. Laser harness
3. Orbit 2Lock
4. HMS Screw Lock
5. CAMP Block Chalk

Why are you a CAMP athlete?
My family is from Italy, CAMP is an Italian company and I love the mountains and adventure just like they do. They make the goods to make every trip into the mountains a great one!

Tick List

It meant a lot to me when I climbed:

1. My first route
2. Arcturus
3. Thunderbird
4. Army of Darkness
5. El Cap in a day

The adventure, route or race I had to train the hardest for was:
Arcturus on Half Dome in Yosemite, Lots 5.13 pitches high on a big wall.

The adventure, route or race that wrecked me the most was:
Arcturus, I broke my back on the crux and spent 7 weeks of my life on the wall over two summers getting it done.

I most want an all-expenses-paid trip to:
The Alps

My short list of climbing or adventure goals this year:

1. Ghost River Range Trip
2. Zion Climbing
3. Sierra Climbing