Dominykas always has a big smile on his face, bigger when he’s talking about climbing. He’s almost 17, but he fell in love with climbing just last spring, after a few years of playing on the walls, then quitting them. He is determened to become the best in Lithuania and he is working for it.  

Experience/ how it started:

I went to a birthday party at “Miegantys Drambliai”, about five years ago. The gym was smaller, without the chilling area or the small gym. It was the first time I was climbing. I thought it would be pretty easy, but actualy it was very hard. In the first two years I came to play, to climb a bit, for fun. After two years I started working harder. 

* * *

That year I trained a lot – it was a good year. Five years ago, when I was in the fifth grade, I had my first competition in Klaipeda. I was the youngest in the older group, the D group. I was competing against stronger climbers, but I didn’t finish even one route. I thought I shouldn’t continue climbing.

I had to finish my music school studies, so I stopped climbing for a while. Now I’m climbing for half of year and my results from 2013 were the best I ever had. I think climbing became a big passion last spring when I came back. I was climbing pretty well, considering the big break. I thought I wouldn’t be able to do anything at all, but I was almost at the same level I reached before leaving. That motivated me to become better. I like climbing because my results are improving everytime.

How is it in the trainings:

I’m training four times a week. Sometimes five. Last summer, we had trainings every day and it was great. I hurt my back a few times because of some moves I don’t usualy do. I couldn’t move for a couple of weeks. But than I was ok and climbed again. You can always train some other parts of the body when you’re injured. I did that.

Plans for 2014:

I want to win competitions, but I know some are stronger than me. By the time I’m in 12th grade, I hope to be the best in Lithuania. I think I could do 7a or 7b, but I don’t know yet, I have to try them out. I dream about 8a. I have strength, but my climbing technique is not as good as I would want, so I will work on that too.

Grown-up plans:

I realy don’t know what I want to do after I finish highschool. I think about it, but I can’t imagine anything for now.

Parents’ opinion: 

My parents think that if I like climbing, I should climb. They tell me to be careful and that’s it.

Favourite type of climbing: 

I would like to do lead climbing. Boulder is more about flexibility. For leading, you have to have endurance, so you will not get tired. Patience also. When you grab the

hold and it's a good one between a lot of nasty ones, it’s a great feeling.

Fears:

I’ve been on three outdoor climbing trips: one in Frankenjura and two in Kalymnos.

I was very afraid of heights the first time (routes of 30-40 meters), but the second time in Kalymnos I said: “heights?…mheah, normal”. Now I’m not even afraid of falling when I’m climbing higher. After climbing on real rocks it is always hard to go back in he gym.

Dreams: 

I want to go back to Kalymnos. It’s a climbing paradise, believe me! Maybe hundreds of routes.  You wake up and you see rocks.

Dominykas Krutulis ended 2013 on 8th place, in the youth group.