When Wills Young encountered Hugo Hoyer about eight years ago at Chattanooga’s High Point rock climbing gym downtown, he said he observed in the young climber an uncommon degree of strength and determination.
“I was like, ‘This kid’s good,'” Young recalled by phone this week. “‘He’s really good.'”
Just how good has become clearer by the year. Only recently has Hoyer begun regularly competing against adults, and last week the 16-year-old Chattanoogan bested some of the world’s top climbers in USA Climbing’s 2023 Yeti National Championship in Boise, Idaho.
Now, with a first place finish in lead climbing and a second place finish in bouldering, the young Chattanoogan is adjusting to the new mental and physical rigors of adult climbing competitions as he eyes international Climbing World Cup events — and ultimately, the Olympic Games.
In recent years, Hoyer has primarily trained at the Chattanooga Southside’s new Synergy Climbing and Ninja gym. It’s a bouldering gym, meaning climbers stay relatively low to the ground, unsecured by ropes.