In the summer of 2022, Madeline Sorkin freed the Dunn-Westbay Direct, the hardest route on the Diamond at 5.14-. She is the fifth person to send the route, and it is also the first female ascent of the climb. Because of how quickly she put down this proud alpine route, Madaleine has been nominated for the 2023 Climb of Year Award, the winner of which will be announced, alongside many other awards, at the AAC’s Annual Benefit Gala, which will be held in NY this year, from March 10th-11th. You can cast your vote and learn about the other nominees here. Beyond being a professional climber, Madeline is also a performance coach and founder of the Climbing Grief Fund. In this episode, we dive into Mad’s process for sending the Dunn-Westbay, focusing on place-based connections within climbing, processing the pressure of self-imposed goals, and the tactic of visualization.