Meet Tanner Bauer: One of America’s Next Great All-Arounders 

I shift in my harness as a hot sun creeps down from the lip of the Black Canyon’s 1,000-foot North Chasm View Wall. Within moments I switch from fighting off shivers to wishing I had more water. There is no wind and the heat dries my throat. Above me, Tanner Bauer crimps through V9 moves above a small fixed nut on the gently overhanging crux pitch of Josh Wharton’s unrepeated the Black Sheep (5.13; 1,000 ft). As he nears the top of the bulge, Tanner declares he won’t be going for a redpoint effort today—it’s too hot in the sun and we’re anxious about the numerous R-rated slab pitches still separating us from the rim of the canyon.

Taking the next lead—a 40-meter 5.10+ R containing just three bolts—Tanner delicately onsights his way through crumbly and mostly holdess pegmatite. I’m mentally worn out just following this chossy section, which Wharton called the Wholly Bugger pitch for its spicy nature. We race dehydration through a couple more intense rope lengths, topping out after eight hours on the wall. It was Tanner’s first time climbing in the infamous Black Canyon. On the same short trip to Colorado, he climbed Kenny Loggins (V14) and a couple other “mileage’’ double-digit problems. Just a week prior to this trip, he made the third ascent of Little Cottonwood Canyon’s hardest sport route: Brent Barghahn’s Iridescence (5.14a).

Tanner Bauer, 20, is one of the best young all-around climbers in the United States, and I’ve watched his progression through the sport from an early age. Tanner began climbing seriously when he was nine, joining the team at the Boulder Rock Club. He competed in competitions right from the get go, but his parents made sure he climbed outdoors as well.

In 2016, when we were both 12, Tanner and I—with our parents’ nervous blessings—backpacked into a remote section of the Colorado alpine to establish new boulder problems. That same year, he climbed Turning Point (V8), made finals in his age group at Youth Nationals, and sent Express Yourself (5.13b). It was just the start.

By the end of the following year, Tanner had ticked over a dozen 5.13s, a 5.14a, a V9, and 5.10+ trad route. In 2018, he climbed his first 5.14b (Waka Flocka, in Rifle), competed at Youth World Championships in Moscow, and ventured up his first multi-pitch—The Naked Edge (5.11b; 450ft)—with coach and mentor Justen Sjong, a pivotal experience that added a whole new dimension to Tanner’s climbing goals.

That season, he climbed multiple 5.12 trad routes in Eldorado Canyon—a place not particularly renowned for its straightforward protection. And the next year, at 15, he made the first ascent of Gluttony (5.13, trad) in Eldorado Canyon, repeated Smart Went Crazy (5.13+ R/X trad) in Eldorado Canyon, and climbed the Yellow Wall (5.11b R, 1,000 ft) on the Diamond of Longs Peak—while continuing to push his level on boulders and sport routes. He also nabbed the third ascent of a broken Carlo Traversi boulder in Indian Creek called The Color of Curiosity (V13).

Since then, Tanner has balanced his trad climbing with hard bouldering; and by training his weaknesses and embracing his strengths, he’s built an incredible base, climbing over 50 V13s, a dozen V14s, and one V15 (Griffin Whiteside’s Traffic), while also taking time to do first ascents as hard as V14/15 (the still-unrepeated Professor Chaos), and 5.14a trad (Kill Switch, which was repeated by William Moss). 

Tanner has always been a cerebral climber, utilizing technique and careful planning to reach his goals. When plagued with shoulder problems in 2021, he analyzed his movement style and completely changed it. “I always used to climb with very disengaged shoulders,” he told me, “but I’ve been teaching myself to move tighter and to weight my scapulas more.” He’s taken the same sort of approach to alpine big walls and hard trad climbs. Prior to our attempt on the Black Sheep, for instance, Tanner spent hours poring through information about the climb—even angling the guidebook sideways while studying photos of the route, trying to understand exactly how steep the crux pitch was. Armed with this information, he says, he’s more efficient and decisive on the wall.

Last summer, Tanner took these skills to the high alpine of Mount Blue Sky, where he made the fifth ascent of one of Colorado’s most spectacular sport routes: the prominent granite arête of Doubloons (5.14b). In many ways, Doubloons represented everything Tanner’s psyched about in climbing. The cruxes are hard, the climbing is exposed and incredibly insecure, and the logistical factor is high: The line sits at approximately 13,000 feet on a freestanding pillar, so it’s subject to fast-moving weather and endless wind.

There’s a specific kind of mental calmness and fortitude that plays into climbing so hard under these conditions. Both cruxes revolve around V11 moves on fingernail crimps. The feet are dimes, and balance is a key component to success. It’s harder to maintain warmth at this elevation and the pump builds faster. But Tanner had sought out Doubloons specifically because the climb combined each of these elements into one experience. After a several week-long onslaught, he climbed to the tower’s summit.

Tanner’s multidisciplinary interests were demonstrated by his recent trip to Africa with his brother and mom. They started out by testing their altitude fitness on Mount Kilimanjaro (19,341 feet). Then, after a few days of rest, they flew to Rocklands, where on his first day, Tanner accomplished a life-list goal by flashing a V13 called Quintessential.

Despite his love for bouldering—which he values as a low-commitment, fulfilling way to find his absolute limit in execution—Tanner still sees it as a sort of training. “I know that my future will take me to larger arenas and more remote places,” he says. “Right now I’m interested in finishing school and getting stronger. I don’t want to be limited by pulling strength when I’m high on some big wall somewhere.”

Still, he’s not putting off the bigger objectives. Shortly after I wrote this, Tanner headed into the Wind River Range to attempt one of the most formidable backcountry big walls in the United States: the 2,000 foot north face of Mount Hooker.

He certainly won’t struggle with any crux moves.

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