Sonnie Trotter. You know him. He’s that crazy guy from Canadia with a clever little tattoo on his arm. He was in some video climbing some crack. He’s sent some hard stuff, some scary stuff and some rad stuff. He’s been there and done that, and he’s actually still doing it. He finally peeled himself away from climbing rocks and doing yoga with his hot girlfriend to give P&C a few good answers to our questions. Enjoy.

Tell me what the best part about living in Squamish is.
Are you joking? Have you ever been to Squamish? Don’t tell me I really need to answer this question. Please Andrew, don’t fucking tell me you’re serious. Next…
If you had to choose between sport climbing and bouldering forever which would it be? And what about trad climbing vs. that winner?
I think I would choose bouldering over everything else, but, shit man, that is a hard question. The reason I say bouldering is because I am in love with (more than anything) the feeling of moving over stone, the freedom of climbing movement. I don’t particularly enjoy harnesses or ropes and other such crap, but the lines that I get to do using those tools are quite remarkable. It’s highly liberating when you do a 150-foot rock climb and you can’t see your belayer anymore and you have birds floating underneath you…liberating. But since you said choose “one” and then you said “forever” I think bouldering would win. Bouldering, highballing and free soloing.
What’s the best route under 5.9 or under you’ve ever climbed?
Wonderland 5.9, it’s the last pitch of the Smoke Bluff connection and I solo it every chance I get, probably every month of the year. It’s the best. From right to left, hand over hand on glassy feet but sinker jugs and locks and a good bit of exposure too. Coastal granite is the shit.
Why does JT call you Mr. Namaste? Does that shit really help at all?
JT has a lot of names for me. I can’t seem to keep up. He’s a pretty funny guy and it’s just his way of making himself feel better. I’ve been doing more yoga this year than ever and he seems to think yoga is for fags. I think he should just call me fag then instead of Mr.Namaste you know, cut to the chase like a real man. For example, I like to call him ‘Ol Baldy.
What’s one famous crag you’d be happy never climbing at ever again?
American Fork, Utah. A.K.A. Broken Glass. What an over-rated pile of scrap metal and glue.
What was the coolest thing about 24HHH this year?
Getting drunk with the Okie crew. Even though I had to save my juju for the comp, it was still a blast of a weekend, and drinking always makes me smile. I also enjoyed the climbing and hanging out with good people, lets not forget that part.
If you had the opportunity to trade a punch in the face with any professional athlete, climbing or otherwise, who would it be and why.
Do they have to be alive? I’d probably go with Wayne Gretzky, number 99 of the Edmonton Oilers / L.A. Kings / N.Y Rangers. I think if you’re going to trade punches for fun, I’d want it to be a celebrity member of my own country, not sure why. Also the fact that he’s a hockey playing legend even more so, cause if you’re going to lose some teeth over it, you don’t want to say that a rollerblader or a figure skater or a sport climber knocked them out, you’d rather tell people it was a Hockey Hall of Famer. And you know, they always said he was bit soft, so I’d want to know for sure.
Write three facts about yourself and one false one so we can guess which one you made up.
I got malaria while in India.
I was born, but not raised in South Africa.
I was arrested in Boulder, CO.
I dropped a best friend off the end of our rope.
Who have you been listening to lately?
Always the same man, Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, Groundation, Johnny Cash and 2pac. Why what are you listening to man? Give me some of that shit.
What’s the best new training tool to use so we can get strong like you?
Try typing out annoying interview after annoying interview all day and see how strong your fingers get? If that doesn’t work, buy one of my hand built, custom hangboards and train like a motherfucker. But here’s the hook, seriously, use weight. For real, people, if you just hang with your own body weight you will plateau (unless you’re 350 pounds). The way to get strong is to resist force, do dead hangs with 30 pounds off your harness, I double dare you. Or get your gal to dangle from your dingles. Wink.

Tags: Awesome, bouldering, canada, Interview, Sonnie Trotter