Phil Schaal’s been killing it recently. In the past year alone, this Connecticut climber has ticked 15 V13s, including some rare repeats of hard East Coast lines—The Book of Bitter Aspects (V13) in Bradley, Conn., Agent Orange (V13) in the Gunks, and the Chelsea Smile (V13), Ty Landman’s new sit start to Divine Providence in Lincoln Woods.

But pissing on hard blocs hasn’t come easy for Phil, who’s gone from struggling to do a single pull-up (OK that was awhile ago) to world-class send status. His secret? Pure determination.
Phil ranks Roses …