Cedar Pidgeon loves to climb. She’s pretty good at it too.
The Squamish native rose up to become this year’s , besting runner-up Sophie Buitendyk and bronze medallist Molly Dreher. It was a hotly-contested final at the Richmond Olympic Oval, with all three female podium finishers unable to secure their 39th hold. Yet Cedar had outperformed her opponents in the semi-finals, netting her gold.
“Hard work actually gets you places,” she said. “If you're willing to put in the time and the effort and the—I don't want to say dedication because it's a little bit cringy, but yes, dedication—then you can actually achieve your goals. It's a good milestone for me and I'm excited for future training and competitions at that level.”
Cedar remarks that she started climbing virtually as soon as she could walk. She loves it because of its versatility: unlike other sports, which can involve repetitive movements and activities, climbing presents a dynamic challenge based on the discipline and venue at hand. Lead climbers, boulderers and speed athletes must excel at different skills, and the various indoor gyms on Earth are supplemented—and usually upstaged—by nature’s wealth of mountains and rocky faces.
Some people focus on the regimented indoor competitive side of climbing, but Cedar makes sure to branch out.
“I think having a dual relationship with climbing inside and outside is really healthy for my involvement with the sport,” she said. “It keeps me from plateauing mentally. A lot of my really, really close friends in climbing, they do both. I can climb with them in competitions and try to be on the same level as them, but then we can also go outside, screw around and just enjoy nature.”
Like mother, like daughter
Thomasina Pidgeon, Cedar’s mom, began climbing in her mid-to-late twenties but didn’t enter her first contest until her forties. That’s indeed an exceptionally late start, but the elder Pidgeon doesn’t regret her path as climbing has taken her from Europe to Australia to the United States. It’s also given her a common language with her now 17-year-old daughter.
“Cedar works really hard,” said Thomasina. “It wasn’t always like that—when she was younger, she just climbed for fun. But lately, in the last year and a half, she's been a lot more focused than she was before, and I think she's perhaps more inspired by paying attention to other climbers that are on, say, the World Cup circuit.”
One of Cedar’s formative international experiences took place at the International Federation of Sport Climbing Youth World Championships in South Korea. She’d written herself a note at eight years of age expressing her desire to attend that very event, and it came to fruition last August with a tenth-place effort.
Not a shabby way to fulfill a childhood dream.
“It was really fun, really rewarding,” Cedar said. “It was my goal that whole year, so I was really happy when I qualified [with a bronze medal at the Canadian Youth National Championships]. Going to Korea was really fun because I just got to bond with the rest of the team and climb among a bunch of other kids my age from all around the world.”
“She’s done better than I ever have,” admitted Thomasina with a laugh. “It's cool to see her become more confident and believe in herself more. I think that kind of thinking just translates to everything else, and success breeds success. She learns from other people’s mistakes really easily. People make mistakes all the time, especially in climbing, and you can [pick up on it] if you pay attention.”
According to Thomasina, who is both parent and coach to her only child, Cedar once held a bit of a fixed mindset with regard to sport. Yet learning to think outside the box and improve on her weaknesses had paid dividends. The two enjoy a harmonious relationship, albeit one occasionally marked by the normal arguments between mother and daughter.
“My mom is one of the people who has had a huge impact on me,” said Cedar. “I mean, she's the reason I started climbing and she's been my coach for my whole life, but more recently, she’s been more involved.”
There are many routes that the young Squamolian can take from here, both on and off the wall. She isn’t ready to commit fully to a professional career, but hopes to take a run at the World Cup in the future.
