Turn the world vertical and watch the shy girl bloom. Oslo-bred Tina Johnsen Hafsaas has been a phenom since she first jumped onto a climbing wall at 12 years old. In 2012, she was Norway’s junior champion, primed to launch into her adult career, when monovirus took her down. For the next three years, she battled the ups and downs of uncertainty, disappointing competition results, waves of fatigue, and the disorienting feeling of colleagues transcending your accomplishments. The experience left her stronger, kinder to herself and more attentive to the beauty of the outdoor world. She is also more passionate about climbing than ever. 15 years after she got on that wall, she is now sure that she will never stop, not even when she retires from competition. “It’s too complex a sport to ever outgrow. It’s not just a sport – it’s a passion and a lifestyle and a huge part of my identity.” Her return to health and to the competitive circuit in 2017 saw her competing, at times, against her own students. She had started a youth climbing team, alongside partner, fellow Arc’teryx athlete and Norwegian boulder Thilo Schröter, to bring up the next generation of Norway’s climbers, and she’s happy to lend them the benefit of her learnings: how to reach your potential without being brutally hard on yourself. In addition to training for the 2021 and 2023 World Championships, cultivating a more playful approach to life, and revelling in the places climbing takes her, Johnsen Hafsaas is studying a degree in Ecology and Sustainable Nature Management, a path she hopes will pair well with her climbing obsession and allow her to contribute meaningfully to the protection of the planet’s living systems.

Achievements

• Norwegian Champion
• Nordic Champion
• World Cup finalist
• European Championship finalist
• 8c red point sport climbing
• 8a+ onsight sport climbing
• 8A+ bouldering