Melissa i
Strong

Phil Schaal was born to a Swiss father who was the American Olympic ski coach and a fiery Chilean mother. This combination gave him an intense inner drive to strive to be the best and NEVER quit. Phillip started skiing at the age of two, but unlike his Dad, Andi Schaal, he seemed naturally drawn to dry rocks rather than snow. Phil recalls, "if my parents wanted to find me, it was outside on the rocks around our house." Despite his father's inherent talent for downhill skiing, Phillip's parents were not disappointed that he chose rock climbing over skiing.  Andi competed and coached in the 60's, constantly pushing himself and the team.  By the time he left the sport, he had collectively broken 28 bones.  Phillip's parents thought their son was safer rock climbing!  Even though Phil and his Dad both left skiing behind, Andi never stopped being a coach,  "When I started going to comps, my Dad saw the competitive edge that would overcome me; he realized that this came from him and that he could help me—especially with the mental edge. He was able to help me get control of my nerves and focus."      
In his early days of climbing, Phil pushed his limits to traditional climbing and sport climbing in New England, where he was a guide in Connecticut and the Gunks.  Phil found his niche bouldering.  He excelled quickly, achieving grades V11 and V12 with ease.  But then there was a wall.  He was strong and felt great but it seemed he could not break this barrier.  This was not a challenge that Phil easily endured.  This stubborn east coaster was not used to disappointment!  His girlfriend, Nikki Kenny, remembers hiking out from the boulders on many cold, dark, damp nights after waiting for Phil to attempt that promised "one last try" repeatedly.  The solitude found in the peaceful woods was pierced by the yells of frustration and anger echoing off the rock as Phil finally gave up for the day. They hoped a change of scenery would help.  Phil had no other option but to accept this wall, try to deal with it, and continue to push as he and Nikki traveled to Thailand to climb.
        After the trip, Phil was still searching for the magic to unfold.  He decided to move to Colorado.  In Boulder, he juggled school, work and climbing.  After studying and training hard all winter Phil got a job in Estes Park, CO where he labored all day for a local Tree Service.  Immediately after work, he headed up to Chaos Canyon, where the 13s started to go down quickly.  He continued to send all summer at Rocky and Mt Evans.  Wanting to ride this success Phil left with the first snowfall and headed to Salt Lake, Bishop, Yosemite and Hueco doing many new problems along the way.  After five months on the road, he headed back home to Connecticut to finish off some old business, nabbing his first V14.   From May 2008 until now, Phil's hard work has come to fruition; in less than a year, he climbed 14 V11s, 17 V12s, 14 V13s, and his first V14.
Phil's fiery passion and inner drive paved a bumpy road for him, making it difficult for him to handle failure. However, they kept him constantly pushing, giving him the edge to advance and never quit.