CALDWELL -- Idaho's top-ranked competitive climber placed 20th at the National Bouldering Championship in Sacramento, Calif. last month.

Caldwell resident Matt Fultz is ranked 33rd nationally among all male competitors in the American Bouldering Series.

And the 12-year-old Syringa Middle School student started climbing only two years ago on a dare from his dad.

"My dad wanted to see me climb," Matt said, adding that his father offered him $10 to ascend a 47-foot climbing wall at a local sporting goods store. "And I got hooked."

Matt said reaching the top was a big deal because he hadn't believed he could do it.

"I was scared of heights," he said. And climbing helped him face this fear. "I wanted to try it again."

So Matt started climbing regularly and then to compete.

This time of year, Matt said he practices for competitions at least three hours a day.

"Comps are coming up, and I've got to train."

The sixth grade student took 8th place in the Open Men's competition at Club Sports in Tigard, Ore. in February. A month earlier, he placed first overall in a Nampa competition. Both events are part of the bouldering series.

And in the U.S. Climbing Big Sky Region, Matt has placed first in every single event and is ranked first, overall, for all male competitors.

Steve Fultz, Matt's dad, said his son works out at home about five hours a week and climbs at the Nampa Recreation Center for three hours a day.

"He climbs in here for hours and pushes himself," Steve said. "Something's got to drive him, and it's all internal. That's something I don't see in a lot of kids."

Matt agreed that he's different from his peers. He said he's quieter than most students, and the amount of time he spends training means he doesn't have many opportunities to develop friendships with kids his own age.

"Most of my friends are in their 20s," Matt said. "I have friends at school, but my closer friends are climbers. There are not that many kids who climb competitively in Idaho."

But Matt said his personality is perfectly suited to climbing.

"I'm pretty introverted," Matt said. "I like to be on my own. No one else is really motivated to climb indoors as much as I am. I'm usually the only person climbing, and I'm there for hours at a time."

Find more at the
Idaho Press-Tribune.