Posted by: Julie Block
The 14-year-old newest member of the GoPro Mountain Games Athlete Team has eyes on the Olympics
Conner Bailey can’t remember when his mom got him into climbing at 2 years old. He only knows he’s loved it as far as his memory goes back.
“I think my earliest climbing memory was in Texas, when I was 4. I was climbing in the gym with my older brother. As I started climbing, I really enjoyed it. I tried out for the climbing team as soon as I could,” says Conner, who will turn 15 this July.
Conner is the newest member of the Mountain Games Athlete Team, competing in the 2026 CELSIUS Youth Climbing – Boulder and YETI Youth Climbing – Speed events.
Born with scoliosis and adopted when he was 2, Conner was considered a Failure to Thrive baby. His mom, Tessie Bailey, was an avid climber. She believed the sport would help Conner’s development.
“When we adopted, I tried to get both my kids into climbing,” Tessie says. “Conner was underweight. He had food allergies, developmental problems. He was a clumsy kid. But when he got on the wall, he had really good body awareness. He just looked like he belonged there. He was a happy kid.”
Conner quickly leapt from enjoying climbing to competing.
‘Serious’ at age 7
“I was 7 when I got serious about climbing,” he says. “In Texas, I was initially too young to join the team. You had to be 9 or something. They let me try out. I was super nervous. I did well.”
The Baileys relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah, where Conner continued climbing. By the time he was 9, he was winning regional youth bouldering competitions and adding ice climbing to his repertoire. He now spends a large part of his free time with Momentum Climbing Team and Team Scratchpad and has too many accomplishments to count.
“The highlights? When I got second at nationals two years ago, I was super excited about that. I trained really hard, so that just felt good,” he says. “A couple years ago, when I was smaller, sending my first V8, 5.15; it was my first leap to doing super hard climbs. I’ve done one outside in Moe’s Valley. I did the V8. Since then, I’ve done a couple more.”
In bouldering and climbing, V8 and 15.5 represent advanced-level routes. Bailey has gone up from there, mastering even more technical, expert-level V11 and 15.5b routes – rare achievements for a kid his age.
“Because I adopted Conner at age 2, I didn’t see him take his first step. It’s a little different now with his climbing. I’ve had a couple crying moments,” Tessie says. “Honestly, when he did his first 12a in Maple Canyon … I had never done a 12a the way he did it. He was so happy about it. He was only 8. I was like, oh my gosh. He had just surpassed me at the top of my climbing game. Now he just warms up on that stuff.”
Keeping it fun
When Conner began to lose sight of the sport’s main aim – joy – his mom scaled back and began coaching him herself for a while.
“You start doing it competitively and forget why you’re doing it,” Tessie says. “I didn’t want him to only see climbing as competition. You step out and start to appreciate the social side, the physical side, the competition side. Now he sees it from all sides.”
When Tessie introduced Conner to climbing, she hoped it would help him grow physically, socially and emotionally. Mission accomplished.
“I would say mentally was probably the biggest gain,” she says. “I definitely saw physical gains, just maturity in the way he climbs. But mental gain? Competition particularly at the national level and now at the international level can be very stressful. If you were to see him at nationals, he doesn’t look nervous. He’ll say, ‘why would I be nervous?’ It’s also great socially, connecting with new friends. He travels a lot. He has friends all over.”
Mother and son have taken a couple of climbing trips through Europe together. Both say the experiences brought some of the best moments of their lives.
“When your kid is going further, doing so much more than I did when I was a climber, it’s pretty cool,” Tessie says. “We hit a lot of countries – Spain, France, Italy – all outdoor climbing. I think the international piece is important to him. Even though I don’t climb at the same level, we can still climb at the same space. I turn to one side of the wall, he turns to the other. We’re going to do his first slot canyons soon. As the old mom to my highschooler, I still like that I can offer something.”
Higher and higher
This January, Conner took gold in lead and silver in speed at the World Ice Climbing Youth Championships in Liechtenstein. He does indeed have his sights set on more international competition; specifically, the world’s biggest stage.
“My biggest goal is to go to the Olympics for climbing, which would be amazing,” he says. “Mostly, just climbing as long as I can. It’s great for my health. I love it.”
The Baileys stumbled across The GoPro Mountain Games by accident a few years ago. The event now ranks as one of Conner’s all-time favorites.
“It was four or five years ago and my mom and I were driving past when they had a competition there. We signed up. We had a blast. I won it. I’ve been coming back ever since,” Conner says. “It’s super fun to have the crowd cheering you on. This is my first year on the [Mountain Games Athlete] Team. I’m super excited.”
Conner enjoys other sports, too. He has competed in skiing as a member of the Solitude Freeride Team and loves camping and paddling when he gets the chance. Climbing is his No. 1, though. He credits the sport for helping him find his place in the world.
“Most of my friends are through climbing. It’s a big social aspect of my life,” he says. “I like the memories that come with it, the fitness aspect, too. The mental aspect, it teaches me to persevere. If there’s a hard part or problem in climbing, if I don’t want to do it and do, it helps me problem-solve. It helps me through life.”
Don’t miss Conner at the Mountain Games June 4-7. Download the Mountain Games app to curate your festival schedule and make sure you catch all of Conner’s climbs.
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