Nathan Hadley

After finishing undergrad in Chicago, Nathan moved back to his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana, started setting, and making regular trips to the Red River Gorge again. The forested hills and abundant sandstone walls of Kentucky began to renew his psych for climbing.

A significant and needed shift occurred when Nathan moved to Seattle, Washington, in 2015. The wildness of the Cascade Range became the perfect canvas for him to pursue creative expression in the mountains, through climbing, new route development and photography. Seattle was also an epicenter for the craft of setting, and Nathan felt lucky to have fallen into working at the Seattle Bouldering Project, one of the premier bouldering gyms in the world.

After setting at SBP for nearly 7 years, with 2 years managing and leading the program, Nathan has since moved on to software development, a field he believes carries many similarities to setting.

Nathan aspires to be a well-rounded climber, growing his climbing in both directions – from bouldering to alpine climbing – but knows he will always love the free movement over rock the most. With lessons learned from setting, he has found a passion for creating and sharing climbing on the big walls of the Cascades by discovering and developing new routes.