Darting and ducking between climbing holds, Colo Vale resident Adam Farrell is an athlete on the rise in the rock climbing world.
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The Bowral High School student trains almost every day on climbing walls to perform at his peak in the sport.
This perseverance paid off, when he recently won the NSW/ACT Top Rope Series in the section of 'youth c males', an age group made up of competitions from age 12 to 13.
The top rope series was run over five competitions.
This includes three competitions in Sydney, one in Wollongong and another in Newcastle.
The competition proved to be a series of tests but Farrell was up for the challenge.
Farrell won two of these events, placed second twice and a third place once.
Recently Farrell also competed in the National Rock Climbing Championships in Villawood.
He faced off against competitors from all states in Australia as well as a team from New Zealand.
Farrell took out a bronze medal for speed climbing and finished in fifth place in the overall combined, a category made up of speed climbing, lead climbing and bouldering
The sport is a family affair for Farrell. Inspired by his brothers, he got involved and eventually fell in love with the sport.
"I wanted to try and be better than my brother," he said.
"He's much older so he gives me the most advice."
He wants to make sure no obstacles get in his way - including colour blindness.
"For some gyms it was harder because I'm colour blind," he said.
"If they have black and red [climbing holds] in dark areas, it's harder.
"I ended using a little laser to get through."
Farrell is now training for his next competitions, including an upcoming state and national competition.
He is spending his time at a climbing gym in Wollongong as well as on the climbing wall in the shed of his family home.
Looking ahead, Farrell hopes the sport will take him to a professional level and overseas.
"I'd like to do this professionally. I want to go around the world and compete in different competitions," he said.
