Who Is Nels Rosaasen?

On A Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, farm 200 miles north of the Montana
border, Nels Rosaasen grows alfalfa and breeds pigs. When the
21-year-old tires of such rural pursuits, he heads south and
rocks the U.S. pro climbing circuit. In August, Rosaasen won his
second straight Professional Climbers Association (PCA) event, in
Salt Lake City. Wearing a mullet and a ski headband, the
fifth-generation farmer sent a V11 (5.14b rating) boulder problem
and beat 24-year-old rock legend Chris Sharma. "Everyone thinks
of Sharma as a genetic freak who'd never be beaten," says PCA
manager Mike Uchitel. "Nels has become the true star of the
tour." Last weekend Rosaasen won the Boulder Brawl in Boulder,
Colo. The next day he was back on the farm.

COLOR PHOTO: JANSEN GUNDERSON