2015 SCS Regionals-Climb Iowa

May 9-10 was USA Midwest regionals which was a two day event at Climb Iowa. I climbed on Sunday as the first female junior. Everyone one else on the teamed climbed on Saturday so I got to watch them which was nice. As Saturday came closer and closer to an end I was getting more and more excited to climb. Sunday I woke up and was ready for the day and everything it brought with it. My first route looked pretty easy other than one power move. It started out with crimps and transferred into slopers. I had been doing a lot of training prior on slopers and pinches to help improve contact strength during power moves. Most of the route for me was power which kinda drained a lot of energy but I made it 3/4 the way up and fell only because I slipped off the foot chip that I was using to power up to the next hold. I was still happy with how I did because my power endurance is not the greatest and I still made it as far as I did which was higher than about half the other climbers in my category. My second route was a little tricky because it was punches that forced you to be square with the wall in order to move off of them. The second route had a blue X on it which meant we had to clip from that hold. In reality that hold actually made it a bit easier to get up to thee harder section of the route. The holds following the second and third clip were small pinches that you could use as a crimp.  I made it to the fourth clip and slipped off a pinch, I was kinda upset I fell so early becusse I could have made it further. My last route was definitely the hardest route we had. During the preview a lot of girls were adored they were going to slip off the starting holds becusse the were slopers going to two small foot chips that we were using as hand holds. I wasn't to worried about the start I was more worried about the power move from the two pinches to a sloper that had, basically a flat foot chip screwed into it. I started with little difficulty and got to the first clip and that's when the route got challenging. The moves from the first clip to the second clip had me a bit sketched out because the pinches we straight up and down and it made it difficult to stand on. I made it through that though and got my second draw clipped. Once I got the second draw clipped I relaxed a bit more and took a quick rest then kept moving. I made it two moves further and fell right before the power move to the foot chip on the sloper. I held high point on the third route till the last 6 climbers. I was a little upset with how I did until I started watching the other climbers and realized I was doing just as good if not better than some of them. I ended up taking 10th in sport and got an invatation to Divisionals in Chicago at Brooklyn Boulders. I also competed in speed climbing I don't know what my times were but I struggled a little bit but still went fast for me. I took 7th in speed but I will not be competing in speed at Divisionals. I am going to focus strictly on sport climbing. 

All of the pictures and videos are loaded to Facebook, YouTube and Flickr for all climbing era of the team. Check them out, there are a lot of cool pictures of the routes that we did. 

SCS Local Competitions-Adventure Rock and VE

Feb. 28 was Vertical Endeavors SCS event. The competition was held at the new Vertical Endeavors in Glendale Heights. The gym is so large they shut half it down just for the competition and left the other half open for the public to use. The routes here were fun but challenging you only got points for the route of you made it to the top. The routes basically the harder they got the smaller the holds got or the moves became larger. Me and another team member were working together most of the day. We warmed up and start scouting out routes that would give us the most points possible for us. We did the first two routes pretty quick and only needed one more for the top three but we had trouble getting to the top of the high point routes. We couldn't find a route that was worth more points that we could finish. We both went back to a few of them that we got close to finishing. There was one route that we did that was a mantle/stemming route. It was a lot of fun but there was one move that if you got it wrong you were basically done for. The trick to the route was to push your toes into the hold as well as the wall so you got a stable foot. Trusting your feet was the biggest thing on all of the routes at VE. Zach(my teammate) and I ended with the identical scores. 

The competition at Adventure Rock was a lot of fun! Again Zach and I were working together and we warmed up on a 5.8 then jumped on a 5.10 lead route that was so much fun! There were a few routes that I knew I could do so I went over and tried them and finished the first one I did so I had three routes done and that's all I needed. I started trying harder routes to get more points. I got one more route that was harder but i struggled on getting a third one that was harder. I worked on the same two routes for a bit and relaxed I should try something different and I ended up getting another route completed but it was for the same amount of points as my lowest point route. I took about 30 minutes to look around and rest my arms because I was pumped. I realized that the one route that I was trying earlier was the only one I had a chance of completing and that point in the competition. By that time there were about 10 mins left so most everyone was done so I could take my time on the

route and try it again if I wanted to and had time. I made it further up the route but I was unable to finish it due to the fact that I had gone non stop since the start of the competition. I was happy with I did in the comp and took 5th in my category. 

All of the pictures and videos are loaded to Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. Check them out. 

2015 Quick on the Draw

January 24 was the 16th annual Quick on the Draw Competition at Adventure Rock. I was competing in Open along with another 15 girls. It is the largest the category has been in a few years but it is stronger than ever. The routes this year were really strong and allowed each person to get points on each route. The first route I attempted was the lowest point route. I was not totally warmed up but I gave it a go and made it to the the last draw before the finish. My land hand cramped on the route and I believe it was due to the amount of crimps that were on the route. I went back to where rules were given and took 15 minutes to warm up a little more. I went back out and tried the rest of my routes and boulder problems. A few out my routes had easy beginnings allowing me to get off the ground before it got difficult. Some of the other routes I could only get to the first draw. My favorite route was the second route I attempted. I like It because it was the type of route that had nice holds because moves that made you think about what you were doing. You had to have a game plan before going at it because of you didn't you would be wasting energy on the wall. The routes were a lot of fun and really made you slow down and actually think about how you were climbing. One of my favorite routes was one i struggled on but I loved the route becusse it was slow movements that forced you to have complete control of each hold you touch. All of the routes were a lot of fun and the bouldering problems were hard for me because my bouldering is not as quiet as my high as my lead climbing is. The Boulder problems were still fun. I ended up taking 12 of 16 but I didn't feel too bad about how I did because there were only two routes that go finished in my division. All of the pictures and videos are posted to Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. Them out there are a lot of neat shots. 

ABS 16 Midwest Regional Championship

December 6 was Midwest regional championship at the new Vertical Endeavors in Glendale Heights, IL. My category didn't climb till the afternoon but I was able to watch my brother climb in the morning this year which was a bonus. I took note of where every climber got on every route to figure out an approximate placement for my brother. After the morning session was over we found out Jack took 7th place and did advance to Divisionals in North Carolina. We went to lunch after the Male Youth B'd finished climbing because my isolation didn't close for another 2 hours. After lunch I headed to isolation and just sat down to relax because I was in isolation for at least 2.5 hours before I started to warm up. I took a nap for a little bit because I had to been still 4:30am. I started warming up about an hour before my chair time. The warm up area was full of jugs and pockets and wasn't really much of a warm up. I ended up doing laps in order to warm up and a few power moves to the few crimps that we had in isolation. I went to my chair which was still in isolation and then when it came my time to climb I just went straight to my first climb. My first climb was a better warm up than my actual warm up in isolation. I topped the route first attempt. My second route was just volumes with a single flat foot chip on the bottom of the volume. My first attempt was a little silly but I did the route on my second attempt like it was nothing. I felt silly because I could have done it my first attempt. My third route had designated starting hand holds which made me waste a little bit of energy. I ended up not being able to get past the first hold from the start. My fourth route was my favorite route because it had a combination of crimps and small jugs. I attempted the route a few time and realized I was trying to go too fast and I had to slow down. I looked over the route a few times and checked the holds to see the type. I attempted the route and got a little bit further than my other attempts. I tried it a few more times and was able to get one hold further every attempt. I checked the clock and saw I only had 30 seconds left and I gave it on more go. My last attempt was my strongest and I was able to make it 4 holds further and only 3 holds from the top. I was a little frustrated because if I could have had on more attempt I know I could have gotten to the top. My fifth route was pretty cool. The starting I've was a dyno which I tried to avoid at first but realized I had to do it. I did the dyno and was able to get a few moves out of it but not to the top. My last route was definitely the most challenging and I was able to get to the first hold out of the start. The route looked doable when I looked it over but the starting move was very difficult to get in and out of. I finished my attempts and was happy with how I did on the routes and was thinking I was in the middle of the pack. Results came out and I found out I took 10th place. I am very happy with how I performed because bouldering is something that I struggle at so a 10th place finish is really good for me. I am not going to divisionals for bouldering because I am going to focus on my sport climbing so I am prepared for nationals and anything beyond that.

Pictures and Videos of Regionals are on my Facebook, YouTube and Flickr accounts, check them out.

January 24 is Quick on the Draw this year at Adventure Rock and I will be competing in Open. More information will come out once this competition has been completed.

2014 USA Climbing SCS Youth Nationals

July 10-13 was SCS Nationals in Atlanta at Stone Summit Climbing Gym. We left July 8th so we could get there and have plenty of time to rest. The first two days were qualifying days with flash format. This allowed me to view the route prior to my climb and watch others in my category. My first route didn't look too bad till around the 10th draw. That's where the wall started to lean back towards vertical and the holds started to become crimps. I don't know what my second route will be until the second day. I was the 27th climber out of 40 so I had a long time before I should even start warming up. I watched some climbers climb the route and most of them went through with ease till the middle of the pack. I was watching what some of the girls did and comparing it to the girls that were able to finish. This helped me figure out what I needed to do in order to increase I'm standing. By the time I started warming up at least 10 girls completed the route so I knew what I had to do in order to have a good chance to make it semi-finals. I finished my warm just as I was called to report to my check in chair. I get to my chair and I put my shoes back on and watch the girl ahead of me climb the route. When I started my route I felt really good because I knew most of the holds were jugs or pockets. I went through the first four draws with ease. Got a little tricked up but figured out what I was supposed to do. I worked through it and moved on. I worked a sequence that seem a little sketchy to me because of where my rope was during the sequence. Shortly after that sequence i was unable to make one of the move and fell trying to reach the next hold. I was not as high as I would have liked to be but I was still happy because I gave it my all. My day wasn't over yet, both me and my brother had to compete in speed climbing. My brother went off around 4:30 and I didn't go till 7. Speed climbing is rather difficult for me so I don't except much. I still tried to give it my all and ended up slipping in both routes. We went back to the hotel and start thinking about what I could do tomorrow in order to increase my standings. The next morning I get there and go find out what route is mine so I know how I'm going to warm up. My route for the second day is in the roof. I have not trained too much on roof routes because none of the gyms around have true roof routes. I went back to the warm-up area and started warming up and easy holds first then moving to harder overhanging routes. I was the 7th climber of 40 today so I didn't have much time between the first climber and my check in time. I again warmed up until I was called to check in and watched the person ahead of me attempt the route. I looked over my route one more time and then gave it a go. The first four draws again really easy moves nothing too dramatic. But the roof section turned into a little bit of a challenge for me. I was feeling good when I first got into the resection and then encountered a move that was rather awkward for me. I tried my best to make it work and get out of the sequence but was unable to move past it. I was happy with how I did considering I am unable to train on roof routes. I ended up taking 34th out of 40 which was better than the previous year. I am happy because I am also a first-year Junior so I am one of the youngest climbers in my category. I am really happy with how I did this year and can't wait for the next season to start. I would like to say thanks to all my sponsors FiveTen, Bluewater Ropes, KASK Helmets, and Rock Candy Climbing Holds. All of my pictures and videos from nationals will be posted on Facebook, YouTube and on Flickr.

2014 SCS Divisionals at Peak Experiences in VA

June 14-15 was SCS Divisionals which were located in Richmond, VA at Peak Experiences. Saturday June 14 was qualifiers and Sunday was finals. I checked in for morning session and I was the last climber to go out in my category. I went into isolation and sat down and started playing a card game just to pass the time of check in. After check in finished they started rules and started lining us up for route preview. The female juniors were the first to line up and had the furhterest to go. Our first route looked pretty easy till the last draw where there was a slight power move that could possibly throw you off balance. The second route looked like a lot of fun because it was filled to pinches and lean backs. We headed back to isolation and everyone started climbing and getting ready. I started stretching and warming the muscles up before I started bouldering. I put my shoes in and found the easiest part of the wall and did warm up circles on it. I did circles for a few minutes then went back to stretching. Afterwards I jumped in the line that was going around the bouldering cave. It was about 15 minutes to my check in time so I started stretching once more. It was my time to check in and I gathered all of my things and made sure I had enough water to last me through the routes. My first route looked to be about a 5.10b which would be a nice warm up. I turned around and looked over my route one last time and gave it a go. The starting feet were some of the worst feet I have had on a route at a big event like such. I made it to the thrid hold after the start and my feet slipped. I was really upset with how I did on the route. So I was going to make sure I held on the holds on my second route. I took my rest time and thought about the second routes to as much as I could remember. I also kept stretching my arms and keeping my hands warm. My second route I knew I was confident on because the feet were the small pinches that go with the set. I looked my second route over one more time and started climbing. It was much easier to star which took some pressure off my shoulders. I did really good on this considering there were a few moves that forced me to used back-to-back-to-back power. I worked through the power moves and made it to my 4th draw. The hold right next to the 4th draw was a sloping pinch that was really difficult to hold. I held on as long as I could but was unable to clip or move off that hold. I was upset with how I climbed because I felt I could have done better but I kept telling myself I just need to prove myself during finals. I was also competing in speed climbing just as a fun thing to help with my power. I wasn't sure how I would do in speed climbing because I'm not very fast. I posted times around 9.5 seconds which put me on 6th. Sunday June 15 was finals. I was the first climber to go out for my category. I checked into isolation right away so I would be ready to go by the time we lined up for route preview. I started warming up and stretching and telling myself today is it no second chances. I was warming up and next thing I knew it was time to line up for route preview. I had my coach put my stickers on my back of my sponsors. We went out and looked at the route and the start looked really easy. The move between the first and second draw looked to be a bit sketchy. After the second draw it didn't seem to difficult till around the 5 draw where you worked your way back out of the overhang. The finishing moves were giving me a hard time so I figured when I got there I would do what felt natural for that sequence. Our time was up for route preview so I headed to my chair to tie in and put my shoes on. I was ready to climb but we had to wait till everyone was ready for their climbs. I turned around looked over the route on last time and started climbing. The start of the route was easy till I got to this move that was a cross under with one hand. I ended up using my knee to help me because I could not get my foot on the hold to help me up. I clipped my second draw and I felt a ton better because I had a draw clipped higher than 8 feet. I found a rest spot next to my second draw so while I was there I continued to look my route over. I continued on up the route and clip my third draw and tried to move up and my hand slipped off the hold. I continued to watch the rest of the girls and some of the fell before clipping their second draw and ended up falling and flipping upside down. I knew after watching all of the girls in my category climb I was in at least  7th place. I later found out that one of the girls was scored the same as me but the broke due to yesterday's results. We waited for speed climbing check in to open up but that took another 3 hours so we sat around and did nothing. There were only 7 girls climbing in speed so we again all made finals. It finally came time to line up for finals and we were all tired for the day by the time it came around. I did my two runs the first one was around 9 seconds and the second run around 9.5 seconds. I was happy with those times considering I hardly ever train for speed climbing. Check out my photos on Flickr and youtube channel. Also thanks to all my sponsors

2014 Regional Championships in St. Louis

May 10 was 2014 Regional Championships at West County Upper Limits in St. Louis. Regionals has the same set up as the YOLO competition in Iowa except I now climbed in the afternoon. I checked in around 10:45 and went in to isolation. There I did some stretching cause no one was in isolation just yet. Everyone checked into isolation and we went out for route previews. Our first route didn't look to difficult other than one spot that we figured was the crux of the route. My second route looked like it was tricky. By tricky I mean the setter put in moves that made you think about what you were doing. The thrid route everyone was thinking that this route is going to be the fourth draw that was the crux and right after the crux was another hard sequence. We went back to isolation  and I started warming up cause I only had an hour or so before it was my turn to check in for my chair. My first route was all pockets till about the fourth draw then it turned in to the huge pinches. I got a little tripped up there but I worked it out and continued up the route. I made it out of the crux and worked about three moves past it and got pumped the instant I touched the next hold which was a sloper. I kept working past it until my left arm cramped up as I was making my way to the next hold causing me to fall. I was alittle bummed with the fact I was so close to the finish of the route. I worked the cramp out of my arm during my rest time and kept pushing through it making the best of it. My second route was a little tricky. The start was super easy but it could difficult very fast. Right after you clipped your second draw you moved in to a traversing under cling. You moved to a crimpy hold after getting out of the under cling. That was as far as I made it because I got alittle tripped up at the under cling moved but I gave it it my all. My arm was feeling a ton better by the time I got to my third route. My third route was definitely the most difficult of the three. It stared with a few pinches with little feet so it created a lean back. After the lean back the route turned into sloping crimps which were really bad. You followed those up about two draws. Right after you clipped a draw you were given the worst crimp they could find to move up to two small foot chips. I moved up to the first foot chip and then tried to move up to the second foot chip. I touched it and slipped right off of it, the same way everyone else did. I was pretty happy with how I did on my first and  third routes. My second route was excepting to go much further on that route but still happy that I made it where I did. I packed up and we waited for the female youth-C to finish. They had about 25 girls in that division. They finished and we started speed climbing. The juniors were the last to climb so we had a bit if a break. There were only 5 speed climber in my division. I did my climb against Maddie Rafkin and did a climb time of 16 and 13 seconds. I ended up taking 2nd behind Maddie by 3 seconds. In sport climbing I took 7th place behind 6th by .5 points. Overall I am happy with how I did at Regionals and got an invite to Divisionals for both sport and speed climbing.

The following day the team headed to So iLL Climbing Gym. The gym opened around 10 so we got up and tried to find breakfast but realized that it was Mother's Day and everything was really busy. We got there and found out that our waivers were still good and all we had to do was a lead belay test for my brother and our new coach. They passed their lead test and we started climbing. We finished warming up and started jumping on some routes that were harder in grades to continue to train. We got on a 5.10c that was super easy. I was really excepting something different from the route, mostly something harder. After everyone else jumped on it we got on a 5.11a which was a ton of fun. All of the routes I was getting were about 60feet tall. After we finished that route and moved on to a 5.11d. This route was a ton of fun and I was super pumped when I finished it but so relieved to onsight all the routes. My mom came back with food and more water so we took a break for about 10 minutes. During our break I did some stretching to keep my back loose because it was starting to cramp up with the amount of overhangs there were. After the break I jumped on a 5.12c and made it about half way up and got shut down on one move and couldn't move past it cause the only other route around was a 5.13c. I tried the 5.12c a few times in that spot and then came down because I wanted to try the 5.13 before the end of the day. When I came down I stretched and got ready to try the 5.13. My hand were so tired and were starting to get cramp up and become sore. I try the 5.13 and got about 3 draws up the route and got stuck. I was really happy with how I did considering I climbed really hard the day before. After we finished sport climbing we went upstairs and tried to boulder a little bit before we had to leave for back home. I was beat by the time we started bouldering. I started on a V0 then worked my way up to a V4 which was super hard for me to complete. I found this V5 that I really liked alot! It was a ton of fun and had a bunch of really fun movements. I was super happy with how I climbed this weekend and cant wait till we go to divisionals!

I would like to say a big thanks to all of my sponsors! Thank you Rock Candy, BlueWater Ropes, PowerBar, KASK Helmets, Kaisers Pizza and Pub, and FiveTen Climbing. 

2014 YOLO at Climb Iowa

April 26th was Climb Iowa's YOLO Competition. This competition is structured similar to Regional Championships so competitors get a feel for it is going to work at regionals. I climbed in the morning session which was fine with me. I started climbing around 10:30 so I decided to start warming up when we came back from route previews. We went out to look at our routes and the first route didn't look to bad. It looked rather easy, more like a 5.10a. The second route didn't look to bad, getting to the first four draws looked easy because most of the holds were jugs. After the fourth draw the route turned into crimps and slopers. I made to about the fourth draw and got stuck. I tried to reset my hands and move up but I slipped in the process. I didn't make it quiet as far as I thought I would but I was still happy with how I climbed. My third route was definently the hardest route and the start on it was brutal. It was all slopers placed just right so it made it difficult to clip your draws. I made it to almost the fifth draw and that was the second highest of all the girls that completed on that route. I was very happy with how I climbed that route especially since most of the holds were slopers. Now all that was left to do was wait for my brother to finish his climbs. He finished really strong taking 7th out of about 15. I took 3 place out of 8 girls only short .5 points of the girl on second place. I was extremely happy with how did at this competition. 

2014 SCS Local at Boulders in Madison,WI

Saturday April 12 was our first local event of SCS 2014. It was at boulders climbing gym in Madison, WI. The morning was the USA Climbing competitors I competed in the morning comp to receive my points towards regionals. My main focus on the day was the open house competition. The morning I was taking pictures for my brother. I ended up taking almost 40 hundred pictures for the morning competition. The afternoon comp came around and I competed in their hardest category. The easiest route in my category was harder than one of the harder routes that was listed. I ended up bouldering freely, just to complete my warm up. Afterwards I started climbing the harder routes to create points for my self. I found a few routes that really challenged me so I tried them a few times. One of route I was not able to complete due to a movement that through me off balance almost every time I went for the next hold. I figured out about half way through that I was the only female in their hardest division. I continued to attempt routes to increase my score so I could shoot for most points completed. Some of the routes were really hard which gave me a nice challenge. I didnt want to push myself to the very edge because I still had to climb the final and the final looked rather challenging. I pushed through most of the routes and reaching a platue in points and difficulty of route. I started working on bouldering problems because my hands with getting tired and I figured I could get in some power practice in before the finals. Finals came along and the gym ended up taking the top 3 places of the female intermediate for the final. Which was nice because I had someone to climb against. The final route was different they had the training balls on the route as holds which was good but also bad because they moved very easy. Getting to them was easy because the holds on the way there were all jugs. Once you got to the balls the holds after them turned in to like crimps and back to jugs then you finished the route on crimps. It looked like a ton of fun and really wish that my hands would have allowed me to continue on up the route. I was only able to make it 4 draws but getting there was a ton of fun. I ended up taking first because I was the only one in that category and made it just as high as one other girl that climbed the route. They announced placement and allowed the first place person to come up and pick their prize. I ended up getting a set of the training balls that they had on the route so I can continue to train with them. I use them when ever I do my hangboard works outs. A ton of picures and videos were taken from the competition be sure to check them out and stay tuned for a blog coming up here shortly after 2014 SCS Regionals.

A big thanks to all of my sponsors. FiveTen, BlueWater Ropes, Kiasers Pizza&Pub, KASK Helmets and Rock Candy.

2014 Vertical Endeavors

Saturday March 15 was the open house competition at Vertical Endeavors in Warrenville. I was competing in Open this year. I knew all the climbers that were competing in women's open because they were all part of USA Climbing. I was looking at the routes before hand and noticed some of our routes didn't look quite as difficult as the points that were given to them. Everyone started climbing and I went to the lowest point route and gave it a shot. I didn't finish the route and didn't get any points for it because it was a red point format. Red point means you only get points if you complete the route. So I re-thought my plan and started looking at some of the harder routes because they truly looked a little bit easier than what they were saying. I tried a couple of the harder routes and finished one. I started to get alittle bit frustrated with the fact I wasn't completing routes so I started working on boulder problems. The boulder problems were onsight. So you get points for every hold you touched. I got a few points out of the bouldering problems but did not finish any for they were a bit out of my ability. I tried the hardest problem on our list and made it more than halfway up on it. It gave me a boost so I went back and tried some of the other routes. Before I got on my next route I was talking with some of the other girls and they were mentioning how they have only been able to complete one route or just one boulder problems. Hearing them say that made me feel better because it was just me falling in everything. All the girls started working together on trying to complete on of the harder routes and some were really close. It was about 15 minutes before the day was over and most of the women in open had called it a day for qualifications. In the end it came down to who got further on the bouldering problem. I was very happy with how I did because some of the girls that I competed against do better on that type of format and still got shutdown. They announced results and I took 6th place out a 7 girls, only separated by 200 points between all girls. We stayed and watched finals for all categories. The route I would have climbed didn't look at that difficult till about 15 feet from the finish. Every climber made it about the same hold for the most part, so placements didn't really change. It was a really fun day and I was excited to have one of my friends tag along and see how climbing competitions work.

All the photos and videos are posted on my Facebook, Flickr and YouTube accounts. I would like to say a big thanks to FiveTen, BlueWater Ropes, KASK Helmets, Rock Candy Holds and Kiasers Pizza and Pub. 

2014 Quick on the Draw

Saturday, January 25 was the Quick on the Draw at Adventure Rock. I have been training and building up for this day for a little over three months. I have been working on routes that are not my style of climbing or are slightly above my ability. Saturday came around and I took pictures for the categories in the morning. It was my turn to climb and I decided to do the bouldering first so I didnt have to do that when I was tired. I did pretty good considering I knew the grades for them were going to be just a bit out my reach. I finished my bouldering and I was pretty happy with it. I started my climbs and I was really nervous on my first route because I didnt want to take a fall.After my first route I felt better and started to climb like my self. My second route I didnt like the start to it but once I got out of it I got up a little bit further. I was a little nervous about going for the next hold because I was only at my 3rd draw. I went for it anyways and just it and tried to get my second hand to it and my feet popped off. After that I was ok about falling and it didn't bother that much. My third route was a higher point and a long line. I had an idea of how to do the route and where I needed to clip my draws. I gave it a shot and made it to about the 3rd draw and was not able to clip my next draw. Everytime I would try to clip it I would start falling backwards. I tried a few more times to move and and fall in the process. This route was made of rock candy's power dome pinch holds. Those holds are really cool and I love climbing on them. I was more relaxed and was able to build up for the hardest problem. I tried my other routes before it and I was able to get to about the 3rd draw on each. I tried the hardest route and messed up the move going up right before te draw. Since no one seemed to be on the route yet, I decided to try the route right across the way.  This route was made up of carbonyte holds. They are a little sharp but are very tacky. The spot I got Stuck at was moving out of a Gaston move off a small edge hold. The next hold had one sweet spot and if you missed it you weren't holding it. I tried it again and made it three holds further which was nice because I needed to get higher otherwise I wouldn't have a chance at making finals. After I tried the hardest route again and was able to stick the move I previously. I moved past it and up to the third draw and moved up to a small crimp and slipped right off it. Most of the routes were sledges which was ok because I like those holds. I was really happy with how I did because the boulders were a little out of my reach. I managed and worked with how I was feeling and the route. I ended up taking 9th place out of 17 missing finals by 4 spots. I was really happy with how I did.

All of the photos and videos are loaded to Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr. Check them out because there are a ton of really cool pictures from the main comp and from finals. A big shout out for FiveTen Climbing, BlueWater Ropes, Kiasers Pizza and Pub, Rock Candy and KASK Helmets. 

ABS 15 Division 3 Championships- Climb Iowa

January 11 and 12 was divisionals at Climb Iowa. I didn't climb until the afternoon so I had all morning to do pretty much nothing. I so went to the gym and watched the competitors that climbed in the morning. The routes in the morning looked really difficult but only because they were technical. The setting crew was the same crew that was setting at Midwest Regionals. I wasn't climbing till around 4:30 and Iso closed at 1:30 so I still had to be back in Iso for a little more than 3 hours. I checked in around 12:30 because I was getting bored of waiting. Since I had a ton of time, I decided to take a nap and listen to music. The nap part didn't work as well as it could it have because the room was rather little and crowded. After a while my nap wasn't working to well so I started playing cards. We played cards till it about 3 o'clock and I started stretching and warming my body up.  Around 3:30 I started climbing and I warmed up really fast because there was a perfect section of wall with routes or each type of hold. I did a couple of laps on the jugs route just to warm my hands up. After my hands got warm I started working on other types of holds. The only type of holds the didn't have in a route was pinches. There were a few routes that had some pinches in the so I tried to get on them. I climbed about 3-4 routes at a time, then stretch. I continued climbing until they had me check in. It was my time to go to my first chair and sat in the chair listening to music until the judge took my score card.  My first route really wasn't all that hard but I hard time getting the finishing moves. I was able to get just a bit further in the last 15 seconds. I was really happy with how much more i was able to push in the last few seconds. My second route was a lot of fun and really wish I could have figured out the rest in the first minute. The beginning of the route was technical then there was a power move to a jug. The hold really wasn't that far away it was just awkward to get to. I was able to get the the hold but I was unable to get my feet set in order to stick the hold. I was able to hold on the hold and get my feet set but I was not able to move off the hold. My third route was slopers the whole way up. I was able to get the start and the next few moves but i got stuck where the feet started to move up. So I looked at the route for quite some time and realized I need to switch my feet in order to get the next move. I figured the move out then got one hold further after that. I got stuck after getting the move because I was unable to get my feet up where they are needed. I have to say that my last route challenged me the most. The was was all volumes with screw on hold on them. I was hold to get the first volume and try to make a move to the next hold. I was really happy with how I did at Divisionals because bouldering is not my strong suit. The whole time I was climbing, I was just laughing it didn't matter if I fell or not. I was having a ton of fun! I ended up taking 15th but I was fine with that because I know I did my best and had fun doing it.

I would like to say a big thanks to all of my sponsors. FiveTen, Rock Candy Holds, BlueWater Ropes, and KASK Helmets. All of my photos and videos are loaded to Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.

ABS 15 Midwest Regionals- VE Minneapolis

December 7 was ABS Regionals at Vertical Endeavors in Minneapolis. I climbed in the afternoon which was nice because I had time to eat breakfast and wake up so I was ready to climb. I started warming up shortly after my brother went out for his climbs. I was warming up and just taking my time not rushing any of the moves. I was my time to check in to the chair. I turned my music on and just sat back and waited for the time to be called and my turn to climb. My first route was different from what I excepted, it was more a parcore route. The start was static but then you had to run to two jug that were around the bend, or you could jump to them but it would be really far away. I wasn't able to get the move to the jugs but I was close to it. My second route was a little easier to read. The start was fun and the rest of the route was fun. The moves were easy but the hold were a little bit harder to hold on to. The third route was rather hard compared to the rest of the routes.  The holds were little edges that was just enough for finger tips and nothing more. I wasn't able to figure out the moves for this route after about the fourth move. The fourth route was a really cool route. The moves were a little bit harder but the holds were good enough that you didn't fall off when trying to traverse. The moves were a lot if fun and I was only one hold from finishing the route. It really gave me an extra boost to keep going. I was really excited for the next route because when I saw it, it looked rather easy. It was pinches and in a slight over hang which made it a bit easier. I made it all the way to the last move. Got one hand on the finish hold and attempted to get my other hand to the top and slipped. I was able to get to the same spot one other time. I was really close so I figured I could get the last move on my last try. I was able to get to the same spot. My last route was Probably the hardest to start. The start was on a pinch facing left going to a pinch that was facing right. It took me a few try to get my feet to hold and get the next move. I was able to get about half way. I was really happy with that because by the time I got there I was super tired. We had to wait for the Male Juniors to finish before we would get results. When results were posted I saw I took 9th place. I was happy with it because I'm not much of the bouldering type and I'm moving on to divisionals. I received an invite Friday. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to go to Iowa because I have a whole month to train and get ready. We got back late Sunday due to weather and just relaxed the rest of the weekend. I was alittle sore Sunday and Monday which stopped me from doing to much for training. I continued training and I'm working on more power type route to help build the power I need. All of the pictures are loaded to my facebook and flickr accounts. Check them out to see the route that I climbed. I would also like so say a big thanks to FiveTen, Bluewater Ropes and Rock Candy Holds.

Climb This Climbing Competition

Saturday November 23 was the climbing competition at the Kenosha YMCA.  Advanced was starting and that was the category I was competiting in. I started on a the wall I knew was the easiest. It went pretty well so I was looking at the other routes to figure out what order I wanted to them in. I figured out I was going to do another easy one then get the harder ones and try the rest after that. I finished the second route rather slow but it was easy. I was taking my time to make sure I got a complete the route. I went to the second hardest route and tryed it and got stuck right at the first draw. For the day I kinda had a problem reading the route right and/or executing my plan of attack for each route. I then tryed other routes and one of them I could get through the starting move. The two other were alittle difficult in the beginning but was able to work fast then and work my way up the route. I only completed two routes but that's ok. I was trying to work through the routes and go about them different ways. After qualifiers I was in 4th place. For finals, I was 2nd to go and I made it the furthest on the route. The route was alittle difficult at the start. But it got alittle easier then got difficult again. I made it to the third draw rather easy. Then made a move up held it and my hand slipped right off the hold. I know I could have attempted to make another move. I was 4 holds further than everyone else. Due to this I made a point come back and was 100 points from taking 2nd place. I was happy with how I did because I know I tried. 

Sunday I went in to climb and try the routes. The one that I had trouble starting I was able to finish the the route starting after the starting move. I tried all of the routes included the finals. I was able to complete the final in 3 falls. I climbed pretty well considering I had a competition the day before and I was reading all the routes correctly. I even tried some of the route in begginer and intermediate. The routes were a lot of fun! All of the photos are loaded to Facebook and Flickr. All of the videos are loaded to YouTube and Facebook. Check them out!!

Queen Creek Canyon and Arizona Vacation

We left Wednesday night and got in around 8pm in Arizona. The next morning we got up around 5 and got ready to go climbing for the day. A guide was coming with and showing us the routes and the areas that were good for climbing sport. He set up a 5.9 to start us off and it was really easy.  After we did those he set up two 5.10. One was a 5.10 b the other was 5.10c. Both of the hard cruxs were at the start if the route which made it a little but more difficult. I flashed everything so far but was a little pumped because it was a lot of finger pockets. After I finished the 5.10's, I did the 5.11b which was much easier than the 5.10c I think. I flashed the 5.11 and then tried the 5.12c that was set up. The start was alittle strange but I figured it out just could get past the draw. I had a heel toe cam even with the draw because my hands were slipping. The two holds that I was holding on to were really crimps in an over hang which made them really hard to hold on to. I made it the furtherest on our group. Everyone was getting tired so we did two more 5.10's to finish the day off. I flashed everything for the day but the 5.12c which I got about half way on. So it was a good day overall. Friday we took it alittle bit easier because the rock was really rough from the day before. So we decided to go indoor skydiving. I had never done skydiving before so it was going to be a fun learning experience. We got there and we had to watch a video on the basic of skydiving and the signals the instructors were going to be using to help us. It was a short video and them a few minutes later we were starting with the first person in the group. There was six of us and two other people schedule for the same time. I was 6th in the line to go. I was alittle nervous cause I wasn't to sure how it was going to feel. Once I got figured it out it didn't take long for me to do it on my own. My second time around the instructors helped me get stabled and the rest of the time I did on my own. The last 30sec of my turn the instructor helped me go up and down and around in circles; it was pretty cool. After skydiving we went to lunch then to a climbing gym just to keep the bodies moving. I had a pretty good day climbing I onsighted two 5.10b and a 5.11a. I also finished a 5.12b. That was rather long for the height of the gym. After I finished lead climbing I bouldered for the rest if the day and worked on the system board. I did pretty good on the system board for being tired. I was able to complete three V3 and on V4. I was pretty happy with that considering I was tired. Saturday we went back to Queen Creek Canyon but we went to Atlantis. Getting there was alittle weird because it was down hill so we were almost sliding down the hill to get there. The area was really cool,the climbing area was like a bowl and there was climbing all around you. To start the day off I set up a 5.8 that was about 85feet. After that we set up a 5.10b and then two 5.8s. It was an easier day but it was fun. Everyone was tired and it was hot. We went back to the house and played Monolpoly the rest of the night. Sunday was the last day that we were on Arizona. We wet to the pool and I learned how to play pickle ball. I played 3 games of singles and won all three. After wards we packed and and played cards until it was time to go. Our flight left at 7 and we got in around 12:30 am Monday morning. I got to use my new BlueWater Rope. It was really smooth and was super light. I was really excited because I was waiting for this trip to use the rope and I love it. Right before we left Wednesday my new shoes and shirt came in from FiveTen. The shirt is very soft and the shoes fit perfect.

All of the photos and videos from this weekend are loaded to Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr. Check them out there are some really cool pictures. A big thanks to my sponsors, FiveTen, Bluewater Ropes, Rock Candy, Kask Helmets, Kaisers Pizza & Pub. 

2013 ABS Madison Competition

Saturday,the 19th, was an ABS competition at Boulders Climbing Gym in Madison. We left around 8am to get to the gym around 10:30. Climbing didn't start till 12. So I had a lot of time to get everything together and warm up. I started looking at routes around 11 then warming up at 11:45. The routes didn't have very high pionts on them which made it alittle bit more difficult to work around. Warming up on a lower point route then finding two more low points routes. I found some routes than really caught my eye and decided I wanted to try them. I flew through some of the harder routes which were worth higher points. There were a few routes that had me puzzled for a little bit. I looked them over a few times watched a few people and then I gave it another go. Most of the time I got it other times it took me another try to complete the problem. There was one problem I knew I could do but it wasn't going to help me points wise. I need a problem that was worth at least 400. This was difficult to do because that was about my max. I found a few routes that I knew I could do and did but there were that few that I was only one or two holds from the top and I would fall off the route. There was a little over an hour left to climb when I had hit a wall. I was getting pumped on routes much easier than I was on problems that were giving me trouble. I found a route that I knew I would be able to complete once I held the one power move in the route. I was trying more than four routes that were worth 400 points. I had three routes that were worth 400 points and two that were 350 points. I was trying to get all my points in the 400-500 range. It was 20 minutes before time was called and I decided I was done. The routes I was attempting I was barely getting to the same spot as I was when I first attempted them. I finished with 1900 points and three falls for a total of 1870. I was happy with how I did for the day. I ate lunch while scores were being tallied up. They started results and I was really curious on how many points I was from the first place person, if I wasn't. I knew that it would be a close first place run. I ended up taking 2nd place only down but 130 points. I was really happy with that because I am not much of the bouldering type.  

Before the competition came about I was talking with a FiveTen representative. I am part of the FiveTen Team for another year and I will have a blog account on their page. I'm really excited to continue my relationship with FiveTen. There were a ton of pictures taken from this weekends competition. Be sure to check them out either on Facebook or Flickr! 

Also at the end of the month I will be taking a trip to Arizona for four days. I will be climbing outside all the days that I am in Arizona. Stay posted for any further updates and photos. 

First ABS comp of the year

I started training shortly after school started. The first week was an easy program to get back in to the mode of program training. Then they increasingly got a little bit tougher. It has been a little bit tough to keep up with the program because I was sick for about a week. September 20 was a fun climbing comp called Battle of the Ages at Adventure Rock. The gym set about 30 new routes for this comp so everyone would have something they have never tried before. I started with some routes that were low point just to have points. I then started working on routes that would cancel the lower point routes. I finished about 10 routes and the top 7 points would be scored. I was nearing the end and thought I will try a route that had a 100 point higher point value to get me extra points. I was really tired and was unalbe to do the route. In the end my total was 7625. I was failry confident with my day becuase I was not feeing to great and I was still able to do most of 5.10s and 5.11s. They did awards and did my division last. They didnt anounce the scores so I went back later to find out the point difference. I took 2nd place only behind by 100 points so definently being able to finish that last route would have helped me tie for 1st place.

Saturday, Oct. 5,  was the first ABS competition of the year. It was really busy at the gym. There was more than 120 youth competitors. There were 13 female juniors which is the category I am in this year. My start was a little rough but once I got into it I got going and started knocking a ton of problems out of the way. I was a little nervous at the beginning because I was. Making a few silly mistakes but once I got completely warmed up I was able to walk right through some problems that I had trouble with. In the end the ones I had trouble with weren't even in my top 5 which really benefited me. My top 5 routes were all flashes. I was able to complete three routes in the advanced division and two top scoring for the intermediate. When it was coming close to the end, I stopped worrying about the points and tried to just get some routes that looked like fun. I was so tired by the end it really didn't matter because I didn't have a whole lot left. One of the routes I did was all two finger pockets the whole way up. The start for it was challenging. But the finish of the route was a huge jug which made it easier to skip a move and not waste as much energy. It was a fun route and I went back to it after I turned my score card in just to try it again. They did results and I wasn't sure how I did compared to the other climbers. Some climbers I have never seen before. I took 5th in the end which was really good because I spent a lot of time on some routes to get pints that I probally shouldn't have. All in all it was a good day. All of the pictures are loaded to both Facebook and Flickr. Check them out their are some really cool pictures.

Rock Candy Climbing Holds Sponsorship!!!

Today, August 15, 2013,  I got a Rock Candy Product Sponsorship! Super excited because they are some of the best holds on the market right now.

White Mountain Climbing Camp

I spend two weeks in the white mountains of New Hampshire. In those two weeks I went to four climbing areas that were all about 45 minutes away from the White Mountain School Campus. We went to Rumney, Cathedral, Mt Oscar, and Eco Crag. My favorite place to go climb was Rumney because it had a huge amount of sport climbs that you could do. Rumney was the place I preferred to go because I like sport climbing and I really wanted to work to get better at it. The climbing at Rumney was really technical which was really nice and some climbs had a mix of small power moves. The first few times we went to Rumney I was able to go to Waimea. Waimea has a really high consistency of hard routes. The easiest route there was a 5.10a. The routes I worked on while I was there was Restless Native and Technosurfing; both of which are 5.12. I worked on Restless Native the first two days. Restless Native is a 5.12b/c and I was able to get up through the first crux. I made it through the crux in two moves and I worked up a few moves past it then I got super pumped. I came down and took a break for a little bit and then gave it another go. I made it to the same spot and got the same pump. I then decided I should try it another day. I tried Technosurfing. I wasn’t able to get the starting moves. The starting moves are lean backs and it a little awkward because you need to bring your hips in really tight with the wall. It put a lot of pressure towards my lower back so I decided I should try it another day. The next day it rained so we weren’t able to climb because all the climbs were wet. We went back the next day and we head straight to Waimea and we didn’t need a warm up because the hike up to Waimea was a little hard. I jumped right on to Restless Native and gave it a good go and made it through the crux moves and up further than I did the last time I tried it. I was super excited because I knew it was going to be a good day of climbing for me. We were able to get on Technosurfing. I was a little nervous about getting on it because the start is really hard. I gave it a go and walked right the starting moves and through the next 6 draws. I fell at the end of the first crux. I was really excited because I knew I was going to be able to get further than where I got. I tried the crux and few more times and finally broke through and made it to the 7^th draw and got really pumped. I decided to come down and work on other routes. The next day was our off day and Sunday we went to Mt Oscar. I decided I wanted to work on other routes in new areas. I went to Main Cliff Left for three days of the next five days of climbing. I flashed Scene of the Crime as a sport climb. It was a lot of and really technical, you had to be precise with your feet. Gabe set up Armed, Dangerous and Off My Medication. I onsighted this route top rope and gave it a go lead.  I was unable to do it lead. I just let my nerves get to me when I need them not to the most. We came back the next day and I sent the route lead. I was really excited because I had walked right through the entire route. The next day we went to the 5.8 Crag. There I flashed “Romancing the Stone: which is a 5.10c. This climb is a little weird because you want to have a lay back but the type of moves just don’t allow you to do so. The finish on this route is about 7 feet of straight jugs. I was happy with how I was climbing because I was getting tired. My body was not really al the excited with pushing more and more each day. The last day of climbing I went to Main Cliff Right. I got on a 5.8, a 5.7 and a 5.5 all sport. When we were all done climbing each day we would put our gear in our dorms and head up to the game room and do fosse ball tournament. We would have dinner and then have an activity for the night before Evening Meeting. There we would talk about what we did for the day, what we liked or didn’t like and what our plan for the next day was. We would go back to our dorms for the night and we had till 10 to do whatever we needed to do. I brought the GoPro along with me and it took more than 500 photos and 10 videos. I kept track of all the routes I was able to complete weather it was an onsight or a flash.  I got home August 3, 2013 and took a few days off but I will soon be getting ready for the upcoming ABS Season. All of the pictures and videos that were taken at camp are loaded to my Facebook, YouTube and Flickr Accounts. Check them out, there are a ton of really cool photos for the surroundings.

2013 SCS Nationals and Training Camp

We left Sunday the 30th and stopped in Nashville to take a few rest days and get one last climbing day in before nationals. We stopped at The Crag at Cool Springs. This gym was more of a bouldering gym which was fine because I needed to work on power endurance. They had a few sections for lead climbing and top rope climbing. Many of the routes were bouldering and really hard. A 5.9 would be more like an 5.10 to a 5.10+.The harder the route grade of the route the more the route was stretched out. So we climbed for a while and did sets so it would help a little with endurance. After words we took a break before we started bouldering. The bouldering was good. They were graded by which category they would be put in for a competition. So it was Rec, Intermediate, Advanced, and Open. I did one or two on a Intermediate problem then tried some Advanced and Open problems. Some of the Open problems I would get further on than an Advanced problem. We bouldered for few hours before we got tired and headed back to the hotel. The next morning we got up and left Nashville and headed for Atlanta. The drive wasn't to long just really boring. We got here in Atlanta and did nothing for about 5 hours because we were tired from the drive. We went to dinner and then went back to the hotel and watched a movie that was on FX. The 3rd we checked in got my number and MY T-SHIRT.  The morning of the 4th I got up and about ten minutes later I was like "I'm ready! Lets Go!" We checked in to the gym and wondered around for a while. Found the route that I would be climbing and looked it over for a while. After I was done looking it over, I wondered around again and looked at the other routes that were up. They called for all Bunnies to be at their assigned route for the fore run. I headed back over to where my route was and sat down. After watching the forerunner. They made it appear much harder that everyone had read the route originally. I was one of the last people to go out, so I had time to watch people and see how people were doing. It way my turn to climb and I took one deep breathe and started climbing. All of the holds were jugs because we were climbing in the roof section of the gym. I was doing fine and the it started to lean back and I messed up one of the moves so I had to fix it. My way of fixing it was to hang by one hand, turn around and clipped my draw. I fixed what I had done wrong and continued up the route. I was doing fine and I got to the part where we had to turn around and climb down the nose part of the roof. I was getting pumped I have never climbed on a roof section before and wasn't really prepared for it. I made a move and just barely held on and made another move and slipped right off the hold. I was pretty happy with how I did because I have never climbed on a roof. I fell right before the 9th draw which was about 8 feet away from the last draw. I came down and attempted to untie my knot. I found my parents and sat down for a while and caught my breath. The swing of the fall caught my off guard. I packed up my gear and watched the last few people go. I was surprised by how far some of the other climbers made because they had climbed much better at Divisionals. The next day I was the 15th climber which was nice because I could climb earlier and not get as nervous. I warmed up and went back to watch one of the girls climb the route. I felt pretty good about the route and felt I would do better one it because it was more vertical. I started up the route and I was feeling good about it and made it through the section that seemed to be a little tough. I clipped my 6th draw and made up a few move and looked over the next few moves and realized how far apart the next few holds were. I took a break and thought over the next moves and ho I would go about the next two moves. I was able to just barely reach the next hold and the other wall but my feet popped off the holds. I wasn't able to get my feet back on because they were really far away. I fell and was turned around so I was a little freaked out because I was spinning on the rope but once I was able to stop, I got my knot untie and realized I never had a good hold on the next hold. They gave me the point for the hold which was nice because I really don't know if I had control of the hold completely. We left knowing that I wasn't going to make semi finals because they are taking only top 16 and after just one day I was in 34. So for my to advance I would have had to flash the route. I was happy with how I did because I was a little bit nervous about the routes but felt a lot better when I got on the wall. When I got on the wall the rest of the world was just muted and I was just climbing and focusing on what I need to do. I had a lot of fun and I am really excited for the up coming seasons in both Bouldering and Sport Climbing. After I finished climbing we packed up and headed for Milton, Florida. My older brother is living there currently training with helicopters. We got there Friday evening and then headed out to dinner with him and his wife. Saturday we spent the whole day at his house. Well mostly because he truck decided it didn't want to start. We ate dinner at their house that night and hung around till 8. Headed back for the hotel and went to bed because we were getting up early to start heading back home. The next morning we left and drove all the way to Louisville, Kentucky. Stayed the night there and the next morning finished the drive. We were home around 1:30 the next day. All of my videos and pictures are loaded to Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. Check them out because there are some pretty cool shots.

I would like to say a big thank to a sponsor who has helped me out the most this year. Thanks to FiveTen they have equipped me with climbing shoes and a ton of support which helped me get to nationals. I would also like to thank KASK Helmets, So ILL, ClimbTech, and PowerBar.