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.