meaning2memorize

Mike Foley on Livin' AstroGlide: 5.14c/d

2010-06-07T16:35:00.001-07:00

Make sure you watch this beast in HD!

Livin' AstroGlide (5.14c/d) from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

Holy smokes, this past month has been busy. I've finally had the time to sit down and edit. Here is a video of Mike destroying Livin' AstroGlide (5.14c/d). We spent some time up at Rumney this past month and he crushed it! I was able to put down a few as well, like Sinister 6000 (5.13d), Dodge the Lemons (5.13d), Cote D'Azure (5.13c), Tabdito (5.13c), and still super close on Parallel Universe (5.14a). I'm hoping to get out this week and give it a FINAL BURN! AHHHHHH!

In other news, I joined the LouderThan11 crew with Jon Glassberg and Jordan Shipman, so all my updates and videos will now also be available there (not quite ready yet)--very psyched to start stepping it up in the spray-o-sphere. I bet I can spray harder than you. I'm almost certain I can.

Cannot wait to head out to Salt Lake City next month to set for the United Bouldering Championships with the dream crew, Kyle McCabe, Brett Johnson, and Joel Zerr. More to come on that front...

Stop Number One: UBC Pro Tour at Earth Treks

2010-04-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

Last week I competed at one of the biggest and most publicized climbing competitions I have ever been too. I made top 20 out an extremely strong pro field--Rob D'Anastasio, Daniel Woods, Paul Robinson, Chris Sharma, Magnus Midtboe, Matt Bosley, Vasya Vorotnikov, Carlo Traversi, Jimmy Webb, Matt Wilder, Ethan Pringle, Brian Kim, Julian Bautista, Chris Webb Parsons, Max Zolotukhin, and Chris Linder to name just a few.

The coolest part of the experience for me, other than competing among climbers who I more or less idolize, was the live video feed, allowing people all over the world to watch the action in real time. My mother, who doesn't know too much about climbing, was screaming at me over the phone after the competition, "Did you see that Chris Sharma boy pull those sloper things down so easily!? He looked like he was standing on the ground! Why didn't you do that?" Well, Mom, there are a lot of reasons. I'm kind of chubby and Chris is a stud-muffin.

Either way, it was inspiring to see such a high level of professional climbing accompanied by an equally unprecedented level of setting, media coverage, and organization. If my Mom can get into it, anybody can get excited about climbing. That's a good feeling--and a good point for what I'm eluding to here.

The Unified Bouldering Championship Pro Tour (UBC) and its team is without a doubt pushing boundaries of our sport. What does that mean? This series represents the cutting edge of competitive climbing, serving as a platform for the growth and progression of climbing in terms of sponsorship opportunities, media expansion, and public awareness.

The next stop is at the Outdoor Retailer on August 2nd. Jason Danforth, Pete Ward, and Kyle McCabe, are giving me an amazing opportunity to be part of the very select setting crew for this event, which means I will not be competing, but I think being part of this--what you might call a "movement"--will be just as exciting. I cannot wait...

Visit boulderingcomps.com for more information on UBC scheduling and general vision.

Speed of Life

2010-04-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

This mega-classic V10 went down on Monday. The first day Neil and I tried it, I was a complete woose-bag, too scared to commit to any of the moves because it's, well, scary. Neil, who is also very close, made things look easy, and relatively safe, so I tried some more. It's definitely the most mentally challenging block I have done to date, due to the intimidating top-out and imposing landing.

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD5u2pCMkvE for the full-size viewing.

Dark Horse Championship

2010-03-31T11:08:00.000-07:00

Last weekend marked the Finale of the Dark Horse Series (darkhorseseries.com) at MetroRock in Boston, MA, where FiveTen athlete Michael Bautista came in Third (competing in a stacked field with Rob D, Vasya, Brian Kim, Stephen Meinhold, Max Zolotukhin, and many others) while newly joined FiveTen Athlete Francesca Metcalf won the whole caboodle with another FiveTen-er, Nina Williams, trailing closely behind in Second. Normally, these are the kinds of NorthEast comps I love to compete in; however, for this series I had the opportunity to serve as the Head Setter--a new perspective for me.

And I have to say, I don't know what is more exciting: watching all these talented, honed competitors pull on the problems you designed with your setting team over the course of 5 days (Thanks Kyle McCabe--you machine) and hoping everything works as planned, or actually competing in the event. Surprisingly, I feel much more pressure as a setter than I do as a climber, mostly because I don't want to look like a ding-dong if the top three competitors tied or if no one finished any of the problems. In the same way, competing can be equally nerve-wracking if you're worried about looking good in front of loads of spectators waiting for their entertainment. Fortunately, the show came down to the last Finals Problem in each category, exactly what we wanted. More photos, thoughts, and video coming soon at meaning2memorize.com.

Great job Michael, Francesca, and Nina--and too everyone else who tried HARD on Saturday. Had a blast and can't wait for next year.

Power Struggle: Prime Climb

2010-03-08T07:28:00.000-08:00

Just when you think the comp season is over for bouldering, another event emerges from the hidden, darkened corners of places you wouldn't guess had climbing. Last weekend, it happened to be at Prime Climb down in Connecticut--a smoothly run comp with a three problem Finals Round. Competing on plastic is one of my favorite forms of climbing, which I guess deems me a dirty gym rat, but what makes it meaningful and interesting is when your up against good friends (read: Arch Enemies). As always, Vasya Vorotnikov, was there to fight (climb) with. We went head to head in
Finals after finishing up very close in qualifiers.

I love those nasty little Dragons on the steep problems--you can dig in very hard on almost anything.

Anyway, he crushed all three Finals for the win, an outcome you could say I've gotten used to over the years, while I placed a close Second behind him, finishing up Problem #1, and falling two holds from the top on #2 and #3. Nice work broseph.

Thanks for the pics and support Dad!

Despite the numbers and ranks, I'm feeling the healthiest I've ever been (knock on wood) and look forward to the coming weeks--first stop of the UBC Pro Tour at Earth Treks in Timonium--right after a quick five days in the Red--and a slew of boulders before then. Hoping that Neil Mushaweh, my fellow rock sniper, and I can take them down. Speed of Life this Friday! Fingers crossed on the constantly changing weather cycles we have out here in New England. Looking perfect right now though...

New England's Premiere Bouldering Series: Dark Horse Round Three

2010-03-01T10:38:00.002-08:00

Mike Foley wishing the slopers were crimps on Finals #2. The kid is a machine.

After what seemed like a hundred hours of setting and preparation, Saturday came barreling down the rails without fail and despite the deceiving weather, we had a fantabulous turnout. Little rock-star kids of the future threw themselves at micro-crimps like they were handle bars, an older crowd of masters proved to everyone that their steel-reinforced fingers still somehow worked, and a few ridiculous mutant-fied dingdongs pulled their way into Finals--a show that always brings a smile to my face even bigger than the Grinch's grin after he steals little Cindy Lou Hoo's Christmas tree.

The crowd was as loud as ever too, but that may have been entirely due to the fact that they housed both of our kegs within an hour. I'm hoping it was the sick Finals competitors and bomb proof problems though too! Well done.

I was trying to make it look purty.

Thanks to everyone who helped us pull this event off for the third time. What remains? The Dark Horse Championship: March 26 and 27, weighing in with a $5,000 cash purse for Pro Competitors and loaded with even more prizes for the Novice, Intermediate, Advances, Masters, and Junior categories. Holy bajeezers, it's going to be the real deal folks.

Open Results:
1. Vasya Vorotnikov
2. Mike Foley
3. Connor "Big Mac" MacDonald

1. Francesca Metcalf
2. Nina Williams
3. Emma Chilton

Video of this last comp is in the making! Many more photos to come as well. Full results down lower. See you all in a few weeks for the Finale!

Nina Williams, FiveTen Athlete, making dust out of the caves tufa feature on Finals #3.

Good thing I don't look tired from the 70-hours of setting and forerunning.

Mike Foley and I enjoying the plastic comp life. I love this stuff--you too Mike Foley. What?

Mike Dondero amidst a sea of his own thoughts--and holds. Credit: Sean Harris

I don't know his name, but he is 6-years-old and absolutely unbelievable to watch climb. He is the future. His name is FUTURE. Credit: Sean Harris

Max "Boot-strap" Zolotukhin climbing his way into Finals. You're an animal and something else that I cannot say on this blog for fear that I'd get fired. Credit: Sean Harris

Melissa Godowksi's hand on a sloper. What an artsy-fartsy photo! Naht. Credit: Sean Harris

Neil Mushaweh "total destruction". Credit: Sean Harris

Results:

Open
Male:
1. Vasya Vorotnikov
2. Mike Foley
3. Connor MacDonald

Female:
1. Francesca Mecalf
2. Nina Williams
3. Emma Chilton

Advanced
Male:
1. Steve Patrick
2. Evan Paigle
3. Jon Haggerty

Female:
1. Robin Berk
2. Cora Harvey
3. Katie Bond

Intermediate
Male:
1. Alex Stange
2. Matt Shreve
3. John Felch

Female:
1. Aly Nesson
2. Caitlin Rivers
3. Talia Jaffe

Novice
Male:
1. Robin Chase
2. Jeremy Haber
3. Josh Locks

Female:
1. Emma Burgh
2. Kathryn Hansis
3. Barbara O' Connell

Junior
Male:
1. Mark Olchanyi
2. Evan Daniels
3. P-Funk

Masters
Male:
1. Alex Chenvainu

Female:
1. Kristi Chenvainu

Back in Action!

2010-02-21T06:57:00.000-08:00

Six weeks after a lower abdomen hernia surgery, I'm back to training and climbing again. And holy moly, it feels good! Yesterday (Saturday, the 21st) was my first competition back at New York's largest bouldering series event: Feats of Strength.

The setting crew at The Cliffs in Valhalla did a stellar job, setting over 150 boulder problems for the day comp and 6 Finals for the second round. With over 200 competitors and spectators, the day comp--like always--was a battle. I ended up in the middle of the pack going into Finals with a tight line-up. Vasya Vorotnikov, Brian Kim, Rob D'Anastasio, and Andrew Kim, all of which were top place finishers at the 2010 ABS Nationals. The Finals round ended up being very close. I finished 4th, one hold shy of Rob D, while Vasya took the lead of the pack for the night. That Russian is monster. Anyway, psyched to be back at it--crossing my fingers right now for a few healthy comp months with my sights set on qualifying at the United Bouldering Championship Pro Tour (UBC) and having good outdoor season once the snows melts and temperatures get a bit warmer.

Sidenote:I have a lot of respect for each one of these guys. Vasya is a full-time student earning a PhD in Biomechanical Engineering who climbs about twice a week. Rob works his body into the ground day after day doing construction and demolition, still managing to train after long days of swinging a hammer and heavy lifting. Brian is recovering from a partial-tear in his shoulder and Andrew is only in high school--he's a youngster with an amazing ability to read and decipher quicker than most. All of these competitors still manage to maintain top form with the best in the country. Inspiring.

Trying hard to make the Finals round. Those blue, Team 5.10 shoes heel hook like no other. They do. Do it. DO IT.

Finals were a blast. The crowd was good and rowdy, while the problems were powerful and dynamic--just the way I like 'em.

Focusing hard on Finals #1.

Barely sticking the top out hold!

Brian Kim in the thick of it on Finals #2.

Vasya Vorotnikov and the classic "claw" on Finals #3.

Surgery: Inguinal Hernia

2009-12-23T07:20:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I was put under for the third time in my life. At 23, three surgeries already seems like a bit much, but they are just so much fun, so I figure why hold back? Basically, some of my intestines were coming through a hole in the stomach lining, causing me lots of pain. I've had the issue for a while, but only recently was it starting to be bothersome. Anyway, its all patched up now.

I have about 3-4 weeks of recovery time before I can start climbing again. All things considered, its not the worst timing. Come Spring, Rumney will be beautiful and I'll be re-psyched and fit? That's the plan. Plus, I used all of yesterday and today to update Dark Horse media. I put up a bunch of dope photos, thanks to Pat Bagley's eye, and edited a short highlight reel of the last DH comp, courtesy of Keith Share's camera skills. UC mag is giving us a page for a write-up with photos, RockandIce is including us in their email blast, and Climbing will have a blurb on their online news section.

So all of this downtime may not be so bad after all. I can catch up on a few other things, and come back refreshed. On the downside, I will miss the Boston Rock Gym's Heart of Steel, which is certainly going to be crazier than last year. Props to them for providing something new and creative. Watching from the side-lines is going to be less than what I wanted, but at least I can add to the yelling.

Dark Horse: Unite!

2009-12-22T17:10:00.001-08:00

Behind the Scenes...

2009-12-22T17:08:00.001-08:00

Photos: Pat Bagley

The boys, Brian Rafferty MC Extraordinaire and Brett Australia, trying to relax before the big NUMBER TWO. This was taken at 2:30AM.

Me making the final tweaks on Men's Finals #4 around 2:00AM before the comp a few hours later. Tight! Setting for each comp has been a blast. Psyched every single one.

Me chillen with my fellow crushing Captain Neil Mushaweh during the plastic pulling madness. We are both lit, thinking "This crowd is impeding our ability to get to the keg." Photo: Brian Bittner

Kyle McCabe and I getting dirty.

Dark Horse: December 12, 2009

2009-12-21T16:05:00.001-08:00

Continuing the recent progression of world class bouldering competitions in the NorthEast, MetroRock just finished the second stop of its four comp Dark Horse Series. On December 12th, over 200 competitors and spectators showed up from all over the country to compete for the Dark Horse title. The top five competitors in each Open category advanced to finals in the evening to battle over the $1,100 cash purse.

Francesca Metcalf ended up demolishing the Female Open field by finishing all but the last Finals problem, controlling half-pad crimps and pinches on the 45-degree wall like they were jugs. For men, the entire comp came down to the very last try for Rob D’Anastasio. Vasya Vorotnikov put the pressure on Rob D by flashing Finals #1, 3, and 4. However, Rob D stepped up his game by flashing all four problems, finishing with a shoulder-wrenching gaston crux for that nights Dark Horse title.

The series culminates into a heart-stopping Championship round where ten of the country's most vicious, blood-thirsty competitors battle for the top spot on March 27, 2010. With $8,300 up for grabs—the combined total for all four comps—this series is packing some serious heat.

Whether you’re a top pro competitor or an enthusiastic beginnger, this series has what you need for a good time. Don’t miss the remaining two; February 17th and the Championship ($5,000 cash purse) March 27th, 2010.

Go to DarkHorseSeries.com for more info…

1. Rob D’Anastasio
2. Vasya Vorotnikov
3. Julian Bautista

1. Francesca Metcalf
2. Melissa Godowski
3. Emma Chilton

Photographer: Pat Bagley

Thanks to everyone who showed up to have some fun. Thanks for destroying our kegs. Thanks for screaming and clapping. Thanks for being really, really strong. Thanks for looking good in photos. Thanks for be excited.

As always, we look forward to giving you an even bigger show next time. TRAIN! TRAIN! TRAIN!

Dark Horse: #2

2009-12-17T10:03:00.001-08:00

Thanks for everyone who came! The comp was ridiculous. Here's a photo of the Finals madness. Video, photo gallery, and full results up soon.

Rob D: First place Pro Male
Francesca Metalf: First place Pro Female

Dark Horse: #2 Under Way

2009-12-08T08:25:00.002-08:00

For the past 48 hours, Kyle McCabe and I have been setting our butts off; taking naps here and there and pressing on for the 3am tweaks. I love this stuff, and luckily I get to be working alongside one of the most experienced and talented routesetters in the industry. Brian Rafferty is also killing it for us. He is the master of the green boobs.

The Finals event is looking to be much bigger than last time. Vasya Vorotnikov is flying in from Delaware. Julian Boutista is flying in from California. Jimmy Webb is flying in from...well...some place down south. Brian Kim, Ty Landman, and Phil Schaal are all rumored to show up. Are you f'ing kidding me? That's all I have to say about that.

For girls, I'm not so sure, but if the Finals event is anything like it was last month, we are in for a good show. Francesca Metcalf, Emma Chilton, Sydney McNair, Nina Williams...all the freaks!

First Dark Horse...

2009-11-19T17:10:00.003-08:00

Dark Horse: November 14th, MetroRock North from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

Watch it in full screen if you can or just watch it on Vimeo. I'll have full problems up soon on the Dark Horse website. Getting psyched for Number Two in Everett. Great job everyone. Competitors were amazing.

My New Friends...

2009-11-16T22:22:00.002-08:00

They make cool movies. Check it out. Love these fellas--good guys.

Oh brother...

2009-11-16T22:10:00.000-08:00

It's been about 4 full days since I last climbed and I'm starting to feel nice and fat. My brother's wedding weekend down in PA was absolutely ridiculous and I'm looking forward to resting some more before getting back into the swing of my normal routine. I haven't really slept at this point for about 4 days, so some quality Z's are needed.

The first Dark Horse seemed to go off without too many hitches. Happy to hear things went well. We had about 200 people come through the door. The Finals show was out of hand. Looking for the next one in Everett to be double that--at least.

Look out for photos coming soon with results. Plus, I'm working on cutting up a video of the day and night show. Yes sir. Love this stuff.

Feels weird not climbing for a few days. I kind of like it. Maybe I'll get a life soon.

Naht.

Dark Horse: IN PROGRESS

2009-11-09T21:07:00.000-08:00

First day of setting was bomb-diggity bomb dong. Male and Female Finals problems 1-4 are up and dialed waiting to be destroyed. Cannot wait for Saturday.

It's going to be an absolute shit show. Get psyched.

There is another great-green-giant-blob in the gym somewhere. Where is it? You'll have to come compete to find out. How clever.

Photos taken by Ricardo Alves

2009-11-09T20:56:00.001-08:00

Speed Climbing V15

2009-11-05T08:14:00.000-08:00

Are you joking me? Midway through the clip, it looks like the guy is speed climbing and the cameraman has to run to keep up. Rad.

PRG: Midnight Burn

2009-11-05T07:06:00.000-08:00

My first Midnight Burn was a good time. I thought the setting was done really well, especially in Finals. In fact, I'll probably copy a few moves for the Dark Horse comps. Register now!

But really, sick comp. All the big boys showed up; Rob D, Vasya, Boz, Brian Kim, Stephen Meinhold, and few others that I can't remember. It's always fun to compete against people that you know will most likely kick your ass, but if you try hard enough or they happen to have an off day, you might have a chance to squeak through and place. I ended up in 5th going into finals (there were 25 Open competitors) just ahead of Brian and about 100 points behind Vas, Rob D, and Boz.

Vasya Vorotnikov and Francesca Metcalf ended up on top of their Open categories. Awesome job; always impressed.

And thanks for making the drive Dad and working the camera. You da man.

Warming up before Finals...aka...texting mad babes.

Midnight Burn: Finals #2 from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

Midnight Burn: Finals #3 from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

Supernova: Rumney, NH

2009-10-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

Supernova: Dave Wetmore from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

Supernova is Done: Yippee-Doo!

2009-10-23T17:18:00.001-07:00

Today was one of those rare days where everything finally fell into its place. I sent Supernova (5.14b) after slaving over it for months (from the low, real start; what Vasya would call "the start"). At the risk of sounding cliche, I have to say that standing on top of that 15 move power fest was one of the finest moments for me in climbing yet (best of all, I got to share it with my Dad who took off work for the day). And I'm looking forward to the next one, whether it be me or one of my friends, it's those seconds of pure joy that stand out the most.

So, ya, back to my super-epic, jaw-dropping story [For all of you serious crushers out there, the preceding verbiage is known as sarcasm]. A little while later, Neil and I walked up the hill to give They Died Surfing (5.13d) a shot. Despite its looks, it climbs really well and I ended up sending in a few tries. I was just as surprised as the lil' stupid chipmunk that kept running by with acorns stuffed in its face.

Neil, the beast master, regained his confidence on Steady Slobbin (5.14b) by matching the gold-fish for a second; almost breaking through to the top. He'll have it next try. Below is one of the most inspiring pieces of climbing I have witnessed to date. Just after falling off the gold-fish, he boinked back up and was hell bent on a solid one hang. When he wants to get something done, he does.

"My pinky hurts like hell, but I'm going to one-hang this," Neil said as he dug his pinky once more into the lock, which he ended up tearing to shreds, despite finishing the burn in good form. [Side note: He cranked so hard on the top of They Died Surfing later in the day that he ripped two tips wide open, gushing blood like...well...two tips that have been ripped wide open]. Anyway, check this shit out...

Neil Mushaweh: Steady Slobbin from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

The rest of the photos are, well, whatever. Psyched!

A Good Way to Promote the Sport...

2009-10-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Andrew Bisharat wrote in the most recent issue of Rock and Ice, "Of course, I love climbing and its many positive and uplifting things. But like most climbers I know, I don't think this way. There are too many good things in climbing worth hating: boastful spray lords who are so plainly compensating for their other "inadequacies," still-virgin gear junkies, haughty alpinists and their unrealized homosexual tendencies, those poor and uncoordinated gumbies, and, of course, the audacity of pro climbers who think that just because they climb hard, other people should give a shit about them and companies should pay for their self-indulgent lives. The list goes on and on."

Wow. For right now, my writing needs to be limited because I am at work, but holy fuck. Is this not the most negative, bitter old-man, sorry-sounding shit you've ever heard? Jesus H. Christ. First of all, if having a fun blog to help promote the companies that support you, as well as providing a creative outlet for media that involves friends and family; the climbers invested within your microcosmic climbing community, then I suppose I'll lump myself in with the grotesquely self-indulgent before being called one.

If it wasn't for the supposed self-indulgent pro climber community (yes, some are, but some actually love what they do and help out in positive ways), would there even be climbing media? Like say...Rock and Ice? Isn't getting a picture taken of yourself, or having a column, inherently self-indulgent to begin with? People are negative enough about one another in this sport everyday, so why must some of the most read (dare I say influential) authors in print media be so overly and perpetually cynical?

But then again, why would you want to promote the sport in a positive light when those who spend everyday working at it and are good at it--the one's you hate--could possibly benefit from monetary gains via increased media attention? Well, you wouldn't.

This is all just for fun. Actually, this little piece of the article reminded me that we are just climbing rocks; it's always a sobering thought. And yes, traveling the world to climb rocks for--yours truly--is certainly self-indulgent. But for right now, why not? Cheers.

Fuck.

2009-10-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

Still not feeling good about what happened on Saturday. Wishing the best for Max's recovery. Those images will be ingrained in my head forever. I'll write about what went on and what I learned from Max's accident at a later time.

Not a fun day for anyone involved, but certainly worth something in the ever-deepening vault of experience.

This will make you laugh...

2009-10-17T05:54:00.000-07:00

David Wetmore: Fall at Pway from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

Max crushing at the BRG...

2009-10-17T05:53:00.000-07:00

Max: BRG V13 from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

A Chill Day at Pawtuckaway

2009-10-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

Word of the day. Bucolic.

Alex Enright tries HARD.

So very hard.

But. No send. This problem is called EL DOPEMAN.

Some videos are coming soon. Oh boy, you're gonna love em!

In other news, Nate Draughn is hilarious. http://natedraughn.louderthan11.com/

Triple Crown 2009: Hound Ears

2009-10-06T05:48:00.000-07:00

The first leg of the Triple Crown Bouldering Series was unexpectedly one of the funnest days of small-pebble wrassling I've had to date. Thanks for sending me FiveTen. Climbing in a new area with great friends on a perfect Fall day doesn't get much better. The style of climbing suited me pretty well too--steep powerful movements on incut crimps. Its hard to pick a favorite for the day, but if I had to, my top three would be Stupid Human, The Crusher, and whatever the long, traversing one was where Phil--my savior for the finish--pointed out the last five holds for me when I was pumped out of my dome. Thanks.

Climbing with Phil, or just being around the kid, is generally hilarious. "I've never been betrayed like this--ever," he commented about his skin early in the day, which set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. He suffered bad, but that's what you get for circuiting V12 in RMNP just one day before. Dingleberry. Nonetheless, he climbed as strong as always.

Maximus Zolotukhin, on his 9th tour of Hound Ears, had an impressive day as well, hiking pretty much all the hard classics and nabbing a stout repeat of Random Man, a three move problem that had not been repeated since James Litz' FA eight years prior.

In the end, Jimmy Webb, the local crushing monster, took first in front of Brion Voges, who established an FA for the day to the left of the Crusher called Half Price Pornos (probably the best name in climbing...ever). Max finished third, taking away $200. Rad. I ended up 5th for the day just behind Phil, who just just repeated Jade (V15) a few weeks ago. There were over 300 competitors at the event; hopefully, next year is even bigger.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video as much as I enjoyed watching Phil have a temper-tantrum. Horse Pens next!

Random Horse Pens

2009-09-29T20:54:00.001-07:00

Skywalker from last year. Beautiful problem.

Gettin' psyched for the first leg of the Triple Crown at Hound Ears. First time!

Side note: Climbing on plastic is really, really hard. Tonight was my second serious session in all of September with the Max/Gav duo and my plastic fitness is GONZO. Climbing outside seems to make you stronger in different ways--like having good core tension--but the whole pinch-power-endurance baloney has dissipated to shat. Fun! I love getting owned inside!

WTF + FML= Rock Climbing!

2009-09-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

So, I fell off the very last move of Supernova today from the low start and it got me thinking...

1) You are a dumbass.
2) You should probably layoff the midnight ice-cream refrigerator rape brigades.
3) Who really cares? Nobody besides me, but that ain't the point.
4) Pete Kamitses short-roped me like a bumbling dick head. Kidding.

Pardon me for writing something semi-serious about climbing, but this has been bugging the dingleberries out of me lately.

This question keeps rolling through my head. What's the best frame of mind to be in before you get on a project? In this case, the project is a route. As you tie in, you get nervous and start mentally fidgeting.

Are you going to fall at the crux? Do chicks think you're ripped? Why don't you have a girlfriend? Shouldn't you be confident enough that you won't be thinking about falling at the crux? Are you a huge pussy? My conscious usually replies, "Dude, yah, you are...but we're here, so you mine as well try hard." These fragmented thoughts bounce off the inside of my dome like bouncing balls inside a metal box every time I get ready to try something at my limit.

From my chair, these are some options to experiment with. Use with extreme caution:

Type A: The Meat Head Method

Prepare yourself like you're about to go brawl with someone like Wolverine or the Hulk. Yell and scream at the rock a little bit before you pull on as to intimidate it into submission. Some rocks are easier to scare than others. Get psyched up the same way a football player does before running onto the field before smashing his helmet into another teammate. Kill it. It's time for World War III.

Type B: Party in the Front, Business in the Back

This is when you act like you don't give a rats ass about anything on the outside, but on the inside you actually feel like you're going to empty you wrists into the tub after you're done climbing if you fall. Not sure about this one.

Type C: Zen Master

Sit by yourself in small cave for as long as it takes to find your inner D-Bag. No talking before tying in. No talking while booting up. Tell you're belayer that if you fall, you will blame it on him no matter what and make sure everyone at the crag knows it. You're face should look so awfully sullen that if someone saw you they might think you had just left Michael Jacksons funeral. Too soon?

Type D: Have Fun?

Don't try to be or act like anything. Just focus on climbing as well as possible on each move; one at a time--believe. Don't think about the end result, just focus on executing one piece of the puzzle at a time. Instead of creating weighty expectations, have fun climbing hard--actually enjoy yourself--and then you might finish.

Or just imagine yourself as this guy...

Failed Attempts: Yay!

2009-09-27T21:31:00.001-07:00

Supernova (5.14b): FAIL--David Wetmore from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

What I say at the end of this attempt is pretty funny. I didn't know it until I actually watched the clip.

Supernova (5.14b): FAIL--David Wetmore from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

Max! Hi MAX!

Steady Slobbin: (5.14b): FAIL--Max Zolotukhin from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

Another Shitty Day at Rumney

2009-09-27T19:59:00.001-07:00

The weather was so gosh-darn nice I nearly made pee-pee in mis pantalones. I'll post up some new videos tomorrow. One is up Max falling at the last move on Steady Slobbin-gay and another is of me having a hissy fit on Stupid-Nova (it's funny).

The crew...

Max Zolotukhin: He is now sponsored by his favorite beverage--Vitamin Water.

Neil Mushaweh: The most serious, non-fun, all business climber out there.

Me: Captain D-Bag. I make it rain.

Man Down

2009-09-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

For some reason, a good wave of climbing for me never fails to crash at the most inopportune moment. Neil and I were out for a session at Pawtuckaway and I ended up coming off the upper crux of Confident Man--rolled my ankle and it's swollen up like a grape fruit right now. Sick!

At any rate, Pawtuckaway is beautiful; the season is finally here. Hoping to heal up like Wolverine--2 to 3 days tops? Yes? Yes.

More importantly, this kid, one of the young talents on the MetroRock team, cracks me up to no end. Jesus H. Christ. Sam, where did you come from bro?

Neil Mushaweh sending Halcyon (V11)

2009-09-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

Neil Mushaweh sending Halcyon (V11) from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

Flippin' Flapjacks, this video gets me psyched! Listen carefully for the classic "Sataaaaaat" and "SAAAAAAAAHT" and also "Sssssssseeeeeeeaaaaht!" at the lip. Right on Neil. What can I say? This guy is a freaking monster--crushing Parallel Universe and Halcyon within the same week. He gets out more than I do and has a real job. FML.

Dark Horse Series!

2009-09-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

MetroRock is holding a four comp Dark Horse Series with over $8,300 up for grabs!

Check out the new site and register. Just went live!

Darkhorseseries.com

Jeremy Balboni

2009-09-15T22:08:00.001-07:00

This guy takes climbing far too seriously for his own good. Can't you tell? I love when he takes his son, Brayton, out climbing.

Two things...

2009-09-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

1) Boogie Man went down today. Supernova, still, did not. Neil inched closer on Steady Slobovitch. We need some of the Patz special sauce. What?

2) I threw a bouncy ball off a wall in the gym tonight and it hit someone who was hanging from the rings in the shoulder. He got extremely angry. I was severely reprimanded for my tomfoolery.

Went something like this...

"Do you see me doing pull-ups here, guy? I'm getting huge. Huge. I will take you straight down to China Town pal. Seriously. You do not want to see me start ripping one-arms in my tight-lycra bound muscle tee! Look at my veins--look."

Not really, but I've never seen anyone take themselves so seriously.

Here's some photos of a Supernova session and Gavin working Dr.Yes.

And Max belaying me...thinking, "I did this route like 3 years ago big guy. Jesus. Hurry the F-up." Just kidding--love you Maximus.

Mike Patz sending Parallel Universe (5.14a)

2009-09-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

And the send train continues!

After many, many tries Patty Cakes goes for the win. This broseph studies and works 5-jabillion hours a week to become a doctor at Harvard Med and still manages to destroy. Super duper.

Gavin are you next? Gavin says "Ya, duh."

Maximus Zolotukhin sending China Beach (5.14b)

2009-09-12T16:33:00.003-07:00

Maximus Zolotukhin: China Beach (5.14b) from David Wetmore on Vimeo.

Ok. So I admit this is the worst video footage ever taken in the history of climbing, but I was just randomly shooting and Max sent! I'll have lots more videos too come. I'm just getting used to this camera/software/whatever. Next time, I'll edit and stuff. Cool. Good job Maximus!

Mike Foley: You are Missed

2009-09-07T19:37:00.001-07:00

Mike Foley in Rodellar. This pictures makes my life. Come back Mike Foley.

Rumnizzle: Three Day Destination

2009-09-07T17:24:00.001-07:00

Maximus Zolotukhin. You can see him below coolly staring up at what only the most hardened, hardcore Rumneytes call "The Beach." I guess he can call it that now since he sent it. Good job bro-dude. Luckily, I took some of the absolute worst video footage ever captured in the history of climbing on his send.

Lessons Learned (Watch out Tim Kemple):

1) No matter how expensive the camera, the quality of the footage is solely dependent on the incompetent dingleberry behind it: in this case, me.

2) If you want to be able to see the climber, do not point the camera directly into the sun. The sun; despite popular belief, is extremely erratic and can switch positions in the sky at any moment, similar to the movement of a ping-pong ball in the sky. Take note neophytes.

3) Beware of ascending trolls on nearby climbs; they can easily sneak their way into the frame. This happened and is no laughing matter.

Max climbs in sunglasses because he is rad. So very, very rad.

I spent my time this weekend working on Supernova. Made some progress and refined beta, but no send. This month! Neil also reached his high point on Steady Slobovitch, while Mike Pattycakes nearly sent Parallel. Oh boy, everyone is on the edge. If you asked Max, he would say all of this is completely irrelevant to the rest of the climbing world. He is absolutely correct, but climbing and laughing with the dingdongs that I call my friends is relevant to me, plus this is fun.

In other news, Jake List, the most obnoxious D-bag at Rumney (I can say that because I actually like him) is close on Boogie Man. But he is too fat right now and his Mom was in Playboy, so that's also a major contributing factor.

Jake made a new friend at Rumney by calling him an albino that would toast under the sun like a marshmellow over a fire. Looking forward to climbing with that crazy fella. Good work Jake.

Outside of climbing, with nearly perfect conditions I might add (the smell of another Rumney Fall is in the air), fun was had elsewhere. Charlie Manganiello and his family are probably the coolest and most accommodating people on this side of the planet. Max, Mike, and I all crashed at their place right down the road in Bristol, sleeping in our trucks, hanging out by the lake, and partying (no pictures this time), but I did snap some others.

Wake up Maximus. Time to crush. Sataaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!

Breakfast and Natty-Ice. Yum.

Looking forward to next weekend. Must destroyyyy.

August: Mormon Country

2009-08-19T06:59:00.000-07:00

Despite all the hoopla, I didn't happen to find any Mormons, but I heard they were there.

Instead, I spent about three weeks in a sandbox called Utah. My home: a van we called the "silver bullet," a random basement, the side of a highway, and a few hotels along the way.

The first order of business came at the JCCA National Championships at the Momentum Rock Climbing Gym somewhere south of Salt Lake City. Team MetroRock had 16 kids go to Nationals and with that small group, we finished 5th place in the country out of about 80 other teams.

Imagine a bunch of 12-17 year old kids cruising 5.12-5.13 for three days straight amidst a mass of screaming parents and Michael Jackson beats, the standard chalk cloud hovering overhead like dementors rushing through Azkaban, and a less-than-entertaining MC corresponding on the obvious and you have Nationals. Don't get me wrong, it's exciting--can you imagine being 12 years old and walking past hundreds of people as you leave isolation to meet the hardest route you've redpointed in the past year with just five minutes to send? I'm always impressed with the young competitors who effortlessly shoulder this pressure and destroy. I'd be quivering.

Next time I'll take some video and photos for posting. I was so gosh darn busy coaching with Buckie that time for gallivanting was minimal. There's even evidence below.

"Just don't fall, alright? DON'T FALL." Try topping that coaching expertise Team Population Texas.

After the three day battle with gravity was over, six of our kids ended up making it to the World Championships for Speed, most of whom are en route to France right this moment. Keegan Cole is the national speeding climbing champion and is looking for a win at Worlds. Good luck Team USA--Keegan, Alec, Erin, Alex, David, Francesca, and Olivia. If I forgot a name, you can go ahead and sue me.

With Nationals in the rear view, a few of us bounced out of the local Holiday Inn in true vagabond fashion, stuffing extra oatmeal packets and oranges in our pockets from the front desk. Grocery shopping at Holiday Inn breakfast buffets is extremely efficient and I recommend it. With a fully packed rental car, we headed north to Logan Canyon--land of high altitude choss.

Super Tweak. 5.14a. First in the country.

Super Tweak.

I didn't send the route due to lack of time [read: TOO FAT], but got all the moves within my second try. With three days, I did some hard-ish routes (13's), got to climb outdoors with the kids, and learned a bunch just from watching Steve Buck, our Head Coach. This guy cranks 5.12 off the couch like he is floating up an escalator. Unbelievable.

More importantly, I learned what it felt like to be given a death belay by my teammate and friend who shall remain unnamed. As you may be able to read by the less-than-impressed glare smeared on my face below, I was not keen on falling for fear that I would either break my back or legs due to inattention or short-roping. In fact, at the top of the dihedral, I told the belayer to unclip from my rope and soloed the remaining 20 feet. It was safer--trust me. He has since improved quite a bit. Love you buddy.

After Logan, I took Alex, Alex, Sam, and Connor to Joe's Valley for a few days to play on some boulders. The sun more or less ravaged our souls from sunrise to sunset, beating down on us with 100-degree oven temps as we scurried around the desert looking for shade beneath boulders. But I think we made the best of it. Return trip in the winter anyone?

One night, after spending the entire day bouldering, we realized it might be a good idea to head into town and find some food before it got too late. Unfortunately, this divine revelation came about three hours too late. With no food and no place to stay, I came up with Plan B: empty the van and whatever we could scrounge from beneath the seats, we could eat.

Five minutes later we had gourmet peanut-and-jelly, some rice, and a few Holiday Inn oranges, not to mention a prime sleeping location--a turn-off from the road down by the river bed. Sam had even purchased a massive box of fireworks and a few smoke grenades to which we set fire immediately after dinner. If you look closely enough, you can see the evidence, a blue and yellow box, behind Alex as he slaps on another pound of peanut butter to satisfy his daily starvation. In the morning, while paying for groceries, the cashier had a few questions for me.

"Hey, was that you fellas up there with dem fire works?" she asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said with flashes of our pyro-antics dancing behind my eyes.

"The fireworks you bought yesterday. Did you set them off? It sounded like there was some kind of war going on up in the valley."

"Wow, you remembered us from yesterday, huh? Then yes, you are correct, that was us."

World War II aside, the last leg of our trip was probably the most exciting--for me at least. Jason Danforth and Pete Ward, among a slew of other invaluables working for NE2C, put on the biggest and baddest comp of the year. Perfect timing; the Mammut Bouldering Championships was being held within Salt Lake City during the Outdoor Retailer week, with Qualifiers at the Front and Finals on top of the Shilo Inn.

Here's a shot from Qualifiers at the Front.

Unfortunately, I just missed finals. With 34 total points, I had taken down more holds than the 9th place finisher, but because I fell going to the final jug on Problem 3, I got bumped out, leaving me at 15th when they took top 12. The competition field was very strong and super tight, so even the smallest mistake was devastating. Next year!

All of these photos were taken by professionals and I take no credit. These shots were taken during the Finals show, the most impressive display of climbing talent, competition organization, and overall industry performance of the year. Big ups to NE2C for giving climbers a stage of proportions that would have been deemed unfathomable just a few years ago.

With competitions like this, its inevitable that ESPN or something like Fuel TV will catch on. If ping pong can reach these media outlets, why can't climbing? Insanely strong athletes pulling heinous human tricks high above the ground with hundreds of people screaming for them while a DJ serves up bone-rattling beats--it's all there. Embodying the excitement that grows from the moment at these competitions is close to impossible in comparison to actually being present, so I recommend either competing or attending the next one.

What's as equally impressive, and probably some sort of disconnected bi-product of a growing public awareness due to comps like the one in SLC, is an increased school involvement in the sport. This year at MetroRock, I'll be coaching high school teams, college teams, and the regular JCCA team, but I never would have imagined high school level climbing teams at the local gym and surprisingly, MetroNorth has even more kids from the local education system joining the program this year than last, with even more yet applying for the JCCA team and college teams.

Progression equals increased public awareness which means wider media attention. With this increased scope, financial sponsorship will hopefully rise and give other average climbers, like myself, a better chance to make a living doing what we love, even if you're not the very best climber on the planet.

Anyway, just some random thoughts. Back to training! [IE. Eating]

The Weather: For the Past Month and Charging

2009-07-02T07:32:00.001-07:00

Do. Work.

2009-06-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

Fichael telling me to Do.Work. "That's real talk." When's the next HOS?

5.10: Rumney Demo

2009-06-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Despite the weather--wet, humid, and mosquito invested--people showed up to climb. The Calm Post and Joanne from the Rattlesnake campgrounds were kind enough to let me use their property for the day, so thank you and we'll be back soon.

Hope everyone enjoyed their shoes. And thanks for bringing them back!

Demo via: My truck.

Painted toe on the Projects.

Mmmmmmmmm...

Rumney: The Month of Rain

2009-06-22T18:59:00.001-07:00

After spending a 60+ hour week in the gym setting for SCS Divisionals at MetroRock, which went off quite swimmingly, I was foaming at the mouth for some rock climbing. Fortunately, we've been graced with two solid weeks of rain, which means--just like last season--the start of the summer is fated to be spent on plastic (for a bit at least). Last year, I have to admit that I probably would have been excited that it was raining because it would inevitably mean more training inside. But I'm not sure, something clicked in Australia and all I want to do now is get on rock. It's a good feeling to know exactly what you want, especially when injuries are minimal, motivation is high, and the energy from your friends is positive.

Despite the rain and my introspective blabbering above, we've (Neil Mushaweh, Mike Foley, and Vasya Vorotnikov) made it out for a few days here and there. Making a guest appearance, my Dad put on the ole' boots and hiked up for a day to watch us fumble around on wet rock. I'm glad he made it out. And if there is an upside to less-than-ideal weather like this it is the subsequent bug control. Thankfully, the mosquitoes and black flies descend back into the hellish depths from which they came for a few hours after each storm, leaving us a short window of relatively blood-sucker free climbing.

Rain considered, climbing hasn't been half bad. Mr. Fichael (Mike Foley) came close to destroying The Style that is Free (hard 14) second try, but failed because he is too skinny as a result of not eating enough burgers. I made my best link on Supernova (14b), so I'm hoping that when we get a dry day, the route shall be dispatched. Needless to say, I check weather.com and noaa.com about five times a day. Sun? Naht.

Utah! I leave on June 8th and return June 23. SCS Nationals then routes in Logan, maybe some bouldering at Joe's if we don't burn our hands off, then some Mammut Bouldering Championships (setting or competing--not sure yet) and then OR show. Psyched.

Music: GMS, Code 64, Assemblage 22, Dialect. Flipping flapjacks that stuff is rad.

Warming up. Man Overboard.

Can't wait for a dry day. Supernova.

Cruxing. Favorite move at Rumney so far.

Another Day at the Office

2009-06-09T19:15:00.001-07:00

So, I gave myself one day of rest after the knee-popping incident because I have to set a bunch of routes for the Divisional Championships. To compensate for the knee, I've been awkwardly straining the ole' back, which has led to another problem--nothing a little ice and ibuprofen can't wipe away. Right.

Anyway, hopefully everyone's hard work pays off and we can put on a good comp before the kids shove off to Nationals. Can't wait to see all the young crushers kill it this weekend.

Pop Goes the Weas....My knee

2009-06-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

This will be short because I'm pissed. Last night I was training with Vasya and Justin when my knee went snap, crackle, pop. One massive heel hook and kaboom, I was on the ground. A few years ago, I heard the same sound in my right knee and I was able to walk within a few days, so hopefully the injury is the same and nothing detached itself from my leg. Until then, I'll be hopping around on crutches that I've saved up from past occasions. Awesome.

Hotel: Toyota Tacoma

2009-06-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

Where I'll be staying for the majority of the summer...

Psyched for the New River Gorge with Vasya in August. Even though plans seem to change within the climbing world quicker than I can fill up my tank with $60 bucks of gas due to the fact that climbers are more or less fickle people as I have come to learn from one particular joyous occasion, I am hoping this one sticks. Wow, that sounds bitter! Until then...RUMNEY, RUMNEY, RUMNEY.

Back from the Gramps and East Coast Crushing

2009-06-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a while since I last updated, but for good reason. I was in Australia for about four weeks climbing in the Grampians and the week I set foot back in the States, I spent seven days at Carabiner's setting for USA climbing's regional championships by day and sleeping on their blue-matted floor by night.

Without a minute to waste, just one day after the comp, I was put under general anesthesia for a septoplasty surgery. Long story short, the surgeon took a hammer and chisel to my nose and fixed it so that I could breathe again. After three broken noses--a result of climbing accidents, one fight, and hockey--my already severely deviated septum had rendered me incapable of breathing out of both nostrils. At any rate, when I woke from surgery, I was puking up blood for hours while the nurse pumped my veins full of morphine and demoral.

The good news is that I am finally back into the swing of climbing. After two weeks of pain killers and rest, spending the day up at Rumney on Saturday felt like Christmas morning, save the fact that the forest was more humid than a drug-peddling jungle in Columbia and there was no Santa. Regardless of the wetness, my first climbing day back on the east coast was stellar. I worked on Supernova (5.14b), Dodge the Lemons (5.13d), and Boogie Man (5.13b), all of which felt really good. Very psyched. Hoping Dodge the Lemons and Boogie Man go down this weekend. Progress on Supernova please? One-hang? Maybe if I don't eat like a fat-ass this week.

Anyway, this whole route climbing kick has absolutely taken over my entire mindset, which is profound for me considering all I have ever thought about is competitions and boulders. At this point, nothing compares to rope climbing. I never thought I'd say that.

This is me looking goofy after accidentally punching myself in the face off an under-cling at the top of Supernova. Note: Don't punch yourself in the nose after a septoplasty--it hurts.

Working the bottom section off Supernova (5.14b)

Looks like I'm flailing on the final crux. Sick.

Rumney is being absolutely lit up these days with strong sport climbers. Keller Rinuado, recently graduated from Harvard and about two embark on a three month climbing trip through Europe, sent China Beach (5.14b) last week [LEFT]. The mutant also dispatched Parallel Universe (5.14a) within the next few days. He has only been climbing three years and is a route climbing assassin.

Here are some pictures from the Australia trip:

Josh Grose on Wild Orchids at Mauline (5.13d)

They Aussies dubbed Mike Patz and I: TEAM AMERICA.

One of the blokes we met, Alister, jumping off the top of the Taipan Wall.

The only picture of me in Australia--dogging on Wild Orchids. Such an amazing route. After 2 days of effort, I almost sent, but fell off the final crux throw to a jug. Maybe next time? Naht.

They thought I looked like Big Foot. Ya, thanks.

Dave "Wenuts" AkA The Hulk according to the Aussies we stayed with.

Mike Patz sending Breathing Gasoline (5.13d)

Same route.

Horse Pens: Random Shot

2009-04-02T07:50:00.002-07:00

Skywalker. Photo by Kelly Brussell.

New England Bouldering Guidebook: New Edition

2009-04-01T20:53:00.001-07:00

The new edition of the New England Bouldering guidebook is out. Pick one up and see what the local woods have to offer that you haven't seen yet. The fully updated color book provides a concise guide--lots of insider beta--to the region's best areas. Plus, there's a picture inside of Paul Robinson hiking Child of the Storm. That's nice. Click on the Cover or anything of the following scans for a better look.

And thanks to Tim Kemple and MetroRock, I got a chance to make an appearance here and there throughout the book.

Inside cover ad. Photo by Tim Kemple.

A piece on my struggle for Halcyon and a quick view into the amazing climbing culture that has emerged from this small, compact region of the country; a group of climbers that are now shaping the future of our sport...I'm not included in this group, but I wrote about them!

Tim Kemple's green shot of Halcyon.

This past month...

2009-02-27T08:35:00.000-08:00

What have I been doing? Pulling on plastic five days a week, running in the morning, training private clients, coaching two teams, free-lance writing, and traveling. I've been at this game for over a decade, but only now do I feel my climbing starting to come together--even after suffering a massive mental setback earlier this month.

I was out in Boulder, Colorado, for ABS Nationals two weeks ago competing against about 100 top climbers in the country for 15 spots in Finals. I was sick the day of Qualifiers, but still feeling reasonably fit after just coming off a second-place finish at the Boston Rock Gym's Heart of Steel Comp. Long story short--I got destroyed. Even climbers like Matt Bosley and Steve Jeffrey were shut out. The climbers that made finals, for the most part, were full-time professionals, save Max Zolotkhin who climbed super-strong and ended up wearing a pink one-piece spandex unitard for Finals. Watching these elites move was like watching futuristic robots glide up the wall as if gravity were flipped in reverse.

This experience though has motivated myself and Vasya Vorotnikov, a 5.15 climber who also had problems at the comp, to train at a whole new level. We asked ourselves a key question: What exactly is holding us back? It's quite simple. Based on a sheer statistical level, our weight far exceeds that of the prototypical phenom. If you look at every male competitor in finals, no one weighed over 150 and most ranged from 130-140. I weigh about 168 and Vasya weighs about 165. We are fat-asses in comparison.

Without much fat too loose, we have begun running everyday, including the bike, eliptical, and whatever other spinning contraption you can find at the local gym. On top of that, I bought a weight-vest to wear every time I climb, only taking it off outdoors or at comps. For every pound we lose training and dieting, we add a pound in the vest. I have cheated a few times, not wearing the vest because my shoulder was bothering me, but other than that it seems to be working.

Outside of competing at Nationals and local level comps, I was recently promoted to Assistant Head Coach at MetroRock and have gained a few more private clients. This means more money, which means more climbing, and progression. After a long season indoors, the weather is starting to warm-up and I am looking forward to getting back outside towards Rumney, Great Barrington, and Farley this March.

Next week I am flying down to Horse Pens in Alabama with 6 kids from the team to boulder. Psyched! Hopefully, there will be lots of sending for all.

After what will hopefully be a good spring session this month, I will be jetting off to Australia for a month for some big wall climbing, bouldering, and sport in the Blue Mountains with Mike Patz. I'll be sure to update with photos and some writing while I'm there.

Heart of Steel: Boston Rock Comp

2009-01-31T16:54:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday night the Boston Rock Gym held one of the most innovative and futuristic comps of the year. Over 100 competitors showed up to battle for over $2,000. However, only top 3 open male and female climbers would make it to finals. After a 5-hour long redpoint battle, I squeezed into Finals with Vasya Vorotnikov and Jon Glassberg.

Check out Taylor De Lench's video here for full comp coverage...http://vimeo.com/2984985

Working hard on Finals #2. Photo by Erik Delanoy

Green-back on Finals#1. Photo by Michael Hall

Unlike anything I have ever seen, dollar bills, ranging from 10's to 20's to 50's and all the way to 100, were taped to the wall inside of strategically placed boxes through each problem. Whoever climbed the highest and grabbed the most cash along the way would win whatever was left in the pot. Vasya ended up winning and taking home over $1,000.

Vasya pleasing the crowd for the win. Photo by Michael Hall.

Battling to make Finals. Photo by Michael Hall.

Trying to make some money. Photo by Michael Hall.

Amidst a loud crowd on Finals #1. Photo by Erik Delanoy.

Fighting the pain--we had already climbing for 5 hours. Photo by Michael Hall.

About to dyno 5 feet to the right. Photo by Erik Delanoy.

Final Standings:
Male
1) Vasya Vorotnikov
2) David Wetmore
3) Jon Glassberg

Female
1) Olivia Metcalf
2) Francesca Metcalf
3) Marah Bragdon

Winter Months in New England

2009-01-22T19:51:00.000-08:00

As temperatures rapidly descend into the low teens and snow banks grow higher than the cap on my newly pimped out truck (fully equipped with bed and storage space in the back), I cannot help but think of warmer days. The Mallorcan picture below--the one of me posing like Captain Dipshit with Vasya Vorotnikov entertains his best impression of Zoolander's blue-steel--reminds me of good times, great sends, and even better friends.

Fortunately, with the radical change of seasons comes an equally abundant onslaught of opportunity. As of right now, I am focused on training hard indoors, keeping my pulleys healthy, and competing. If gym rats are real, I suppose you could call me one. When I'm not in the gym training myself or setting for comps, I privately train other climbers and coach the MetroSouth and MetroNorth rock climbing teams of which 6 members have received invitation to ABS Nationals in Boulder, Colorado this February. With Nationals approaching, I have been training and competing as much as possible; however, I still can't seem to figure out how to avoid pizza and chocolate. Does anybody know how to lighten up without starving?!

Trying not to be so fat. [ABS Local]

Preparing for launch. [ABS Regional]

Flashing Finals #2. [ABS Regionals]

In the past month, I've either won or placed in the top three at over 4 local and regional ABS competitions. Training with the likes of Mike Foley, Max Zolotukhin, Neil Mushaweh, and Vasya Vorotnikov has been extremely helpful, since all these guys are freakishly strong in their own right. My goal for this competitive season is to make Finals for the ABS National Championship on February 14th; a lofty goal since the top finalists in the country have names like Daniel Woods and Paul Robinson--you know, the lil' guys. Hopefully I won't get my ass handed to me.

As of late, outdoor climbing has been put on hold. Neil and I have been up to Rumney a few times in the past few weeks even though the cold has been rough. Climbing hard in sub-teen temperatures is difficult, but possible. Here's the key. First, ignore the fact that the only other climber's around are kicking into ice and remind yourself that there might be lines in the Spring on climbs you grimace to look at now.

As you warm-up, your fingers will go completely numb. Once numb, stop climbing and lower-down. Wait for the blood to rush back into your finger tips--it will feel like you're digits are submerged in a rolling pot of boiling hot water--and then once the pain has passed you are officially ready to crank. The part that sucks harder than a mosquito at Pawtuckaway on a hot, summer's day is that every time you want to climb...everytime...you must go through this rite of passage. So after you belay for a few minutes, you're screwed. Not to worry though; bring a thermos of hot tea, maybe a little gin, some warm clothing, and an attitude more positive than a blind man in a circular room looking for a corner to sit in.

Bouldering is a bit easier to fight through, except make sure you clean the snow off the top holds or else you'll be beach-whaling into thigh deep snow drifts. I'll have pictures up of our next snowy sport-climbing adventure.

Upcoming Trips:
ABS Nationals; Boulder, Colorado: [Flying out February 13th for Qualifiers and hopefully Finals Saturday night]

Alabama; Horse Pens 40 :[Flying down with 6 MetroRock team members to guide a bouldering trip during the first week of March]

Red River Gorge : [Driving down with climbing partners for two weeks at the end of March]

Australia: [If I can somehow find the funds ($$), I'll be heading out for a sport/trad/bouldering month of April with Mike Patz]

Rodellar, Spain : [Flying out with Mike Foley at the beginning of August for a 2-month sport climbing tour..psyched]

Pawtuckaway: Freezing Cold

2008-12-19T17:54:00.001-08:00

ABS: Rhode Island Rock Gym

2008-11-12T17:58:00.000-08:00

The competition down in Rhode Island last weekend was pretty stiff. Mike Foley, Vasya Vorotnikov, Josh Larson, and Brian Bittner- to name a few- showed up to crush. In the end, over 150 competitors spent the day inside thrashing themselves on plastic. Good times. I finished up 3rd just behind Mike Foley, who recently finished Livin' Astro (5.14c), as well as the boulder problem, Halcyon (V11/12) in just under 20 minutes or something crazy like that. That skinny little man is mutant strong right now! And of course, as usual, the crushing monster, Vasya, took first for 100 dollars.

Check out some photos...

There was much chalk in the air. White-lungs anyone?

Vasya destroying.

The setup to a difficult arete problem.

Finishing up as little Foley and Vorotnikov wait for me to fall. Just kiddin' fellas.

My Review of Anasazi Moccasym Rock Shoe

2008-11-03T18:22:00.001-08:00

Originally submitted at Mountain Gear

The Anasazi Moccasym from Five Ten is the perfect second shoe for every climber, comfortable and built on the Anasazi last. These slippers have been used to onsight 5.14, but perform great on everything from boulder problems to multi-pitch sport routes.

Their unlined leather upper will mold ...

Anasazi Moccasym: Pro Athlete Review

By Dave from Boston, MA on 11/3/2008

These shoes make the perfect companion for destroying yourself at the local gym. You'll feel like your slipping on a pair of your most comfy socks, except these socks are way stickier. Equipped with super-sensitive Stealth C4, they allow you to pull in incut holds and edges in the same way that you pull in holds with your fingers. As equally important, these shoes hold up to outdoor sessions--best on longer, more endurance oriented climbs--in the same way that they hold up to training on plastic. Best in comfort and quick-on-and-off ability.

(legalese)

Parallel Universe: Monsters of the Id

2008-10-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

Once again the rock was about as sticky as sandpaper glued to the left cheek of your face and the trees looked like they were about to burst into flames (read: fall foliage). Mike Patz and I took our usual laps at Waimea and cruised on down to Monsters today. With just a few more routes left to do there, Parallel Universe (5.14a) is next on the list and today went well. With the help of Mike's "magic-trick" beta, I had a solid one-hang attempt at the end of the day. Hopefully, this week it will succumb to my flailing.

Mike Foley sent Livin' Astro (5.14c) a few days ago, along with Max Zolotukhin sending Supernova(5.14b). Congrats! Those guys are killin' it.

Tomorrow I'll be running around Pawtuckaway with the MetroRock climbing team. That is if I actually rouse from Halloween's debaucherous (a word?) inflictions. I will. The boulders need some pulling after a long night all alone. That statement could go in either direction. You get to pick!

Anyway, with some luck Pawtuckaway will be as friendly as it was last week when I sent Domepiece (V10), a powerful, one-move problem to a sloping lip of a top-out. Some fatty (me?) broke the only foot on it, so it may be harder now...like "V-a million" probably.

Next update, Parallel will be sent. That route is so much fun to climb on that it should almost be made illegal, but not really. Right. Ok, good talk.

Rumney: Monsters of the Id

2008-10-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

Put a 55 degree day together at Rumney with a slight wind and nothing but blue skies, and what do you get? Sending! Today marked the best few hours of sport climbing for me this season. I warmed up at Waimea. My first climb was Waimea (5.10) and my second climb was TechnoSurfing (5.12b), one of my favorite lines on the wall because of the massive dyno at the top that you can either choose to by-pass or launch. I always launch and its more fun every time.

After taking my laps, we headed down to Monsters to seek and destroy. I sent Dr.No (5.13d) first try of the day! I am now the third person to have used the massive, chuck beta at the top--skipping the entire midsection with one big move to a sloper and subsequent bicycle down below to establish on the last few holds.

I rested about 30 minutes and pulled onto Feeding Frenzy (5.13d) and ended up sending first go! It was just one of those days where every hold feels amazing. Thanks temps!

Below is another picture of the crux on Feeding Frenzy.

Crush-It: MetroNorth

2008-10-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

And so a long week begins of setting for the upcoming Crush-It Series Comp at MetroRock North. You all better be there this Saturday! Details to come.

Boston Rock Gym Plastic Pulling: ABS Comp

2008-10-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, the day after a project send in Pawtuckaway, I was ready my first ABS comp of the year. Some very strong and talented climbers put in a lot of effort to set, Max and Gavin that I know of at least, so the comp ended up a success all around. I ended up in 1st for the Male: Open category just ahead of Brian Bittner, while Francesca Metcalf took 1st for Female: Open, one of the MetroRock team members that I have the opportunity to help train. She is ridiculously strong at just 15 and I can't wait to see what she pulls off this year.

The best part of the comp though, other than feeling the good ole' plastic bug creep back into my veins, was catching up with Brian Bittner. Turns out we are at the same point in our lives where we are basically doing just two things: climbing and working to climb. I told him my plans about climbing in Hueco for a month before the ABS National Bouldering Championships, and he is doing the exact same kind of timed training, but in Boone. Since we are both on the same page, I am just going to head down there in January, freeze my ass off, and hopefully get a little bit stronger before Nationals so that I don't get crushed by all the freaks out West. Ha!
I also told him about my plans to go to Vietnam/Thailand/Ha Long Bay next year and turns out he was thinking the same thing and knows the guy who heads the guiding association out there! So, all and all, I am more psyched then ever to train, since Brian is the man and it should be fun to work together on the same goals. This year is definitely shaping up to be interesting--granted I don't get injured like I always do. POSITIVE THOUGHTS! NO INJURIES! Pray to the rock gods. A'men.

Pawtuckaway: Mission Fall Foliage

2008-10-13T07:24:00.001-07:00

On Friday I ended up heading out to Pawtuckaway for some bouldering. The conditions weren't as crispy as I was hoping for, but nonetheless, it was beautiful day. The Fall climbing season out here in New England is hard to beat. After a few warm-ups, I started working the sit to Three Amigos, a solid Northeast V11 to the left of Halcyon. With just one pad and no spotters, the top out can be a bit sketchy, but since I have done the top out for what feels like a bagillion times at this point, in the dark and when it has been wet from working Halcyon, it didn't feel to bad. I ended up sending in a few goes and decided to work Confident Man (V12) just a bit further to the left, the last problem on the boulder that I have left to do. Oh and by the way, if anyone has never been to Boulder Natural, I strongly recommend coming here; the best bouldering available at Pawtuckaway in my opinion in terms of hard problems with solid holds and high top outs.

Anyway, I put in some time on Confident Manand ended up getting shut down pretty hard. Tiny crimps and big moves don't usually suit my style , but I really want this problem. Soon? We'll see.

With no time to waste, I hiked on up to Devil's Den with Vasya and Neil and did a couple of quick problems to finish off the day, Up in Smoke (V7) and Great Big Ocean (V8), a weird little problem that involves basically humping your way up the wall. Super. On the way out, I took a lap on one of my all time favorite problems in the park, and gem to many who come this way, Ride the Lightening (V6), a sloping top out problem about 15-20 feet above the pads. I fell on it for the first time in about 20 laps! I had forgotten how far you come down, but since the landing is completely flat, it's perfectly safe. I redeemed myself, and strolled back on out to the Horse Farms to hop in my truck and head home.

Palma de Mallorca: Deep Water Soloing

2008-09-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

Destination: Mallorca, Spain
Objective: Deep Water Solo
Mission: Find the coolest lines and try to climb them.

The Beginning: Our first day in paradise was relaxed. The water was greenish-blue at bath temperature. Waves gently licked at the rocky coast-line below our feet. The air was around a comfortable 80 degrees and it was sunny - always sunny - without even a hint of clouds in the sky.

We monkeyed around on an easy cave section at Porto Cristo, an area littered with classic 5.12 climbing, to get a feel for deep water soloing. The top outs were probably no more than 40 feet, but still a bit intimidating since we had never done it before. Little did we know - this place would feel like a “kiddy pool” just a few days later into the trip.

Deep water soloing requires you to learn a completely new rhythm of climbing. When you fall on rope, you get another try from close to the same exact place. When you fall above the water, you rocket straight into the drink - no redo’s, no time for excuses, and no time to dog.

Gravity seems to pull on the weight of your body a bit harder when deep water soloing. You can feel the abyss below tugging at your every move because you know if you fall, it’s game over. This “one shot, one kill” invisible weight vest never really dissipated. Its perpetual presence meant that you had to have your beta and game plan dialed in to the last dot each and every try to make each attempt really count because the wetter everything becomes, the less likely you’ll send.

Working on elevating my level of focus and control every day to maximize deep water performance has definitely affected my climbing in a positive way.

The In-Between: We alternated days between sport and deep water; sometimes driving to Les Perxes for ropes and other times driving to Cova del Diablo, Porto Pi, and Porto Cristo for water. Sport climbing after a deep water day feels like climbing with velcro shoes and super-glued hands. Dry rubber and dry fingers make a huge difference. Of course, each style has its ups and downs.

Plummeting into the sea - once you get used to it - is fun! However, constantly drying yourself off, waiting for your chalk bag to dry, and hoping your shoes don’t slip is not. But in the end, climbing a route from the ground up every time until you have the all the necessary beta to finish is extremely satisfying. You put in everything you have and get just as much back in return.

It’s a process; falling, swimming back to the rock through the powerful waves, climbing up the wet rope ladder, finding a secure place to sit in the cave, avoiding bird poop everywhere, drying (but never really drying), and then starting all over again. It’s amazing! And quite addicting once you find your first success.

On rope, you can rehearse moves, figure out multiple sets of beta, lower a bit, take up a bit - fondle the rock for about as long as your belayer can take. This kind of systematic decoding of the rock is also satisfying, but clipping anchors is far different from topping out a cliff way above the sea and hoping the whole time that you don’t blow the top because a fall all the way back down into the sea would be less than comfortable.

No climber ever wants to blow the top section of a route after putting in so much work throughout the bottom, but when your deep water soloing, this feeling of impending doom is even heavier. Consequently, when you finish a route, its alleviation substitutes a feeling of exhilaration like nothing I’ve ever had. Like I said before, it’s addicting! I am having trouble focusing at work back home because of this withdrawal! I need to go back.

I got my first dose of this “high” after finishing In the Night All Cats are Black (8a). The final crux is in insecure throw from a sloper to another massive, flat sloper at a height far enough above the sea that you tend to think about it before throwing. The funny thing is—the first day I came to this cave, Cova del Diablo, I climbed up into the first cave and couldn’t move because I was so intimidated. What a woosy-pants, right?

Well, I eventually forced myself up a super-overhanging 7a, Afroman, (an amazing line) and moved on still feeling uncomfortable. As the days went by, these feelings would slowly evaporate to the point where I rarely thought about falling because my mind was fully occupied with the climbing. Watching this evolution take place and reaching this frame of mind was the most challenging part of the trip and the most rewarding.

The Final Day: The last day in Mallorca was a culminating day for me. My mental evolution made a full-circle. Physically, the climbing was difficult of course, but not nearly as mentally challenging (at least for me anyway). The first day at Cova del Diablo, I was more or less shivering with intimidation.

The last day, I was ready to fire Lostok and Two Smoking Barrels (8a+), a route that requires a full-on V10 dyno at about 50-feet above the sea. If you commit, you’ll be fine, but if you semi-commit and sort-of-kind-of hit the jug and fake hold it for a moment and quickly release (as if it were too hot to handle), you will come off the rock terribly awkward and hit the water hard.

I hit my right ear hard enough on one fall that I couldn’t hear out of it for a few moments. This impending thought is extremely motivating and makes the climb that much more fun. After a session on it the previous day with a few big falls, I knew I would only have one more shot at success because we were scheduled to fly home the following morning.

While the other guys climbed at Les Perxes in the morning, I lay on my pack, simply waiting for the afternoon to come with my last attempt - just 12 hours before our flight would leave. My time eventually came. It was around 4 o’clock in the afternoon. The winds had been particularly strong that day, so the black waves were extra-choppy.

I chucked my dry bag in and dove after it by myself, thinking about the previous day when I had been stung by a brown jelly-fish the size of a golf-ball. Don’t let the size fool you. The scars still line the back of my thigh as if a hot burner were pressed and slowly dragged along it. I climbed up into the cave, dried off, and got ready for the first attempt.

One shot, one kill. With the waves bellowing ominously below, I set off without a thought in my mind - just climbing; a focus I had never managed to attain before. I got up to the two crimps, moved my left foot awkwardly high, and popped for the two holes that looked miles away from below.

I stuck both jugs at the same time and barely swung out at all because of the altitude I had managed to acquire on the pop. It was done.

Just like that. I topped out, screamed for a moment, and ran over to my buddy, Vasya Vorotnikov, to pound a fist. One more sunset atop Diablo and one more addiction satisfied for the day - a fairy-tale ending unique to me on trip that thousands have enjoyed before.

2008 Gravity Brawl

2008-04-01T06:20:00.002-07:00

Stepping into the 2008 Gravity Brawl, held at the New Jersey Rock Gym, was like setting foot on another freaking planet. The place was an absolute madhouse.

Caption: Rob D'Anastasio on Men's Final Number 4 (Click to Enlarge)

After all these years as a competitor, I still look around utterly dumbfounded like a tourist strolling through Time Square for the first time. Ridiculously strong rock ninjas campus from one terrible sloping pinch to the next on heinously steep walls as if they were out for a gosh darn afternoon stroll. What the crap? Techno-rap beats rivet the inside of my rib cage while pink and blue shades of light dance off the plastic-pocadotted walls like nothing you have ever seen before. Should I take out my light stick and rave? Hundreds of climbers and enthusiasts alike, gathering like a cult hell-bent on getting their fix of electrifying adrenaline, flock from all corners of the country for the chance to rage into the wee hours of the night as freaks of the industry battle for the top spot. What in the blazers is going on here?

For one, there is no one else in the world right now putting on a climbing show the way NEC2 has and continues to do. People that don’t even know anything about climbing can come to these competitions and have fun screaming their blocks off like they would at any other sporting event. In fact, I literally woke up the next morning thinking that I might catch some clips of Matt Bosley, top male finisher, or Paige Classenn, top female finisher, tearing it up on an ESPN highlight reel. Can you imagine that? ESPN coverage. ABC live broadcasting.

Unbelievably, NEC2 is able to top itself each year, whether it be new, innovative climbing styles or just plain running format. These American-style comp climbing events are branding the way for the future of competitive climbing across the globe. Simply put: there is no telling where the Bouldering Championships will end up in the future.

Gravity Brawl 2015: Pro-climbers are flown out to a beach side venue in Honolulu, Hawaii. The comp is sponsored by Subaru, Coors Lite, and Visa. Coverage is made global on six different channels. Thousands of spectators attend and competitors are paid on par with other professional athletes.

A dream? Maybe so, but for the amount of effort, talent, and commitment these athletes and organizers expend each year, there is no reason why these fantasies should not come to fruition.

Please go to boulderingcomps.com to see pictures, video, and results. You will be amazed at what competition climbing has evolved into. Seriously. Check it out.

Beyond the Caption and The Insider with Tim Kemple

2008-01-29T21:23:00.000-08:00

Beyond the Caption

He has photographed and climbed with the best climbers in the world at just about every desired climbing location in the world. From the rickety wooden walls of the Dover climbing gym that he built, to the towering faces of Cathedral and Whitehorse, all the way to the forefront of climbing media, he has seen and learned a lot about our sport.

The first time I met him years ago was at Rumney. He seemed calm, controlled, and calculated. Words were only spoken when necessary and the occasional smile was about as frequent as me sending V14. Later, I would learn that his seemingly serious facade was mostly false due to his intermittently infectious humor. He's tricky.

Much later that day he called me for a 2AM, Dover session (Yes, two o'clock in the morning). I arrived at the designated hole-in-the wall gym to find him and Justin Bourque, a 6-foot-3 brick house, throwing disgustingly massive moves off terrible pinches on a 45-degree plywood wall.

I was intimidated.

One light flickered in the back of the cave and 50 cent blasted from surround sound speakers. This was going to be a training session from hell.

"What took you so long man?" asked Tim with his usual dead-seriousness.

We started climbing and his energy propelled the three of us to start pulling harder than ever.

"Get psyched! GGGGGETTT PSSSSSSYCHEDDDDD!" he shouted in one of my ears while my faced turned purple as I pulled on some stupid-hard pinch problem, which I later learned to be the classic, Dover climbing style. Powerful. Big. And dynamic.

We climbed hard, exhausting ourselves deep into the cold night that lingered outside the thin, gym walls just waiting to attack us upon exit. That was the night I learned what it meant to try hard. Really, really hard.

Six hours later, the morning after the morning session, I found Tim roping up at Cathedral to send some new, sketchy death pitch. Motivation and commitment at its finest.

Today, he is a climbing media juggernaut, maintaining an extensive influence on the flow of climbing advertisements, photography, film, and general marketing direction. What's more, is that he continues to crush. In fact, the day he shot me at Pawtuckaway for some footage of a few classics, he asked me to hop on Blow (V10) for a quick warm-up. You serious broski? The problem consists of one dyno from two, credit card thin crimps to a jug.

"You got that wired? Do it," Tim suggested as if it would be like walking up a flight of stairs.

"Um. No. Not at all."

Moments later, Tim asked me for my shoes and without a word or warm-up, he floated the dyno. He had tried it a bit earlier that week, but come on. That's gross.

(Side note: If you want to refine your technique, or more specifically learn to use your feet, climb with Tim for three minutes. Done.)

In either case, many of you only know him through photo captions or horror stories about some X-rated pitch up in Northern New Hampshire. Here is chance to take a closer look inside the head of a guy who has made it to the avant-garde of climbing media with cutting edge photography and a futuristic, progressive-type vision. Amen and Go Pats.

The Insider

When and where did you start to realize that climbing was going to be a major part of your life, if not all of it?

The biggest turning point was in High School when I quite baseball. I kicked ass at it and could have got a scholarship to go to college with it, but it was taking away from my climbing time. Even today, a bit more mature, I struggle doing anything less than %100. Back then, it was all or nothing for sure.

Even though you have been all over the world, would you say you still have a strong, nostalgic connection to where it all started? Why?

Three words: October in New England.

New England has the rock; its got the scene, but it seems like everything else (largely the weather, bugs, and leaves) are at there best in October.

Did you always want to be a professional photographer, or did your passion for climbing and creative ideas for marketing the sport sort of evolve together?

It’s definitely evolved over time. I used to have troubles with people calling me a pro photographer. I was like “No, I’m a climber that takes pictures”. As the photography grew, I wanted to help my friends (the pro climbers) the best I could and a desire to see the industry evolve stemmed from that.

With years of perspective and experience under the ole’ belt, what would you pass on to the youngsters of this generation about climbing?

Like any sport, there is always going to be someone stronger than you somewhere in the world. That’s not what you should strive for. So leave your mark by giving back to the sport, returning smiles at the crag, and offering a belay to those that need it. You’ll get further in the sport and in life that way anyhow.

Where would you like the sport of climbing to be in the next 10 years?

The sport itself won’t change much in 10 years. We are seeing diminishing returns training wise to a degree right now. Hopefully, the industry will have evolved to the point where ten-year-old kids can dream about one day making a legitimate living off the sport if they are good enough.

How do you think climbing has changed from when you first started in 1993 to today?

Climbing wise the physical limits of strength are finally maxing out. Pure difficulty is giving way to style of ascent as a more significant statistic, so to speak, in the way climbers view accomplishments.

Industry wise all those companies that started out and saw growth in the 1980's are looking for anyway they can to be considered "cool" again, like they were in 1993.

Do you think it is possible to have a Sean White of climbing? Basically, what is it going to take to have massive, corporate sponsors like Nike or Visa start handing out millions to someone like Mr. Woods?

Two things:

1) Time – As an industry the climbing world is 20 years behind skate and snow sports. So, give it time.

2) Competition – Like it or not, competition is the one thing that climbing has that every human understands. Now if you can deliver competition in an understandable format, and with consequences, like all the other action sports, then you can sell the lifestyle. And if you can sell the lifestyle, then climbing becomes the story you sell mainstream, and mainstream is the checkbook that hands out the millions of dollars.

Check out his work at kemplemedia.com. His website is almost as good as my blog...

My Friends at the Gym

2007-12-29T17:08:00.000-08:00

They are the cornerstones of every plastic playground in America. Their names and faces are irrelevant. It is their infinitely virtuous and upstanding character that matters. You may have had the blessed privilege in seeing them a few days ago or maybe even last night. They are those pesky, little splinters that just won't go away; the paper cuts that never seem to heal.

They stand behind you burning holes in the back of your head while you climb. They offer you ridiculous beta when you have not so much as offered them a furtive glance. There are some that lie in volumes to the point of hilarity, while there are some that say close to nothing after speaking for ages. Some of them wear black spandex and others have harnesses made around the birthing of Jesus H. Christ.

Regardless of the scenario, they really just grind my gears. The following catalogues some my favorite jack-in-the-boxes. Oh, and if you're wondering, the writer here is of course brimming with perfection, so all subjectivity and judgment toward others is entirely valid. Thanks.

1) The Guy in the Background:

He stands behind you with his arms crossed while you climb. He thoroughly enjoys watching people get on his newly created bouldering problem masterpieces so that he can watch them fall. This guy or girl works or lives at the gym, so he or she has plenty of time to prepare boulder traps. He waits behind the front desk, peering through the windows into the gym on the look out for the most vulnerable climber like a tiger waiting on Bambi to hop on by.

This person does not like climbing. Instead, he prefers watching people fall and "critiquing" them whenever necessary (read: all the time. This full-time, slippery snickering gym Grinch only watches so that he can say things like:

"That last crimper is pretty small, huh? It's probably one of the hardest cruxes here. I did it first try though. You should probably work on locking down your crimp strength."

(WHAT YOU'D REALLY LIKE TO SAY BACK: You should probably work on getting a real job, no?)

"Looks like Christmas added a little cushioning around the waist, eh? I reckon your gonna' need to lose those chunky chunks before you start cranking again. Just kidding man."

(WHAT YOU'D REALLY LIKE TO SAY BACK: I reckon' you should stop talking to me before I let this cement wall cushion your face.)

"You've been working on that for a while. It's hard for sure. I remember it feeling solid when I flashed it two months ago."

(WHAT YOU'D REALLY LIKE TO SAY BACK: I remember your mother feeling solid when I flashed her two months ago.)

2) The Sand Bagger:

A sand bagger grades routes or boulder problems much easier than they actually are to make themselves feel like they climb harder than they actually do. Sand bagging does not make you hard, it makes people dislike you. There is nothing more frustrating than getting on a problem you know you can comfortably climb grade wise and subsequently flailing about like a beached whale.

A sand baggers explanation for sand bagging: "I guess it might be a lot harder than what I graded it, but I was shooting for 5.10, so I just wrote that in its place. I'm feeling really strong these days though, so I figured why not be a ignorant curmudgeon, ya know? Discouraging beginner climbers, while inflating my swollen head is extremely satisfying."

Attention all sand baggers: grading a V10 a V4 does not make you cool, it makes you suck. Sometimes this type of tomfoolery may be by mistake, in which case your grading privileges shall be revoked. Forever. Since grades are really the only thing that matter in the sport of wrassling rocks, these types of miscalculations are blasphemous. Remember, we golden grade chasers feel insecure about our egos when we cannot crush the grade that we perpetually boast about to our fellow climbing comrades.

3) The One-Upper:

The one-upper asks questions to seek answers he or she does not care in the least about.

One-Upper: "Wad up bro, how was your weekend? Do any climbing?" (Beware: This is a standard set-up, seek and destroy question.)

Sucker: "I didn't get out really. Too much work and had some family stuff to take..."

"Oh, really. That's too bad man. My weekend was totally nar nar. I actually free-soloed El Cap Friday night after I chugged a keg with some friends in the valley. I fell about mid-way up on the 15th pitch, but managed to catch myself on these killer monos. The next day, like totally hung over, I flashed this new V15 that Chris Sharma apparently got spanked on. Funny thing is, I actually won the lottery that afternoon, cured cancer after lunch, had a baby, rescued a stranded dinosaur from a tar pit, and somehow managed to persuade Al Qaeda to start working with Bush on revised foreign policy. How was your weekend though dude?"

Sucker: "You just asked me that."

One-Upper: "Good talk. We'll see you out there tiger!"

The one upper will attempt to one up you in impossible situations.

Girl: "I'll be back in a minute, I just have to go use the bathroom."

One-Upper: "I just went to the bathroom and actually peed for 27 minutes straight. Without stopping. No break. Have you ever done that though?"

Girl: "No."

Most importantly, the one-upper will make be sure to pop your little balloon of glory after a send.

Enthusiast: "I just sent my first V5! It's taken most of the this winter to break through finally."

One-Upper: "Oh, that one around the corner? Nice work. I did that one in my street shoes with an elephant chained to back."

Enthusiast: No verbal response. A disappointed head nod and a slow retreat.

4) The Unsolicited Beta Man:

Just when you think your alone, he pops out from behind a wall and tells you to use the heel-hook sinker jab while twisting your index finger just enough to the right so that your center of balance will perfectly coincide with your lateral vortex. What?

Sometimes he'll jump out from behind the shower curtain in the morning to tell you that your brushing your teeth all wrong. Drop the elbow Nancy! Sometimes he's in the backseat telling you to that your last right should have been a left. Looks like you missed that turn about, huh, Frank?!

Beta Man is almost as annoying as the Man in the Background, but not quite. He has a good heart and is mostly genuine in his information, but is unwanted nonetheless. The only thing worse than Beta Man is the guy who tells you how to do a problem just so you know he did it (even know you really know he didn't).

5) The Love Bugs:

They are always in some random corner of the gym giggly googling. They are disappointing.

"Nooo, I'll belay you first bbbbabe."

"Nooooo, I'll belay you first snookems."

"Better idea, thats just talk about how nice your harness looks on you toots."

"SSSSSSSSShawn. Ssssstop it. He he he."

Anyway, this is all just for fun folks. I don't mean a word...

2007-10-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

Bouldering Comp Mind Games: Getting Inside the Head of those Little Genetically Mutated Ding Dongs

With the EMS-Mammut Bouldering Championship inching closer each day, the topic of competitive strategy seems relevant enough to comment on. Let's face it, competitive climbing is not about losing; its about winning and coming out on top (life and death priority here) is not always based on brawn.

It's about looking good and grunting at just the right moment when your fingers latch a sloper that looks impossible to hold. It's about slowly turning to the crowd with a stoic look on your face that says, "Watch how hard I'm gonna crush this thing because I'm a beast and everyone should know it." Most importantly, it's about indignantly shaking your head after falling off Qualifier Number 1 as if to suggest that the problem was set for a "tall person" and that if you had remembered to wear you're red-power-yogatastical-prana pants you would have finished it.

No. This "article" is really about the complex mental stratagem that the most savvy competitors (like myself of course) are sure to deploy throughout the night. Since physical assault is more or less illegal at most competitions, one must rely on the caustic and manipulative powers of mental chicanery. There are several phases of psycho-climbing-bamboozlement that are essential in creating a slight mental edge over the next competitor and therefore producing an unseen physical advantage.

ISOLATION INCANTATION:

First off, you must make your fellow competitor think that you are feeling weak and tired, the same way you would on any given night when you meet up with your friends to train: "I had a long day at work, so I might suck tonight girlie," or "I just ate Subway, so I feel super heavy bra." The following are some simple lines you can use at will.

I was up 'till four in the morning last night with a lil' tummy ache. I have never felt more tired in my life......(A LIE: You logged a good ten hours of sleep the night before the competition and feel like you could pull a freight train up El Cap in under 30 seconds.)

Oh man, I haven't trained or even climbed for about two months. I just thought it would be fun to hang out here and see some old friends while we did some climbing.......(A LIE: The only time you weren't training was when you were in the bathroom weighing yourself to see if you lost one or two more pounds after peeing. Plus, you don't even have friends anymore because you haven't left the gym for the past four weeks.)

My fingers have been kind of sore and my left elbow tweaked a little bit last week on the Purple Nurple V8......(A LIE: You have been resting, stretching, and icing, not to mention shooting cortisone like candy corn, for the past two weeks. Your body could not be any more fit if you were Lance Armstrong after the Tour de "I am a Freak of Nature" France.)

The art of sandbagging is a subtle one, but once mastered, the effects can be devastating. If a competitor thinks that you are off your climbing game, they will become relaxed and less apt to try hard because they will be thinking that you are climbing like a wimpy-pants, causing an overall decrease in climbing performance.

BETA DECEPTION:

After each five minute climbing period, each competitor is alloted five minutes of rest. This five minute rest period should not just be used for showing off veins and pumping the guns. Instead, use this time to "help out" competitors waiting on problems next to yours. The following is a list of some juicy bait.

You looked solid on that last problem brahem. Your totally gonna crush this one too. Just remember the heel-toe cam, max flex figure-12 curve around the arete at the last move. It's impossible without it.......(FALSE: The climber was shaking more than an aggravated coke head run dry and of course there is no heel-toe cam either, but this comment will get the competitor thinking about the problem in the wrong frame of mind. Confuse and dismiss. Perfect.)

Hey muffin cakes, I flashed the first three problems. I guess I am just feeling good tonight. Looks like you'll have to flash all of em' to tie me, eh? Good luck buddy........(FALSE: You did not flash any problems. In fact, you did not even finish any of the problems; however, your buddy in the next seat over does not know this. Consequently, the added amount of flashing pressure is sure to infiltrate and tamper with his psych, possibly creating enough jitters to shake him right off the starting jugs.)

This next problem is a doozy. Mr. Sharma himself would be lucky to climb it brosephina......"FALSE: Chris Sharma is a ManGod and could float across a 400 foot piece of greased, over-hanging glass. Plus, the problem is not nearly as hard as implied. Instilling fear and a sense of intimidation in a competitor is extremely important.)

Just remember, bouldering comps are only fun if you are winning, so remember to employ these weapons of deception. If you do not feel comfortable using these techniques, then I suppose you could rely on talent, hard work, comradery , and sportsmanship. Right.

FEEL GOOD ENDING:

When all is said and done, bouldering competitions are all about having a good time while pushing your limits in a way that would have been impossible if not for the added energy and intensification created by genuine climbing partners and devoted enthusiasts rooting for you on each problem. The upcoming championship is basically a party where anybody and everybody is invited. It does not matter if you just started climbing V0- last weekend or you have been hiking V14 with a backpack on for the past century. Come one, come all. There is going to be three kegs for Pete's sake!

I am thankful that our small community can share such an exciting few nights together, uniting as one under a common interest: crushing. And of course in the end, I don't want anyone to fail anymore than I would like to myself...unless that means I could win.

Hope to see you all out there turning plastic into dust. Stay healthy and come get some November 9th and 10th at MetroRock North and South.

Mammut- EMS Bouldering Championships: The Vision with Pete Ward

2007-08-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

Rock climbing means many different things to many different people. Whether it be scrambling up a 500 foot death-choss pillar, crimping on dime-edges four feet off the deck (shiver), buildering up the side of a dorm, or cranking with friends in a gym all night long, it all boils down to the same exact point: We climb to have a good time, to have fun, and most of all, to build bad-ass looking muscles. The greatest part of climbing is its infinitely versatile canvas. Neither one is better than the other because fulfillment, of course, lies within the eye of the beholder (that's Jedi Knight style right there).

Anyway, my point is that there are many different facets of climbing that perpetually evolve with each coming year due to the unwavering dedication and commitment from climber's across the globe; however, one of the most influential cornerstones of this industry's media network is changing far more rapidly than others: Indoor Competitive Rock Climbing. As regimented and professionalized teams begun to flourish across the country, sponsors have become more active than ever. With a higher level of sponsored competition and climbing professionalism comes a increased degree of public awareness, which in turn will create a greater base of media interest, stretching deeper into virgin demographics outside of the typical 10th year climber.

The competition series that has seemed to attract an increased amount of attention over the years is the Mammut-EMS Bouldering Championships; a mix between a night-long rager and a gravity induced boxing ring for 140 pound freaks. It's more than a good time.

Pete Ward, one of the upper level shakers within this wild torrent of change, has so graciously given us an exclusive look into the very heart beat of the competitive scene that is spreading without limit.

How did you guys start the Mammut-EMS Bouldering Championship Series?
Is it just you and Jason behind the founding (aside from a crew that
helps)?

The roots of the Bouldering Championships actually go way back to 2001 and the first of the Cave Rave series... I loved putting on comps and realized that rather than actual winning and losing, the point of a good comp should be to party. The first Bouldering Championships competition was the 2003 New England Bouldering Championships, an invitational run by Tim Kemple and I and hosted at the Dover Indoor Climbing Gym. We made a list of the best climbers we thought we could get to come and completely re-built the gym in a week. And by "re-built" I mean we literally built about 1000sq ft of new climbing wall in addition to setting 120+ problems and finals. You can actually still see the results and pics from that comp here:

http://www.newenglandbouldering.com/news/news.html

The NEB.com Championships got me thinking and in 2004 Jason followed Matt Stark as the head setter at the New Jersey Rock Gym so we had two gyms that we could host a comp at on lockdown. We decided to see what we could do. Anne-Worley Bauknight at USAC scheduled us comps at Metrorock, Boulder Morty's and Go Vertical to go along with the Gravity Brawl at the NJRG and we had the first ever Northeastern Bouldering Championships Tour. Although we didn't plan it this way at the time, the 2005 NEBC tour ended up being a pilot for what we do now.

In 2006 we added a business partner of mine from another venture, Lu Yan (more on him later) and surrounded ourselves with our current core team including:
a.. Tim Kemple, Tour Photog and BADASS routesetter: Nobody knows this about Tim, but in my opinion he is the 2nd best routesetter in the country (Jason is #1). Tim is the only guy in the world with his collection of talents and we are SUPER fortunate to have him.

b.. Steve Leder, Design and Creative Director: Everything we do looks sexy and relevant because of Steve's work and we are lucky shits to work with him. Steve has a huge roster of mainstream corporate clients (who I will not embarass by mentioning them here) and his influence professionalizes the look of all our visual collateral.

c.. Lee Kolocycz, Web design & Topscore: One of the innovations I'm most proud of is that we have developed a scoring system that is easy to follow, and that people can follow online like any box score from any other sport. Lee wrote that software and always hits us with the last minute 3am updates we need to make things go.
With those guys in place we went on our first major sponsorship drive and created the 2006 Mammut Bouldering Championships. Last year's tour stopped at Earth Treks, Metrorock and the Gravity Brawl and was the first tour since the PCA to give away $20k in cash to climbers in a year.

This year was a natural progression from 2006. The difference is that people have noticed what we do, how hard we work and we have been tremendously lucky to partner with some amazingly talented people out West. The relationship that we have begun with the Outdoor Retailer show is right now one of the most important relationships in the whole climbing industry because it gives us the opportunity to showcase climbing on the stage where it matters most for years to come. I can't wait to see the 2008 tour!

Hopefully in years to come we'll look back at this past comp in SLC and say "HA! Remember when 2000 spectators seemed like a lot!".

But your original question was, "Is it just Jason and me?", and the answer is HEEEEELLL NO! If we are able to be succesfull and host a sustainable pro tour of events on the scale of what we all just saw in SLC it will be because of one guy that nobody knows: Lu Yan.

Lu Yan is one of the top corporate consultants there is. I have never met ANYONE with a fraction of his drive to succeed and vision for how to solve problems. He influences Jason and I every day and brings to the table what our industry needs the most: corporate credibility. We can go into a boardroom and jump up and down on the table, and yell and scream about how cool climbing is, but if at the end of the day we don't have a bombproof, actionable plan for how to make a profit for ourselves and our sponsors, the bean counters will shut us down cold. That's where climbing has failed in the past and that's why we won't fail now. Lu knows what industry needs better than they do because he's hired to fix corporations when they become disfunctional, and now rather than waiting till something is broken, we get to reinvent an industry that's primed for massive growth. If we're watching pro climbing on TV in 5 years it'll be because of Lu Yan. Jason and I couldn't tie our own damn shoes in the morning, let alone run a pro-tour unsupervised.

You guys seem to be doing all that you can in terms of money and venue
to raise public awareness to increase professional progression of the
sport. How do you think you differ from other competition
organizations? span style="font-weight:bold;">

Thanks for noticing, that's exactly what we are trying to do. And really, your statement itself is the main difference. We're trying to influence the professional progression of the sport. That's it. Nothing else.

The ABS and USAC are really the only other people running comps out there and they do a great job. But we're trying to do different things. The ABS has this awesome roster of grassroots comps that span the country, and USAC runs Junior comps and some roped comps as well which bring thousands of kids into climbing every year. But USAC, a non-profit company trying to attract the attention of the IOC, and we're here to build competitions for climbers and our sponsors and, oh yeah, we're here to f'ing rock. Totally different goals. I've coached kids in USAC for 6yrs and run (or helped run) probably 15 or 20 ABS & USAC comps myself so I totally support what they do, but what they don't do is articulate to a wide audience why climbing is amazing, beautiful and a sport of the future. We do that. In fact, thats all we do.

It is my opinion that any kid with the desire, drive and talent to make it as a pro climber should have that opportunity, the same as any punk kid with a skateboard or a basketball. We're trying to create an new off-shoot of climbing that will add to the overall picture in a really positive way and make that a possibility.

How can you reach out to a different demographic of people each comp?
The Trad show is the same people every year, no? The Showdown seemed to
do that a bit.

Good question, and while maybe a protracted lecture on targeted marketing initiatives and how we reach out to each different demographic isn't totally appropriate for this context I will say that, at the high level, you're right on. The ASCI Showdown was a pilot project to determine the feasibility of using climbing as the centerpiece of a multi-sport outdoor event rather than a sideshow attraction. It will grow in years to come, and hopefully turn into a sort of Teva Mountain Games East. The local community is behind it, and the facility can certainly support it, so we'll see where that ends up. Right now that event looks really good for 2008, but thats all I can say for sure.

But that said, I would disagree with the sentiment that the Outdoor Retailer show is somehow not a new demographic (not that you were totally saying that). The reality is that climbing industry takes up only 20% of the attendees for any given tradeshow, so for us to have access to the whole group was a huge coup for our sport. Every company there is a potential partner for our industry, and they all saw with thier own eyes how badass climbing can be when done right. We forget how small and irrelevant our sport currently is and how far we have to go before we can really be considered one of the big dogs.

We need to continue to use the OR show as one of the showcases for our entire industry for years to come. It will be the new standard for climbing competitions.

Where do you see the competition scene in the next 10 years in terms of
advertisement and commercial awareness? Are we going to have Nike
givin' up the dough next year Pete?

Haha! Maaaaybe. Without divulging too much about who's interested in the Bouldering Championships for 2008 and beyond, I will say that a whole new level of corporate interest has cropped up over the Summer of 2007 because of the success of the ASCI Showdown and the BC tour. Unfortunately beyond that I can't go into too much detail without giving up the goods. I will say that one of the things I am personally most excited about is a project we're about to undertake; a feasibility study on with some of the most talented people in our industry, Ok, THE most talented people in our industry. Should be fun.

I guess the honest answer to your question is that I don't know. I can tell you what I don't see us doing. I don't see us selling out the sport in pursuit of unattainable goals. The great thing about our tour is that we purposefully write short-term contracts that allow us creative control over the events rather than sponsors or some large governing body. Some other small-time sports have made really bad deals to get on TV or to land a World Cup and given up control of their product in the process, and we WILL NOT do that. Jason, Lu and I love climbing way too much and we all have other careers to fall back on if this doesn't work out. We're not going to let ESPN or someone else dictate to us what climbing should look like. Don't ever look to us to run a speed bouldering comp or some freestyle dyno bullshit. That's not climbing and I don't want to see it.

What is the most challenging part of putting on these massive competitions?

Dude, nobody knows man. Nobodys knows. And maybe it's better that way. If we're pros it's supposed to look easy and we try to make it that way. I try not to whine and I'm FOR SURE grateful for the opportunity to make my living doing what I do. Shit man, last Saturday I was the only guy who could watch Chris Sharma from any goddamn seat I wanted to. That's worth it right there!

SLC, was interesting because it was the first one on that scale. Nobody had ever run a comp like that before and therefore it was all new. Lucky for me I had amazing support from people like Dustin Buckthal (owner of The Front Climbing Club), Clark Shelk of Revolution and many others actually on the ground in SLC.

I think that generally, the most challenging part is vision for the big picture and being able to properly support the people who are on the ground running the actual event. For example: In SLC we had about 50 volunteers and employees, all of whom had crucial roles. If I don't do my job right it leaves all those people on an island which really sucks when you're working for a free T-Shirt and tickets to the after-party. Honestly, one of the things I look forward to the most about blowing the doors off this thing and getting a ton of investment for 2008 is the ability write a bonus check for a judge who gets shit about a call from a competitor but keeps his or her cool and acts pro. I had a great judge in SLC who made a real tough call and got protested by one of the top guys, but she kept her cool and it was all good. We went through the protest procedures and everybody left happy. Unfortunately all I could do was say thank you at the after party, but really she deserved a phatty bonus check for keeping her head (Next time Christine!).

Most enjoyable?

Dude, I love this stuff! I have to travel all over NE on Monday for meetings with sponsors and I'll love that. I have a full day of conference calls with some great people on Tuesday and that'll be fun too. My two best friends are my business partners and I work in the sport I love. Some people hate on what we do, some people wants us to make unreasonable deals, but I don't have to deal with a shitty boss or do anything that I feel invades our integrity. All in all I'd say I'm a lucky bastard and wouldn't trade for anything. Well... that doesn't mean that interested companies shouldn't make me offers, but I am having fun. I can't wait to see where we're at in a year or two!

Impacts of Indoor Climbing: Mark Richey Interview

2007-05-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

As the number of indoor rock climbing gyms increase exponentially across the nation, the potential for over-commercialization of rock climbing grows close.

Or does it? I contemplate whether or not all publicity for climber's is good publicity or perhaps the inherent purity in climbing is sliding dangerously close to deterioration as more teenage-mutant training farms explode across the country. But then again, an increased public awareness serves as the base for athletic recognition, which in turn could lead to the development of an intramural sport. Paid athletes? And not just Sharma and Tommy. Perhaps, whole teams on a High School level.

The circulation of money with increased sponsor reliance and media engagement could allow climber's to make their dreams realities without having to drop out of school or college, eat rice for breakfast and dinner to save money, and live out of their cars to "make it happen". Giving talented and equally motivated climber's an oppurtunity to sustain a comfortable living would only help to push the limits of our sport because the drive to blur the lines of possibility would be vastly intensified.

Then again, the predictable naysayer would most likely fall under the position of: "covet thy sport for eternity and buzz off newbs, these are my green trees." Yes, more climbers would certainly enter the sport, but lets be honest, they would most likely remain inside. Why climb on rock and deal with bugs in the "sun" when you can climb on plastic and listen to "kick-ass" tunes. So don't worry about your new "radically dope" secret bouldering spot being flooded with the likes of ignorant plastic pullers like myself because we'll still be inside tearing down the new "Red" problem.

Of course, I'm only joshing. Who knows what will happen. Only Pat and Eric hold the answers to these mythical questions related to the inevitable recourse of public climbing growth. And pigs can fly.

I say the more the merrier. Bigger comps, bigger access fund events, more money, more food, and more smiles.

Either way, there are issues out there far more important that this anyhow: Paris Hilton's Jail Sentence, our 13 year old President, Britney Spears' Shaved Head, Daniel Woods' next V18.5, and what I'm going to have for dinner tomorow. Ya. What.

My rambling ends here and starts with another dude who has far more experience than myself (understatement). Who is better to comment on the past, present, and future of our capricious climbing culture than a world-class rock climber and mountaineer of unparalled proportions; not to mention the past president of the American Alpine Club and current representative for the UIAA? That would be Mark Richey.

Richey Interview:

The MetroRock facilities seem to be taking the East Coast by storm. What inspired its development for you?

I did not begin the chain at all but I did have an interest in bringing a rock gym into our building as I thought it would be a good addition to the local and rock climbing communities (and for selfish reasons of course). So after visiting the existing the Everett gym and climbing there a few times, I was impressed and I decided to contact Pat Enright one of the owners and propose we build a similar gym in our Newburyport building. Eric Curtis, Pats current partner, contacted me independently about the same time. They both liked the idea, formed a partnership and we worked out a financial arrangement that made sense pretty quickly. Then we just all got to work and it happened quite smoothly. I think the fact that we all liked each other and trusted each other made things easy.

These gyms have literally destroyed existing competition in gyms that had been flourishing for years prior to the MetroRock monster. What can you attribute to this relatively recent success?

I'm not an expert on this, but I'd say three factors have contributed to Metro Rocks success.

1), State of the art gym construction in a facility that's modern, attractive and really exciting to climb in.

2), Awesome route setting,(thanks Bill) a suberb and friendly staff and top management. Very family conducive too.

3), A Sound business approach (climbers sometimes don't make the best business men but not in this case)

With the advent of indoor rock climbing gyms increasing at an exponential rate across the nation, do you feel the culture of rock climbing with suffer or actually feel the inverse and flourish?

The culture of rock climbing is always changing somewhat. Most people are learning to climb indoors now which has advantages. Climbers are getting stronger, training better, climbing year round during bad weather and starting at an earlier age (in a safe place) and it shows in the average level of difficulty that so many people are climbing at within a relatively short period of time. Also, climbing gyms have become very social environments and consequently a lot of gym climbers enjoy the sport crags like Rumney because it's similar. You can climb hard and hang out with your buds at the same time. On the other hand, multi-pitch traditional climbs on cliffs like Cathedral and Cannon offer a different, perhaps more adventurous experience that is certainly helpful in preparing climbers for long routes in the mountains or exploratory type climbing. It all depends on what you're into. Often I see a progression, with young climbers starting out in the Gym, then going to the sport crags, then the Trad cliffs and finally taking all those skills to big climbs and mountain routes. Tommy Caldwell is an example of that.

On the most basic level, climbing is about being outside. Do you think all of this indoor-mumbo-jumbo will instill the wrong idea into entry-level climbers? Or maybe all of these training facilities are simply breeding grounds for a new generation of teenage-mutants that will take climbing to the next level?

Gyms are great training facilities for strength and technique but of course Gyms cannot adequately prepare you for natural rock and placing protection, especially crack climbing like in Indian Creek or Yosemite etc. That you must learn with Mother Nature. At least you can start off strong from the gym with some rope handling skills and the basic movements down. When I started rock climbing in 1972, 5.10 was the top of the grade and only the best climbers were at that level. Today, in the gyms, that's practically entry level. Of course, there is a big difference between indoor and outdoor climbs but there is no question that climbers are training more intensely now. We never dreamed that 5.15 or freeing the Nose would actually happen but here we are. In another 10 to 15 years we'll probably be looking at 5.16s and on-site, one day free ascents of huge multi-pitch climbs on El-cap and elsewhere. We're not that far off and it's pretty exciting!

But on another note, I think we all stress the grades too much and miss out. I know a lot of gym climbers wont go and try climbs on Cathedral or other trad cliff because they'll have to climb at a lower grade, but who cares, they're missing out on some of the best climbs in the country. It's funny, some of my favorite climbs of the 70s and 80s get way less traffic today and are growing moss because everyone goes to Rumney!

Along those same lines, where do you see climbing headed? Straying away from the bad-ass traditional lines somewhere far off on the ends of the Earth and focusing in on who can pull the hardest SINGLE move on plastic or.....WHAT?

All climbing is developing. A lot more people are focusing on really hard, sustained technical climbing on rock, ice and mixed climbs and generally in relatively controlled environments so the technical progress in those arenas is happening fast. Alpine style and exploratory climbing in the greater mountain ranges like the Himalayas is still the realm of relatively few climbers so progress is slower and mile stone ascents fewer and far between. There are a lot fewer top athletes getting into alpine climbing for obvious reasons, it's expensive, time committing and dangerous. But it's happening there too, the recent alpine style ascent of a new route on Nanga Parbats Rupal face by House and Anderson is a good example.

These gyms seem to be setting the foundation for an increased commercialization over the sport (competitions, media coverage, funds, increased public awareness, etc.) This could lead to paid athletes, other than Sharma and Tommy! Do you see this potential as good or bad?

I think its fine. I applaud those climbers that are able to combine there passion with there vocation. However I do think that climbing in the mountains for monetary reasons (other that guiding) is a risky business for obvious reasons and sometimes has led to poor ethical decisions and a regression in climbing style. i.e.; getting to the top no matter what to satisfy sponsors. At any rate, being a professional climber has never been an easy way to make a living and I don't see that changing any time soon but nothing wrong in trying. Personally, I think I'd get bored with climbing if I had to make my living at it and I never want to get bored climbing!

Enough on that, as a world-class climber and mountaineer, what are your future goals?

I'd like to continue to climb and explore as long as I can on everything from bouldering to high mountains and especially remote areas like the region of Eastern Tibet we visited last autumn. And despite my age, I'm 49, I'm still always trying to improve my technical climbing ability, strength and just climb harder in general. That motivates me but I must admit it does get more difficult.

In June I'll return to the unclimbed North Ridge of Latok 1 in Pakistan with Steve Swenson and Doug Chabot. It will be my third expedition to that peak. I'd also like to spend more time climbing and exploring in Africa and I'd like to climb in Antarctica someday.

After literally 35 years of elite climbing, how do you stay motivated? More importantly, how do you manage to stay so strong and injury free? I mean, I'm 21 for Pete's sake and I get injured every other month!!!

I'm addicted to climbing, the mountains and wild places and I love to climb and explore as much today as I did when I first started in 1973. The people you meet along the way (I met my wife Teresa at an American Alpine Club meeting) and friends you make is of course a huge part of. Also, climbing and traveling has helped me and my family become more aware of how precious our wild places are and how we must all be good stewards and more compassionate for those who have so much less than us (that is Americans in general). My involvement with the AAC is very rewarding and also with other non-profit organizations we support like the CAI that builds schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. I think if you don't give back to your community as a climber you miss out on perhaps the greatest reward of all, helping to make the world a better place. That's very motivating to me now. I'm also grateful that I've had other important things in my life like my family and our business which has helped me put climbing into perspective and enjoy it when and how I choose.

As far as staying strong and injury free, first of all, I'm hardly injury free, although not the typical finger and elbow tendon stuff that avid sport climbers suffer from. My weakness is my back which I guess I injured as a young man and I have to be careful with. But I do try to live healthy, eat well, get varied and regular exercise and avoid stress as much as possible. In the rock gym, I like to work out no more than 2 to 3 times per weak and I see the most benefit that way but of course a younger person could do more. I also like to vary the workouts from bouldering one day to overhanging jug hauling and then maybe an endurance session with maximum mileage on easier climbs say 5.9 and 5.10s only. Then mix in cardio, and some weight training to balance off. 3-5 months before a major expedition I pick up the training and tailor it depending on where I'm going to climb. Oh yea, I save the weekends for outdoors!

Mark Richey: Mountain Climber

Mark began rock climbing in 1973 at age 15 in the Quincy Quarries of Massachusetts. Adept at all forms of climbing, he has made over 30 expeditions to the greater ranges throughout the world with a focus towards technical alpine style ascents and exploratory climbing.

Some of his climbing highlights include the Nose on El Cap at age 17, North Face of the Eiger in 12 hours in 1981, 1st ascent of the E-face of Cayesh in Peru in 1984, Cerro Torre in Patagonia in 87, Mount Everest in 1991, the East ridge of Shivling in 1996, the 1st ascent of Yamandaka in the Indian Karakorum in 2001 and the 1st alpine style ascent of Latok II in Pakistan in 2006.

Mark lives in Essex Massachusetts with his wife Teresa and their 18 year old daughter Natalia who often accompany Mark on his adventures.

Mark has climbed extensively throughout North and South America, Europe, the Himalayas, and Karakorum.

He began climbing in 1973 at age 15 at Quincy Quarries, near Boston, Massachusetts. By age 17 Mark climbed the Nose on El Cap, the Diamond, and a new route on the S-face of Snow patch spire in the Bugaboos and many other long rock and ice climbs.

The following year, Mark was selected to represent the United States in an international climbing meet called the Rassemblement held in Chamonix, France where with fellow climber Rick Wilcox climbed the American direct on the Dru, the North east spur of Les Droites, and others. In the late 70’s and early 80’s, Mark made many expeditions to Peru where he established numerous first ascents in the Cordillera Blanca on typically long technical routes. Of note are the first ascent of the east face of Cayesh and the south face of Oecshapalca and new routes on the South face of Chacraraju and Cashan oeste. In 1987 Mark climbed the Maestri route on Cerro Torre in Patagonia with Carlos Buhler.

In the Alps in the early 80',s Mark and long time partner, John Bouchard, made numerous fast repeats of the classics including the North face of the Grandes Jorrasses, North Face of the Matterhorn, Frenney Pillar on Mt. Blanc, and the North Face of the Eiger in 14 hours (2nd only to Mesners at the time, 1981) and others.

In the Himalayas Mark climbed Everest in 1991 by the S-col route, Gzumbpa Kang in ‘85(2nd ascent) and a rapid 5-day ascent of Shivling's East Ridge in the Indian Garhwal in ‘96 with Bouchard again. In the late 90’s in Pakistan Mark made 2 attempts on Latok 1's still unclimbed giant North ridge and 2 first ascents of very technical peaks in the region.

In the Summer of 2000, Mark and partner Mark Wilford joined a team of British climbers including Chris Bonington to explore and climb in a remote Fjord of southern Greenland. The team of 8 climbed 12 new peaks mostly by long rock routes.

In early September 2001, Mark and Mark Wilford made the first ascent of Yamandaka by its challenging north ridge. They were member of the International Arganglas expedition led by legendary British climber/explorer Sir Christian Bonington and Harish Kapadia of India. This unique expedition was the first ever to explore the region. The comments of one member summed up the sentiment. "It was like going to the Alps for the first time only none of the routes had been climbed and none of the mountains had names."

In August of 2003, Mark and his family returned from a year-long sabbatical traveling in Peru. During their adventures they explored the deserted northern Pacific coast all the way to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, back through the wild jungles where the Amazon River starts, and of course the high mountains of the Andes.

This past summer of 2006, Mark made back to back expeditions to Pakistan and Tibet. In pakistans Karakorum, Mark succeeded on the first alpine style ascent of the technical Latok 2, 23,320 ft. with Steve Swenson and Doug Chabot. Then, with Mark Wilford and Jim Lowther of the UK he had a near miss on the still unclimbed Nenang in the remote and virtually unexplored Nainqentanghla East of Tibet.

Locally, Mark continues to be very active in the rock and ice-climbing scene establishing many 5+ ice routes and traditional free climbs to 5-12d in New England and in Newfoundland in winter with Joe Terravechia.

Mark has been a member of the Board of Directors of the American Alpine Club since 1998 and served as the clubs President from 2002 to 2005. Mark currently serves as the North American Council Representative to the UIAA

Mark resides in Essex, Massachusetts with his Peruvian born wife Teresa, and their 18-year old daughter Natalia. Mark and Teresa own and operate an Architectural Woodworking business in Newburyport, MA.

Climbing Resume:

Mountain Climber and Business Owner (Mark Richey Woodworking and Design, Inc.)

President of the American Alpine Club 2002-2005

Climbs and Expeditions:

North America

El Capitan, The Nose, 1975
Snowpatch Spire South face, 1975
Longs Peak, East face, 1975
El Capitan, The Majic Mushroom, 1977
Half Dome, Direct Northwest Face, 1977
Popcatapetl, 1984
Ixtactihuatl, 1985
Uruzaba, 1985
Extensive rock and ice climbing throughout the US and Canada.and Europe
Competed in Winter X-Games Ice Climbing Competition, 1997
Canadien Rockies ice climbs, Sea of Vapors, Weeping
Pilliar, White Man Falls, French Maiden,
Les Miserables, etc.
Newfoudland first ascents of various ice climbs

Europe

Petit Dru, American Direct, 1976
Les Droites, Northeast Pillar, 1976
Eiger, North Face, 1981, 14 hr. ascent
Matterhorn, North Face, 1981
Grands Jorrasses, Croz Spur, 1981
Mt. Blanc, Freney Pillar, 1981
Torre Trieste, Direct South Face, Carleso route, 1989
Greenland: First ascent of three mountains in southern Greenland by grade 5 and 6 rock routes with Mark Wilford. Expedition led by Sir Christian Bonington. The Spear, The Battle Axe and Warrior Peak.

South America

Peru:
Alpamayo, South West Face, 1978
Artesonraju, North Ridge, 1978 solo
Chacraraju Este, South Face, new route, 1978
Chopikalki, West Ridge, 1978
Pisco, normal route, 1979
Huascaran Norte, North East Face, Swiss Route 1979 3rd
Ranrapalka, North Face, 1979
Tocliraju, North Ridge, 1979
Oeqshapalka, South Face, first ascent, 1979
San Juan, North Ridge, 1980 solo
Maparaju, East Face, 1980 solo
Paron, West Ridge, first ascent, 1980
Huascaran sur, normal route, 1983
Cayesh, East Face, first ascent, 1983
Cashan, North East Face, first ascent, 1993
Rasac, West Ridge, 1995
Tsacra Grande, West Face, 1st ascent, 2002
Taulliraju, East Face attempt to within 100 meters of Summit.

Ecuador:
Chimborazo, normal route, 1983
Cotopaxi, normal route, 1983
Cayambe, normal route, 1983 solo
Sangay, to crater, 1983
Argentina: Aconcagua, normal route, 1980
Cerro Torre, Maestre route, 1987

Asia

Nepal:
Everest, South col route, 1991
Cho Oyu, East Ridge, attempt to 26,300’, 1985
Ngzumba Kang I, second ascent, 1985

India:
Shivling, East Ridge, second ascent, 5 days,
Alpine style, 1996

Ladakh:
Yamandaka, 20,400’ North Ridge, First ascent of mountain . Alpine style, over 7 days in September, 2001

Pakistan:
Latok I, North ridge attempt to 20,000’, 1997, 1998
Har Pinacle, first ascent, 1997
Harpoon Peak, first ascent, 20,109’, 1998
Latok 2, 23,320’ first alpine style ascent of mountain, 2006
Nenang, 22530’ Nainquentanghla East of Tibet, attempt to 22,000’

Africa

Kenya:
Mt. Kenya, via Makinders to Nelion and Batian solo in 3 ½ Hours. March, 2001.

Upcoming May Issue: Mark Richey Interview

2007-04-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, the next article will deal with a serious issue revolving around the future of our sport. Basically, as the number of indoor rock climbing gyms increase exponentially across the nation, the potential for over-commercialization of rock climbing grows close.

Or does it? I contemplate whether or not all publicity for climber's is good publicity or perhaps the inherent purity in climbing is sliding dangerously close to deterioration as more teenage-mutant training farms explode across the country. But then again, an increased public awareness serves as the base for athletic recognition, which in turn could lead to the development of an intramural sport. Paid athletes? And not just Sharma and Tommy. Perhaps, whole teams on a High School level.

And who is better to comment on the past, present, and future of our capricious climbing culture than Mark Richey, a world-class rock climber and mountaineer of unparalled proportions; not to mention the past president of the American Alpine Club and current representative for the UIAA.

Coming up next month...Mark Richey and the future of rock climbing: media covered sport or isolated individual endeavor?

And some more Dawson's Creek with Little Jimmy (below)...maybe...if I don't get in trouble first...

A Story of Unrequited Love: 1st Installment

2007-04-24T22:42:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Jacob Jr. sat hunched over in the corner of the cave fervently admiring the bursting veins in his forearms.

“Jumping crocodiles -- these monsters could kill!” he thought to himself. “I hope some girls notice them. They are primed right now!”

He loved his forearms, especially when they were extra-pumped and exceptionally robust after a stellar performance in the plastic jungle. After losing interest, he moved onto his pecks, subtly flexing one after the other while shooting furtive glances around the gym to see if anyone was watching. Unfortunately, they were not.

“Damn it,” he thought. “I suppose I could do a few more quick laps and then walk around for a bit with my arms splayed out to the side -- sort of like a gorilla.”

Super plan Jim.

There was no doubt that little Jimmy Jr. had a dynamite idea, but suddenly his self-indulgent theatrics were fractured by the impromptu appearance of a beautiful, young stallion. A lady climber. He watched her flash a purple ID card at the front desk. Jimmy new right away that this could only mean one thing: she was a certified MetroRock lead climber.

“More like a certified MetroRock babe!” he thought to himself.

It was more than clear that Jimmy was overwhelmed by her seemingly omnipresent allure. As she floated through the entrance onto the inviting carpet of blue, ankle-sprainer padding, the suave and sophisticated Jimmy “Debonair” Jr. deflated with the recoil of his pompously puffed-out chest. Floundering with nerves like a school boy at his first school dance, he began to chalk up with such enthusiasm that it looked like he was trying to start a fire by rubbing the very skin off his palms. Sweat began to percolate around his brow.

Easy little Jim. One step at a time.

Luckily, she spun around before approaching any closer to throw her gear in the convenient, pre-school cubbies. MetroRock loves their little, green cubbies. Giggling among her friends, she returned to the vast blue sea of flooring to begin her pre-crush stretching routine.

This gave Mr. Jimbob just enough time to chalk his hands up about 36 more times; all the while meticulously composing his precogitated dialogue. Jim, somehow managing to break away from the chalk bag before injuring himself, clumsily stumbled in for the first move, snagging a foot on the carpet. Sometimes that velcro-tape holding the foam strips together can sneak up on you. Nonetheless, he continued unhindered.

She noticed him bumbling across the gym as if he had just learned to walk. Naturally, she could not help but smile. Its important to recognize the fact that this was not a “oh look he’s cute” smile, but rather a “oh look at the huge dork flailing” smile.

Regardless, Jimmy was pleased to see that he was noticed.

“Hi. How ya’ doin? I’m Jimmy. You can call me Jimbo. So did you come into climb today?” Jimmy asked with lightening quick speed as if she might sporadically evaporate before he could finish his sentence.

Well, of course she came into climb today you big dufus. Come on Jim, get it together.

“Hey Jimbo. I’m Cynthia,” she replied somewhat uneasily with a hollow laugh splintered with trepidation. “Yeah, I think I’m goin’ do some climbin’ today.”

“Oh good. Nice….nice. Nice,” echoed Jimmy, searching for words that would not come.

Awkward silence.

“Me too. Are those your shoes?” he said with matched vivacity and quickness, pointing at the La Sportiva Ferrari’s already laced up and cutting off the circulation in her feet.

“You mean the shoes on my feet?” she politely asked with a raised brow.

Jim vigorously nodded his head up and down like a jackhammer on concrete.

“Um…yeah. These are mine. I like em’ a lot.”

“I like -- I think we should date,” Jimmy belligerently fired off with eyes as wide as an owl.

“What did you say?”

Before Jimmy was given the opportunity to mollify the disastrous calamity he had just created, Cynthia’s attention was quickly displaced by two approaching stud-muffins: Chris and Rob, Gods among mere mortals of the MetroRock kingdom.

“We got some new -- totally burly problems for you to try Cyn,” boasted Chris, arms crossed as if he were the gatekeeper of some unknown plastic, pulling paradise.

“Dude, please. She is going to absolutely crush those problems,” retorted Rob. “You set piles anyway, brahem.”

The trio hurried off to warm up, leaving poor Jimmy behind with nothing but an empty chalk bag and an equally empty heart. He had to get her back, but impressing her while she cranked with the likes of the Ruggedly Ripped Rob and the Cool Handed Crushing Chris was about as likely as Jessica Simpson correctly reciting her ABC's.

Jimmy headed for the front desk to change the music to his special Matrix theme mix, with a splash of Justin Timberlake for added flavor. He had a new plan...

Injury Prevention: Maintaining Healthy Pulley Tendons and Flexor Tendons

2007-03-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

As the frigid winter winds finally succumb to the warm breath of spring, the air seems to be thick with love and hope. Fresh red tulips smile up from the damp earth as chirping birds proudly sing to their coy lovers.

Hold back your vomit. The only thing that is revived with the coming of warm weather is motivation, in other words the POWER TO CRUSH! It is true that the seasons are finally changing; snow melting from top-outs, icicles dripping off bolts, and rivers
finally breaking away from the ice-encrusted surface. In just a few weeks, it will be time to send your projects and boost your climbing skills to the next level! Damn, I sound like an uppity version Eric Horst.

In either case, as you vibrate with excitement to push the limit, you must remember to pay close attention to your body; specifically, your pulleys and flexor tendons since these areas are the most vulnerable. After accumulating many debilitating injuries over the years due to ignorance and selfishness, I have come to develop a simple system that has kept me healthy thus far (3 or 4 days). Hopefully, the following tips can help you maintain strength and stear clear of danger zones because there is nothing worse than being injured, except maybe a smooshed piece of chocolate cake or Valentine’s day.

For those of you hard-asses out there that already know this stuff, or perhaps never get injured, I have a golden medallion for you in my North Face backpack. More importantly, the following advice is not copy and pasted from some ridiculous medical book of bullmalarkey jargon; instead, the information is gathered from experience, a few subtle techniques I wish to pass on in hopes that they can help you in the same way they have helped me.

You'll be climbing harder than Fred Nicole and Josune Bereziartu in no time! Not really.

1) Make a bowl of ice water and a bowl of hot water. After every training session, no matter how intense, ice and heat for twenty minutes by alternating your hands between each bowl…

This will alleviate swelling and promote healing by decreasing the amount of excess fluid in the joints and tendon sheaths. I have found that recovery is much more effective and efficient after such a treatment. You may think that ibuprofen would have the same effect, but this is not true. Ibuprofen has been proven to block or largely inhibit key enzymes that are crucial to tendon and muscle recovery. Those little red pills may make your fingers feel better, but this sensation is only temporary due to a mere decrease in inflammation. On nights that I have not climbed, I do not ice. Instead, I sleep with a heating pad wrapped around a particularly tender hand or finger. This may seem overzealous, but the technique has helped me recover from what may have been devastating injuries by keeping sore tendons loose and lubricated.

2) Whenever idle, massage as much as possible…

During these icing/heating sessions, it is important to rigorously massage the joints and pulleys. Any area with acute pain will greatly benefit from regular massage. Rubbing with Vitamin E or some sort of Neosporin lubricates the surface, creating a more efficient and effective massage. Chicks will dig your smooth hands too. It is important to know that this type of therapy is only useful in the beginning stages of pain. There comes a point where your pulley or tendon will not benefit from massaging because of permanent tearing or prolonged overuse. But regularly working on your fingers and forearms will help to fend off such tears by maintaining the elasticity of continuously abused tendons.

3) Stretch and warm-up, and then stretch some more!

The only thing more important than warming up is stretching. Imagine soaking an elastic band, putting it in the freezer over-night, and wripping it out in the morning only to pull on it as hard as you can. The elastic will probably snap. Same goes for your tendons. Of course human anatomical elasticity is far greater than a silly rubber band, but you get the point. If you neglect to warm up and stretch, you mine as well take a hammer and pound away on your fingers. Stretching before, during, and after training sessions is imperative. Below are a few simple techniques that work very well.

(In the pictures below, the entire hand is stretched out. Be sure to stretch out each finger individually, up and down/side to side)

4) On rest days…REST!

This is an obvious component to recovery, but is regularly neglected by the over-ambitious. Getting eight hours of sleep is usually impossible, but nonetheless, vital to solid recovery. On your rest days, stay away from campus or finger boards. Just because it is not climbing does not mean that it will not hurt you. In fact, pushing finger’s on rest days will only put recovery time back even further, potentially creating micro-tears that will open the gates to disaster. It is difficult to do absolutely nothing on rest days, but any sort of finger training or small of amount of climbing is just flirting with injury. I prefer to run, lift, or play some other sport on these days to abate the hunger to climb. Most importantly, the first sign of pain in a pulley or tendon must not be ignored. Usually, one to two weeks can alleviate pain almost completely. Ignoring these warning signs for just a week could mean the end of entire season.

Most of this therapy may seem obvious or perhaps you already practice such techniques. However, maintaining this system of recovery with the same commitment to detail and devotion you apply to training and climbing is equally important, if not more so than climbing itself. These tips are extremely subtle, yet exceedingly effective over a long duration of time. Basically, a regular regimen of such therapies and paying attention to detail is what has kept me off the couch and allowed me to continue to punish myself indoors and outdoors.

Good luck and have fun! Stay healthy!

Staying Really, Really, Ridiculously Strong: A New Revolutionary Look into the Future of Climbing!

2006-12-21T14:26:00.000-08:00

Now that I have your attention, let me inform you that the following is actually not about becoming the next super-duper, rockalicious Chris Sharma or even a new crazy, crimpulescent-crushing version of Lynn Hill. Instead, I offer you my tale of woe, serious injury and rehabilitation, in hopes that you may be able to learn from my mistakes, making you a wiser opponent amidst the merciless grips of every climber’s worst enemy: injury. Beware fellow rock-wrasslers! Even Eric Horst’s renowned book, “Extraordinary Training Knowledge for Killer Climbers,” will not save you from the venom of an injury’s bite. But my tale will!

On the other hand, for those of you who are simply brass, hard-headed fools like myself, there is always the comforting option of surgery...

POP! Everyone within twenty feet of me heard it. It sounded like the crackling-snap of bubble wrap, only much louder. I was on a road trip: Boulder, Colorado. I had been trying to keep up with two of the country's top climbers (name dropping: Daniel Woods and Paul Robinson) for the past seven days. Needless to say, my attempts were futile considering the fact that I do not on-sight V11 (little, skinny-ass freakin’ punks). In either case, I had been pushing my limits without rest, ignoring “minor” pains, and climbing with utter disregard for my body’s blatant caveats.

The popping sound ended up being the complete rupture of an A2 pulley, the elastic-like band that keeps the flexor tendon attached to the bone. This tear was more than just the result of a stressful climbing week, but more of a culmination of over-training and inadequate rest. For six months prior to the trip, I had ignored the exponentially growing pain in the upper region of my palm at the base of my ring finger. The A2 pulley is arguably the most commonly injured ligament in climbing and I became yet another tally in Eric Horst’s statistical chapter of unlucky climbers.

The diagram below illustrates some of the most problematic areas in terms of critical stress points. The partially torn A2 pulley demonstrates the precise location of my re-occuring pain, the genesis and primary catalyst for the resultant rupture as exhibited later on. It is also important to be aware that no amount of rest or icing therapy would have rectified such a tear because tendons and ligaments are non-vascular tissues, which means that they are not supplied with blood in the same way that muscles are. Simply stated, pulleys never actually "heal" once torn.

Had I immediately stopped climbing upon the first indication of pain and rested until all signs dissipated, I would have most likely avoided such a devastating injury. There are a million different stretches, ways to tape your fingers, and voodoo rubbing-gels to supposedly prevent such injuries, but they pale in comparison to a climber who simply listens to his or her own body. The brilliant person who came up with the old proverb, "No pain, no gain," should be taught a serious lesson.

Therefore, instead of going to the gym for the 6th time in one week in order to impress your buddy on a new, plastic “V- Forehead Vein Popper,” grab a nice garden salad and some soy milk and watch a movie for the afternoon. Although, personally I would substitute the garden salad with a large Dominos pizza and the soy milk with a Colt 45. Either way, you are allowing your body to rest, promoting necessary re-growth and development, the most critical component contributing to the infinite improvement of any climber.

Unfortunately, I pushed my body to the point at which it could no longer efficiently regenerate. Consequently, after a quick flight home to Boston, away from a seemingly endless abundance of projects in the West, I found myself in Doctor Shilmer's office, a highly esteemed surgeon at Newton-Wellesley hospital.

The consultation went like this:

"So, Mr.Wetmore, you have managed to completely tear through the A2 pulley on your ring finger. I usually only see these types of injuries in people who check the sharpness of a chainsaw wih their fingers or attempt to fix the moving parts of a snowblower with their bare hands. You managed to do this all on your own, eh?"

"Um...yeah." I muttered, wondering if I was supposed to be pleased with myself or if he was going to give me a gold star, maybe even a lolli-pop.

"Luckily, we have designed plastic rings you can slide over the outside of your finger to act as a prosthetic pulley," the surgeon shot-off with a beaming smile.

This ridiculous offer of hope made me want to vomit and throw myself out the window. A ring! A goddamn ring! I'd barely be able to hold a plastic fork for my mac-and-cheese without my tendon bowstringing into my face, no less crank my 170 pound frame up a half-pad crimp. I remained calm and continued with whatever composure I could muster.

"I heard you can do surgery, ya know...like...rebuild the ligament so I can climb again. Can we just do that?" I asked red-faced and vibrating with nerves.

"Of course. That would be ideal for maximum strength, but there is no guarantee you will have full movement in your..."

I cut him off. As far as I was concerned, surgery was my only chance. "Let's do it. Tomorow? When can we get this done?"

Four days later, in an airy, robbin-blue gown (a bit too "airy" if you ask me), I was slowly drifting off into a soft, black abyss under the inescapable submission of a Demerol-Morphine cocktail. My surgeon and his possy of green-clad nurses prepared me for surgery as I passed out under the bright, white lights above.

My father was in the room right before I fell asleep. He said I had a moment of reflection right before I went under:

After gently waving over the surgeon, I drunkedly whispered into his ear, attempting to grab his elbow. My tone was so overly austere that the absurdity of my statement seemed null. Who tells an experienced surgeon what to do? I apparently did.

"Doctor Shilmer, just between you and I, sir, do you think you could double-wrap my finger, please? Its gotta be strong for climbing...one wrap just won't...climbing is..."

He turned to my father with a wry smile, rolling his eyes in amusement. But he had heard me. He increased the intravenous drug intake and I was out.

"Will do Dave, will do."

After undergoing reconstructive surgery on my A2 pulley, I spent two months in a cast. The surgeon essentially cut-out a six inch strip of ligament from my wrist and double-wrapped it around the base of my ring finger. He had honestly never completed a "double-wrap procedure" before. Needless to say, I now have an extremely apparent lump of tissue under the skin of my ring finger. Perfect!

Two months went by agonizingly slow. With the cast finally off, I spent another two months gradually easing back into climbing, cranking "sick" slab problems and jug-hauling on vertical walls. Jesus H. Christ. Thus, a total of four months later after the fatal snap, I am back at full-strength, pulling into holds as if my life depended on it.

As a result of such injuries, I have vastly changed my climbing style from less of a choppy, dynamic fight to more of a flowing, controlled pull in order to minimize the shock load on vulnerable pulleys and tendons. As a new rule, I rest for two days after every hard day and generally throw my hands in a bowl of ice after every session. So far, no pain.

In fact, last week I strolled out of isolation, past Mr. Obe Carrion, to throw myself at the "Mens Pro Finals" problems. Over the blarring techno music and screaming crowd of climbing fanatics, I could hear the all-too-familiar reassurance of that sharp, Russian voice.

Vasya, my best friend and most fiercely competitive adversary, shouted from the corner of isolation.

"Hey buddy! It's time to crush! I'll be right behind ya...watch out!" he cracked with a wise, beaming smile.

Quickly glancing down at my new finger, I flashed a smile, chaulked up, and reeled into the starting jugs.

I was back where I belonged.

Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as a reality in your
own mind. - Bruce Lee

Tsunami Crashes at Rumney’s Waimea: And Beyond the Climbing

2006-11-17T12:24:00.000-08:00

...Silent killer, Brian Kim, walks one of Rumney’s hardest routes, China Beach ...

...Granite crushing monster, Vasya Vorotnikov, comes closer to finishing Jaws ...

Brian Kim, an accomplished trad and sport climber, displayed his unparalleled precision and exceedingly composed style of climbing while creeping up Rumney’s China Beach last week. The route is rated 5.14b, but Brian’s absurdly nonchalant climbing made it look like 5.8. Deliberate movement. Seamless upward momentum. Soft, quiet foot placements. An impenetrable façade of a tranquil, yet fiercely intense focus. He is constantly emanating a fascinatingly cool demeanor. This is Brian Kim floating to the finish, slithering through the tendon-tearing, body-torching moves of China Beach. What is next on the list?

On the opposite end of the style spectrum is the iron reinforced, muscle-machine, Vasya Vorotnikov, proving that technique is no substitute for power. One hanging a probable 5.15a, Jaws, Vorotnikov demonstrates the antithesis of Kim’s casual, calculated form of climbing, ferociously tearing into crimps with unrelenting determination. Matched with flawless technique and world-class endurance, his movements are dynamic and forceful; however, beneath this hardened shell is a contemplative, keen observer. What is his secret?

In order to fully answer these questions, it is imperative to dig into the personality of the two young guns. Interestingly enough, each individual’s character and mode of social engagement directly mirror their actual climbing style. Brian Kim, as you might know if you have ever spoken with him, says nothing more than needed and nothing less. Pragmatic and overly mundane, this soft-spoken mutant's verbal eloquence reflects his efficient form of climbing. I have yet to see him grimace or even breath hard. It is almost frustrating to watch.

On the other side of the spectrum is Vasya. He would solo a few hundred feet if you dared him too. I have dared him and he has. Nothing is too far. Nothing is too small. Nothing is outside the realm of possibility. When he gets excited about a climb, or food, he talks with Dave Graham-like enthusiasm and energy, bouncing around, eye brows lifted; only he does not sound like a fourteen-year old going through puberty. His strict and undeviating work ethic not only contributes to his climbing success, but also his academic prowess. This type of energy, most like nitroglycerin, and brazen attitude is clearly apparent in his powerful, dynamic style on the rock.

The following offers an inside look into the personalities and minds of some of the country's strongest climbers.

On Vasya:

What do you think it is going to take to finish the most difficult and aesthetically pleasing route in the North East? Mental? Physical?

Well, first of all, I think it's not the MOST aesthetically
pleasing route (there are China Beach and Livin' Astro right next to
it), but as I always do, I'll start by taking a breath and saying
"Whooooh, I don't know, man..."

I mean I've worked it for the last 3 months, probably a total of 30
days or more (especially if you include the times I tried it last fall
as well)... And the way it started... I couldn't do all the moves -
in fact, I couldn't do the second crux for the first 5 days I spent
on it. When I finally stuck the second crux, I decided to commit
myself to this climb. So, at first, I needed the MENTAL dedication -
that's what kept me coming back there in the middle of the week in
between classes (even though it takes 3 hours to go there and
back)... Then, keeping Jaws in the back of my mind the whole time
helped me increase the PHYSICAL state I was in (climbing and working out every day)... I HAVE TO be in the best shape of my life in order
to do this route and still, it might need a little bit more... 10%
luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will.......

What is it that drives you so hard? What is inside that makes you such a determined and unstoppable climber?

Vasya about to explode on Stink Bug (V11) RMNP.

Well, I think what drives me is one of my worst qualities
actually... I'm very stubborn and I proved to be so to many people,
not listening to anyone, focused on whatever the hell I might be
thinking... Once I convince myself that something I'm going to like
and enjoy is possible, I become overly determined and focus
completely on that one thing... sometimes it takes a little bit of
self-persuading (with all the college work, research work, and
coaching too), but in the end if you can get out and commit to
something, it's doable. So, focus drove me...

Unstoppable? I wouldn't say I'm unstoppable... I don't live in a
confined world where only I exist... There are multiple climbers who
can be and are better climbers than me. What else drives me?
Anger? Not on this route... Almost every time I fall on Jaws, I'm
only psyched that I'm flailing on what's soon to be the hardest route
in Rumney. I get down, take a look around and just take in all that I
can. This doesn't mean that anger doesn't drive anything I do - it
does. I sometimes get on the wall all pissed off and that's the only
time my muscles will be tight enough to do some problem.

Love? This climb has definitely been about love... It's been in
particular about my love for this sport... climbing, being outside
with people who are there for the very same reasons... I really do
love it!

Do you follow any strict training regimen for the route? Diets?

Crushing another 5.14 at Logan Canyon, Utah

Diet... that's a good one... I eat whatever I want as long as I
climb. And yes, it does include cake, cookies, and even donuts. I
don't have any strict training schedule, but whenever I'm free, I'll
go climb. I love surprise... call me at midnight, and I'm certain to
go climbing outside... (been tested!)

So you have been crushing at indoor comps. Do you think Brian Kim will ever stop you? What is it going to take to remain on top, champ?

Brian Kim always does so well at competition and I end up winning
only by one hold. He has beaten me before and I think he can do it
again. If I want to remain on top, I need to give up some of my work
I do, sleep more, and improve my technique to match that of Brian's.
But again, this is why comps are comps... They are very unpredictable
- it depends on what kind of problems they set for us - he's obviously
better on slabs and anything ballsy.

What is in the future of Vasya Vorotnikov? After Jaws?

The future, after Jaws I'll get drunk, stay drunk for a week,
celebrate with my one and only Jesse G and chill with Davey
Wetpants. Hopefully, catch up with school, travel, get a job, buy a
house, and live happily ever after! The typical end for any climber
finishing the fight of his life!

On Brian:

How do you manage to remain so calm and composed while climbing? Especially on a route like China Beach?

Alot of people always tell me how smooth I look when I climb; Even when I feel like I totally slobbed up a climb. I think that when I can stay calm and collected, it's much easier to concentrate. If I'm all worked up and have an aggressive mindset about doing a climb, it's hard to focus. So it really works for me on all types of climbs to just stay calm and enjoy the climbing.

Did you do any specific training for the climb?

I didn't do too much training particularly for China Beach. All the movements on it weren't too hard seperately. China Beach is an endurance climb, it's all about doing the whole thing in it's entirety. To help, I did try climbing more routes in a days session just to get my endurance up a little higher.

Another thing that helped me complete the climb was just trying the climb itself. Nothing helps more than knowing your opponent. In this case, I got to know the climb very well while trying it.

What is in the future for Brian Kim?

I just wish to keep climbing as much as I can. I really hope to go on a nice long trip to france for some sport climbing. And I really wish to take my trad to newer, higher levels. Hopefully I can make some time to get on some bigger walls.

She is always with you at Rumney. I like her, but what's with your little white doggie?

Pika is the "awesomest" dog ever. She's actually my sister's dog, but I've been taking care of her recently. Besides from being an ultimate babe-magnet, she loves being outside and hanging out at the crag with me.

You have been crushing at comps as well. How do you plan on taking Vasya, "the champ", out?

[Laughs] he's a tough cookie to beat! I'm not looking to beat him anytime soon. He's too strong. I might be able to beat him at a game of checkers or something. Seriously though, It's pretty funny how Vasya always manages to beat me at comps. It's good though since he always pushes me to climb harder. Competitions are sometimes about being lucky too, so I'm banking on being lucky one day.

David Wetmore's Ending Commentary:
There you have it. We look forward to seeing future sends and accomplishments at both ends and with the competition season just beginning to heat up, it will be no surprise to see some nail-biting, action packed battles between the two bloodthirsty competitors in some upcoming plastic pulling madness! Stay tuned for more.