2012 NOVEMBER SESSIONS.

Canada, it’s been a long time since we’ve visited you. We last went to Canada 4 years ago when Sidney climbed in a couple of comps at the Cliffhanger gym in Coquitlam and the Edge gym in Vancouver. Since that time, they changed the law so that adults needed a passport or an enhanced driver’s license to cross the border and I just never bothered to get one. Well, that changed this year as I needed a passport to go to Cabo San Lucas on the trip that Sidney won and now Canada is back on the radar.

The Cliffhanger gym held their “November Sessions” comp the next Saturday after the Seattle Bouldering Challenge on November 24th during our Thanksgiving weekend. Sidney wasn’t worried about eating too much as she was in very good shape since this was her 6th comp in a span of 8 weeks. We decided to go to this comp at the last minute because for the first time, they were adding an onsight Finals round to their Open categories.

Meeting us at the comp that day were some great friends of ours, Alex Fritz and his mother Denise Nerison. Alex aged out of the Youth circuit last year, has been on the VW team forever and is now a coach for VW. Denise was a long time Regional Coordinator for USA Climbing. Alex, like Sidney, was climbing in the Open category. By the time we got to the gym, though, he was already done climbing in his session in which he qualified for Finals in 1st place, so he and Denise hung out and watched Sidney climb during her session.

The Women’s Open qualifying session was only 2 and half hours long so Sidney got right to work and started bagging some high point routes. It became clear in watching all the climbers that it was probably going to be a 3 way battle between Sidney and two local legends Tiffany Melius and Vikki Weldon. I’ve watched these ladies climb a few times as both of them often come to Seattle area comps to beat us Americans up and take our lunch money. Vikki in particular has had a Battle Royale or two with Vertical World’s Audrey Hsu back in the day and is a highly decorated climber for the Canadian team. Well, the top 5 qualifying scores bore this out as both Vikki and Tiffany had 1,860 points and Sidney had 1,840 points. Then there was a definite gap to the next closest climber who had 1,590 points. We had a long wait until Finals so we rested up and had a nice meal with Alex, Denise and a couple of their good friends who were there to watch Alex.

The Finals format would be a first for Sidney as they were using the “bonus” hold scoring system. Basically there is a hold about halfway up each route that is designated as the “bonus” hold which means the only score you can get is a zero, a bonus or a top with bonus. The scoring categories in order are Tops, Attempts To Top, Bonus and then Attempts To Bonus. There were 8 women in Finals with 4 climbs each and the usual cycle of climbing period, rest period, etc. The routes looked really tough as evidenced by the scores which we will get to.

Just a cool picture of Sidney hanging out on problem #4. (Photo courtesy of KyaRt Photography)


On problem #1, Sidney came out and absolutely butchered her first attempt by not even making it to the bonus hold. Her second attempt was not much better although she did at least make it to the bonus hold. Her third attempt she fell at the same spot as her second attempt. I was starting to get a little worried but then she righted the ship and climbed like she normally does, making the route.

She carried over her momentum of finally making a route into problem #2 by flashing it. It was a tricky route with some big pinches but she figured out the beta with no problems and crushed it. To show how hard the first two routes were, all you had to do was look at the scores as 2 climbers did not top either problem, 2 climbers only topped 1 of them and the top 4 made both. After the second problem, Sidney was actually in 4th place as Vikki flashed both problems and Tiffany had a fall on problem #2. Also ahead of her at that time by virtue of having less falls was Tara Boudreau, who had finished in 2nd place behind Sidney the week before at the Seattle Bouldering Challenge.

Problem #3 was a burly route with a huge move to the finish that I was unsure if Sidney would be able to make. On her first attempt, she easily made her way to the last move but was just a bit short in going for the finish. Armed with that beta, she rested and then went for it at the finish and snagged it fairly easily. Vikki and Tiffany both flashed the route, however, Sidney moved up a spot as Tara would get to the last move a few times but would not be able to stick it.

Sidney going for the big finish on problem #3. (Photo courtesy of KyaRt Photography)


Problem #4 was pretty gnarly. I looked at it very closely and I had no idea what the correct beta was just to get to the bonus hold. In order for Sidney to have any chance of winning, she would have to top this route and it didn’t look good. While she did not make the route, Sidney surprised me by getting 2 moves from the finish on both of her attempts and figuring out the beta like a pro. Vikki showed her climbing pedigree by really working the route and flashing it. Tiffany fell at the exact same spot as Sidney and never topped the route.

Sidney getting through the crux to the "Bonus" hold on problem #4. (Photo courtesy of KyaRt Photography)


Here was the final scoring for the top 4 women. Vikki came in 1st place with 4 tops, all flashes. Tiffany was in 2nd place with 3 tops, 4 attempts to top and 4 bonus holds. Sidney was 3rd with 3 tops, 7 attempts to top and 4 bonus holds. In 4th place was Tara with 2 tops and 3 bonus holds. So in the end, the qualifying scores were a great indicator of how Finals played out. Vikki was definitely the best climber on the day but Tiffany was right there with her coming within 1 top and a fall of equaling her. Sidney showed a bit of her youth with some uncharacteristic falls on the first problem but was right behind Tiffany with the same number of tops and bonus holds.

Overall, Sidney was very happy with how she climbed for the entirety of the comp and I was quite proud of her, too. Since the comp ran late, we had to head to the border before awards were announced but Alex (who came in first in the Men’s Open category) stuck around and picked up her 3rd place award. She won a chalk bag and a certificate for a pair of climbing shoes. It looks like we now have another event to add to the long list of annual comps Sidney climbs in from now on. Thanks Canada for the hospitality. We really enjoyed our reunion with you and of course, Tim Horton’s!

2012 SEATTLE BOULDERING CHALLENGE.

The Seattle Bouldering Challenge was the very next Saturday after FGD12 on November 17^th.  It’s the longest running comp in the Pacific Northwest and this would be Sidney’s 6^th year in a row climbing in it.  Unfortunately, it would be quite different than the past 5 years that Sidney has competed as they would not have an exciting Onsight Finals round.  The reason for that is because Stone Gardens hosted a UBC pro event (which Sidney was not old enough to climb in) a couple of months prior and that ended up being their big event for the year. 

This year’s comp was basically a redpoint session for prizes but no Finals and no cash purses which meant that there were a lower number of female Open climbers as in years past.  Last year’s SBC had 20 women in the Open category and this year there were only 5 brave souls.  However, for the first time they also added a session that was a USA Climbing youth Local so their overall numbers didn’t dip they just moved to the youth categories.

Having watched the last 5 SBC’s, you could tell there was a different vibe in the air as there were no Finals to look forward to.  It made the session feel quite laid back and there was no sense of urgency to max your score out.  What also added to the weird vibe was that none of Sidney’s best friends climbed in the comp.  Melina Costanza and Cierra Graham were in Chile competing at the Pan American Youth Championships and Makenna Graham was out of town, too.  None of the Portland girls came up either so it was just Sidney climbing solo and that’s not any fun.

Sidney climbed hard in her session and was pleased with her score, figuring she was in the top 3 for the Open category.  I was a bad father and did not take any pictures but like I said, there was a very calm vibe and I didn’t feel any reason to take any pictures or video at the time.   After her session, we went across the street to Taco Time and waited for awards.  They soon announced the results and Sidney ended up in 1^st place.  Tara Boudreau from Canada finished in 2^nd place and Christine Deyo, a coach at the Seattle Bouldering Project, finished in 3^rd place.  Sidney won a hangboard and a $110 gift certificate for shoes which were very nice prizes. 

Oddly enough, Sidney did not have the highest female score of the comp.  That honor went to Shannon Russell but she chose to compete in the youth portion so she could get credit for the comp.  Still, out of the 87 female climbers in the comp, Sidney had the 2^nd highest score so she was happy about that.  The rumor is that Stone Gardens will probably not hold a UBC Pro event again next year so hopefully they will go back to the format they have always used and next year’s post about the SBC will be much more exciting.  With the latest edition of the SBC in the books, Sidney and I were really looking forward to traveling to Canada the next weekend for the 1^st time in 4 years so she could climb in the “November Sessions.”  Stay tuned.

FGD12!

Sidney had another week break after the Edgeworks comp and then we were off on our annual road trip to Bozeman, Montana to climb at Full Gravity Day 12 on November 10th. This would be our 3rd year in a row we’ve road tripped to the Spire Climbing Center and we absolutely love it! Unfortunately, the guest list changed this year as one of our regulars, Kayla Culmback, broke her foot and was not going to make the trip. This meant that two of my favorite people, Craig and Janelle Culmback, would not be able to enjoy the 11 hour drive to Montana. Instead, we picked up another Kayla. Kayla Erickson, aka Big Kayla, joined myself, Di, Sidney and Sequoia Meyer in my Liberty to Big Sky country.

On the way to Bozeman, we stopped in Spokane to see the Graham twins.  This is a picture of Makenna and Sidney looking happy with Cierra looking mad because she couldn't go to the Bozeman comp.  I'm kidding about that last part as she will actually be mad if she ever reads this.  (Photo courtesy of Kayla Erickson)

So, a little background from past FGDs. Last year Sequoia climbed in the Open category for the first time and made Finals, finishing in 5th place. Two years ago in the Open category, Sidney won $100 as she qualified for Finals in 1st place and ended up in 2nd place behind Missoula's Molly Rennie. Last year in the Open category, Sidney won $200 as she switched roles with Molly by qualifying for Finals in 2nd place and placing 1st after Finals. Sadly, this year there would be no climbing with Molly as she had hand surgery a few days before the comp. We wish her a speedy recovery! With Inge Perkins, another top local climber, off at college, this would leave the door open for Sequoia and a couple other new climbers to step through.

The redpoint qualifying round was almost 4 hours long so everyone had plenty of time to get 6 climbs in on the more than 100 routes that the Spire set for the comp. Sidney, Sequoia and Big Kayla climbed really hard and attempted quite a few routes. Sidney shut it down to rest after 3 hours with Sequoia and Big Kayla climbing the entire session trying to max out their score. In the end, they took the top 6 women to Finals and all 3 from our group made it. Here were the Qualifying scores, 1st-Sidney-6,475, 2nd-Sequoia-5,650, 3rd-Becky Switzer-5,625, 4th-Sarah Dean-5,600, 5th-Susan James-5,500, 6th-Big Kayla-5,500. Sidney had a healthy gap on the rest of the finalists but there was a point difference of only 150 points between 2nd place and 6th place which meant a lot of places could be switched by the end of Finals.

The FGD Finals format they use is different but pretty simple. There are 2 routes and all the climbers get 5 minutes of preview on each route. They climb each route in reverse order of qualifying. Each climber gets a 90 second window to top each route, however, as long as you are on the wall when the 90 seconds is up you can then take as long as you need until you top or fall. All of this basically means that flashing the routes were really important.

On the 1st Finals route, Becky, Sarah, Susan and Big Kayla all fell at around the halfway point. Sequoia separated herself from that group by getting through 3/4s of the route and came very close to flashing the route. Sidney climbed last and just walked up the route for the only top of the group. You can watch her climb here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdsiqFmZ9bU&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=3.

The 2nd Finals route was on a 45 degree wall that went up and bridged over to a huge square with flames painted on it that was suspended from the ceiling. The finish hold was shaped like a huge skeleton face! It looked like a very cool and hard route. No one besides Sidney would be able to get to the bridge let alone the flame covered square. All 5 women fell around the halfway point again as the 45 degree wall took its’ toll on the competitors. Sidney was last and made short work of the overhang and then worked her way onto the square. She spent a good amount of time trying to figure out how to get around the square and control the finish hold. Finally, she went for it but fell and in the process tweaked her ankle on the landing which you can see here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ2Bgw8jAb0&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=2.

After falling, Sidney only had 30 seconds to get back on the wall before her time ran out so she got back on the route right before time expired. Amazingly, since she had very little rest at all, she proceeded to top the route to the delight of the crowd. I actually expected Sidney to fall so I didn’t start recording until she got up to the flaming square.  Watch, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIOKQlqP0bw&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=1.

The final scores didn’t change much from the qualifying scores as only the 4^th and 5^th place competitors switched places and they were as follows, 6^th place-Big Kayla-6730.5, 5^th place-Sarah-6743, 4^th place-Susan-6862.5, 3^rd place-Becky-6982, 2^nd place-Sequoia-7087.5 and 1^st place-Sidney-8975.  Big Kayla was 1 hold from moving up to 5^th place overall but she was happy with how she climbed and was stoked to have made Finals.  Sequoia surprised everyone with her strong performance and collected her first climbing cash prize ever with $100.  Congratulations Sequoia!  Sidney had a lot of fun and won $250 for her 1^st place finish.  I was proud and amazed that she was able to top the 2^nd Finals problem with basically no rest but she didn’t think it was that big a deal.  She was more disappointed with herself that she didn’t flash it.  I’m guessing most climbers wish they had that problem, too.

Sidney, Big Kayla and Sequoia waiting for awards to start.  (Photo courtesy of Kayla Erickson)

In case you would like to see all of the climbers who made Finals, here is a very cool video of the event, http://vimeo.com/53808201.  Looking forward to FGD13!

A cool photo that shows Sidney on the 45 degree wall on her 2nd Finals route.  (Photo courtesy of unknown)

2012 EDGEWORKS HALLOWEEN BLACKLIGHT COMP.

Sidney had a weekend break after the Northwest Boulderfest comp and then climbed again at the Edgeworks Blacklight comp on October 27th. Sidney loves climbing in the dark at this local and always has a great result. She always used to love wearing a costume but this might be the last year for that as she is getting older and is thinking about not wearing one next year. That makes me a bit sad but I can’t force her to wear one. Well, maybe I can. We’ll see.

As usual, Sidney crushed in the darkness but not without giving us both a scare first. About 15 minutes into the session, she fell on a climb that I thought she would normally make. She came up to me holding her left arm and said she hurt it. I wasn’t alarmed until she said she heard something pop! I’m knocking on wood but Sidney has been able to avoid any serious injuries until now and this momentarily freaked us both out. Right away I told her to shut it down and to put her street shoes on. She didn’t like that idea and asked if she could just traverse to see how it felt. After a while she said it felt better and wanted to do some really easy climbs. Before you knew it, she was back to her normal climbs. Her arm would be sore for a couple of days but other than that she was fine. I’m guessing she didn’t quite warm up enough before tackling the hard climbs and her body told her so. Lesson learned.

There ended up being almost 160 youth competitors at the comp so flashing your routes was a must or you would run out of time. Sidney started out slow but climbed her best in the 2nd half of the session and ended up with 3,675 points. There were 80 female youth climbers and Sidney ended up with the highest score. Cierra Graham had the 3rd highest score with 3,295 points and Lia Messinger had the 4th highest score with 3,160 points. Sidney improves her score every season at this comp and this year was no exception as she upped her score by 610 points. I’m assuming there will come a point where she won’t improve her score but it hasn’t happened yet. Next year I guess she’ll aim for 4,000 points.

Melina, Sidney, Makenna and Cierra before the start of the session. What are they dressed as you ask? I have no idea. (Photo courtesy of me)

2012 NORTHWEST BOULDERFEST.

The 2nd annual Northwest Boulderfest was at the Seattle Bouldering Project this past October 13th. Sidney’s great result at the Portland Boulder Rally was the weekend before so she was hoping to keep it rolling into this comp and improve on last year’s result when she qualified for Finals in 5th but ended up in 8th after climbing had finished.

There were 14 women climbing in the Open category this year including Sidney’s best friends Melina Costanza, Cierra Graham and Lia Messinger. During Qualifiers, all the girls had a fun time while climbing a ton of routes and just crushing in general. This year, the SBP changed the number of climbers going to Finals from 8 to 6 so there was some pressure to do well in Qualifiers. I thought that Sidney was safely in around the 4-6 range but knew that her 3 friends would be right on the bubble. After the session, all the families went to a local watering hole to have lunch and visit. Towards the end of our meal, a friend called us with the results and surprisingly, Sidney qualified in 2nd place. As I suspected, the other 3 girls were really close to making Finals but just missed. Cierra qualified in 10th place, Melina qualified in 8th place and Lia was 1 spot out of making Finals in 7th place.

The SBP lowered the lights for Finals this year and put a couple spotlights on each route. I liked it as it reminded me of when we go to the Full Gravity Day comps in Bozeman, Montana. The routes were hard but they were set in a way that had the possibility of a few ties and that is exactly what happened. All 6 finalists topped problems #1 and #2. The top 5 finalists topped problem #3. On problem #4, only 1 climber got past the crux but did not top the route while the other 5 climbers all tied by controlling hold #5. So it went to falls to break the ties and they were using the World Cup format. Sidney and I were not aware that this format scores any non-top attempt as a fall as opposed to the normal youth format that only counts falls up to your high point. It might not sound like a big deal but if Sidney had known that, she would have severely limited her attempts and the outcome may have been different. Here were the final placings; 1st-Shannon Russell-3 tops-52 holds, 2nd-Lisa Chulich-3 tops-47 holds-3 falls, 3rd-Flannery Shay-Nemirow-3 tops-47 holds-7 falls, 4th-Clara Dixon-3 tops-47 holds-8 falls, 5th-Sidney-3 tops-47 holds-10 falls and 6th-Maria Celkova-2 tops. Very close.

Sidney was very happy with her climbing but was disappointed that she ended up in 5th place as they only paid up to 3rd place. She’ll learn from this experience and not make the same mistake the next time she climbs in a comp that uses the World Cup format. It was still a great time hanging with friends and climbing in front of a big crowd. On to the next comp!

The SBP provided a photographer so Makenna, Melina, Cierra and Sidney took a group shot! (Photo courtesy of Justin Schmauser)