2013 CEC WESTERN CANADIAN REGIONALS.

With a bye to SCS Nationals in both Sport and Speed, this has been a very quiet SCS season for Sidney so far.  No Locals, no Regional.  A few months back, I heard that the Canadian Youth Rope National was going to be held at The Boulders climbing gym in Victoria, B.C which, as the crow flies, is only 90 miles from Seattle.  For those that don’t know, the Youth World event will be at the The Boulders climbing gym in mid-August.  Since Sidney has a very good shot at making the Youth World event, I thought this would be a great opportunity to get her on some competition Sport routes and climb the 15m Speed wall at the same gym. 

Since Sidney is a U.S. citizen and this is a Canadian event, I contacted a very cool guy, Bill Hendsbee, who is an official with the CEC (Climbing Escalade Canada).  He said she was welcome to compete at their National but she would have to participate in their Western Canadian Regional first which was in Calgary, Alberta on April 20^th and 21^st.  Sidney and I were both excited and agreed that this was a great opportunity so I booked the two of us airfare to Calgary so she could compete.

Sidney with downtown Calgary in the background.  It was cold!  (Photo courtesy of me)

We arrived in Calgary in the evening on the Friday before the comp.  The B & B we were staying at was a short walk to the event which was hosted by the Calgary Climbing Centre and was on a major bus line so we didn’t need to rent a car which was nice.  We had a light dinner, hit the local Safeway for some supplies and then hung out in our room for a while before hitting the sack.

Saturday was Qualifiers but the format was a bit different than what Sidney was used to.  Since the gym was fairly small and lacked wall space, they ran all the competitors through Qualifier #1, took a break and then ran them all through Qualifier #2.  For Saturday, all of the Female B, A and Open competitors climbed the same 2 routes.  Sunday would be similar as they ran all the competitors who qualified for Semifinals through 1 route, scored them and then ran those that qualified for Finals on 1 route.  For Sunday, they added the Female Juniors to the previous 3 from Saturday as all 4 categories climbed the same Semifinal and Final route.  What I liked about this format is that you can directly compare your score not only against your own category but against the other categories that climbed the same route.  This did put the younger climbers in each grouping at a disadvantage and the scores reflected that but for Sidney it was perfect.

Qualifier #1 was pretty straightforward and Sidney flashed it easily.  Out of the 17 young women in her Youth B category, 5 of them topped the route.  The other 4 were Eva Thompson from Calgary, Remi Irwin from Edmonton, Mika Hosoi from Vancouver and Julia Massullo, also from Vancouver.  For the Youth A female climbers, 12 out of 17 topped the route and both Female Open competitors topped the route.  Since no one knew who she was, it was a bit odd to watch her climb with no one cheering her on by name.  In fact, when you watch the video, note that no one is cheering for her at all and there is only a very light applause from a couple of people when she tops the route.  As each video will show, her cheering section gets bigger after each successful climb and more people are urging her on by her name.  You can watch Qualifier #1 here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mo6u-RWHpg

The Calgary Tower.  (Photo courtesy of me)

We had a few hours to kill after Qualifier #1 so we walked into downtown to see some sights.  A couple of my favorites were this huge, metal latticed head that was in front of a big building with security guards at the entrance.  Every time Sidney would climb up 3 feet for me to take a picture, they would start walking toward her which of course freaked her out.  The other was going up to the top of the Calgary Tower.  It is the same height as our Space Needle here in Seattle and while a fun experience, it’s not as cool as the Needle.  Since we were running out of time and it was snowing out, we took a taxi back to the comp much to Sidney's relief.

Sidney just moments before the security guard came to arrest her.  Run!!!  (Photo courtesy of me)

Qualifier #2 was a harder climb with the bulk of the climbers from all 3 groups (16 out of 36) falling at the crux which was 2/3 of the way up the route.  The sequence had your left hand pinching the top of a sloper and the right hand spanned up to the right on a narrow hold with an edge.  You then had to bump the right hand out 12 inches to another hold that had an edge but was hard to pinch.  Most of the climbers had to use every inch of their reach so this meant you could not lose the left hand when you bumped or you barndoored and fell off the route.  Mika got by the crux but did not get her feet high enough at a big move at the top and fell 1 hold from flashing the route.  Sidney was the only climber from her category to top the route with Caitlin Wu from the Female A category and Christy Spurrell from the Female Open category being the only other climbers to top, also.  Qualifier #2 can be seen here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU4D6AnOIDs

After Qualifiers, we had a delicious meal with Bill and all the climbers/parents from the Rock Jungle climbing team from Edmonton, along with their coach, Dan Achambault.  It was great to hang out with some new, cool climbing families.  I learned a lot about Canadian culture and some of the interesting differences in youth climbing between our countries.  Thank you Rock Jungle!

Sunday had the Semifinal route in the morning and the Final route early in the afternoon.  For Semifinals, the Female B category had 11 climbers, the Female A category had 11 climbers, the Female Junior category had 6 climbers and the Female Open category had 2 climbers.  They would all be climbing the same Semifinal route.  It started in a small roof section and gradually rounded up to a narrow section that was slightly overhung.  The wall stayed at this angle until the last 6 or 7 feet where it went straight up to the finish.  Of course halfway up, Sidney decided she didn’t want to use the proper beta and instead just toed the wall into a full extension and skipped a hold.  I trust her instincts because she knows her abilities but I still don’t like it when she does it.  Sidney was the only climber in her category to top the route.  Among the other categories there were a few more tops compared to Qualifiers as Becca Frangos from Canmore and Amy Sutley (fellow Evolv National Team member) from Calgary in the Female A group, Allison Vest from Canmore and Alyssa Weber from Calgary in the Female Junior group and Hung-Ying Lee from Vancouver in the Female Open group all flashed the route.  View the Semifinal route here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZMnvn9gIX8

The Finals count for each category ended up with 7 competitors in Female B, 7 in Female A, 5 in Female Junior and 2 in Female Open.  The Finals route was really hard in that it had a very specific beta sequence that was needed to get through the middle section of the route.  The sequence was in a corner and you had to stem a few moves up in order to move over into the upper half of the route.  What was catching the eye of a lot of competitors was a yellow hold out to the left that looked like it could be a handhold but was in fact a foothold.  Basically if you missed the beta you were not going any farther than hold 13.  Of the 21 climbers who attempted this route, 13 did not get any higher than hold 13 with 9 of those climbers falling at hold 13 while trying to control the yellow foothold.  When you watch the video, notice that Sidney is stumped for a while as well as she comes ever so close to going for the yellow foothold, too.  She figures out eventually that it is way too hard a move, looks for a different way and figures out the correct beta.  Later, Sidney told me she did not hear any other climbers talking about stemming during the route preview as they were all focused on the yellow foothold so that’s what she did, too.  In the end, a couple of climbers came within 2 or 3 holds from the top but Sidney was the only climber to flash the route to the applause of the crowd.  Watch the Final route and see if you think you would have seen the correct beta, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyexMoW9YQY

Sidney came in first place in her category and she was the only climber of the entire competition to top all 4 routes.  Rounding out the top 5 from Sidney’s category were the other 4 competitors who topped Qualifier #1.  They were Eva in 2^nd place, Remi in 3^rd place, Mika in 4^th place and Julia in 5^th place.  Unfortunately, the comp ran a little late and we were not able to stay for the awards presentation as we had a flight to catch but Bill gave Sidney her medal as we were leaving so that was nice.  All in all, Sidney and I had an awesome experience in Calgary, made some new friends and were thankful we decided to attend the Western Canadian Regional.  After all that, we were really looking forward to the Canadian National event in Victoria, B.C.

The view through the glass floor at the top of the Calgary Tower.  (Photo courtesy of me)

2013 ABS 14 NATIONALS.

Sidney, Makenna, Lia, Zak and the Kiwi at the Garden of the Gods before ABS 14 Nationals.  (Photo courtesy of me)

A long 7 weeks after Divisionals, we traveled to Colorado Springs for the ABS 14 National which was on March 1^st through the 3^rd.  Everything had a familiar feeling to it as the event took place in the same venue and had the same wall as last year.  A couple of things were vastly different than last year, though.

The first is that Sidney and her PNW besties Melina Costanza, Cierra Graham, Lia Messinger and Olivia Durant  were moving up to the big time into the FYB category.  Historically, as a first year B, it’s very hard to make Finals let alone make the podium.  This group would try to break that trend but they were competing against some stiff competition in Margo Hayes, Claire Buhrfeind and a group of tough 2^nd year B girls.

The second is that the routesetters made every route challenging, starting with Qualifier #1 all the way through to Final #3.  In the past, Qualifier #1 and Qualifier #2 tended to be easy with most of the category flashing or topping the route.  As this was a National, it was refreshing to see all the climbers pushed to climb their best on every route.  

On that Friday, Qualifiers started with 36 competitors in the FYB category and 4 tough problems.  Qualifier #1 started on a long, narrow volume and then moved onto a slab wall into another volume that was wide and flat with pyramid type holds on it.  The key beta was to grab the first hold on the 2^nd volume and then get your left foot up on top of the first volume and lever up higher onto the slab section.  The other tricky section was getting into the corner to be able to go up to the 2^nd to last hold and on to the finish.  Both Lia and Olivia had trouble reading the lower beta and could not get past hold 7.  Cierra also had a hiccup on her 1^st try but was able to top the route on her 2^nd try.  Margo, Sidney and Melina all flashed but surprisingly, Claire had trouble getting into the corner and was 4 holds short of finishing.  To illustrate how tough the 1^st problem was, only 17 of the 36 competitors topped the route and less than half of those (8) flashed it.  That is a far cry from last year when 33 of 35 climbers in Sidney’s category topped Qualifier #1 in FYC.  Watch, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPAcp49s4Vs&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=14

Qualifier #2 was a long, power route that had the most tops but you either sent it on your first try or you didn’t send it at all.  It started on a large volume, worked into an extended roof section and then finished on a short vertical face with some wide holds that were not jugs.  There were 20 climbers who topped the route in all and they were all flashes.  Olivia came close to the top by getting to hold 18 while Sidney, Melina, Cierra and Lia all flashed.  Watch Q2 here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y5rkmNt1y0&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=13

Qualifier #3 would prove to be the hardest of the 4 Qualifying routes.  It was a short route with most of it on a 45 degree wall that only scored to 14 holds but it needed very specific beta to top it.  The key sequence was being able to move off a long, narrow hold that was vertical and out to the left onto a bulbous hold.  From there you needed to keep tension with your feet on the narrow hold by various means and move up with your hands to the next hold that was a big, round sloper, then continue to move up to the finish hold that was another sloper.  All of that needed to be done while staying horizontal on the route and never losing your feet on the long, narrow hold.  Sidney, Margo and Claire were the only climbers to top the route and they all flashed.  Melina was able to get one hand on the big, round sloper but fell trying to match, scoring to hold 11.  Both Lia and Cierra got to the bulbous hold to score 10 and 9 respectively.  Watch this cool climb here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uUtuCiRGzQ&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=12

Qualifier #4 was another tricky slab route that started on the right and traversed 2 foot holds to the left with no hand holds.  You then moved straight up over a volume and then moved to the right on various round slopers to the finish.  There were 11 tops of this route with 8 of them being flashes.  Sidney, Melina, Cierra and Lia were 4 of the 8 flashes while Olivia gave it a valiant effort and scored to hold 10.  The semifinal cut-off ended up being 17^th place and you needed 2 tops to get in.   Sidney and Margo tied for 1^st going into Semifinals with 4 flashes.  Melina was in 3^rd and Cierra was in 8^th as they both had 3 tops and Lia was in 14^th with 2 tops.  Olivia climbed really well and ended up with a respectable 25^th place finish.  View the final Qualifier here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEO5jMI9g0Q&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=11

Semifinals were on Saturday and tops were going to be the key to moving on to Finals but they were also going to be hard to get.  Semifinal #1 was on the same wall as Qualifier #4 and even followed the same pattern of left, up and right only this one was a lot harder.  The start move again had no hands but this time you were required to leap 5 feet onto a big foot hold and then grab a hand hold to stay on.  It then moved up and over the same volume but the sequence this time made it really hard to get over it and you really needed to balance.  Once past the volume, you then had to crossover and down to a jug to be able to then go back up with the proper hand to the finish.  Out of 17 competitors, 8 topped the route and only 1 climber, Bimini Horstmann, flashed it.  Claire and Kara Herson both topped it in 2 attempts while Sidney and Margo each took 3 attempts with Margo just making it with seconds to spare.  Everyone else could not get past the tricky volume section which included Melina, Cierra and Lia who all fell at hold 10.  In the end, not getting past the volume would prove costly for all 3 of them.  You can watch here (sorry the recording started late), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x7cda_4w7s&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=10

Semifinal #2 was a burly route that scored to 15 holds but only 8 climbers made it more than halfway.  It needed a combination of heel hooks into some power throws to get around the corner and was really tough.  Those climbers that were not good at both of those elements were hurting on this route and the scores reflected that.  Claire was the only one to top the route and she flashed it.  Isabelle Goodacre gave it a great go in getting to hold 12.  Lia made it to hold 9 while both Sidney and Margo got to hold 8.  Melina and Cierra struggled with the heel hook/throw combo and got to hold 6 and 5, respectively.  See how tough here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwKpCJJais4&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=9

Semifinal #3 scored to 23 and was on the roof but it started with a tricky sequence that caused a fall for Sidney on her 1^st attempt.  It then moved into a corner, traversed left and then into the roof sequence.  Not losing the heel hook as you were coming out of the roof was the key to making the route.  Both Claire and Margo flashed the route.  Sidney, Bimini and Hollis Rudd all got to hold 17 with Sidney popping her heel hook as she was coming out of the roof.  Cierra scored to hold 16 while both Melina and Lia struggled and got to hold 12.  View here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZmPiyzH4Gk&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=8

With Semifinals over, there ended up being 10 spots for Finals.  Claire was 1^st with 3 tops and Margo was 2^nd with 2 tops.  In order, Sidney, Lily Canavan, Bimini, Adriana Jacobsen, Hollis and Kara all had 1 top with various hold counts/attempts.  The last 2 spots went to Megan Lynch with a hold count of 33 and Isabelle with a hold count of 32.  In heartbreaking fashion, in 11^th place was Lia with a hold count of 31,  Cierra was in 12^th place also with a hold count of 31 and Melina was 2 spots back in 14^th place with a hold count of 28.  There were some definite missed opportunities for Melina, Cierra and Lia to make Finals.  Both Cierra and Lia needed 2 more holds to make Finals and Melina needed 4 holds.  Melina and Lia probably should have made hold 16 instead of 12 on Semifinal #3 and that would have gotten them in.  Cierra struggled with the beta on Semifinal #2 and probably should have gotten a couple of more holds on that route.  All 3 of them were bummed to not make Finals, especially being so close.  They all climbed great, though and hopefully they will learn from the experience and be better climbers for it.

Finals were on Sunday and the running order for FYB was Isabelle, Megan, Hollis, Kara, Adriana, Bimini, Lily, Sidney, Margo and Claire.  Final #1 scored to 14 and was the obligatory slab route.  The only problem is that only 2 out of the 10 climbers made it to the slab section of the route.  Claire topped the route on her 2^nd attempt and Isabelle came as close as you can get without making the route.  She got to hold 12 but could not rock over enough on to her high step foot to be stable enough to go for the finish.  The other 8 climbers all scored to hold 8 so this route could have been named “Feast or Famine.”  Not much to see but here it is anyway, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6XYflwRlzs&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=7

Final #2 was an interesting route and scored to 12 holds.  After the start hold, there were 4 big round volumes in succession in a half circle with a couple of strategically placed holds.  The 4^th volume had a big divot in the right side of it and from there you moved up to a couple of successive pinches and then to the finish.  A key sequence was figuring out to knee bar between the 2^nd and 3^rd volume so that you could crossover to a small hold on top of the 4^th volume.  This controlled your swing and let you control the volume.  Most of the climbers that didn’t knee bar swung off the 4^th volume as 7 finalists scored 8 or below.  Claire controlled the 4^th volume but could not get past the 1^st pinch and scored to hold 9.  Sidney and Margo both flashed the route but did the top section differently as Sidney side pulled the pinch before the finish while Margo powered straight up to the finish.  At this point, the top 3 separated from the pack a bit as Claire, Margo and Sidney each had 1 top while everyone else did not.  Check it out and enjoy, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAMS0hL5VeU&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=6

Scoring to hold 20, Final #3 started on a volume that looked like a dagger and moved up 3 more identical volumes into the roof section.  You then worked your way up 4 successive pinches and had to dynamically go out to a pinch that was on the end of a volume face that was vertical.  From there you were 3 pinches and a toe hook from the finish.  Only Claire, who flashed it, and Margo, on her 2^nd attempt, topped the route.  On her first try, Sidney fell before the finish and scored to hold 18.  She probably should have done the finishing sequence differently but she gave it her all.  What was really cool looking was how she did the dynamic move out to the pinch on the volume face.  She went out and momentarily spanned the gap, then used her momentum to pirouette and swing around to match the hold.  You can watch that cool move here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa7FIGK1B-s&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=5

Since only 3 climbers had a Top in Finals, the podium was set.  For the other 7 Finalists, hold count and attempts would filter everyone out.  The bottom 4 climbers all could not make the dynamic move on Final #3 so that hurt their chances of moving up as they lost hold count to the rest of the group.  They were Lily in 10^th place (27 holds), Hollis in 9^th place(29 holds), Bimini in 8^th place (29 holds) and Megan in 7^th place (29 holds).   Kara scored 30 holds and came in an impressive 6^th place.  Kara is from Sidney’s division and really improved as the ABS season went along.  Great job Kara!  Adriana improved her place each round of climbing and scored 32 total holds for Finals.  This put her in 5^th place which I believe is her best placing at a National event.  Congrats!  Both Sidney and Isabelle scored 38 holds but the separator was Sidney’s flash of Final #2.  Isabelle would place 4^th and snag the coveted last U.S. Team spot for the FYB category.  Nice!  With both Margo and Claire topping 2 routes, it came down to hold count and Claire’s top of Final #1 would be the difference.  Claire ended up with 43 holds and Margo had 40 holds so the podium was Claire in 1^st place, Margo in 2^nd place and Sidney in 3^rd place.  It was a close competition but Claire deserved to win as she consistently climbed the best during Semifinals and Finals.

Another pressure packed National event was in the books and we actually did something fun this time around as we went to “The Garden of the Gods” before the first day of competition!  This and the first picture on this blog entry proves it,

Lia, Sidney, Makenna and Zak at the Garden of the Gods.  (Photo courtesy of Brad Messinger)

I often write about Sidney’s consistency as a comp climber but I would be remiss if I didn’t highlight how consistent Margo is as well.  Since she is a year older than Sidney, they only compete against one another every other year but Margo has garnered a U.S. Team selection in every Bouldering and Sport National since the beginning of the 2009 season.  That’s a total of 9 times!  Even Sidney can’t say she has done that as she was just barely edged out in the 2011 ABS National with a 5^th place finish.  Very impressive Margo!

Of course with this most recent podium finish, Sidney did get her 13^th U.S. Team selection and now has a Baker’s Dozen.  Amazing!  You deserve it Sissy!

Adriana and Sidney were all smiles after Nationals!  (Photo courtesy of the Jacobsen family)

 

2013 ABS 14 DIVISIONALS.

As a defending National Champion, Sidney gets a bye directly to Nationals so we decided to skip Regionals and have her compete at Divisionals which was at Clubsport this past January 12^th & 13^th.  For those paying attention, we just had SCS Divisionals there so it’s sort of becoming a home gym for us.  However, there hasn’t been a major bouldering comp at Clubsport since the ABS 9 Regional so only a handful of climbers can say they competed in both events.  I will always remember that Regional because it was Sidney’s first onsight comp and she looked like a deer in the headlights when she came out of ISO and walked to the chair for her first route.  Priceless!

This year, Sidney and the gang, (Melina Costanza, Cierra Graham, Makenna Graham, Lia Messinger and Olivia Durant) all moved up in category to FYB but as you’ll soon read about, things haven’t changed much from last year.  Along with that group, there were a few strong climbers from NorCal (Kara Herson, Hanna Grossman and Jenna Wang) and a relative newcomer named Annie O’Brien.  There is a lot of climbing talent in Division 1 and with only 8 invites (including Sidney’s bye) to ABS Nationals for the FYB category, a few really good climbers would not be advancing to Colorado Springs.

Saturday was Qualifiers and there were 4 problems per category.  The format was onsight with a 4 minute climb time and 1 cycle rest after each route.  With no transition between routes, it meant that there would be less rest time after each problem. 

Qualifier #1 was a fairly tricky route, especially considering it was the 1^st problem.   You had to stem the first part of the route and then move off of a long flake onto a big sloper.  From there, you moved to a big pinch and on to the finish.  Usually, the 1^st route is a gimme and everyone flashes it but that was not the case this time.  In fact, Lia fell on her 1^st attempt of this route and not every climber topped it.  Here is Sidney’s flash of Q1, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFG2pUc1Myo&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=7

Qualifier #2 was more straightforward but not any less difficult.  It was a series of big holds that were either pinches or slopers with a dynamic move to the finish.  Without rushing at all, Sidney walked up the route in 17 seconds.  It was much harder than she made it look as only 14 of the 26 climbers in her category topped this route.  Watch here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R47pfP0JGkk&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=6

Qualifier #3 upped the difficulty level as only 10 of the 26 climbers in her group topped this route.  It started with a tricky sequence to get up and around a corner where it then traversed to the left onto a long, narrow pinch.  From there, you either went up dynamically with your left hand to a nice pinch or you got your right foot up onto a hold and then mantled up into the slab.  Of the 10 climbers who made the route, it was pretty much 50/50 on which beta was used.  After getting on the slab, it was just a matter of getting your feet up to get to the finish.  See for yourself, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mHirnevjIs&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=5

A cool shot of Sidney showing off the back muscles on Qualifier #3.  (Photo coutesey of Alex Fritz)

As usual, Qualifier #4 really separated all the contenders as only 2 climbers, Melina and Sidney, made this route and they both flashed it.  It started on the right and then traversed on an overhung wall to a big, fin shaped hold that was very hard to pinch.  From there, you had to pull straight up to a weird bulbous-like hold that was obviously a very hard move as only 4 of the 26 climbers were able to get past this point and they were Sidney, Melina, Lia and Kara.  The last half of the route went all burly with a 6 hold sequence of dynamic moves and crossovers on pinches and crimps, culminating in a big leap to the finish hold that was a sloper.  In retrospect, I would rate this as a harder climb overall than even their Final #3.  Watch it now, then compare to the video of Final #3 and you be the judge, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEItpAhYygE&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=4

With Qualifiers over, there was the usual nervous tension as we waited to see who made Finals.  They finally posted the results and here is who made Finals in the order they would climb the next day; 11^th-Hanna, 10^th-Emma Folkerts, 9^th-Jenna, 8^th-Olivia, 7^th-Talia Bowles, 6^th-Annie, 5^th-Cierra, 4^th-Kara, 3^rd-Lia, 1^st-Sidney and 1^st-Melina.  Makenna just missed Finals by a couple of spots but she had climbed very well.  My dad and sister came to town to watch Sidney climb so we all went out for a nice, relaxing dinner and then went back to the hotel to rest up for the next day’s climbing.

For Finals on Sunday, the format was the same except there were only 3 routes per category instead of 4 like the day before.  With only 3 problems and Sidney climbing 2^nd to last in the order, it made it easier to watch all the climbers and get a sense of where everyone may place. 

Final #1 was tricky in that it tested your technical climbing skills as you needed to finesse the route instead of overpowering it.  Only 6 of the 11 finalists topped the route with Sidney, Melina, Lia and Cierra being the only climbers to flash it.  Watch Sidney’s attempt here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXSrHCYA5t4&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=3

Final #2 was a fairly short route that started on the right and quickly traversed to the left onto a big sloper with a wide pinch.  The normal beta was to pull up to a small hold that had a small ridge on top of it that you could hang on if you were precise.  A couple of delicate moves to the right brought you to the finish.  The same 6 climbers who made Final #1 topped this problem.  Also like the 1^st problem, 4 girls flashed the route except that Sidney was not one of them.  For some reason, she did not want to pull for the small ridge after the sloper with the wide pinch.  She looked at it but changed her beta in the middle of her climb and went with a big move out to the right.  She snagged it momentarily and then fell.  Surprisingly, she didn’t seem too bummed but that is probably because she knew that Final #3 was still to come and she could still win.  Sidney regrouped, used the same beta as her first attempt and made the route with ease.  Of course now she was behind Melina, Lia and Cierra by 1 fall and had to hope that Final #3 was really difficult so that she could make up ground on them.  Here is Sidney’s 2^nd attempt, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTZI8u9RuJ4&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=2

Final #3 was a long route that scored to 13 holds but there were only 8 hand holds on the entire problem.  This meant that pretty much every move was big and dynamic.  Oh, and the whole route was on varying degrees of overhang with the finish move being on the most overhung section.  The route started on the left with a big extension up and to the right to a pinch, then straight up with the left hand to a very small hold that left you prone to barndooring off the route.  You then had to go out to the right to a big, bulbous hold that almost put you in an Iron Cross, keep the tension to be able to get your foot back on and then match.  Continuing to the right, you had to get 1 foot up to the left to get totally horizontal to be able to lever out to a small hold with a ridge on top, match that hold and then snag the top of a big hold that looked like someone wearing a gas mask.  After matching the “gas mask,” you then moved left through the most overhung section to a small hold that you were supposed to match but was really only good for 1 hand.  Finally, you had to commit up, out and to the left for the finish that you could grab but was definitely not a jug.  On second thought, maybe this climb WAS harder than Qualifier #4.  

Of the 11 climbers in Finals, 6 could not get to the big, bulbous hold and scored 4 or less.  Kara was able to control that hold but did not have enough length to lever out to the next hold and scored 6 holds.  Cierra got to the finish move on her 2^nd try and held on for a tantalizing second before swinging off as the crowd went from a raucous “Aaaaaaaaaah” to “Ooooooooooh” in a split second.  You can watch her awesome attempt here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjykkSGFDoM

A great shot of Cierra showing the angle of the wall on Final #3.  (Photo courtesy of Alex Fritz)

Lia got to the finish move on her 1^st attempt and was able to slap the finish hold but that was as far as she would be able to get.  Her length may have hindered her ability to really explode for the finish.  Here is her attempt, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_0v5X62zoQ

Sidney was precise, strong and fearless as she flashed the route to the roar of the crowd to take the lead with only Melina left to climb.  Watch, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RttkiB4PSs&list=UUvFEo19_3FQnGo0AZ8w0Oqw&index=1

Melina was as strong and precise as Sidney in getting to the finish move on her 1^st attempt but just did not have that extra explosion needed to get to the finish hold.  Her 2^nd attempt was about the same as her first so that kept Sidney in 1^st place.  Exciting!

The final placings and National invites were as follows; 11^th-Talia, 10^th-Emma, 9^th-Jenna, 8^th-Olivia-Invite, 7^th-Annie-Invite, 6^th-Hanna-Invite, 5^th-Kara-Invite, 4^th-Cierra-Invite, 3^rd-Lia-Invite, 2^nd-Melina-Invite and 1^st-Sidney-Invite.  To illustrate how close the scoring was, Melina, Lia and Cierra all had 2 Tops and 39 points.  Cierra was behind Lia by 1 fall and Lia was behind Melina by countbacks to Qualifiers.  Also, because of Sidney’s mistake on Final #2, any of them could have won if they had flashed the last route.  For those that actually follow this blog, you will see that this is a common pattern as these girls are always so close in every one of these big comps.  Another item to note is that Final #3 was used for all 3 older categories (FYB, FYA & FJR) and only Sidney and Shannon Russell (FJR) made this route (both flashed) so kudos to both of them!

Shannon snagging the finish on Final #3.  (Photo courtesy of the Bras family)

It was quite an exciting comp to watch with a lot of great climbing!  Looking forward to ABS 14 Nationals in 2 weeks! 

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)