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Indoor Weekly: Alannah Yip Wins Trifecta 2018 Championships

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Alannah Yip wins the Tristate Bouldering Championships

The Tristate Bouldering Series (TBS) is a multi-gym collaboration designed to bring you the East Coast’s baddest bouldering competition.

Partnering with longstanding climbing gyms in the tri-state area, TBS was created to celebrate each of the gyms and their respective comps, with hopes of bringing together the much larger bouldering community.

Canadian Alannah Yip stormed in and won the 2018 Championships in great style. You can watch the Finals below.

Yip recently finished in second at the Canadian 2018 Bouldering Nationals behind Allison Vest.

Female/Male Results
1. Alannah Yip / Kai Lightner
2. Flannery Shay-Nemirow / Bryce Viola
3. Norah Chi / Nathaniel Coleman

The post Indoor Weekly: Alannah Yip Wins Trifecta 2018 Championships appeared first on Gripped Magazine.


Indoor Weekly: The History of Buildering

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Night climbing at Cambridge University 100 years ago

Buildering is climbing on the outside of buildings and other artificial structures. It has a long history that dates back over 100 years to the early alpinists.

Buildering is often frowned upon because it often requires trespassing on private property. Even if it’s public property, you can still get into trouble.

In 1895, the great alpinist Geoffrey Winthrop Young, started to climb the roofs of Cambridge University, England.

Students had been scrambling up the university architecture for years, but Young was the first to document this activity. He wrote and published a buildering guide to Trinity College.

Then in 1905, while a master at Eton College, Young produced another small volume on buildering, spoofing mountaineering.

In 1905, Harry H. Gardiner began buildering. He successfully climbed over 700 buildings in Europe and North America, usually wearing ordinary street clothes and using no special equipment.

In 1910, George Polley started his climbing career when the owner of a clothing store promised him a suit if he would climb to the roof of the building. He succeeded, and went on to climb over 2,000 buildings.

During the years from 1915 to 1920, buildering in New York City reached its peak. Before 1915, there were few skyscrapers in New York City, and after 1920, the city authorities had legislated to outlaw buildering.

During this golden era, a number of daredevils climbed the tall buildings, but several of them fell to their deaths in the attempt.

Harry Gardiner, who climbed over 700 buildings in the United States and Europe between 1905 and 1918, usually wearing street clothes and tennis shoes, with no climbing equipment.

In 1921, a group of undergraduates from St John’s College, Cambridge, published a buildering guide to that college.

In 1930, John Hurst wrote the second edition of Geoffrey Winthrop Young’s buildering guide to Trinity.

From The Roof-Climber’s Guide to Trinity: “The conquest of the Great Gate in November, 1927, marked a new epoch; and so many fresh climbs have been discovered in the subsequent three years.”

The book goes into great detail about climbing route on structures. The description for I Court Climb is: “This starts in the right hand corner as we face this wall.

“The “tallest of the party” is used as a staircase; and from his head the leader is able to get a hold for his right hand in the little window of the Turret. By this he can hold himself while his supporter substitutes his hands for his head and thrusts him another two feet up the corner. The visible top of the wall can now be reached; but a sloping coping refuses all hold to the groping left hand, until it tries the exact point where the wall joins the Turret. Here the coping is cut away to allow for a pipe-trap and gives a first-class hold. The right hand joins the left and a kick down against the rough wall yields a much needed relief to the supporter.

“Those who prefer to do their climbs on their own hands and feet can back-and-foot up Tank Chimney, at the left hand end of the wall; and walk back to the Turret along it either on the top of the wall of behind it…

“From the roof now reached, an excursion can be made which culminates in a gable commanding an uninterrupted view of Trinity Street. But the roofs traversed on the way are private, and climbers can well afford to renounce its mild pleasure.”

In 1937, a comprehensive and lighthearted account of Cambridge night climbing (undergraduate buildering) appeared in popular print, written by Noël Howard Symington, under the pseudonym “Whipplesnaith.”

In 1947, John Ciampa climbed the exterior of the Astor Hotel in New York City.

In 1960, Richard Williams wrote the third edition of the Trinity buildering guide. Night climbing remained popular in Cambridge during these post-war years.

In 1970, a book entitled Night Climbing in Cambridge was published under the pseudonym Hederatus. Buildering also featured prominently in a book by F A Reeve, published in 1977.

From Night Climbing in Cambridge: “As you pass round each pillar, the whole of your body except your hands and feet are over black emptiness.

“Your feet are on slabs of stone sloping downwards and outwards at an angle of about 35 degrees to the horizontal, your fingers and elbows making the most of a friction-hold against a vertical pillar, and the ground is precisely 100 feet directly below you. If you slip, you will still have three seconds to live.

In 1977, George Willig climbed the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

In 1980, Gripped’s co-founder David Smart climbed the exterior of the CN Tower using aid techniques with Gerry Banning. Smart wrote about it in his book A Youth Wasted Climbing.

David Smart (bottom) and Gerry Banning in 1980 on the CN Tower

In the 1980s, Dan Goodwin climbed many of the world’s tallest buildings, including the World Trade Center, the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Center, the CN Tower, and most recently (March 1, 2014) the Telephonica Building in Santiago, Chile for Stan Lee’s Superhumans.

In the 1990s and the following decade, Alain Robert became the world’s most famous builderer by free soloing high buildings all over the globe.

In 2007, buildering in Cambridge was featured in a detective novel by Jill Paton Walsh.

Between 2007 and 2011, several books on night climbing were published by Oleander Press, of Cambridge.

Alain Robert buildering

In 2007, they reprinted the Whipplesnaith book. In 2009, they reprinted Geoffrey Winthrop Young’s first edition of the Trinity Guide and the St John’s Guide. In 2010, they reprinted John Hurst’s second edition of the Trinity Guide, as well as Young’s book Wall and Roof Climbing.

In 2011, they published an omnibus edition of the three Trinity guides, including an introduction by Richard Williams which reviewed the history of night climbing in Cambridge from the 18th century to the present day.

This introduction removed the cloak of anonymity that had previously protected the identities of the first nocturnal explorers.

From around 2008, buildering (also known as “roofing”) became popular amongst teenagers and young adults in eastern European countries including Russia and the Ukraine.

The identification of the first recreational or professional builderer remains an open question, but at Cambridge, Geoffrey Winthrop Young is generally regarded as the original pioneer.

Watch Alex Honnold climb in San Francisco.

The post Indoor Weekly: The History of Buildering appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Indoor Weekly: Austrian Nationals 2018 Winners

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The 2018 Austrian Bouldering Nationals took place this past weekend. Jessica Pilz and Georg Parma won first place for Female and Male.

Anna Stohr and Kilian Fischhuber were once the leading Austiran climbers, but the didn’t finish on the podium this year.

Four of the podium winners are under 20 years old, which shows that the next generation is starting to excel.

Results Female/Male
1. Jessica Pilz / Georg Parma
2. Celina Schoibl / Jakob Schubert
3. Mattea Pötzi / Elias Weiler

Click to play the clips and scroll right for more.

The post Indoor Weekly: Austrian Nationals 2018 Winners appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Indoor Weekly: Will Johnson Talks Comps and Singing

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Will Johnson Photo Matt Chapman

Will Johnson is based in Toronto and first competed in route competitions at Joe Rockhead’s the late 1990s, has competed on Team Canada and is a professional choir singer.

Since 2007, Joe Rockhead’s has been his home gym and he recently Qualified in third at the Canadian Bouldering Nationals.

Be sure to follow his Instagram below and check out one of his choir performances if you get a chance.

What are three big changes you’ve seen in the way indoor problems are set? It’s no longer about how “thuggy” you are as a climber. You still need the raw power and strength to get through difficult boulders but flexibility, movement and quick decision-making skills are equally important, especially in competitions.

The Risk, Intensity, Complexity (RIC) system is also standard these days. My friends Ayo, Sachi and Siu (setters at Joe Rockhead’s) also trained us over the years on the element of ‘doubt’ (can you make the climber doubt their decision mid-way through a boulder). It really messes with your head! Your mental game must be as or even stronger than your physical ability – confidence is key.

When was your first competition? I did a Wall Crawl event at Gravity in Hamilton back in 1996. It was a toprope competition and I competed in the rec. category. I won a quickdraw as a door prize and I was super psyched about it. I still have it along with the T-shirt

How did you feel heading into Boulder Nationals 2018 at Up the Bloc? The month leading up to Nationals was intense.

Five weeks before the competition I heard the good news that Jean-Marc and Luigi had taken ownership of Joe Rockheads. Almost immediately there were new problems set and other improvements to the facility.

The psyche was definitely high. I started training with Dustin Curtis and my old teammates and turned up the intensity. I felt fit, not quite as strong as I had hoped but mentally ready.

How were Qualifiers? Great! I was on track for a perfect round until I missed matching the final hold of problem #4 (there was clutch thumb bolthole beta that I missed). I conserved some energy by only attempting it a second time and was able to flash problem #5 for a total of four flashes.

They were a bit easier in terms of difficulty than in previous years at nationals, but they had movements with higher risk (lateral dyno, difficult slab, etc) making them tricky to flash.

Success! I’m a bit beside myself at the moment! After a mediocre season up to this point, I feel like I finally hit my stride today. Everything lined up and just clicked! After switching up my training routine with my new coach I focussed on the things I could control like eating well and trying to get a bit fitter (“West Coast 4x4s” are killer…). But I didn’t think It would translate this quickly! I stuck to my specific rituals and routine today, and I’m incredibly psyched to have flashed four boulders and head to semi-finals in 3rd place! Grateful for the opportunity to try it all again tomorrow! 📷 @alibeverly #bestroundever #pushyourself #motivated #olddog #newtricks #stillgotit #Canada #nationals #bouldering #climbing #compclimbing #upthebloc #joerockheads #OBN2018

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Talk about heading into Semis and the vibe in isolation. I had never qualified in third position in a national competition before so I was a little nervous.

The one thing that struck me was how focused everyone was – once people started warming up there was very little conversation. It was clear that everyone knew the next round was likely going to be the most difficult.

Overall impression from Nationals and standout climbers? I thought it went very well. Up The Bloc is a perfect facility for a big competition like this. The problems were very well set in all three rounds with good separation in each.

I don’t think there were many appeals if any, and I believe no injuries with the exception of bleeding tips in the final round. Kudos to the setters and medics for keeping the holds sanitized! I was very impressed with Allison Vest who crushed the last round.

I was also psyched for Francis Bilodeau who climbed very well in Semis and of course Sean McColl who dominated in Finals.

What do you eat the day of a comp? A small bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter and walnuts and a coffee for breakfast. I have an apple 45 minutes before I start climbing and some dried mango slices mid round for some extra sugar to get me through problems four and five.

Any recovery foods after a normal day of training? Without fail I always have a protein shake after I train. I like mocha Vega protein powder with almond milk. I eat a lot of kale too. Ever since doing this I’ve had no finger injuries (knock on wood!!).

Click below to watch Johnson at Joe Rockhead’s.

You’re a tenor in the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir with 21 other singers. How long have you been in a choir? I’ve been singing since I was six years old but joined Tafelmusik in 2000 after auditioning for the conductor, Ivars Taurins who was the guest conductor of the Ontario Youth Choir earlier that year.

What’s your singing background? It’s been primarily choral singing with some focus on Opera choruses with Opera Atelier.

I went through excellent youth programs in the Guelph Youth Singers, Ontario, National and World Youth Choirs as well. My specialty is singing music from the Baroque era. Primarily the music of Bach, Handel, Lully, Charpentier, Zelenka and some Mozart. I’m most comfortable in a good choir.

When you were 15, did you ever think you’d represent Canada at climbing World Cups and at the World Youth Choir? No! Certainly not in this order. Climbing competitions really ramped up in the 2000s but when I graduated high school in 2000, my focus shifted to singing.

I sang with the National Youth Choir of Canada followed by the World Youth Choir in Venezuela, Belgium, Italy and USA. After graduating from U of T in 2006, I slowly got back into climbing more regularly. My wife started a community-driven climbing team (@jrhbteam) where my passion grew stronger and stronger.

Once the World Cups came to Canada I was super motivated to train and began training four days a week. It paid off in 2016 when I managed to rank 10th in Bouldering and attend four World Cups as a team alternate. It’s been a complete privilege and honour to represent Canada in both areas of my life – a dream come true.

Will Johnson farthest left in back row of Tafelmusik Choir

What was/are your goals with singing, climbing and travelling?

Originally it was to become a professional concert singer. But it’s an extremely difficult career and very hard to earn a living, particularly in Canada. I abandoned that plan and started a “real job” working in the IT industry but still practice and sing regularly.

I love travelling and hope to climb in Rocklands, South Africa and go back to Fontainebleau, France again. I also hope to stay competitive for as long as possible.

Do you know any other climbers who sing or singers who climb? Yes actually! Gerry Banning was an accomplished opera singer and one of the first members of Joe Rockheads.

He’s also a tenor – crazy coincidence. We chat regularly about opera performances when we run into each other at the gym.

Are you going to compete in Lead comps this year? And/or Speed? I was so psyched from Nationals that I started training the following day for lead. I’m hoping to do as many lead comps this year as possible. I would love to try a speed competition as well.

Unfortunately, there aren’t too many facilities for training speed on this side of the country so I’ll have to travel to get some speed training under my belt.

Plans for 2018? Stay fit, healthy and happy and enter as many competitions as I can.

Alison and I are going to Squamish (our “second home”) in July and I cannot wait to get back on some world-class granite and climb with some old friends.

The post Indoor Weekly: Will Johnson Talks Comps and Singing appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Indoor Weekly: 2018 Russian Bouldering Championships

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The 2018 Russian Bouldering Nationals took place last weekend with Sergey Skorodumov and Victoria Meshkova coming out on top.

Last year’s champions were Dmitry Sharafutdinov and Ekaterina Kipriyanova, who came in fourth and second.

Podium results below and full results here.

Male/Female Results
1. Sergey Skorodumov / Victoria Meshkova
2. Egor Kryachokov / Ekaterina Kipriyanova
3. Sergey Luzhetsky / Anastasia Evgenieva

Я до сих пор не могу понять, как это произошло😅 Но я стала Чемпионом России в боулдеринге🤩 I do not know how it happened, but I am the Champion of Russia in bouldering🏆 Спасибо всем за поддержку, подготовка за интересные трассы, финальные правда хотелось бы посложнее, но все равно они классно постарались. Поздравляю девчонок @katyakip и @anastasiia.evgeneva Спасибо @timofeev_climbing за незримую поддержку перед стартами.🙉💪🙏 Поздравляю своего тренера Примерова Виталия Павловича.🤚🌟🎉🏆 #russianchempionship #cska #cskaclimbing #voronegh #olimpikgame #bouldering #boulder

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Today is a great day for Sergey Skorodumov (@sergmurmiu ). Exactly, he did it! He finaly became Russia bouldering champion. Congrats, man! Also congratulations to @egorkryachkov and @sergey_luzhetsky, who took the second and the third places! // Сегодня особенный день для Сергея Скородумова. Именно, он сделал это! Наконец-то, в непростой борьбе, он стал чемпионом России по скалолазанию в дисциплине боулдеринг! Также рад за Егора Крячкова и Сергея Лужецкого, занявших 2 и 3 места соответственно! #ReflectionOfTheMoment #Comps #ClimbingPhotography #IndoorClimbing #Climbing_Is_My_Passion #Action #victory #Скалолазание #Боулдеринг #ЧемпионатРоссии #Воронеж #Tokyo2020 #ПростоВзялИВсёЗафлэшил #КуриБухайПобеждай

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Watch Hueco Rock Rodeo 2018 Highlights

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The American Alpine Club and Cold House Media have made a short highlight video of the 25th Anniversary Hueco Rock Rodeo.

The Rodeo is the premier outdoor bouldering competition in America, drawing a huge crowd of American and International competitors dueling it out at the most iconic bouldering location in the states.

“We are thrilled to share this short film about a grassroots celebration of climbing and all things Hueco!”

Recreational Results Male/Female
1. Ross Johnston / Jessica Wilkerson
2. Cody Hanson / Rachelle Macrea
3. Evan Dover / Kayla Simmon

Intermediate Results Male/Female
1. Jamieson P / Sophia Hoerman
2. David Tran / Crystal Shei
3. Bryce Beishin / Stevie Imeratrice

Advanced Male/Female
1. Jason Petty / Ariel Chilton
2. Jacob Croft / Jamie Robison
3. Kevin Book / Jaclyn Remsing, Jodi Chambers, Yvette Foose

The post Watch Hueco Rock Rodeo 2018 Highlights appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Indoor Weekly: Claire Buhrfeind Crushes USA Nationals 2018

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Top American competition climber Claire Buhrfeind took top spots in Lead and Speed at the USA Nationals 2018 fro Females.

For Males, Sean Bailey beat out strong outdoor climber Drew Ruana. Scroll through photos below.

Joining Buhrfeid in Lead was two strong boulderers, Alex Puccio and Miachaela Kirsch. They group beat out strong lead climbers Delaney Miller and Margo Hayes.

For full results see here.

Lead Finals Male/Female
1. Sam Bailey / Claire Buhrfeind
2. Drew Ruana / Michaela Kiersch
3. Barth Solomon / Alex Puccio

Speed Finals Male/Female
1. John Brosler / Claire Buhrfeind
2. Jordan Fishman / Piper Kelly
3. Max Hammer / Amanda Wooten

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Indoor Weekly: Training for a One Arm Pull-Up

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Hosting his first Training For Climbing video, 17-year-old Cameron Hörst presents a training progression for learning a one-arm chin-up and eventually the more-difficult one-arm pull-up.

Depending on your current level of strength, learning a one-arm pull-up could take weeks or years. “But today’s a good day to begin training to learn this rare feat of strength.”

Hörst started climbing when he was three years old and led his first sport route when he was six.

“I then set the goal to climb my first 5.13 before my 10th birthday, which I achieved with two months to spare,” said Hörst.

“At age 11, I climbed my first three 5.14a routes and advanced to 5.14b with my ascent of Raubritter in Frankenjura, Germany, when I was 14.”

The post Indoor Weekly: Training for a One Arm Pull-Up appeared first on Gripped Magazine.


Indoor Weekly: Alberta Lead Comp at Elevation Place 2018

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The 2018 Lead competition season in Alberta has continued with the second event of the year.

It took place in Canmore at Elevation Place on March 17 with Alex Fricker and Alyssa Weber taking the wins for Open.

The comp scene in Alberta, like across Canada, is booming with record turnouts at provincial events.

Top all-round comp climber Jason Holowach was tied with Alex Fricker heading to Finals but ended up in second.

Weber is coming off a fifth place finish at Bouldering Nationals last month. She won a number of provincial events earlier this year.

For full results from Youth D to Open visit here. Open podium results below.

The next event is on April 7 at Wilson Climbing Centre at University of Alberta.

Lead Open Male/Female
1. Alex Fricker / Alyssa Weber
2. Jason Holowach / Paige Boklaschuk
3. Ethan Somji / Lisa Van de Panne

The post Indoor Weekly: Alberta Lead Comp at Elevation Place 2018 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Indoor Weekly: Studio Bloc Masters 2018 Results

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Alexey Rubtsov and Miho Nonaka took top spots at the 2018 Studio Bloc Masters in Germany.

As with so many comps of late, there was a big focus on the route setting. The majority of climbers seemed to agree that the setting was great and kept things tight.

In the end, the winners were decided by attempts because everyone topped all of the problems. You can watch Finals below and full results here.

Finals Male / Female
1. Aleksei Rubtsov / Miho Nonaka
2. Jan Hojer / Janja Garnbret
3. Jernej Kruder / Fanny Gilbert
4. Jakob Schubert / Jess Pilz
5. Tomoaki Takata / Hannah Slaney
6. Mawem Mickael / Camilla Moroni

That was such a great comp! Thanks to all of you out there who made this possible! And here they are… the Studio Bloc Masters 2018! Female 1. Nonaka Miho 2. Janja Garnbret 3. Fanny Gibert Men 1. Alexey Rubtsov 2. Jan Hojer 3. Jernej Kruder Our donation this year about 6.500€ goes to Sonnenkinder Elterninitiative Handicap e.V.! . . . 📸@tomahawkmediacom . . . #StudioBlocMasters #SBM2018 #petzl_official #competition #international #bouldercup #StudioBock #bouldergym #boulderinggym #studiobloc #boulder #bouldering #beta #pfungstadt #hessen #germany #staychalked #climbing #ifsc #klettern #routesetting #outdoor #nature #AdventureStartsHere @petzl_official @merckgroup @360holds @T-Wall_GmbH @neumarkter.lammsbraeu @borealoutdoor @climbing_pictures_of_instagram @climbing_is_my_passion @epictvclimbing @bestboulders

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Indoor Weekly: Spring 2018 Canadian Lead/Speed Comps

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The spring Lead and Speed competition season is ramping up in Canada with a number of events coming up.

Here are the comps organized by province.

British Columbia

March 25: Fast and Flash at Simon Fraser University
April 14: Speed Provincials at Boulders
April 28: Spring Fling at Richmond Oval
May 24: Speed and Lead Nationals at Boulders

Alberta

April 7: Lead at Wilson Centre
April 23: Lead Provincials at CCC Hanger

Ontario

March 24: Lead at Aspire
March 31: Lead at Climber’s Rock
April 7: Lead at Gravity
April 21: Lead Provincials at True North

Quebec

March 24: Speed at Délire Beauport
April 7: Lead Provincials (Youth B,C,D) at Allez Up
April 28: Lead Provincials (Junior, Youth A, Open) at Horizon Roc

Just keep going dude! Here’s @steghiso up high indoors. Pic @sara_grip #climbing

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Indoor Weekly: Helmets for Gym Lead Climbers?

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Climbing gyms are pumping out “lead” climbers like never before and those climbers are often under the false assumption that leading indoors is like leading outdoors.

Not only that, but indoor lead climbers aren’t protecting their heads.

And wearing a helmet indoors for lead climbing might seem strange now, but it’s only a matter of time before they’re commonplace.

If you go to any climbing gym during peak hours you’ll see climbers whipping left, right and centre.

The first thing about lead climbing outdoors on rock, especially if you’re a new climber, is that you wear a helmet.

Many gym-only lead climbers are competent and strong all-round climbers. However, many are not.

And issues like Z-clipping, back-clipping and flipping from having the rope behind your leg are the causes of countless serious rock climbing accidents in North America every year.

Having the rope go behind your leg is very common outdoors and knowing how to avoid it is one of the most important tools in your lead kit.

If you fall with the rope behind your leg then you’re going to flip and possibly hit your head.

And it’s not uncommon to see a lead climber in a gym flip because the rope is behind their leg.

If a climber’s only real training is a one-hour lead course at their local gym, it might be time for gyms to teach climbers how to be real rock lead climbers, not just indoor lead climbers.

The first lesson of real rock lead climbing is to wear a helmet.

It’s recommended that for all of you gym climbers out there to take a lead climbing course with a local guide or the Alpine Club of Canada to ensure that you can transition your indoor skills to outdoors.

Climb safe this year!

The post Indoor Weekly: Helmets for Gym Lead Climbers? appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Indoor Weekly: The 2018/19 Canadian Bouldering Team

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The Bouldering competition season has wrapped up in Canada for the 2017/18 year and as a result we have a new Canadian Bouldering Team.

The CEC has announced the following Female and Male Open athletes to the team in alphabetical order.

Female

Madison Fischer
Becca Frangos
Bronwen Karnis
Babette Roy
Alison Vest
Alyssa Weber
Alannah Yip

Male

Francis Bilodeau
Jakob Elliott
Jason Holowach
Sebastien Lazure
Guy McNamee
Sean McColl
Nathan Smith
David Trudeau
Lucas Uchida

The following are the dates and locations of the first two IFSC World Cups with the Canadians who will be competing.

Congrats and good luck to everyone during this year’s international comp scene.

April 13/14 at Meirngen, Switzerland
Alannah Yip
Madison Fischer
Sean McColl
Sebastien Lazure
Nathan Smith
Jason Holowach

April 21/22 at Moscow, Russia
Sean McColl
Sebastien Lazure
Nathan Smith

The post Indoor Weekly: The 2018/19 Canadian Bouldering Team appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Indoor Weekly: Words With Youth Champ Indiana Chapman

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Indiana Chapman Photo Shane Murdoch

Indiana Chapman is one of Canada’s rising climbing stars, with a number of impressive wins and podium finishes.

Last summer, she was the only Canadian to head to a Finals round at the Youth World Championships.

We caught up Chapman at the start of the 2017/18 Canadian competition season. She had just won the first Ontario competition of the season at Coyote Rock.

She went on to win Youth B at Youth Bouldering Nationals in Montreal and many more big comps. Full results here.

How long have you been climbing and where did you start? I was a monkey-bar kid since I was little, so I was always climbing something.

I’ve been indoor rock climbing since I was seven and started at True North Climbing in Toronto. My dad has always climbed and was really the one who introduced me to the sport.

What was the first competition that you won? It’s actually hard to remember the first, but I’m sure it was just a local comp.

The first year I started, I was so happy just to get a participation ribbon. I do know the first big comp was when they still had the Youth D category at Youth Difficulty Nationals and I won that the day after I turned 10.

Last summer you were one of only a few Canadians to make Semis at the World Youth Championships, what was that like? Honestly, I went to Worlds with no expectations at all, determined to do my very best and try my hardest.

Making it to Semis was amazing. Making it to Finals and placing fourth was almost too much to wrap my mind around. What made it even sweeter was sharing the experience with my Team Canada teammates who were there cheering me on and so supportive.

Did any round or problem rise above the others as your favourite? I really loved the first slab problem in Finals.

Knowing that Finals would be extremely hard, I felt so encouraged that I was able to top that one to start things off.

The youth world championships have come to an end for me. After a solid qualifying round I made it to semis, but didn't have the best climb. I came down with a cold the night prior, I was tired, my head hurt, I couldn't focus, and one, two, many mistakes cost me an early fall. My goal coming into this competition was to climb the best I could, and it was disappointing that I couldn't do that in the semi-finals. But I learned so much through this whole experience, from surprising myself in bouldering, to climbing on some amazing routes! Overall I am so grateful to be here and this being my first world championships, I am super proud with my performance!! Thank you so much to my coaches, team Canada, my family, and my sponsors!! • And a big congrats to @victorvxb for crushing finals!! Thank you @murdochshane for the photo! #gamehive #muskokawoods #muskokawoodsathleteambassador #ontherocksclimbing #YWCH2017 #leadclimbing

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What was the experience like overall? To rub shoulders with so many amazing climbers from all over the world, it was really inspiring to say the least.

I learned so much from watching other climbers, and getting to try some pretty challenging problems and routes. It also made me feel encouraged that all the hard training is so worth it.

Who are some of your climbing heroes? There are so many strong climbers out there, but my heroes tend to be the athletes who have the best attitude.

They are hard-working, humble, and they don’t take their success too seriously – like Anna Stohr, Alex Honnald, Sasha DiGiulian and Chris Sharma.

What’s your dream in the world of climbing? I would love to be a professional climber and get to do this full time.

And like everyone else in our competitive climbing scene, maybe one day get a chance to represent Canada at the Olympics.

Do you have any outdoor projects and what’s your favourite place to climb? I wish! Because of my training schedule, I’m a self-admitted gym rat.

I have a dream of moving closer to mountains to make it easier one day and definitely look forward to the time when I will make outdoor projecting my priority.

At the moment, my favourite place is Kletterzentrum gym in Innsbruck, Austria. It’s the most incredible climbing facility I have ever seen.

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Indoor Weekly: Simple Finger Injury Prevention Exercise

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Dr. Jared Vagy, DPT, demonstrates how to use a carabiner to perform an easy finger injury prevention exercise.

The muscles in our forearms extend into long narrow tendons as they reach into the fingers.

The tendons run through sheaths and are anchored to your bone by pulleys that keep your tendons gliding flush.

There are five annular pulleys (A1 to A5) that sling around the bone and four cruciform pulleys that form a cross over the bone to secure the tendon.

When excessive strain is placed on the finger tendons, the pressure exerts an outward force on the pulley which may strain or tear it.

Dynamic moves to and from small edges are the moves that most commonly cause injury. And pulling too much with your fingers on small holds and the repetitive use of full or closed crimps.

You should be aware of dangerous movements that can increase the stress on the carpal tunnel and eventually lead to pain and injury.

By keeping your fingers conditioned for climbing can help you prevent injury. There’s nothing worse than hearing your pulley go Pop!

The exercise involves pushing one finger on the gate of a carabiner while extending your other fingers down and away to work the extendors.

Click on the image to watch the video.

 

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Indoor Weekly: Champ Claire Buhrfeind Talks Climbing

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Claire Buhrfeind recently won both Lead and Speed at the USA Climbing Open Nationals.

Before her trip to Red River Gorge last fall, she had never climbed a 5.14 before. During that trip, she sent Omaha Beach 5.14a, Lucifer 5.14c and Southern Smoke 5.14c.

From Plano, Texas, she’s been on the Texas Youth Climbing Team since she was 10.

About growing up with Team Texas, Buhrfeind said, “Being on Team Texas and coached by Kyle Clinkscales was an intense eight-year journey for me, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything–Cliché, I know, but seriously.

“The team environment, although very competitive, was full of love. Under the mentorship of coaches and older team members, I was encouraged to push my limits, to put in full, consistent effort, to invest in my relationships, and to give back to the team.”

She recently joined the Black Diamond team, more here.

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Indoor Weekly: Aspire Ontario Lead Results 2018

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Finals at Aspire on March 24

On March 24, Aspire climbing gym in Ontario hosted a Lead competition for Youth C to Open.

First and second for Male were Rahul Sapra and Will Johnson, two of Ontario’s leading Open Boulder comp climbers.

In a recent interview with Johnson, he said, “I’m hoping to do as many lead comps this year as possible. I would love to try a speed competition as well. Visit here for the full interview.

The next Lead comps in Ontario are at Climber’s Rock on March 31, at Gravity on April 7 and at True North on April 21.

Below are the Open results from Aspire and full results here.

Male/Female Results
1. Rahul Sapra / Elina Avramova
3. Will Johnson / Kacy Wilson
3. Brandon Barraclough / Vida Wang

The post Indoor Weekly: Aspire Ontario Lead Results 2018 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Indoor Weekly: Dynos Were Once Bad Style

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John Gill doing a dyno at Pennyrile Forest in early 1960s

Dynos weren’t always seen as good style in climbing, of course that was before bouldering and indoor climbing caught on.

The U.S. Army had a climbing rule called three-point suspension to train troops during WWII, which read as, “The climber, to stay balanced and in control, maintained three points of contact at all times.”

Even the classic book, Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills says that dynos are an “elementary approach to rock climbing.”

Gill, in his 1969 American Alpine Journal essay The Art of Bouldering, defined a lunge, which is today’s dyno, as “Considered by many traditional mountaineers to be an execrable mutation of good technique, may be safely employed by the boulderer.”

He also defined the “dynamic layback,” which is today’s deadpoint, as occuring when a climber places their hands “on a hold at the high deadpoint of the swing… The ability to return to the start at a speed somewhat less than that of a free fall.”

Gill didn’t coin the shorthand for dynamic as dyno, instead it came about in the next decade at the Mount Baldy boulders near Upland, California.

The Cuco Boulder had a number of dynamic problems. One of the area’s top climbers was John Long, who said, “The hardest problems were these big dynamics and we developed all these goofy words: ‘dyno,’ ‘mo.’ In the whole Stonemaster thing, it was like we were speaking our own language.”

John Long on the dyno of Pinch Overhang V5 in 1970s Photo Michael Kennedy

Over the next few decades, more climbers began using dynos both indoor and out and they are now part of most indoor climbing competitions.

In April 2002, the first official Guinness World Records dyno competition took place in at the Edge Climbing Centre in Sheffield, England.

The winners were Matt Heason with a 2.575-metre dyno and Katherine Schirmacher with a 1.9-metre dyno.

The distances on the 110-degree wall were measured from the left of two fixed launch holds to the target jug, which needed to be held “in control” (about two seconds) with both hands.

Competitors could choose from two columns of footholds, but could not stand on the launch holds. As the comp progressed, the target grip was moved diagonally up and left at a 45-degree-angle.

That configuration has since been set as the official template by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The current World Record holder is American Skyler Weekes who set it in 2010 at 282 cm.

The current Female World Record holder is Celine Cuypers from Belgium. She broke the 2012 record set by Canadian Elise Sethna at 200 cm by 17.5 cm, which means the new record is 237.5 cm.

Many hard rock climbs have dynos, including the famous Dawn Wall 5.14d on El Cap, Rainbow Rocket V11 in Fontainebleau, Hole in One V10 in Rocklands and Chris Sharmas Mallorca Arch dyno.

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Canadian Rebecca Lewis is North American Ice Champ

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Canadian Rebecca Lewis atop the podium Photo Carter Stritch

Earlier this month, USA Ice Climbing and Peabody Ice Climbing hosted the 2018 UIAA North American Ice Climbing Championships.

Thirty-two athletes representing four countries (USA, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong) competed in both the speed and lead disciplines.

Due to the warm weather leading up to the competition, the speed competition took place on vertical 10m wood towers instead of ice towers. Catalina Shirley and Kevin Lindlau, both from Durango Colorado, took first place in the women’s and men’s categories respectively.

The lead competition started off with a five route, flash style qualifying round.

Athletes had four minutes to complete a route, one minute transition time, four minutes to rest, and another one minute transition before starting the next route.

Routes went in order from easy to challenging to accommodate the wide range of experience; first time competitors to World Cup athletes.

Lead semi-finals for both men and women took place on the 50-foot lead structure. The routes started on a 10-degree overhanging wall and quickly transferred to the 50-degree overhanging wall, where some athletes performed acrobatic figure-four moves to progress from one hold to the next.

Lead finals brought a unique route for the men that went up, over, and down a small arch and then traversed the start of the women’s route and followed a variation of the women’s route to the finishing hold.

Men’s Lead Podium
1st Place – Kevin Lindlau
2nd Place – Liam Foster
3rd Place – David Bouffard

Women’s Lead Podium
1st Place – Rebecca Lewis
2nd Place – Angela Limbach
3rd Place – Georgia Witchel

Men’s Speed Podium
1st Place – Kevin Lindlau
2nd Place – Liam Foster
3rd Place – David Bouffard

Women’s Speed Podium
1st Place – Catalina Shirley
2nd Place – Georgia Witchel
3rd Place – Angela Limbach

Photo by Carter Stritch

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Indoor Weekly: IFSC Readies for World Cups 2018

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IFSC technical delegates, jury presidents, judges, routesetters and the webcasting crew convened in Torino last weekend with IFSC President Marco Scolaris, Vice-President Sport/Events Kobinata Toru and staff for the 2018 IFSC Officials Seminar.

Every year, IFSC officials come together to review the previous season and discuss changes for the current one during a complete two-day seminar near IFSC headquarters. Meetings continued this year, with more than 50 officials coming from all around the world for the seminar.

The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) takes place on April 6, and everyone attending the seminar showed their support by joining the White Card campaign of Peace and Sport.

On Saturday morning, Marco Scolaris and Kobinata Toru welcomed the officials to Torino and outlined the direction of the Sport Department for 2018, in addition to explaining updates to the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 from a sport perspective.

IFSC Sport Officer Silvia Verdolini and IFSC Event Officer Alessandro Di Cato outlined developments to Sport Department activities, followed by an interactive workshop where all participants shared challenges and strengths of events on the 2018 calendar and technical delegates summarised the tasks for everyone attending to improve the collaboration and team work of officials.

In the afternoon, judges, jury presidents and routesetters debriefed on the previous season and discussed rule changes in preparing for the season upcoming.

On Sunday, Kobinata Toru presented on long term goals, leading up to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and beyond, and shared with officials the importance of sport presentation. Additional discussions took place on the career path for routesetters and judges, and jury presidents and judges also took time to dive into rules for Combined events.

“Often behind-the-scenes, our officials are critical to every single IFSC event,” says Kobinata Toru.

“Discussing and dining all together last weekend provided the important opportunity to expand our understanding of the technical needs at IFSC events and the best way to communicate the excitement of our sport on-site and online.”

The 2018 IFSC World Cup season begins in Meiringen next month and the live streaming of bouldering Semis and Finals will take place on April 14..

To see Canada’s 2018/19 Bouldering team visit here.

The post Indoor Weekly: IFSC Readies for World Cups 2018 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

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