It’s
been a long time since my last post, my last trip outside, and the last
competition series, and there have been several changes in my life in the
meantime. The last ABS competition series didn’t end as well as I had hoped it
would. I won the NorCal-Nevada Regional and the Division 1 Championships in my
age group, but after getting sick following the divisional competition, and
taking on another class at school, I was not physically or mentally prepared
for the nationals and ended up taking tenth place. Around the same time, I went
to Bishop twice, each time for a weekend, and worked on the Buttermilker Stand
(V12) and got very close but was not strong enough to finish. Being
disappointed and kind of depressed, feeling like I wasn't really improving, I started
working out a little with my Rocknasium coach’s core fitness group in the
summer. I think that was helping, but I also began to feel pretty lonely, as a
lot of the people I used to enjoy climbing with had moved on and I didn’t
really feel like I had anyone to climb hard with at the gym anymore.
A
few months ago my parents and I discussed how my life was going and what I
wanted to accomplish as a boulderer. I began to realize that I needed to train
more intensively to reach the level I want to eventually climb at. I also
realized that I need friends to climb with because it’s very depressing to
train alone. Shortly after that discussion my friend, Linda, helped my parents
get in touch with Scot Jenerik, and I made the decision in early October to join
his team, Zero Gravity, which is a large climbing team in the Bay Area with
many other strong climbers who are around my age.
Training
with Zero Gravity has been both very fun and challenging, and I believe it is
very effective. It is motivating to train with people who are your own age and
who are also really strong, and it is very fun making new friends. I am working
out and training over twice as much as before and have already gotten used to
the routines, and I feel like I’m already getting stronger. I don’t get to see
the Rocknasium people as much as I used to, but I’m really happy to be on Zero
Gravity.
Bishop!
Last
weekend I took a trip to Bishop with the hope of finally sending the
Buttermilker Stand. I had worked on this problem for about five days spread out
over the course of nearly a year. Most of those days were spent learning the
strange toe hooks and awkward body positions, which I hadn't had much
experience on before. On my last trip, I got frustratingly close, falling twice
at the last hard move with the hold in my hands, and then had to wait seven
months before trying it again. On my first day there this trip, it was in the
upper thirties in the Buttermilks and slightly breezy. I took time warming up
and after feeling prepared, I headed to my project. On the first go, I fumbled
with the start a little and fell off the long move to the sloper. I then tried
the middle and last moves and did them with more difficulty than I had
expected. The next go, I fell off the last move but felt my confidence
returning, so I rested, then sent! Then send was desperate to say the least! I
barely stuck the last move, my right had stuck the horn, but both my feet and
my left hand cut and I barely held the swing, then I had to basically one arm
the next move! I was so relieved and happy to send this problem as it was both
very difficult for me and something I had wanted to finish since I started
working on it almost a year ago. I included a video of the send at the bottom
of this post.
After
sending the Buttermilker Stand, I worked on the Mystery (V11/12) for a while. I
was able to do what once was the crux for me without much difficulty, but found
the beginning moves hard. After putting in several goes, my fingers started to
get to tired to hold the tension between the crimps, so I stopped.
Next,
after getting a celebratory pastry at Schat's Bakery, I headed over to the
Happy's to try to finish the day by sending Kill On Sight (V11). I had done the
stand to this line on my last trip, but didn't do the sit as I was tired from
trying the Buttermilker. When I arrived at the climb, I was feeling fresh and
ready to send. After getting better beta for the crux of the stand and fumbling
around on the first move a few times, I stuck the first move, quickly went
through all the crux moves of the stand, and finished! It was a very enjoyable
problem. The toe hook and the move to the pinch in the roof are very fun and
the end compression is amazing.
After
that, with not a lot of daylight remaining, I headed to Toxic Avenger (V9) to
see if I could do it. I had tried this problem on a few other trips, but had
always been tired from working other problems. It went down without much fuss
on my third attempt. It was very fun and the dyno was incredibly cool! Then,
before the sun completely set, I went to He Got Game and looked at the right
exit, which goes at V10. After feeling the holds and finding my exact beta, I
hopped on and flashed it! None of the moves felt particularly hard for me,
probably in part because I used to make up problems like this all the time in
the gym when I was younger. The problem revolves around making a large move out
of a roof and getting a far away toehook that's above your head, then swinging
off it! I was psyched to finish off the day having sent the Buttermilker Stand,
one of my main goals in Bishop, flashing He Got Game Right, my first V10 flash,
and having done Kill On Sight and Toxic Avenger, two climbs I had wanted to do for a
while! This was by far my best climbing day to date and I am psyched and feel
like I will be able to climb even harder soon!
The
next day I felt well rested and quite fresh considering the day before. I
headed back to the Buttermilks with the goal of sending Stained Glass (V10). I
warmed up on the Birthday Boulders, then tried Parking Problem (V9), a problem
I had looked at on my first trip to Bishop and wanted to do. It is a kind of
lowball and a little sharp, but the moves are fun, revolving around a throw to
a sharp sidepull crimp, then locking it off with a bad smear and moving to an
okay sloper higher up. I sent after a few goes, then moved on to Stained Glass. Stained Glass is a very beautiful golden dihedral beginning with a few
technical moves between bad crimp gastons and ending with a giant move off a
terrible left hand sloper crimp to a huge jug at the lip. I had tried it almost
a year before, after sending the Mandala, but didn't get very far. On my first
go this trip, I got to the last move and fell a couple inches from the jug.
After a few more goes, I sent! I went on to Bubba Gump (V9) and worked on it
for a little while. I managed to get to the last move, but swung out and fell.
By this time I was exhausted and starting to bleed; and so called it a day.
Overall
this was my most successful weekend trip ever and I am psyched that I am
improving!
Videos
Buttermilker Stand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItYZYVZ5rKw
Kill On Sight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ExRvYYUpWk
Stained Glass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTpciBmTs-8
