Competitions So Far

So as most of you know, it's bouldering season. So far, it's just been locals, of which I did two in Arizona, when visiting home, and one in Colorado.

The first competition I attended this season was back at home at the Phoenix Rock Gym. It's been a few years since I was last at this gym, but it is still the good-old gym it was. The routes were well set and challenging, with no one topping the last boulder. I took first place here; but, more importantly, I got to see all of my old friends from Arizona and have a lot of fun.

My next local was another redpoint in Boulder, at The Spot. The community here is quite strong, and the routes surely reflected that. It was a rough start for me, getting shut down on the harder problems. Eventually, however, I managed to come through and send the second to last boulder. Finally, at the last second, I managed to send another, very dynamic, boulder, with a substantial amount of falls. I think I will always remember this comp as one of my greatest comebacks.



My most recent ABS local was in Tuscon at The Bloc. The climbs here were excellent; the Bloc is a great bouldering gym and always offers a wide variety of challenging problems. I managed to flash a solid five boulders and then spent the time projecting a few of the harder ones. It was certainly one of the more enjoyable competitions of the season

Finally, my most recent competition was this weekend, right here at Mines in our very own Rec Center. Even on our small walls, the routesetters put in a whole week to make the best possible climbs for this redpoint competition. I certainly had a great time and ended up taking third in the advanced category. The competition, however, also included a special dyno comp. Being not too strong at dynoing, I was quite happy to be among the four finalists. Finally, I came in second after a pretty intense superfinal. All in all, it was a magnificent competition and I got to learn significantly more about the community here at Mines.

Again, I hope to keep this blog updated a few times a month, so make sure to stay tuned. With regionals and the heat of the bouldering season right around the corner, there will be more and more updates!