Nationals, Nationals, and Rope Season!

As I'm sure most of you know, ABS Nationals (Open and Youth) were a few weeks ago, held in the one and only, snowy Madison, Wisconsin. To be honest, I expected it to be a frozen, Midwestern wasteland, but it turned out to be quite a nice town, making it easy to come back two weekends in a row. This year, Open's brought the biggest crowd yet, with ninety strong competitors. Luckily, I was one of the first climbers out of isolation, saving me six hours of napping. 

Coming into qualifiers, I really didn't have any expectations. I've been training and preparing for this competition for quite a while, but going up against some of the best climbers in the nation seemed very daunting. However, I came out of iso and just climbed my best. After flashing the first qualifier, I already felt quite good, so as I came up to the fifth problem (a slab nonetheless) with no other tops, I didn't expect much. But, by some miracle, after a few falls, I managed to stick the first move, and then crimp my way to the top. Being the one of the first climbers, I thought I did ok, but I still had no idea how I actually did. So I watched a few other climbers, ate some dinner, hung out with friends for the next 5 or so, until finally: results. Coming in 21st was amazing, I never expected to make semis, or really even come close.

Saturday morning rolled around, and I was stoked to try some really hard boulders. Getting close on both the first and second slabby boulders was somewhat frustrating at the time, but semis went just as I had hoped. The boulders were exceptionally enjoyable (shoutout to the routesetters) and it was an amazing feeling climbing alongside competitors who I thought would leave me far behind. At the end of the day, I came in 20th, far beyond what I anticipated.

This competition was certainly an experience to be had. It was my first large Open competition and it showed that I am capable of competing at this level. As I graduate from youth, I will be competing in Opens almost exclusively and it's comforting to know that it's manageable.

The next weekend, I was back, and this time for my last youth bouldering nationals. This time, it was a little more disappointing. During qualifiers, I felt a lot more pressure and it reflected greatly in my performance. After finishing, I knew I had done poorly, but I unexpectedly made it into semis. During semis, I learned my lesson from qualifiers, and just tried to climb my best. This reflected in my performance on the last two climbs where I performed relatively well. However, with a big screw up on problem one, I failed to get any tops, and came in 16th. Overall, I was fairly content in my performance during semis (except for problem 1) and learned a few lessons that will come handy during my Open circuit.

After a hectic two weeks travelling, competing, and making up schoolwork, it's nice to be in rope season! I am extremely excited to explore the outdoor climbs around Colorado and compete in open nationals. After a good bouldering season, I am feeling strong on a lot of rope climbs; all I need is a little more endurance.

My next blog post will most likely be after Rope Nationals in March so stay tuned. I will also be updating you on any outdoor trips I do!

2016: Divisionals and Some Outdoor Updates

A sweet dyno on Problem #2 in Qualies

Well, the new year is here! Which means more competitions, more outdoor climbing, and another semester of school, all of which I am quite excited for.

So on the competition front, youth bouldering divisionals were just last weekend in Tucson, AZ (conveniently still while winter break was going on). The comp went quite well, with me finishing fourth in the end. However, the main lessons I took away were my weaknesses, especially slab. Both in qualifiers and finals it was the slab route that pulled me down (quite literally). All in all, it was a very enjoyable final bouldering divisionals: hanging out with old friends and having Nerf gun battles in isolation.

A desperate campus on Problem #3
in Finals

On the outdoor side of things, I have so far gone on both of my free weekends. My first outdoor climb this year was near Sedona, AZ at The Anvils, a new place for me. After spending a good half hour trying to cross a somewhat flooded river, we finally made it to the boulders. I managed to get a fairly quick send of a very nice climb, Mars Attacks, my first V9 in Arizona. Afterwards, I gave Alien Baby Right (V9) and Big Sexy (V10) a good amount of attempts without too much success. Out of all of the places in Arizona, this is one of my favorites. The boulder problems really flow and allow for very interesting beta. The approach is also quite enjoyable as long as you don't fall into a river.

The first move and the crux of
Mars Attacks (V9)

My second venture outdoors was just yesterday in Colorado. A few friends and I hit up Matthew-Winters Park which is only fifteen minutes away from school. The approach was quite icy which ended in me slipping and landing on my ass upwards of ten times throughout trip (my choice of approach shoe was also not the best). Climbing in the cold was also quite a new experience for me, and I think its safe to say I'm not a fan of numb fingers. I gave most of my attempts to a 2-move V10, Purity Control, and I looked at some nice projects for the spring when it warms up including Bambi (V11+). Eventually, however, the lack of feeling in our toes and fingers lead us back home.

I am very eager to see what this new year holds for me in terms of outdoor climbing. With rope season coming up, I think this will be the semester of the 5.14. I have already begun looking at some nearby 5.14a's to begin projecting.

Well, now I'm back in Colorado, in for my second semester at school, one which will be packed with more training, competition, and outdoor climbing. In two weeks, I'm off to my first Open Bouldering Nationals followed by my last Youth Bouldering Nationals, both of which will be in Madison, WI. Then, it's straight to endurance training for Open Lead Nationals in Boston, MA. I am thrilled to start this new chapter in my climbing career and it's all happening this semester. Which means, training, training, and more training (especially on some slab).

Regionals and Onwards

Climb #5

Well, it's that time of the year again, bouldering season. Two weekends ago, I flew back to Arizona right before finals week. It was time for regionals, the first qualifying competition of the youth bouldering circuit. My region consisted of Arizona and New Mexico, which together put eleven climbers in my category. The onsight comp was held at my home gym, AZ on the Rocks

Isolation took a while, a good four hours, in fact, but at least I got to sharpen my non-existing hacky sack skills. Finally, it was climb time. I managed to flash five out of the six climbs and managed to get far on climb #4. This put me in second place with Ben Hanna flashing all six climbs.

The one that got away - Climb #4

To be honest the comp went very well. The climbs weren't exactly my style, but I still managed to figure them out and work through some tricky sequences (such as Climb #6 in the video below). I have also since sent the fourth climb, so I'm feeling pretty confident for this last season. It was also great to have another competition back at my gym after all this time. As always, I would like to thank the routesetters, AZR, and all the other people in the background of the comp. It also wouldn't be a competition without all the competitors who came from all over these two states!

Well, now it's time to use my three weeks off to train for divisionals, which are being held in Tuscon the second weekend of January (luckily right before I head back to school). I'll also be beginning to train for ropes, as open nationals are already in March. I'm really excited to see how this season holds up, being my last year of youth and my first year in opens.

Thank you everyone for keeping up with my blog and have a happy holiday season. The next post will most likely be right after divisionals, so stay tuned.

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!

New Blog and Initial Updates!

I know all of you must have been asking yourselves “What has Martin been up to recently?” Well….

I FINALLY decided to make a blog after my nine years of competitive climbing; the main reason being all of the exciting plans I have for these next few years (yes, this includes world cups!).

Currently, I am studying physics at the Colorado School of Mines. Having just moved to Colorado, I have a whole new environment and community to explore and get involved in. The climbing, both outdoors and indoors, is incredible here and the community is extremely strong.

The School of Mines itself is home to not only great engineers, but many strong climbers. It would be great to see all of us come together in both the ABS Opens and CCS for this first time this year. I am currently working with a few friends to put together a representative team. More news to follow!

On the topic of outdoor climbing, a few weekends back, I traveled up to Lincoln Lake on Mt. Evans for my first ever outdoor climb in Colorado. It's easy to say, it was very different from that of Australia, especially in altitude (11,500 ft compared to 0). The approach was rough, being a 500 m steep cliff with no set path, but luckily I made it all in one piece. Sadly, I didn't manage to send anything outstanding, but I did set my eyes on a nice V10 project for next time. It also opened my eyes to one of my big weaknesses, finger strength. Let’s just say, I’ll be spending some time on the hangboards for the next few months. Regardless to say, it was a great experience. I love climbing in new, exciting areas and this was no exception. With great views, right next to a mountain lake, and fantastic climbs, this is a place you shouldn’t miss. (I'll hopefully get some pictures soon!)

So, all in all, a good start to a new adventure; from Arizona, to Australia, and now to Colorado. 2016 will be a great year and I want to keep you all updated. I will be spending a lot of time exploring this new area and getting involved with the community. I want to find as many outdoor areas as possible (any recommendations?) and hopefully project something hard. In terms of competitions, ABS, CCS, SCS, World Cups, University Championships, you name it, I am planning on being there.

I should be keeping this blog updated a couple times a month, so be sure to follow me! Stay tuned for more updates about outdoor climbing in Colorado, climbing at Mines, and any competitions I attend! The next post coming up will give some more information on my season so far!