prAna: Sustainable Clothing

It was an event that came down to the very last problem to determine the champions. A full house watched some of the best climbers in the world duel it out for top honors at the RocComp in Baltimore, Maryland. It was a great opportunity for a global audience to watch the live webcast by UBC. We are sure more live climbing action will open up the sport to a much greater audience.

Chris Sarma Flashing Finals via YouTube

Earth Treks Roc Comp: Presented by Mountain Hardwear and the UBC pro tour

By Charlotte Jouett-Bosley

This wasn’t your average climbing competition. The Earth Treks Roc Comp, quickly named the biggest comp ever held on the east coast, started the UBC Pro Tour off with a bang this past weekend. On Friday, Earth Treks’ Columbia gym hosted a dual pro-qualifying round and citizens’ competition with over 300 competitors. A vendor village filled the parking lot swarmed with people trying out climbing gear, playing on the slackline demo and filling their bellies with amazing food. The following day, the top 20 men and women pro athletes from Friday’s qualifying red-point round took to the walls at Earth Treks’ Timonium for semi-finals. Top athletes battled it out in the semi-final and finals rounds that were broadcast live online around the world. With over 500 spectators, the crowd went wild when Chris Sharma made the impossible possible, being the only person to send two of the three finals problems and executed moves that left even the pro climbers’ jaws dropped and the crowd in awe. Comparable to a rock concert of epic proportions, some of the most amazing climbers were showcased by lighting, music and energy like you’ve never encountered before. Congratulations to prAna athletes Chris Sharma, Paul Robinson and Alex Puccio for their top place finishes.

Chris called us Sunday morning and he was still buzzing from the energy at the Earth Treks comp. Being the old guy out there, who doesn’t climb on plastic and rarely boulders anymore, he had no expectations for his performance. In the end, he said it was one of his most memorable competitions thanks to the vibe of the crowd, his competitors and his good friend Obe Carrion, the MC for the event, going crazy on the mike. Chris is off to Spain now to get some burns in on his latest project “First Round First Minute” and he’ll be back for the New River Rendezvous in Fayetteville, WV in May.

On the women’s side, the “Alex’s” continued their domination with another 1-2 finish with Puccio taking top honors.  Puccio said that she was in a lot of pain with a nagging finger tendon injury but she pushed past the pain because of the importance of the event.  She is giving it a solid week of rest with abundant icing and no climbing.  Her comments, “The comp was so awesome. The lights, the music, the people… what a show”!

It is great to see such a high level of climbing and we thank all the competitors, organizers and the crowd for making it such a superb event.

Men 1. Chris Sharma, 2. Paul Robinson 3. Daniel Woods 4. Vasya Vorotnikov 5. Rob D’Anastasio 6. Magnus Midtboe

Women 1. Alex Puccio 2. Alex Johnson 3. Lisa Rands 4. Francesca Metcalf 5. Isabelle Faus 6. Kasia Pietras

Crowd Videos From Sharma’s Flash

RocComp Images from Charlotte Jouett-Bosley,  Alex Kahn and Chris Hamars