After two years of effort, Sender Films groundbreaking 6-part First Ascent: The Series is now being released on DVD box set and digital download at www.senderfilms.com. For those of you who have been following them for a while, this is NOT to be confused with their 2006 film “First Ascent.” It’s a whole new thing. A co-production with National Geographic International, First Ascent: The Series is a culmination of everything they have been striving for in terms of cinematography, story-telling, and cutting-edge vertical feats. They are really proud of it…. enjoy
Congratulations to Alex Puccio & Daniel Woods on their latest win! PrAna was fortunate to sponsor 4 of the top 8 finishers for the day. We are all looking forward to the next stop on the tour and wish all the athletes the best.
The Unified Bouldering Championships Pro Tour at the 2010 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market
The UBC PRO TOUR IS BIG, BAD AND BACK! This Summer, the marquee event of the North American professional bouldering calendar, the Unified Bouldering Championships Pro tour lands in Salt Lake City August 2nd & 3rd 2010 for the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market (ORSM). The best pro climbers in the world will compete for a $10,000 cash purse on the biggest stage in climbing.
Presented by returning partner Eastern Mountain Sports, and a new partner in The North Face, the 2010 UBC Pro Tour at ORSM will continue to elevate the sport of bouldering as the highpoint of the biggest industry gathering of the year. Consistent with the NE2C Productions spirit of innovation, the event will continue to break new ground for professional climbing in North America, being broadcast live online on Tuesday August 3rd With Pro Semi-Finals at 9am MST/ 11am EST and Pro Finals at 7:30pm MST/9pm EST at http://video.boulderingcomps.com! Climbers from around the world can tune in to catch the action live as it unfolds.
Since 2007, NE2C Productions has brought events to ORSM that continue to raise the bar for bouldering. “Our event at the ORSM has always been the highpoint of the competition season for us and every year the top athletes do something more ludicrous than we ever thought possible. Seeing Daniel Woods finally break through in 2009 after two straight years of Chris Sharma showing everyone why he’s the best was an amazing moment and we’re honestly just giddy at the thought of what’s going to go down in 2010,” says Pete Ward, Managing Partner of NE2C. “I’m getting stoked just thinking about it.”
Once you reach a certain point in your career it’s great to be able to sit back and reflect upon what you’ve accomplished. It’s gratifying to see in hindsight how far you’ve come and this vantage point you can also look forward to what you have yet to achieve in the future. At the age of 29 professional climber Chris Sharma is in a good position to see the route his life has taken so far and start making plans to a forge a new line, a course of travel into the years that lie ahead.
Known as one of the strongest sport climbers in world today, Chris Sharma continues to set the curve for aspiring and professional rock monkeys alike. Appearing in several feature films he first came to my attention back in 2007 during a pre-release screening of the movie King Lines. In this production from Sender Films Sharma introduced audiences to the emerging discipline of deep water soloing where climbers scale incredibly hard routes on rock faces high above ocean pools. In King Lines he works a particularly difficult problem whose crux is a 7-foot dyno to be stuck or risk a 60-foot fall to sea below.
Combining athleticism and a profound appreciation for the natural world Chris Sharma is a climber of both strength and grace that defines the lifestyle and passion of a man comfortable in the profession he loves.
See Chris Sharma in Sender Film’s “First Ascent: The Series” available on DVD and online download in September
“The last week Chris did the first ascent of his last route bolted, ¨Era Bella¨9a in Margalef. Also he did the route when he was warming up! Yes, warming up is important!! hehe”
Alex Puccio and Daniel Woods walked away with top honors at last weekends Battle In The Bubble and a $1,000 each in prize money. With Paul Robinson injured and Chris Sharma at the New River Rendezvous, no prAna athletes figured in the mens finals but the women came through like champs! Alex Puccio remains undefeated since she joined the prAna team this year. Angie Payne (2nd), Tiffany Hensley (7th) and Tyler Youngwerth (9th) all looked strong with Angie pushing Puccio the entire way. Congratulations to all the participants as we look forward to another great year of events.
Check out the Highlight Reel from The Spot Gym HERE
For $10 you get a DVD loaded with 10 short climbing clips with all proceeds going to the Access Fund. You can get a copy at either the Access Fund Store or on Mountain Gear. Here is the list of segments being featured:
Catching Reality – Emil Sergel
Hey Presto – Paul Diffley, Hot Aches Productions
Infinity Lane – TLC Productions
Medeoz – Guillaume Broust
PURE: Sonoma County with Kevin Jorgeson – Chuck Fryberger
Steph Davis – Sender Films
Steve McClure, Hubble – Ben Pritchard
Weeks Before Winter, featuring Chris Sharma – Mike Call
Plus a bonus film, Blind and Naked, by Cedar Wright, and an Access Fund message from Big Up Productions’ Josh Lowell.
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.
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.
Men1. Chris Sharma, 2. Paul Robinson 3. Daniel Woods 4. Vasya Vorotnikov 5. Rob D’Anastasio 6. Magnus Midtboe
Women1. Alex Puccio 2. Alex Johnson 3. Lisa Rands 4. Francesca Metcalf 5. Isabelle Faus 6. Kasia Pietras
Chris dropped into Planet Granite the other night which is not far from his childhood home in Santa Cruz, to show his latest slideshow, meet the crowd and sign… well sign anything they gave him. Here is what Phebe, our northern California Rep had to say…
“It was so great to see the climbing community alive and well at Planet Granite San Francisco! 100’s of climbers and enthusiasts showed up to meet Chris Sharma and watch his slide show. The line to receive an autographed poster and a photo with Chris was never ending! We ran out of posters – but that didn’t matter – he continued to autograph climbing shoes, chalk bags, t-shirts and even videos. His slide show was so inspiring and gorgeous it made my hands sweat and my desire to climb overwhelming! Chris was truly inspiring”.
It is great to see prominent climbers reaching out whenever they can. We asked Chris his thoughts and in his usual graceful manner he said…
“I was happy to come to Planet Granite. They are super friendly people and it’s is a really nice gym in a really great location”.
Congratulations to Alex Puccio & Daniel Woods on their latest win! PrAna was fortunate to sponsor 4 of the top 8 finishers for the day. We are all looking forward to the next stop on the tour and wish all the athletes the best.
The UBC PRO TOUR IS BIG, BAD AND BACK! This Summer, the marquee event of the North American professional bouldering calendar, the Unified Bouldering Championships Pro tour lands in Salt Lake City August 2nd & 3rd 2010 for the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market (ORSM). The best pro climbers in the world will compete for a $10,000 cash purse on the biggest stage in climbing.
Once you reach a certain point in your career it’s great to be able to sit back and reflect upon what you’ve accomplished. It’s gratifying to see in hindsight how far you’ve come and this vantage point you can also look forward to what you have yet to achieve in the future. At the age of 29 professional climber 
Yes, warming up is important!! hehe”
“It was so great to see the climbing community alive and well at Planet Granite San Francisco! 100’s of climbers and enthusiasts showed up to meet Chris Sharma and watch his slide show. The line to receive an autographed poster and a photo with Chris was never ending! We ran out of posters – but that didn’t matter – he continued to autograph climbing shoes, chalk bags, t-shirts and even videos. His slide show was so inspiring and gorgeous it made my hands sweat and my desire to climb overwhelming! Chris was truly inspiring”.
