Posts Tagged ‘Bouldering’
Check out prAna ambassadors Alex Puccio and Alizée Dufraisse as they compete in Austria. You can watch the event live for FREE at http://ifsc.tv/ Semifinals: Saturday 6:30am & Finals: 2:00pm
Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.
Congratulations to Alex on another cover!
Last fall on the road to the south my brother Francois showed me a very beautiful granite boulder. It’s close from Domodossola on the top of a nice village. About 15 years ago Roberto Fioravanti had discovered this rock and showed it to my brother. He forgot about it and only during this trip he remembered it. A few lines on the big boulder had already been climbed by Roberto and other locals but one big overhanging face had still not seen any ascent. (as far as I can tell) From the first moment I felt very inspired by the line. I went back in December were I was able to climb the stand-start. I had to go back there a few times until I was able to climb the complete line from the sit-start. It is one of the very beautiful lines I climbed in the last few years. I have to admit that after “L’isola che non c’e” I have a preference for steep climbing. A pure line not contrived. Beautiful slopers and pinches all the way up. A high top out without being dangerous with a nice landing. What could I ask more? A weird plant with a curious bulb looking like a little man as well as the poisonous mushrooms (Amanite Phalloide) and the old lady walking through the forest followed by her 2 cats inspired me to this name: Mandragore.
~Fred Nicole, prAna Ambassador
Classic video from Fred…
Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.
It was only a few weeks ago when I had no plans for spring break. I knew that I wanted to go climbing, but my plans just were not materializing. I finally decided to go to Horseshoe Canyon for the first weekend of the break. I traveled with my team members and some of their families. Before we left a friend of mine told me that they were holding a competition the same weekend I was going. I always have been a competitor, and I felt that the competition would push me to climb harder. I signed up for the competition and then left for Arkansas. The trip went pretty quickly, and we were able to make it in around sunset. We ate dinner then decided to go for a little night bouldering session. My friends and I headed to the Idaho boulders to do a few climbs. We warmed up, and then headed off to work on Glass Bowl V10. This climb is a very beautiful line that consists of dynamic movements into a core intensive mono move near the end. I ended up sending it in about 30 minutes, and my friend Addison came up just short of sending the problem. I hiked back feeling happy about the send, but I also knew that I would have to send it again the next day in the competition.
The Pebble Wrestle competition was set up in a redpoint format. This meant that the score would consist of my top ten climbs. Ten boulder problems is a lot for one day, but I was up for the challenge. After the rules meeting we were set free to go climb. My friend Addison and I first went to the areas we were the night before. We warmed up on a few problems, and then continued to an arête V8 named Numerical Methods. Addison got it first try and I got in a few tries later. The next climb we headed to was Glass Bowl. I was a little worried that I would not be able to send it again, and I would eventually end up wasting some valuable energy. I luckily sent 
the climb first go, and we were then on our way to the Far East Boulder. I made quick work of a few climbs there, consisting of Jeff’s Prow V9, African Arête V7, and Traumatic Lunch V6. While climbing there, we met some nice guys that told us about a boulder that had hard fun climbs on it. We were excited to hear the news, and they thankfully led us to the boulder. This boulder had a big overhang with pockets all over the place. The boulder was very unique for the area. The first climb we did was named Undertow V10. I onsighted the climb, and Addison did it soon after. We both agreed that it probably felt more like a V8, but the guide book and the score sheet said V10. We then did another V7 that was named Hang Ten. At this point we were completely wiped out, so we headed back to camp to get some food and rest for a little while. After some lunch and an hour of rest, we headed back out to get our last few climbs. We first stopped at the climb Orbital Mechanics V8. I knew that I only had a few goes on it so I had to make them really count. I got it on my third try, but I really had to fight for the finish. With limited energy I decided to finish off with attempting some V7’s. The first one I went to was Leather Face. The climb was really not too difficult, but I was having a hard time topping out the problem. After numerous failed tries, I finally topped the climb. I wasted a decent amount of energy on the climb and knew I would have to do my last climb quickly. I was fortunate to flash my last climb named Butt Plug V7.
After the most physically exhausting competition I have ever done, we turned in our scorecards and continued to enjoy the company of the 80 competitors and have some food. The competition was put together very well and had a very fun atmosphere. Dynamic Earth held the event and did an amazing job. The raffle was one of the largest I have seen, plenty of Fat Tire for those over 21, and plenty of friendly competitors and spectators. Following the food, they announced the results. I knew that I climbed well for me, but I really had no idea how I would stack up against all the other climbers. When they announced my name as the winner there was a slight silence as people looked around. I walked up to get my award, and then everybody started to clap. The majority of the people were from Missouri, Arkansas, and a few other states. I guess they did not recognize my name from any of their climbing groups. Luckily my friend Addison gave me a loud cheer. It was not too long thought until the competitors and spectators started to embrace me and congratulate me. I really did not take it offensively and took of it more of a compliment that I came out of nowhere. I was happy to reach out to a climbing community that I really had no knowledge of. We headed over to the barn after the results and raffle. They had a pretty cool band that played a few Black Keys songs (my favorite band). It was really nice to mingle with all of the different climbing communities and hear about their groups and climbing stories. The competition was an overall success, and I am really happy that I went.
I now am turning my attention to SCS Adult Nationals. I am building up my endurance, and I plan to be very competitive in Boulder.
~Owen Graham, prAna Ambassador
Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.
