This article was updated and corrected yesterday to reflect the new changes issued by the IFSC in February of 2019
There is a lot of confusion as to how climbers will be able to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and how our Canadian athletes will fair. We decided to make it simple by creating a graphic that will explain all the different pathways for qualification and how many athletes will be selected from each pathway.
Over the past two years, innovations in climbing shoe technology have been at an overall high and shoe companies across the globe have been tasked with keeping up if they want to stay on top of the market. The team at Evolv is no exception to this rule, with new models coming out at a rapid pace in order to keep current in the competing shoe market.
The Agro is Evolv’s answer to the ever changing market of high performance climbing shoes. The Evolv Agro’s downturned one strap design is built for steep overhanging climbing that demands power in your feet. It features 4.2 mm TRAX SAS high friction rubber, Evolv’s new TPS (Tension Power System) technology and a thick toe rubber upper for optimal toe hooking performance. The Agro is a much more streamlined design that previous Evolv models and is a good step forward in the Evolv high performance line.
We are pleased to announce that Sean McColl has made semi-finals in his first World Cup lead appearance in 2017. Sean completed both qualifications routes along with 22 other athletes moving to the semi-final round.
Here is a summary of the qualifications below.
Below are the results of the other Canadian athletes competing.
As part of the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, Brette Harrington will be bringing down the curtain on Saturday, Feb. 18th, 2017.
Raised in the mountains of Lake Tahoe, Brette first found herself immersed in skiing as a child. After years of competitive ski racing, Brette first found climbing while attending a boarding school in New Hampshire designed for sports athletes. Years later, while attending the University of British Columbia, Brette had the opportunity to sample the granite splitters of the Sea to Sky where she began to push her own limits, sending a number off difficult routes, including The Shadow (5.13a) and The Edge of Pan (5.13b), while putting up a few first ascents of her own. With her skills in tow, Brette hit the media spotlight after soloing Chiaro Di Luna, 11a, 750m in Patagonia. Recently featured in this year’s Reel Rock tour, Brette continues to push the limits of her climbing through a number of big wall experiences. Fresh off a trip from Patagonia (literally yesterday), Brette still has the fire in her eyes as she settles into the West Coast winter with plans for a few mixed climbing adventures in the North Cascades. We had a chance to catch up with Brette before tomorrow nights show and here is what she had to say.
Brette Harrington. Photo courtesy of VIMFF ©
The Squamish Access Society conducted a survey over the last month regarding the upcoming Squamish Rampage Festival on August 13th, 2016. The festival revolves around the Stawamus Chief Boulders and is starting to gather a fair amount of momentum. Squamish Access Society was looking for public opinion regarding the festival and the results of the survey can be found here.
Nathan Kukathas started climbing in 1996 in Australia. Growing up unable to afford climbing gear, Nathan started designing and making his own gear including his harness, backpack, tents, sleeping bag, portaledge and haul bags. Soon his design flare brought him into the Outdoor Industry. Today he is a multi-award winning designer having worked for brands including: Arc’teryx, Sea To Summit and Black Diamond. Nathan is an experienced big wall climber and ACMG guide. Climbing routes up to A5, including first ascents and first repeats of routes from Baffin Island, Pakistan and his home town Squamish. We had a chance to sit down with Nathan and talk about his new prototype and how his recent trip to Yosemite opened his eyes to the possibilities. Here is what he had to say.
Nathan in Baffin Island (2013). Photo courtesy of Nathan Kukathas ©
Hi Nathan, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions about this weekends Big Wall Event and the launch of your new company Grade 7 Equipment. Can you start off by first telling us about the event this Saturday?
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to drop by the Ground Up Climbing Centre in Squamish, BC. I found our friend Tyson Braun hard at work, putting the final touches on the walls and getting ready for pad installation. Tyson was kind enough to give me a full walk through of the facility and I must say that the first impression left me in awe. Leaving the facility, I was truly excited for Squamish and very proud of Lauren Watson and Tyson Braun, as well as Adrian Biachut, Jessica Keithlin, and Jeff Lightburn, for their vision and dedication to such a beautiful place.
Here is a sneak peak of the progress at Ground Up Climbing Centre.When taking the photos, we didn’t plan on sharing them, but after seeing the facility, we just couldn’t keep them to ourselves (sorry for the quality)!
Yesterday, Blurr, a Squamish-based outdoor company, posted an interesting article regarding ‘Outdoor Etiquette’ in our wild spaces and we thought it would be good to pass along their thoughts and ideas for preserving our outdoor spaces.
The following is an article posted on the Blurr Website. Please visit the original article here.
We’re fortunate to have Squamish as home base for blurr and to have many members of the local community engage with our company as employees, ambassadors, product testers, organisers of grass roots events that support outdoor sport or people wanting to chat more about what we do. All of it stems from the phenomenal geography that surrounds us and the resulting world class, accessible outdoor recreation that has developed as a result.
Peter Winter / Leavenworth WA / Grand Wall Boulders / 25 V4 Circuit / Home Campus Board
Hope BC / Jeremy Smith / Scrub your Face / Godman Creek / Ring Workouts / Wiretap
