Last night, the Hive Bouldering Gym in North Vancouver put on a flawless finals round to close out the West Coast schedule of the 2019 Tour De Bloc. With a full crowd in attendance, owner Andrew Coffey on the mic, and plently of beer and some fine Tality Kombucha to go around, the stage was set for a field stacked with great climbers.
Jani Zoraj on #4. Photo by Ken Chow ©
On the Women’s side, the qualification round saw Alannah Yip leading the charge, followed by Allison Vest, Jani Zoraj, Sophie Buitendyk, Gilliam Haigh, and Allison Stewart Patterson.
Allison Vest on only top of #3. Photo by Ken Chow ©
The story of the night was Allison Vest’s dominant performance with tops of all four Women’s problems including two flashes. The competition started with a powerful Women’s #1 that ejected most competitors from the top and then flashes by both Allison vest and Alannah Yip. Women’s #2 proved even more difficulty but saw a buzzer finish top by Allison Vest in the last seconds with Alannah Yip unable to find the beta to the slopers. Women’s #3 appeared almost as tricky as #2, with a hard left arm lock off that punted most of the field with tops again from both Alannah and Allison. In the end, pumped up by topping the last three problems, Allison Vest looked upstoppable as she meat hooked the top volume on #4, flashing the problem to secure her first place finish.
Alannah Yip on Women’s #4. Photo by Ken Chow ©
On the Men’s side, there was an excitement in the air to see what Mike Foley had in store in a strong field of competitors including Ivan Lou, Ethan Hoffman, Matthew Wellington, Guian Gumpac, and Andrew Funk.
Ivan on #3. Photo by Ken Chow
Men’s #1 proved to be an easy challenge, with Andrew Funk sending the problem right out of the gate followed by tops from the the rest of the field and flashes by Ivan Lou and Mike Foley. From this point on, the Men’s problems seemed very difficult, with Men’s #2 and #3 not seeing any tops. Men’s #2 was almost topped early by Andrew Funk but a horrible match at the finishing hold proved too difficult to overcome. The night came down to Men’s #4, a tricky pinch problem followed by a small crimp and an undercling to the finish. After seeing the majority of the field struggle with the pinches, both Ivan and Mike made it past, with Mike being able to latch the crimper and top the problem.
Mike Foley on Men’s #3. Photo by Ken Chow ©
Special thanks to The Hive Bouldering Gym for putting on such a well organized event and to the volunteers. What an event and a great marker going into the next month of Nationals! Good luck everyone!
Women’s Open
1. VEST, Allison
2. YIP, Alannah
3. ZORAJ, Jani
4. J BUITENDYK, Sophie
5. STEWART-PATTERSON, Alison
6. HAIGH, Gillian
Men’s Open
1. FOLEY, Mike
2. LUO, Ivan
3. HOFFMAN, Ethan Yc
4. WELLINGTON, Matthew Dylan
5. GUMPAC, Guian
6. FUNK, Andrew
Special thanks to The Hive Bouldering Gym for putting on such a well organized event and to the volunteers. What an event and a great marker going into the next month of Nationals! Good luck everyone!
Our content would not be available without our sponsors Flashed Climbing, The Hive Bouldering Gym, Climb Base 5, Climb On Squamish, the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, and Kilter Grips. Be sure to give them some love!!
