Last week, we ran an interview with Tiffany Melius as she prepared for the 2016 BC Open Bouldering Provincials. Going into the event, Tiffany was ready to defend her title as Provincial Champion in a strong group of female competitors. However, her goals for that event did not go as planned. Tiffany ended up placing in sixth during the competition putting her in second place overall in the BC Provincial rankings, with the 2016 BC Open Provincial Champion title going to Alannah Yip.

Often in our interviews with competitors, we focus on the preparation for these events and then the outcome, but rarely do we have a chance to stop and reflect on what happens when an athlete doesn’t meet a goal that they set for themselves. In the sport of climbing, our personal goals are often set just below failure and in doing so we need to be able to weather the storm, reflect on those moments, and get back up and try again. Tiffany was open enough to talk about some of her reflections after this weekend and here is what she had to say.

Tiffany Melius at 2016 Provincials. Photo by Ken Chow ©

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Almost three weeks ago, The Squamish Chief newspaper ran an article that indicated a parcel of land near Brennan Park Recreation Centre passed its ‘second reading of a zoning bylaw amendment’ that would ‘clear the way’ for a new rustic campground. The idea of a rustic campground in this area (2023 Centennial Way) was first proposed by John Harvey and the Mamquam River Access Society (MRAS) in 2014. Since then, The Mamquam River Access Society (MRAS) has gone through the motions of applying to the Provincial Crown for a 30 Year Community-Institutional Lease on a parcel of land and that application will go to public hearing on Tuesday Feb. 2, 2016 at a Townhall meeting.

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This weekend, The Edge Climbing Centre in North Vancouver will host the 2016 BC Open Bouldering Provincials. The top BC athletes from this event will then compete on a National level next month when the 2016 CEC National Bouldering Championships takes place at The Hive North Shore.

Tiffany Melius was born and grew up in the sub-tropical climate of Brisbane on Australia’s east coast. She spent her early 20s traveling around the world, visiting over 35 countries, with working stops in Japan and the UK. Canada was the next scheduled working stop – she arrived on January 1, 2010, and she simply hasn’t left! Tiffany’s first competition in Canada was a Tour de Bloc at Beyond the Crux in Kelowna, on Jan 23, 2010. She placed second in that competition, and won the Western Canada Regionals in April of that same year.

With two wins this season and currently ranked first overall going into this weekend, Tiffany Melius will be a force this weekend at the 2016 BC Open Bouldering Provincials. Coming off a trip to Hueco Tanks and taking second place in Squamish two weeks ago, Tiffany is looking forward to defending her provincial title this weekend. Here we talk to Tiffany about her competition style, how she prepares for competition, and other things, including her new career and life path.

Tiffany Melius at the NW Boulderfest. Photo by Truc Allen Media ©

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With the 2016 Alberta Youth and Open Bouldering Provincials taking place this weekend at the Calgary Climbing Centre, we thought it best to check in with a rising entity in the the Alberta climbing scene, Samuel Tucker. Sam Tucker is 23 years old and lives in Calgary, AB. He started climbing when he was nine years old and hasn’t looked back since. Now a regular part of the Western Canada competition scene, Sam has decided that this year he is willing to give all his focus to training and becoming a better all around climber. In this interview, we sit down with Sam and talk about his early influences in the Calgary climbing scene and where he sees himself going as a climbing, a coach, and as a person. Here is what he had to say.

Sam Tucker competing at the Calgary Climbing Centre. Photo by Ben Haley ©

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Josie Hetyei is an incredibly inspiring climber. She has redpointed multiple 5.14s including one 5.14b. Even more impressive is how she continues to improve and even have breakthroughs at the age of 38 and after 20 years of climbing. She approaches her climbing with an incredible amount of persistence and diligence and she works really hard to accomplish her goals. For our final interview of 2105, Squamish Climbing Magazine caught up with Josie and she had this to say:

Josie Hetyei. Photo Dan Beland©

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A few weeks ago, it was announced that Kelowna will be getting a brand new climbing facility under the ownership of Chris and Nancy de Vries. Gneiss Climbing is slated to open sometime in March 2016 and the new facility will be focused on bouldering with the goal of creating a community focal point for the Okanagan. We thought it would be best to go right to the source and talk to co-owner Chris de Vries, as he dives into some of his early memories at Vic’s Vertical Walls in Saskatoon and how that experience brought him to his next endeavour. Here is what he had to say.

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This weekend, The Hive North Shore will host their first competition in the new facility. The competition this weekend is part of the Climbing Escalade Canada (CEC) National Series as well as sanctioned by Sport Climbing BC. This means that the competition will host a number of athletes travelling from out of town that will go head to head with our local athletes (who, in our opinion, have been putting on a great show!).

Eric Sethna at The Edge last year. Photo courtesy of Pam Eveleigh ©

One of the athletes coming to town this weekend to compete is Eric Sethna. Eric has started his Canadian competition season in grand style by placing first in the last four Tour De Bloc competitions. No stranger to competition, Eric won his first national championship at the age of ten and took part in four World Cup events this year. Here is what he had to say about this weekend and beyond.

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