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.
New Bouldering Gym in Kelowna | Interview with Co-owner Christiaan de Vries
Video: Drone footage of Dark Waters (v12)
This clip is mostly about Bear Cam Media testing out some drone footage but still worth a watch. Dark Waters (v12) is located in Clear Creek Canyon, CO and was first put up by Daniel Woods.
Video: Switzerland’s Hardest Traverse Mediomalomania (8C)
Permin Bertle lets us check out Mediomalomania (8C), the hardest traverse in Switzerland. Got to love the throw back to Donnie Darko!
What resisted to my trying more than 35 days in 2013, worked out in 3 days this year (2015) as an intermediate project to Meiose (9b) in Charmey. (My baby girl wasn’t keen on rope climbing and this was the only spot she liked.) 30 moves on nice molasse sandstone with a 8B section in the beginning, a 8B traverse over the next 15 moves and a last redpoint crux on bad slopers (7B+).
Tour De Bloc 13 Wall Brawl @ University of Alberta FINAL Results
Back on the Tour De Bloc Calendar, the folks at the University of Alberta climbing centre put on a pretty fantastic show yesterday. Being the last competition in the calendar for 2015, a few of the usual competitors were not in attendance but that certainly did not affect the level of energy brought from the competitors. Special thanks to Lloyd King for keeping us informed during the competition.
Finalists of the TDB13 Wall Brawl. Photo courtesy of Lloyd King ©
Tour De Bloc Update: New Live Feed link + Semi-Final Results
Big things are happening at the University of Alberta today with the Tour De Bloc 13 stopping in town for the Wall Braw. We have a new live feed for the event below and results going into finals.
Video: Tour De Bloc Finals @ Seven Bays Boulders
Sweet little video of the final round at the Tour De Bloc 13 in Halifax, NS at Seven Bays Boulders (Nov. 21, 2015).
Video: Sean McColl in Fontainebleau
Video by Cold House Media of Sean McColl in Fontainbleau, France.
Video: Trailer of ‘ZA’ featuring Daniel Woods, Dave Graham, Nina Williams, and Nalle Hukkataival in South Africa
Big Paw Productions presents ZA, a new climbing film featuring Daniel Woods, Dave Graham, Nina Williams, and Nalle Hukkataival. Shot entirely in South Africa, ZA follows the worlds strongest boulderers as they take down some of their hardest problems to date.
Video and Live Stream: Tour De Bloc Returns to U of A
Tour De Bloc 13 will return to the University of Alberta this weekend on Dec. 12, 2015. This will be the first TDB competition held at the new facility and is surely not to be missed. Information for this event can be found at ualbertaclimb.ca
Video: Chris Sharma on “Magie Blanche” (8b+)
Just outside the town of Mouriès, France, in the small Alpilles Mountains, sits a legendary iconic route from the 1980s called, “Magie Blanche” (White Magic). This twenty-meter-high dead-vertical wall of 8b+ (5.14a) has little in common with the routes typically scaled by today’s sport climbers. On October 16, the best among them took on the challenge. Here is the story of a truly unique encounter!