After a seventeen year hiatus, Will Gadd returned to The Fang Amphitheater in East Vail, Colorado, home of the seminal Jeff Lowe masterpiece, “Octopussy” (M8), as well as Will’s own groundbreaking routes “Amphibian” (M9) and “Reptile” (M10), and made the third ascent of my route “The Mustang P-51” (M14-) on his second attempt, besting our friend, the Korean powerhouse Kwon Young-Hye, who made the second ascent last December in a mere three tries. As with Kwon, Will finished the climb reaching the no-hands ledge with a single bolt anchor atop “The Flying Fortress” (M13), down-climbed a bit, and then jumped off . . . just for fun. Please pardon the length and the roughness of the edit; I wanted to get a long version up fast so Jeff could enjoy an unabridged reminiscence immediately.
Video: Will Mayo on Red Planet (5.13b) in Sedona, AZ
Another great trad video coming out this week.
“Red Planet” (5.13b) is an two pitch crack climb established by the prolific Arizonan rock climber, John Mattson. The route lies across the canyon from Devil’s Bridge in the Coconino National Forest, several miles from downtown Sedona, Arizona. The crux second pitch ascends an overhanging off-fingers crack that splits the southeast end of a soaring buttress of red Schnebly Hill sandstone. This route is magnificent: GO DO IT!!!!!!!!!!
Lee Cossey on Agent of Cool (31) Trad Line in the Grampians
Nice video featuring Lee Cossey and Grampians climbing.
Lee Cossey puts a long-standing Grampians project to bed and in nailing the first ascent of Agent of Cool (31) establishes one of the hardest all-trad routes in Australia.
Training Beta Podcast With Thomasina Pidgeon
This week, Training Beta features local climber Thomasina Pidgeon. Thomasina has spent the last two years in Europe, setting and honing in on what it takes to be a top indoor competitor.
Be sure to check out Training Beta for other fantastic podcasts.
Scarpa Booster S Climbing Shoe | Gear Review
As a typical North American climber, I had never seen Scarpa as a strong climbing shoe contender when buying shoes. Blinded by my own ignorance, it was only until travelling to Europe this summer did I open my eyes and realize that Scarpa has been aggressively re-designing their brand with a number of technical innovations that have landed them on top of the European market and sure to make them a contender in the North American Climbing scene.
Over the past five years, Scarpa has put a lot of emphasis on redesigning their climbing shoe line, a change that first started with the hire of Heinz Mariacher, one of the foremost climbing shoe designers in the world. Behind the scenes, Scarpa has been pioneering a number of technical innovations with Heinz, including a concept they call Active-tensioned Rands. Combine these innovations with high-quality manufacturing and the result is Scarpa’s Booster S climbing shoe. Whether it is the peak of their shoe design or just the beginning, Scarpa, you have my attention!
CEC National Series @ The Hive North Shore Final Results
Last night, The Hive North Shore hosted a CEC National Series bouldering competition that was sanctioned both by Climbing Escalade Canada and Sport Climbing BC. This was the first competition in the newly built venue and it did not disappoint! With its two tiered building structure and spacious location, The Hive North Shore proved that it is a premier venue for climbing events in Canada and soon-to-be host for many future events.
Big action at The Hive North Shore. Photo courtesy of The Hive ©
Video: Eddie Bauer and Ben Ditto First Ascent of High Times (5.13b)
Well produced video featuring Eddie Bauer and Ben Ditto on their first ascent of High Times (5.13b) in Tuolumne Meadows, CA.
Eddie Bauer athlete and renowned climbing photographer Ben Ditto ticks the first ascent of High Times (5.13b), a steep, northeast-facing line on Drug Dome in Tuolumne Meadows. A longtime Yosemite local, Ditto ticked his initial first ascent on one of climbing’s holiest grounds as a means of finding motivation again after a period of social-media driven “living the dream” malaise. Owen Bissell captures the pitch-by-pitch essence of the ten-day, hand-drilled, four-pitch, free climbing rebirth in this stunning edit from the Sierra high ground.
Ground Up Climbing Centre ‘Grand Opening Party’ Dec. 12, 2015
There has been a lot of rumours floating around as Ground Up Climbing Centre in Squamish, BC puts the final touch on their new facility. Things the gym are set to go but they are still waiting for their occupancy permits from the city before they can start their soft opening for members.
Nonetheless Ground Up has announced they will be hosting a Grand Opening Party on Dec. 12, 2015. See poster for details below.
TBT: The Real Thing
Today we are throwing all the way back to 1996 with the classic bouldering flick “The Real Thing”. If you missed out on this incredible bit of climbing history, it is time to catch up! From the intro featuring a shirtless Ben Moon pounding steel, the continuous comic relief provided by Jerry Moffat, Ben Moon sticking the iconic 1-5-9 campus, and tons of great footage of bouldering in Font, this movie is truly a classic. Enjoy!
Interview with Eric Sethna
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.
