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check out the trailer for this years Reel Rock Film Tour - ... 2 days ago

Last week's updates - Thanks to Calle Bejersten for adding m... 3 days ago

Interview with Ethan Pringle after his takedown in Australia! - Ethan Pringle has been climbing for 15 years and has been pushing the limits in bouldering, sport climbing, and trad climbing for many of those years. 2 years ago Ethan tore his left labrum in his shoulder on a big swinging move typical of U.S. comps during ABS Nationals in Boulder, CO, and it has pretty much been a recovery battle ever since. With the three month period between his injury and getting surgery, and the 8 months of recovery time, it was about a year before Ethan could pull hard again. With Ethan's recent trip to Australia, his telling performance seems to indicate that his shoulder is pretty much healed up. You injured yourself during a competition, has this injury made you less psyched on the competition scene? Unfortunately no, just a little more scared of them (which is probably a good thing). Over the last few years I've been getting a little more burned out on comps, you put all this pressure on yourself to do well and then if you don't do as well as you'd like or expect yourself to do, then you feel like the whole thing was a waste of time and you should have just gone rock climbing. The last good result I had at a big comp that I was proud of was at the Mammut Sendfest at the summer OR in 2008 in SLC where I got 2nd to Chris, so I haven't been as motivated to do them, but I did that Earth Treks rock comp in Baltimore in April and had a good time. I didn't put nearly as much pressure on myself as I used to and because of that I wasn't really disappointed to not make finals. I'm going to the comp at nor' easter and I'm pretty psyched for it. Comps have always been a part of my climbing and I've almost always had fun in them. I'm still psyched to do them I just need to be more careful in the future. Standing atop the podium at a WC is a dream I've never really let go of... (photo 40766) You recently returned from a long trip to Australia, how was the trip overall? Overall the trip was awesome! Climbing wise, I sent a bunch of awesome routes and boulders and I was really happy about that... I wish I could have gotten to go up to the great barrier reef, out into the deep outback, surfed and just traveled and seen more of the country, but on a climbing trip that's sort of the sacrifice you have to make. How long were you there for and did you feel that it was an ample amount of time to accomplish your climbing goals in Australia? I left with the states with two main objectives: The Wheel of Life, and the Groove Train. I sent both of those routes before I left the Grampians, so the short answer is yes. But I only spent one humid day at the Arapiles, which wasn't enough time to do Punks. (There were a bunch of other projects that he didn't get to try because, as often happens on climbing trips, Ethan ran out of time.) (photo 40772) You did the second ascent of Wheel of Life and gave it a route grade, what was your reasoning for this? Except for the fact that it's only five feet off the ground (or less) the whole way, it's a route. For me, it climbed like a route and I think I approached it like a route, which is probably why I was able to do it so fast. I found rests and easier beta that other's hadn't found (or just ignored) before, and none of the cruxes where too hard for me. No section felt harder than about V9 once I had them dialed. It''s a great route though and I highly recommend it. I bet if I gave Adam Ondra my beta he could flash it at least up to the last crux. or just flash it. (photo 40754) You also did some hard route climbing, can you tell me about the routes in the area? I think the Taipan wall is the crown jewel of the Grampians. It's an unreal looking piece of rock... so beautiful and it climbs so well. I think the climbing on it is some of the best I've done anywhere and you'd be ashamed to go all the way to the Gramps from any distance and not climb on it. I wanted to repeat the hardest established route on the wall, the unrepeated Groove Train, established by relatively unknown blue Mountains crusher Ben Cassey. He gave it a grade of 33 (14b) but I think it's a tad harder than that... I'd be willing to say that it might even receive the big 9a if it was in Spain. It's about 120 feet long, the first 60 being (really sandbagged) 13a with huge moves between these perfectly sculpted slopers and pockets up this huge Groove, then the wall blanks out and the real business starts: perfectly spaced line of crimps up an otherwise black head wall with consecutive 20 foot run outs. There's a power crux about 15 feet above the anchors of Groove (the 13a section) and then it's just resistance climbing for another 40 feet or so until the wall kicks back a bit at the top and there lies the Red point crux. (photo 40760) Thanks E... 4 days ago

Interview with Angie Payne, first female to climb confirmed V13! - Angie Payne has been climbing for the past 13 years and just graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a degree in sociology along with the prerequisites for vet school, in hopes of being accepted into the vet school at Colorado State University. After a long day at school her desire to escape the stress of the day motivates her to head to the gym. Once she arrives at the gym, her desire to get stronger or to train for a certain competition or boulder problem is usually what keeps her trying hard. Like any climber who chooses to juggle competitive climbing with school and work, Angie admits that there are definitely times when she is too exhausted from school and/or work to try very hard. (photo 40184) (photo 40190) Do you prefer indoor and competition climbing or outdoor climbing? Well, I’ll just come right out and admit that I am a gym rat at heart. I grew up climbing mainly in the gym, and I always loved it. I still do. There are days when all I want to do is get a lot of climbing in, and sometimes the gym is ideal for that. Outdoor climbing, of course, is also very important to me, and when the season is good, I often go weeks without climbing in the gym. I get even more stress relief from going out into the mountains to climb, which is one of the wonderful parts of outdoor climbing. So, I guess I can’t pick one, because I love them both for different reasons. You seemed to have reemerged onto the bouldering scene in a pretty grand way, first with the close second place at the Battle in the Bubble, your ascent of No More Greener Grasses, then your second place finish at the trade show comp! I’d say that’s quite a reentrance, what were you up to for those years that you weren't in the immediate spotlight? Well, I guess I was mostly in school, although I did take a semester off to travel to Europe. Back in 2008 I went to Switzerland and Fontainebleau for six weeks, which was awesome. It was great to see something new, and both areas were amazing. I was able to really get into the rhythm of climbing a lot, and doing a ton of new boulder problems was great. After that, I went back to school and started doing prerequisites for vet school. I hurt my ankle and that put me out for about 8 months, and this past fall I came back. And here I am! So I hear you are the first woman in the world to climb V13! That’s amazing! How does it feel? I guess it depends on who you ask, but I suppose I am the first US woman to climb a confirmed v13 ☺ It feels great and I’m very psyched! A number of women could have easily been in my position, so I just feel lucky and honored to be the first in a long line of females that will continue to push the standard of the sport further into the teens of the V scale. And, it is still early in the good alpine bouldering season, so I’m hungry for more! Is the Automator the first V13 you have attempted? Yes, so far as I can remember, this is the first v13 I have climbed on, and definitely the first one I have tried for a semi-long period of time. What about this climb in particular made you want to project it? Well, my friend Flannery Shay-Nemirow was climbing on it and invited me to join her when I finished No More Greener Grasses. She had done all the moves, so she really exposed the possibility of the problem being done by a woman. We talked a lot about it and she was gracious enough to encourage me to come work on it with her. I was also attracted to this problem because it is very crimpy, and crimping is my strength. Plus, it is one of the more easily accessible v13’s in an area that is not far from my house, which was great when I was in summer classes. How did you train to be able to accomplish such a hard grade? I wish I had some grand training program that I could share, but I really don’t. I spent the majority of the school year climbing in the gym, and I had a renewed motivation to climb as much as possible. I would like to have some sort of structured training program in the future. But for now, I just climb whenever I can. What is next for Angie Payne!? Well, I’m not in school for at least the next year, so I have a lot of things I would like to do. First, I am going to enjoy the bouldering season here in Colorado and try to get out as much as possible. I’m going to reapply to vet school and wait for the verdict on that. I will continue to work my part time jobs at Foothills Animal Clinic and Movement Climbing and Fitness, and hopefully take some trips to other great climbing areas (and maybe places that aren’t climbing areas too!). I also hope that I can fit some hard boulder problems in there somewh... 9 days ago

Ascents and other updates - Last week's updates include some... 11 days ago

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