Well this was most interesting. Unexpected and yet, surprisingly... a break through. Unexpected because the outcome wasn’t a worry in my head so the fear of it didn’t exist. And surprising, for a few reasons. Firstly, I’ll clarify, it isn’t surprising that I got last... Having been close enough to this border on numerous occasions, its occurrence is somewhat inevitable. This competition however, amazed me in a few ways. Firstly, it was the first time I felt strong in warm up. Second, it was the first time I took enough rest before a comp, which probably makes sense of point one. Third, I …
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Three weeks of a whirlwind. Squamish. Part two.
Dedicated to the amazingly perfect granite cliff, Siám’ Smánit, which stands proud over the community of people who welcomed me back with a warmth and knowing which hadn't touched me for a long time. Thank you Squamish. X Sḵwx̱wú7mesh. It means wind in the native tongue. Anyone who has been there would understand the reasoning. Upon arriving a strong wind blew in off the Howe sound which surrounded the granite cliffs and Tantalus range. My eyes fell upon the pure grandness of the blue, green and grey. The view was spectacular. Unreal. My insides were confused; somewhat anxious. It had been …
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Three weeks of a whirl wind. Part One.
The usual method of travel for me; last minute, slightly unplanned and completely unorganized. The whole trip was an idea conceived in almost a dream like trance. The possibility of it actually becoming a reality seemed as unlikely as winning the national state lottery. The sentiment I held was to listen to the tingling feeling that grew inside of me the closer the date came. No matter how many pro/con lists I made, I knew there would be serious regret if the chance before me was not taken. Work and rocks can wait, but this wouldn’t. There is only one Toronto World cup in 2014. Just …
Innsbruck
Once Grindelwald wrapped up, there was one week until the next World Cup in Innsbruck. Seb, Cedar and I headed north to Zurich where we were given an opportunity which shouldn’t go past: to train with the Swiss team and their head coach, Urs. My vow for the coming trainings was simply to jump, jump and jump again. My dedication to this promise was held 60% the first day which is really good by my standards. Our second training session was with Urs and his team so we followed their program which thankfully included enough jumps for my liking. Normally I climb a lot by myself which I know isn’t …
GRINDELWALD
The World Cup season had started weeks ago for many a climber, but for myself, it was just the beginning. Unsure of what lay ahead, all I really hoped for was that I’d be able to walk away without the heaviness and despair which plagued me at the end of last season. I knew this wasn't last year and the chance of it repeating itself seemed solely a decision and view which I had to make. I was better prepared than last year as I had been climbing in a good gym this round. The only downside was that my last few months were spent working as a route setter; a job which I have found a new respect …
A little story about spring
She stood on the green grass about to approach a forest which loomed with spiders, ticks and little critters that had teeth sharper than her kitchen knife. Looking deeper, the light appeared to disappear into the shadows of a thick green foliage. On her back she carried a crash pad; a piece of equipment used for the type of climbing she preferred, bouldering. It used to be part of her everyday attire but it had lain dormant on the shelf of her workplace; thrown on top of the highest shelf in a large room housed with hundreds of odd multicolored plastic holds of various sizes and shapes. It …
Four weeks with Jack Frost. Part 2
With three weeks till Nationals I let the cold winter blow through me. We walked religiously to the closest gym while battling the snow and wind which was so cold it awakened every cell. I resumed the strength aspect of my training where I had left off. Time passed quickly and already there was only 1.5 weeks left to the big comp. Tonde was flown to Montréaĺ's Allez Up which held a practice comp circuit as did the gym Vértical. It was at Vértical where I was introduced to the idea of "tapering" by trainer and bad ass climber herself, Melissa Lacasse. After asking her if what i was doing was …
Four weeks with Jack Frost. Part 1.
Jet lag settled upon me. At times I felt drunk and unstable; ready to burst with some sort of emotional explosion of gratitude tinged with nervousness. I had just flown from Munich to Montreal on a gamble. The World Cup circuit was coming up and qualifying required a visit to the homeland. I had waited in Munich for permission to get a wild card to do the comps and so avoid the hefty trip overseas but it never came for my deadline. My rational said to go for the regionals and nationals. That way, if I blew one comp, at least I had a back up...! :) Having received no answer days before …
backs, whips and a time out
The 80 year old came out of me this week. Rather the 99 year old. But to be honest, I haven’t met many 99 year olds, so I guess I haven’t really a fair comparison. There is one lady that I remember distinctly though. She was a retired ‘sister’ and lived in a retirement home in Melbourne, Australia where all the other retired sisters and fathers lived of that particular sect. It was the location I chose for a photo essay that I was doing for school. The home was in one of the older buildings in Melbourne making the backdrop quite beautiful and characteristic. The people there were so curious …
Some most un-recent tales…
It’s been a while since my last post. There’s been waxing and waning between ideas of what to write to the contradicting thoughts and emotions of why bother, wondering what’s the purpose of blogging anyway. Pre-Christmas season was a right off. Energy was low and the old game of tug of war came back. The questioning of if I was standing in the right spot echoed from my insides while ‘stay or go’ became the internal question of the day. To be with family and friends at Christmas pulled at me like they would never release. I thought about the last Christmas; the pre-Gite Arbonne days, being in …
How to climb V10. (or any grade for that matter…:)
For over a decade, my life has been weaving in and out of a nomadic lifestyle whose main purpose was to follow a blue colored sky and a shining sun overlooking a field of boulders. Living such a life entwined with climbing has given me many invaluable experiences not only about the sport but also life lessons about myself and the world. I often wondered how I could say thank you to a sport and way of living that has given me so much. So far, this is what I have come up with. I hope people find this useful.V10. What is that? It is a number signifying the level of difficulty of a boulder …
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Magic Wood part 3. The obsession begins. The final.
It's strange to write about a problem that I haven't yet sent. Perhaps even crazier the number of days spent on it, not only in a row, but thinking and pondering about while the rains fall and dampen its holds. But this story isn't so much about the problem; it's about an idea turned obsession. Perhaps a story from which one could draw advice from on how to NOT send ones project. Upon arriving in magic wood and not knowing the place, I didn't have a tick list that excited the bejonkins off me so basically it was limited to the one problem I'd seen in a photograph: pura vida. Having been …
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Magical magic part two
It must have been the influence of Squamish that built up the endurance in me to stay throughout the rains. The granite was similar, talused, sloping with crimps situated randomly. The dense forest surrounding the boulders was tall, green and hid us from the outside world. Even the water from the old wooden bathtub with a sign above it saying non-potable, tasted just as good as the water springing from any of the fine household faucets in the sea to sky corridor. And of course the rain. I knew it would stop eventually. It fell upon and touched all of the rocks, drowning the moss so that they …
Magical magic woods. Part 1.
Wendy welcomed us on our first day of arrival in Magic Woods. We pulled in to find her sitting on her crash pad in all the glory of the sun. Her long hair was tied back in a bun with a pencil keeping it together. She was hard at work in the middle of a dirt parking lot surrounded by tents, live-in vans and gigantic evergreens towering on every side. My psych was surrounded by new rocks, good friends and blue sky. The surrounding mountains were big, steep and had an unwelcoming feel to them. They said to keep to the grounds, stay low where the boulders are. So of course, we did. We ate a …
Chasing chickens and plastic
By the end of the Scandinavian adventure and Leonard Cohen date there were 4 weeks left to prepare for the Munich boulder World Cup. Four weeks didn't seem like a whole lot but it felt enough as I used my time efficiently and well with the training know how's that I learnt after the end of the last comp in Innsbruck. The first week was unplanned and spent in the hot summer's heat of Fontainebleau. My friend Laura promised she would train with me if I stayed a week which was quite a promise was coming from someone who has climbed on plastic just twice in her life! Having someone to train …
Sweden, lakes and mosquitos
Norway revived my spirit enough that i broke the vow i made after my visit to magic woods: that I would never go to a climbing area solo again. Although staying solo in Norway didn't entice me, Walker had said enough good things about Sweden’s rock and in an exaggerated sort of sense, it was on the way south so, why not. Sweden was similar to Norway in that masses of coastline remained in view as did cliff bands and fallen boulders though everything was slightly downscaled. The rock we passed on the drive from Norway had a beautiful orange red tinge to it and as we ventured further south …
Norway
Rubber booties. A must in Norway. A 30 hour drive and a ferry ride for nine days in a land where fairies and trolls dance together between granite boulders. I was finally among the company of old friends rested between a thousand midges and the Atlantic Ocean. It was the longest I have ever driven for such a short trip but i didn't care. It had been so long since a road trip had beckoned that I couldn't resist its calling and things were falling into place to make that happen. A Toyota van had made it into our lives and once again we found ourselves on the road …
Innsbruck
As i sit here on the Norwegian coast with the sun constantly at my side, I think back to the innsbruck comp, which seems so long ago. It was the last comp for a while and when it was over, I asked myself: really? really thomo, why...? The feelings afterwards of ah shit, that sucked, were growing tiring. I could have shrugged my shoulders and said, oh well, that's it, gone is gone, but that is sometimes easier said than done. This comp was frustrating because it was the last one for a while and i wanted to do well and... i didn't. Every problem had a huge move which shut me down. There were …
A taste of Slovenia
Out of all the european WC's, Slovenia was the comp I was most looking forward to. I have met different climbers from there throughout the years and because they were so cool, I just assumed their country was as well. I spouse it's never wise to assume things but the small Eastern European country didn't disappoint. The streets were littered with tasteful graffiti. The cleanliness wasn't up to par with that of the sterility of Germany which was rather refreshing. There wasn't one bus ride where someone didn't talk to us. Obviously because of the cuteness that stood next to me but all the …
A world cup and a kid
After the slap in the face from millau i vowed to step out of BlocAge and go to the Paris gyms to climb and experience real comp style problems. Unfortunately still being carless, that plan didn't work out. But the weather was drier and the San Francisco crew had arrived which meant psyched climbing partners who easily picked me up so i could join them which of course, I did willingly. Admittedly I was over going to the same gym and the temptation of fine sandstone with fine people was irresistible. Sometimes a bad comp can question my abilities as a climber but after a couple weeks in the …