Wild Basin

Posted on May 6, 2012

A couple of weeks ago I headed out climbing with Dave Graham to check out a new area in RMNP called Wild Basin. It would be his second time up the canyon and our mission was to explore some of the upper talus fields that looked promising on Google Earth.

Hanging Around

Posted on May 3, 2012

Aside from staying in shape On The Circuit, editing video, and doing a little bit of skating; I’ve spent a few days over the last week hanging in a harness out in Clear Creek Canyon with Daniel Woods on his new “Mission Impossible Project”.

On The Circuit

Posted on April 21, 2012

The collection of boulders within close proximity to Bear Lake Road and the surrounding “road areas” around Estes Park are approaching legendary status. We call it “The Circuit”. For the last few weeks, I’ve been “On The Circuit” with Paul Robinson, Daniel Woods, Matty Hong, Jonny Hork, Dave Graham, Cameron Maier, and a host of other talented individuals. It has been amazing.

More From The Forest

Posted on March 20, 2012

The weather continues to be on the warm side, but we’ve been making up for it by climbing all the classics from V7-V11.  It’s been a real pleasure.  I can’t even describe how amazing this place truly is.  A historical mecca, a visionary captital, and a true proving ground for the modern boulderer in pursuit of becoming a master of the realm. I’ve been shooting a TON of video and I can’t wait to share it in FULL LENGTH MOVIE form.  In the meantime, here are some video screenshots from the last 2 days:

Fontainebleau Deux

Posted on March 13, 2012

Consumed by the forest, I’ve finally extracted myself for long enough to write a little post.  First off, it’s been uncharacteristically warm here, so hard climbing has been difficult.  I’ve been trying anyway, with very little success.  It’s ok though.  I’m getting much, much stronger trying hard in the warmth.  Today, I had a breakthrough and finished Controle Technique 7C+ (V10) in  Bas Cuvier.  7o degrees, in the sun, a few temper tantrums, and 50+ attempts later; it was in the bag. In regards to the really hard climbs.  I’ve tried them.  They are hard.  I’ve gotten close.  2 weeks left.  Time to execute.

Fontainebleau. A Magical Forest.

Posted on March 7, 2012

Fontainebleau, France! We are here, and it is wonderful. I can only wonder why it took me so long to get here and I can only wonder why I would ever want to leave. If you are unfortunate enough to have never traveled here, I can assure you that all the good things you’ve heard about the place are true to the power of 10. And all the bad things you may have heard are wrong. It’s that simple.

Sometimes You SEND…And Sometimes You FAIL!

Posted on February 19, 2012

About two weeks ago I managed to repeat Memory Is Parallax V14 in Estes Park, CO. The history of this particular problem hasn’t been conveyed so well on the internet, so I thought I might clear things up based on the history I’ve been told and experienced. This project, formerly known as the Nicky’s Project, was discovered many years ago by Estes Park locals and was cleaned and attempted for years.

Dark Horse Championships Re-Cap

Posted on February 18, 2012

Two weekends ago I had the opportunity to travel to Boston, MA and compete in the 2012 Dark Horse Championships at Metro Rock. Prior to my departure for Boston, the week had been a bit hectic. And the “joys” of traveling were about to make things a bit worse. The same day of the Dark Horse Championships was also the final competition of the Spot Bouldering Series for which it is my responsibility to manage the setting of all the competition problems. I spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday stripping and setting The Spot for it’s comp and at the end of the day Friday hopped on a plane to Boston for the Dark Horse competition.

Welcome To The Hood!

Posted on February 16, 2012

Last week, I had the opportunity to preview a few sections of the film, and I can honestly say that the footage of Daniel flashing Entlinge (8B+/8C) is some of the single most impressive, inspiring, raw, and unreal clips of climbing video ever captured. Prepare to be awed:

A Little Teaser…

Posted on January 30, 2012

The last few weeks have been super busy, and February is about to get even crazier.  I haven’t had a chance to edit a full video together for my recent first ascent of The Altruist V13 in the Flatirons above Boulder, CO, but here’s a little teaser I threw together:

PCI Pro Clinic San Francisco • February 11-12, 2012

Posted on January 29, 2012

I’m proud to announce that I will be teaching, along with Steven Jeffery and Beth Rodden, another PCI Pro Clinic.  This time in San Francisco, CA at the wonderful Planet Granite climbing gym on February 11-12, 2012.  These events have been extremely successful in the past and if you are in the San Francisco area I highly recommend signing up.  This is a rare opportunity to be taught by and climb with some of the best climbers in the world.  Sign up now at proclimbers.com/.

Twenty Twelve

Posted on January 10, 2012

Happy New Year!  A little late, but I’ve been busy.  2012 is already shaping up to be an even better year than the last, and that’s saying something.  Europe is back on the radar, and it looks like Fontainebleau for the whole month of March!  Before launching into that, check out this video that I produced for Five Ten highlighting some sends from last season in the Colorado Alpine.  I filmed a ton of stuff last summer and without much of a story line for each independent problem or day of climbing, I decided to throw it all together into one video.  Let me know what you think:

Arkansas!

Posted on November 24, 2011

I’m in Arkansas! Hell yeah! It’s amazing here and the crew has been having a blast. 4 days ago I rolled down to The Natural State with…

Colombian Sport Climbing Nationals Video

Posted on November 17, 2011

This past May I visited and climbed around Bogota, Colombia for 2 weeks.  The experience was truly inspiring and one of the highlights was the Sport Climbing Competition that I competed in at the local gym, Gran Pared.  I managed 2nd Place, after absentmindedly skipping the second to last clip, but the competition was one of the most enjoyable that I have ever participated in.  Check out the video.  The camera man gets a little up close and personal at the top of the wall:

Attack Mode!

Posted on November 12, 2011

The last two weeks have been filled with lots of traveling and very little time to climb outside.  The past two weekends I was in Dallas, TX and then Portland, OR teaching Pro Clinics for Professional Climbers International.  The clinics were a huge hit and I had a great time teaching both kids and adults alike.  I’ve amassed a fairly large base of knowledge about climbing in the last 10 years and it greats to have an outlet to share that info.  Be sure to keep a lookout for a PCI Clinic that might be coming your way soon! Stepping off the plane at Denver International Airport this past week, I could feel my hands sweating and aching for some real rock.  Luckily the temps have been some of the best of the season.  Dry and cold, and most of the snow has melted off.  Right now, there are three very high quality projects in the Estes Park/RMNP area that are just begging to be sent.  And they are all at least V14.  It’s very exciting to have new stuff to project.  Here’s a glimpse: The ATTACK is on!

Talking Adrenaline With Bear Grylls

Posted on November 2, 2011

Thanks to my wonderful shoe sponsor Five Ten, I had the opportunity to chat with Bear Grylls about adrenaline for the Degree Men Adrenaline Lab which is a series of commercial web episodes featured on The Discovery Channel. It was a really cool experience and it’s great to see mainstream television showing interest in climbing.

The Latest

Posted on October 25, 2011

The last few weeks have been CRAZY!  And everything is about to get even CRAZIER!  I have had very little time to do much other than climb and work, but it’s been great.  Two weekends ago I traveled down to the annual Yank-N-Yard Competition in Albuquerque, New Mexico and managed to place 2nd among the stacked field of competitors.  I wrote a little write-up on the Five Ten blog here: fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12199-2011-yank-n-yard-in-albuquerque-nm-carlo-traversi. Pressing it out in Qualifiers! (Photo: Greg Mionske) And here’s a nice video from the event: After that it was back to Colorado for some outdoor bouldering.  Both Sides Of The Spectrum!  It was a perfect fall day when Jonny Hork and I made the hike back out to the boulder in Moraine Park.  Cold breeze and dry air.  3rd Try and it was done!  And Jonny followed with an ascent on his next go.  I spent some time shooting some nice video and it should be out soon along with a number of climbs and clips I’ve collected over the summer.  I’m OVERDUE for some video release. This past week and weekend I was consumed with The Spot Gym’s annual PSYCHEDELIA event which went off with it’s usual spice.  After far too many days in the gym preparing for the comp, it was back out to the alpine granite on Sunday.  With absolutely zero expectations, I managed one of my best days of climbing in a long while.  A flash ascent of Mind Matters (V12) and a flash of Dark Horse (V10) at Guanella Pass.  It felt really nice to try hard on new boulders.  It’s something I haven’t had the chance to do in quite a while and I look forward to more.  Guanella Pass has also presented itself, in my mind, as a potential “zone of the …

Another Day at the Office

Posted on October 13, 2011

Third day in a row in RMNP.  Temps were PRIME!  I gave my first goes (in decent conditions) on Both Sides of the Spectrum V12 in Moraine Park.  It’s one of the most amazing pieces of rock that I’ve ever climbed on and the moves are fantastic.  A giant dead point to an impossible sloper followed by some subtle bumps on small crimps to the top.  This problem is VERY hard for me.  Mostly due to my shorter height.  It’s a tall man’s problem!  But that’s one of the reasons why I’m so psyched to climb it.  The ultimate CHALLENGE!  Today I surprised myself by sticking the crux first move (after probably 70 tries) but slipped on the bump to the lip.  I never stuck the move again and managed to wear my tips down past the final layer.  Tomorrow is a new day.  Back to the Park!  With or without skin. Both Sides of the Spectrum V12

With Cold Air, Motivation Returns

Posted on October 12, 2011

This past weekend was the IFSC World Cup in Boulder, CO.  It was a great time and I will have a nice blog up on Five Ten soon!  Aside from all the time I’ve been spending on plastic training for the comp, I’ve been able to get outside quite a bit.  The temps in Colorado have been dropping and it’s providing some of the best climbing conditions I’ve felt in a long time.  Until the snow hits the Alpine, ending the season for good, my sole objective is Hypnotized Minds V15.  I’ve spent 3 days on it so far.  Although, only one day with decent conditions.  For the time being, it feels much harder to me than The Game V15, but it is not exactly my style.  Long moves off thin holds on a slightly overhung wall.  It’s amazing.  I’m not sure why it hasn’t had much hype around it.  I honestly think that it might be one of the best, hardest boulder problems in the world.  It hosts a variety of unique, fun moves; a distinct, tall line; and some of the more difficult moves I’ve ever seen or tried.  A true test piece.  After months of waiting, I’ve found something to obsess about… Lock off the Credit Card!

Arco, Italy

Posted on July 19, 2011

 Lago Di Garda, just outside of Arco. I am currently in the small town of Arco, Italy attending the 2011 IFSC World Championships.  This competition is not part of the normal World Cup circuit and it features multiple categories of climbing (lead, boulder, speed, and the Duel!)  It is by far, the largest and most difficult climbing competition that I have ever attended.  Because it only occurs once every 2 years, the event is taken much more seriously.  Last weekend I competed in the Bouldering Qualifiers.  With about 140 competitors, it was overwhelming to say the least.  We were split into two categories randomly (A&B), and then placed on different sets of 5 boulders.  Top 10 for each category advanced to the next round (so 20 total into Semis.)  To put that into perspective, a normal World Cup event consists of only 50-70 competitors, with 20 moving in to the next round.  So qualifiers here, was like 2 World Cups, with 10 less people allowed into the next round per category (A or B).  Hopefully, that all makes sense.  Trust me, I think the whole system is pretty confusing in the first place and can be extremely unfair.  Because there are two sets of problems, you basically have to get lucky and be placed on the boulders that are more your style.  I was lucky, and it still did not help.  I ended up (I think) 18th in my category, which put me in 36th overall, when A & B were combined.  On problem #2, I greased off going for the finish hold, and had I topped the boulder I would have easily made semi-finals.  Looking back, it’s kind of a bummer.  Such are the nature of these comps though.  It all comes down to executing quickly and efficiently.  The …