Being injured, although not the most positive situation, gives you time to look over your climbing and think about what your doing well and what could be done better. (not to mention allowing time for overworked tendons to rest and strengthen. Last July, I broke both my heels while climbing in France which defidently put a major damper on my trip and plans for the rest of the season. I felt angry and frustrated with what had happened especially considering it happened during the best part of the season. The injury carried a sentence of 6 weeks no weight bearing followed by a lengthy recovery time to gain full strength and mobility back. The time seemed endless at first while watching the comp season and prime outdoor conditions trickle by however eventually you learn to accept the situation and take as much positives as you can. I considered ways to make my training more effective and really learned what I do well and what I’m lacking in. In the end, I settled on more rest ( no 8 month periods with no rest days over the winter)and knew that it would help me get where I wanted to be. The time then began to flow quicker and I passed time watching climbing videos and playing video games until all of a sudden it seemed like the crippled days were only a thing of the past. My climbing progressed quickly after I gained strength back in my feet(the long part)and only took a few weeks to be on par with where I was before, when I began training hard again. My feet are still slightly frail and require caution but they are strong enough for anything other than challenging slabs. All in all, there are many positives to take from negative situations and it’s all attitude dependent when determining whether something is good or bad.

Looking at the future, I’m looking forward to getting back to the competition scene as while as finishing up the many looming projects I have on rock, especially considering I am already much stronger than before. I also look forward to continuing to improve my route setting which I feel will also benefit my climbing. Thanks to everyone who’s provided support over the last portion of the year, it is much appreciated.

The last month or so has been a very busy one comprised of lots of training, a day trip to Squamish, Western Youth Regionals and a 2 week trip to Joes Valley!

After training hard for a long time I saw a break in the Squamish weather report at the beginning of March. I was psyched to get one more chance to send my project The Reckoning prior to Joes Valley and Western Regionals. I caught an early ferry and met up with a friend Jan to head to head over to the problem. I made quick progress and stuck the crux move that I had failed to do last time, while starting from there. I then started giving burns from the ground and eventually stuck the move. It ended up being really hard to get out of the position that I got into. A few tries later I got there again and this time turned my heel to a toe and quickly cut my feet and repasted them, it worked! However i went on to fall a few moves later as I was too tired to finsh off the last few moves of the stand. That ended up being my best burn however I did pull through the crux and into the stand a few more times. I’m definately satisfied with getting as far as I did though, as it confirmed that this problem will go down. Here are some pictures!

Next in the timeline was my trip to Joes Valley. I had been there a few years back but I just wasn’t climbing strong back then. This time I had intent to head there and get on some of the hardest and crimpiest lines there were. This turned out to be a bad idea due to the sharpness of the rock, the dryness of the climate, and the fact that I had no skin when I got there, from excessive training. Day 2 of the trip, after cutting my finger on day 1 climbing Fingerhut V10 and trying Fingerslut V13/14, turned out to be a highlight of the trip. I felt strong and decided that it was an appropriate day to try Black Lung V13 with the temperature as freezing as it was. I made quick progress and after only a few hours I managed to stick the last slopey pocket and only fell as my foot popped. I went on to fall on the move to that pocket a few more times before calling it a day, with battered and bloody tips. I felt satisfied with my progress however I know that if I wasn’t using tape it would have gone down.

3 days later, I returned To New Joes in hope that Black Lung would go down quickly. Unfortunately I just didn’t feel as strong and the tape I was using just hindered me more. Climbing and camping in the dessert takes it’s toll on you much more than yould think! I quickly fired off Freak V10 and decided that the best thing to do was to take some rest and approach it a few days later. Well a few days later, we ran in to a friend Jamie Chong. He was very psyched on climbing Ghost King so I decided I’d try it before giving black lung some more effort. I was quickly distracted by a crimpy V12 to the left called Ghost of war. After only a few tries I found myself throwing for the last jug. For some reason I just couldn’t get enough pull to throw far enough and ended up falling. I got on again and fell on the same move once more. I then noticed that my middle finger was bleeding through the tape and decided it was time to stop… I had ripped the entire tip off that finger, which marked the end of hard climbing this trip.

Overall, the trip was really good and Joes Valley offers some of the best lines anywhere. Also important is the near flawless rock quality boasted by many problems. It was definitely humbling to realize that in the desert, I could not pull on all the sharpest holds and expect to be climbing at the end of the trip like I would in Squamish or another moister climate. My fingers dried out too much and cracked very easily… Worst Case Scenario V9 is one of the coolest lines in Joes and is defidently worth not missing.

With skin issues aside, everything else worked out really well. We were set up amazingly for mats as Aaron had an older, giant flashed mat and another highball mat, while I had An amazing and light, blue shogun mat. It was by far the easiest mat to carry around while still offering amazing protection!
Here are some Pictures of our trip! Also we are working on a short video of our trip that will also be ready soon.

Finally, upon arriving back from Joes Valley was the Western Youth Regionals, an annual sport climbing comp to be hosted this year at The Boulders Climbing Gym in Saanich.  The event was put on very well from the great setting to the amazing organization.

Thanks flashed for the awesome gear, the shogun work excellently in Joes Valley and was also very light to carry.

Up until mid January, the weather was amazing here on the coast and I managed to make many trips to Squamish. Then the usual but slightly unanticipated weather forecast showed up and displayed rain as far as the forecast would show. At first I thought there’d be a point where the rain would stop, but I soon realized it was going to stick around for many months as it always does. I finally decided to try and forget about Squamish by the end of January, and focus on training hard for the many upcoming comps as well as my scheduled trip to Joes Valley on March 17th. I felt there’s no point in thinking about my projects too much when there’s no way I can get on them. I’ll return with stronger muscles in the spring and send the large list that has built up.

Looking on the indoor scene, the last few months have involved some strenuous training, an awesome local comp in Victoria (Crag X)and a tour de bloc at the edge. There was also a tdb scheduled at the hive but it was cancelled at the last moment.. My training lately has involved the same as usual, bouldering, endurance and frenchies with an added ab workout 5 days a week. Training 7 days a week may seem odd to some, however it’s produced results over the years which means that rest days are unnecessary. Looking at the comp in Victoria, it was a very well put on event that attracted many climbers throughout the island that wanted to bring back there 70′s ness by wearing spandex! The problems were exciting and there idea to have finals for all the categories turned out well, as climbers got to experience something that is usually reserved only for open competitors. The TDB at the Edge was also great, as usual. The problems were all well set and I managed to snag 3rd place despite only feeling descent with my performance. Also notable was an amazing large orange mat arriving at the Romper Room climbing gym from flashed, that should make falling off that roof, a little more comfortable. I look forward to trying it out!!

Looking back my trip to Joes Valley for two weeks.. Im looking forward to sending many problems, especially some that turned me down/ looked cool but were way to hard in, 09 when I was only climbing V8ish. A few problems that are high on my list and are going to go down include: Black Lung V13, Playmate of the Year V9, Worst Case Scenario V9, Gentleman’s Project V11, No Substance V8 and Blackout V12/13 as well as some 50 other V0-v14′s. Also I will get to try my new flashed gear on rock!! Stay tuned for pictures and posts from the trip.

A few weeks ago the weather report was looking positive for Squamish, so I made my usual post on Facebook if anyone wanted to go.  I knew the answer before I asked it,  as many people are too concerned about the cold, except one.  Aaron Hamilton, who is just as keen on bouldering in cold weather as myself and was quick to agree to go on Friday the 13th.  We set out and hoped to catch the 8:30 ferry but that was quickly drowned out when the lady told us they had cancelled the sailing and postponed it to 10:30.  She wasn’t very nice either considering that 2 hours of our day was being stolen. But that didn’t stop us and we arrived at Squamish around 1:00.  I was ready to fire the Proposal but quickly learned, it was the only wet problem in the forest, so we moved on to Aaron’s project (Mantra) and we soon saw ourselves with only a few hours before dark.  We decided to set up at the Farm Area of the North Walls to spend the remainder of our time where there’s an abundance of mid grade to hard problems. I was stoked to get back on a problem called the Reckoning V14 that I had worked once before and felt I could do.  I quickly warmed up on a classic lay-back V0 crack problem and then flashed the very slabby (Ride the Waves) v7. Then moved on and it took only a few goes to send the Reckoning stand start which goes at v10, which is an amazing problem in its self.  I then worked the low and managed to get it into 2 sections with one move preventing me from linking it.  Its just a hard move that involves a big move to a bad pinch.  I can stick the pinch when starting from there but cannot hold it long enough to move on.  Oh, well, there’s always another day and I’m sure it will go within a few more trips.  With darkness already over us, we pulled out a few headlamps, determined to continue are session as late as possible.  I made a quick tick of Big Chicken v10 and Aaron got a quick ascent of a nearby v7 and we dashed for the ferry.  The upcoming weather isn’t looking as positive, I guess its back to the gym in preparation for the upcoming comp in Victoria and the tour de bloc at the hive.  Maybe even a few trips down to the huge gym (The Boulders) in Victoria.

1. Who has impressed me most in the last year?
I would have to say that Adam Ondra has been very impressive in the last year. He’s been sending many v14-v16 boulder problems and is also climbing 5.15 routes. I think he’s a really good climber all around, as there are few people who can boulder and sport climb at such a high level. Adam is also a good onsighter and it’s unreal that he’s onsighted 14+. His ability to onsight is also visible in comps where in the past he’s won many world cups.

2. Describe a time when someone has helped your climbing?
A few years ago I was climbing often but wasn’t making a ton of progress. Then Derek Galloway showed up at the Romper Room and introduced me to new ways of improving. He showed me how to make hard problems to work and many campusing exercises. This greatly improved all aspects of my climbing and gave me a better outlook on how to get strong.

3. Describe where you see your climbing going?
I plan on continuing to compete in both roped and bouldering comps over the coming years. It’s also my hope to travel around often and boulder outside as much as I can. Maybe even find a job that can be done on the road. In the mean time while I’m in high school I’m going to continue to climb and train hard In the gym and make regular trips to Squamish, Horne lake and beyond. My hope is to reach v15 someday!

4. Describe what climbing could do for the world if everyone climbed?
If everyone climbed, there would be nobody who couldn’t get along. I have never met a motivated climber with a bad attitude. Many people today are also unhealthy. Climbing is a sport where you need to be in your best shape to send hard. If everyone climbed there would be far less unhealthy people.