New Mexico Climbing Guide is a blog that follows Marc Beverly, a UIAGM/IFMGA Licensed Mountain Guide, Physician Assistant - Certified, Technical Rope Strike Rescue Instructor, Mountaineer, and Adventurer.
1/27/2010 The Day Off I’m finally taking a day off from skiing and ice climbing and getting busy with standard work issues that have been put on the table and not dealt with. We’re packing it up in Saas-Fee and getting ready to head out on the busses and trains of Switzerland and Italy to make our way to Rabenstein for the next climbing competition, locally known as the “Ice Fight.” It’s by invitation only and we are fortunate enough to be invited! This is that part of traveling that’s a drag. Packing everything up and waiting for the next movement. My next movement is a series of pull-ups, dead hangs, front levers, and hanging crunches off the balcony. It’s hard to stay in shape on this circuit for the Americans, as I’ve already stated. Yesterday was fortuitous, as we ran into the staff over at the Mountain Guides’ office and the girl there told us that they are having a town party with skiers carrying backpacks on fire coming down the mountain. I guess this is a good photography opportunity in any regard. There’s always something going on at the ski area. I was able to fulfill my requisite days of skiing complex glaciated terrain and made my personal descents as well. Justin was a trooper and tolerated my wanting to drop in on some big terrain. Good thing he’s got faith in me! We did a great ski tour down a 46 degree slope with waist deep powder for about 200m that gave way to the moat around the glacier. It was covered with scant snow bridges, so it got exciting for a moment as I made my way out onto the glacier. I probed out a nice are to belay Justin from and had him cross the snow bridges. Once on the main body of the glacier we enjoyed another 1300m of glaciated powder and then skied to Saas-Fee. We’re looking forward to Leigh Caswell coming out to join us from the “505” (New Mexico). I keep trying to get this girl to get busy on the mixed ice climbing since she’s so inherently strong and has ability to do well. Maybe seeing the next two competitions will inspire her to crank hard! Leigh is also the President of the Alb. Mountain Rescue Team now. She’s doing some really good things for the team and is a visionary for the future of how rescue will actually be done in Abq. – a pretty big task to say the least. Anyway, I hope she has a great trip out and it’s going to even more fun with more of a crew from back home to travel with! We’re all looking forward to skiing in Italy near the Dolomites as well.
Gordon made this with video that I shot of him climbing during the ice competition.
It gives a pretty good overall show of the ice comp. Good to have you out, Gordon - hope you have a safe trip home and hope to catch up to you in Canada for some ice climbing !
1/23/2010 26 y/o male c/o finger laceration secondary to a speed ice climbing competition event: The patient was able to rip the protective leather finger off the third digit of the glove and still create a full thickness laceration. The finger of the glove was still on the ice pick what the subject was lowered to the ground. Mild hemorrhage was immediately controlled by the patient and then myself since I was present and witnessed the event (have it on video). The patient was prepped and draped in a non-sterile fashion in a Swiss climbing bar with a dirt floor in Saas-Fee only 20 paces from the ice climbing event. No local anesthesia was used, but the patient enjoyed general anesthesia effect from the multiple alcoholic beverages that were given him by the locals who insisted he partake in the festivities at the time of being provided acute medical care. The patient was taken to a Red Bull table in the bar where the best light was. Hemostatis was achieved by using a finger tourniquet. Irrigation of the would using the tap water out of my Camelback in my Avalung backpack was the only water available. Power irrigation was achieved using a 10cc spring loaded syringe and 18ga angiocather from my trauma kit in my backpack. My First Assist, Malcolm Kent (another athlete) was able to maintain control of the water supply. The 1cm x 0.5 cm 90 degree angular full thickness laceration to the 3rd digit on the medial side of the right hand is located between the DID and PIP. Exploration showed no deeper structure involvement and the patient had good motor and sensory distally. No tendinous involvement.
Multiple photographs from by-standers were being taken but the flashes did not interrupt or hinder care. Red Bull and Vodka and Rum and Coke drinks had to be removed from the table several times throughout the procedure. No gloves were able to be used and no drapes were available. So, I used sterile 4x4 gauze as a drape and sprayed my fingers down with the water irrigation solution. 5.0 Prolene was used to place three interrupted sutures and close the wound. The tourniquet was released and a sterile bandage was placed over the wound site. The last suture was difficult to place since the bar lowered the lights and the band started to play rock and roll with the speakers being right next to the table. No splint was available besides bar straws, so I just advised the patient to try and keep the finger straight and refrain from flexing. The crowd cheered when we were finished and the Americans stayed at the party. I will be following the patient since he is my roommate and I’ll be skiing with him for the next 3 days and ice climbing with him for the next two weeks at the World Competition circuit throughout Europe. I will make sure that the stitches stay in longer if he is placing more force on them than necessary while ice climbing/skiing.
1/26/2010 Day three after the incident, the patient shows me his wound and it appears to be weeping with subsequent sticking to the bandage. I placed a small amount of Neosporin ointment near the wound and re-bandaged with an American Flex-fabric Band-Aid. The wound looks good and there’s no sign of infection. Will consider taking out the stitches after the Rabenstien Ice Fight competition in northern Italy.
NOW THAT's what friends are for !
Monday, January 25, 2010
1/24/2010 -1/25/2010 Monster skiing in Saas-Fee Saas-Fee to Saas-Almagel and more… The last two days have been amazing in the ski department. Skiing off-piste terrain within a ski area on glaciers is super fun. I was able to log 7100m of downhill skiing with the Swiss Guides and we had some high-end clients from the good-old USA. They were from Backcountry Magazine and doing a photo shoot, so we were able to ski some good steep terrain and through a load of complex glaciated terrain. We did a series of descents including skiing to another town…again. This route is part of the Haute Route that goes to Chamonix, France. Justin and I skied some of this the other day when we toured to Zermatt. Once we arrived on the main road in Saas-Amagel we were able to call for a taxi ride back to Saas-Fee. Easy. I got a great workout in and am looking forward to one more day of skiing. Meanwhile, Justin and I are trying to put the plans together for our egress from Saas-Fee and onto Rabenstein for yet another ice climbing competition. As competitors from the USA, we’ve been well received to a “locals” competition and we are really excited about it. I think my hair is getting longer as the weeks go on. There’s too much going on and there’s hardly time to spend on the loads of things that usually hang over my head. Gordon McArthur from Canada has already come and gone and should be getting home sometime tomorrow. The time is flying and our World Ice Climbing competition circuit has taken on a life of its own. It’s nothing like competing in Ouray where there is only one long weekend. Our circuit is a serious road trip.
World Mixed Ice Climbing Competition number THREE !
The Saas-Fee Ice climbing competition is a stupendous even that I was glad to be a part of. The difficulty competition was a great event and well organized while being in one of the most high-energy areas I’ve ever seen. I felt really good in the isolation booth and got a good warm-up. There’s a lot of anxiety in there with all the athletes trying to get good head space. Some stayed out of the heated booth, some had headphones, some slept, and others sat or paced around, pretty much par for the course. A doctor doing some research by polling the athletes was the only other point of note. The only issue I had was that the media, wherever they were from, were so intrusive that they were pushing me out of the way to get video coverage of either Markus Bendler or some other well known local athlete. The cameraman was pushing me out of the way when we went to the preview the qualification route. I was still pretty nervous before going to compete, but I knew that I would feel better once I tied into the rope and got going. It’s good to get some competition experience in a short period of time, and that’s what I was after on this trip. Ya, I’m and “old guy” at 39, but it’s been something on my tick list for years, finally making the dream come true. Putting on my boots was painful as I had blisters on my heels from the ski tour to Zermatt with the rental boots. I waddled out into the Ice Dome and took a look at the route. I couldn’t wait to get onto the ice so that I could relieve the pressure from my heels. There were two qualification routes and half the men athletes were assigned to mine. I also knew that for me to make the Semi-Finals round would be a tall order since I had a stacked field of heavy hitters. It was going to be a push, but the climbing looked fun and doable. The whole thing was son live video internet stream, so lots of friends and family were able to watch if they were up early or cared. The first steps up the ice were easy and then the transition to an overhanging ice feature. I was able to cruise the figure 4’s and 9’s to gain a hold. I heel-hooked and did a mantle move to a no-hands rest. Later, Yevgenny Kryvosheytsev, a champion ice climber, told me that he was impressed with that move since I have a different climbing style, more like an alpinist, not a sport climber. The next holds were rock holds bolted onto a slightly overhanging wood structure that I was able to cruise through to gain another ice feature. The pump start coming to my arms but I knew I had to keep moving. I wasted some time at the no-hands rest taking a break and knew that I would need to move faster later. It was later and now was the time to just keep going. I made two more clips and then went into a series of futile fig 4’s and 9’s while trying to shake the pump out, but to no avail. I needed someone to chop off one of my legs so I wouldn’t weigh 92 kg anymore. My hands greased off from my tool that I left hanging in the ice. I turned around to face the crowd and had a monster smile plastered on my face. Blank stares from the people watching told me that they definitely weren’t experiencing what I was. To them it was just another disappointment that another athlete didn’t reach to top or do something spectacular. Moving fast is a requisite, not an option. Although I felt like this was my best performance thus far, I know that I have a long way to go before I can be a true contender, and I’m a pretty good climber back State-side, on-sighting M10, but Europe grows climbers on trees. They expose the youth to climbing and there’s full-on ice climbing camps and competitions available from the time the kids are 8 years of age, and they come out in groves. Climbing in any form is part of the fabric of the society, and is not considered outlandish or extreme like it is back home. The Russians train at a facility for mixed climbing as well as train for speed climbing. But they also have a coach and funding available, whereas, Americans (as well as some of the Europeans) are self sufficient. Sponsors help, but the amount of funding is limited, especially in the present economic environment. My vision is only that, my vision. It is something that I would love to see happen. Anyway, I didn’t make the Semi-Finals, nor did any of the North Americans, and close doesn’t count. The speed competition was a horrific experience in trying to shove my blistered feet back into my fruit boots. I’m so tired of getting blistered feet. Each step up the ice made back of my heels rub more against the raw skin that was already peeled down to the dermal layer, weeping and bleeding through the socks. Getting ready at the starting gate I tried to focus on the climbing and forget about the pulsing pains shooting up the back of my feet with each step. No complaining, I told myself…time to harden up! My axes continually caught or pulled through the ice and my first time was very slow. I was glad I stayed on the ice and didn’t fall off. Staying on the ice and not getting hurt is half the battle. The other half is to move fast and efficiently. For my third time speed climbing ever I wasn’t expecting too much, but I wasn’t expecting to be like that. The second round went better since I was able to suck it up, but I nearly had to roll over to where my pack was to change my shoes when I got finished climbing. Even had I made the finals, I wouldn’t have been able to climb again, it was over. Justin Spain had a way different experience, both good and bad. The lad has a set of lungs and likely has a good VO2max and was able to make descent enough time to get him into the final round. We cheered him on with American vocality. Unfortunately, he fell off the shit pile of ice and gacked himself in the finger with a sharp speed climbing tool that took off the finger of the glove and was still sticking on the pick even after they lowered him to the ground. Seeing the piece of cloth on the pick I pretty much thought there was going to be blood, even if Justin didn’t know it yet since he would be pretty adrenalized. Sure enough, he had a good full thickness laceration that was going to need some prompt care. Fortunately, I brought a wound and suture kit along for just the occasion. We went to the bar that was an easy 20 steps away through the plastic door. This is the famous bar that boasts a climbing traverse across the ceiling. If you and get hurt it’s your own fault. The blood poured out his finger until I placed a tourniquet on it and I was able to inspect, irrigate, and suture the wound while Justin enjoyed some free drinks from the crowd that gathered and took photos of the procedure. The lights dimmed and the band got to playing as I finished up the final stitch. Then we gathered up the Brits and got on with the party after the finals finished. One thing I was sure to do was to tell all and any of the locals who were working the Ice Competition event was to say thanks for hosting the event. I know all too well from having worked for years at the Ouray, Colorado Ice Festival how much slave labor goes into putting something of this magnitude on. I think they appreciated the praise.
1/20/2010 Saas-Fee to Zermatt, Switzerland ski tour Ski touring in the Swiss Alps is a spectacular adventure and experience. It’s a big day to go from Saas-Fee to Zermatt on skis, especially on-sight. I needed to rack up a little more mock guiding time for my upcoming AMGA exam, so Justin helped be a great bro and helped me out as an acting client. We rented our gear in Saas-Fee and the local guide’s office helped me out with a loaner shovel since I didn’t bring one to Europe. Other than that, we had the rest of the requisite equipment except for a map. The Swiss maps are among the best in the world. We went back to our hotel room and planned the route, AMGA style and no skimpy plans. Boarding the tram and then jumping onto the Alpine Train, we were excited to get going on our journey. They stopped the train at the half-way point and we jumped off. Several other people tried to get off the train and everyone else yelled “no” to them, and they promptly got back on board since this definitely was their stop. The tunnel runs through some culverts to an electronic door. We stopped there and got geared up. We emerged from the culverts and it was a very bright bluebird day. Looking at my log book I got our bearings and figured out which direction we needed to go. I did a quick assessment of the snowpack to ski down the first couple hundred feet that ran out onto the glacier. It was good and stable, so we made our first turns. Once on the glacier we went into roped glacier mode. The local UIAGM guide, Peter, told us that the snow bridges were not obvious and were also weak and that it was easy to punch through into a crevasse. Justin and I split the rope into equal amounts and we space ourselves out. The snow was completely untouched. There were no tracks whatsoever and the distances were large. The peaks were beautiful and there were no sounds except for a light breeze. The sun was strong, but a storm was coming in and would be enshrouded soon, so we soaked it up as much as we could. We snuck around the corner of a ridge and found ourselves looking at the final skin up the next 1000m to Adler Pass. I knew we needed to stay a couple hundred meters away from the right since there was a large rock escarpment and we could be hit with a spontaneous rock volley, even though it didn’t seem likely since there was no active rock fall. However, I’ve seen large rock faces slough off several times in the past while in Chamonix. So, I started heading up a nice graded slope and promptly punched through the snow into a small crevasse. My skis were not parallel to the crevasse and I popped though easily. I yelled out to Justin, “heads up” and I fell into my armpits. Being able to lean back while falling in I was able to pretty much catch myself with my left arm on top of the snow and stem my knees against the walls of the slot to prevent going in any further. I told Justin, “take, take” meaning to tension the rope. He was already lying down in hockey stop position, so it wasn’t like I was going anywhere. He snapped off a couple of photos and I pulled myself out and we continued on. We got out into the middle of the glacier where 10,000 soccer fields could be placed and made sure of our next bearing. We cruised up the Adler Pass though incandescent bled glacier fields. The last 20m to gain the saddle were a bit taxing since the wind was cold and biting. We also had to kick out of our skis and boot up that last section since the wind slab was so hard. We stopped near the rocks at the saddle, put on another jacket layer, took the skins off our skis, got some hot tea from our thermoses, ate some food and looked out over the 3100m descent that fell away into the Zermatt valley far below the Matterhorn. The clouds were now building and the forecast was for a fresh 3-5cm of snow. We had good bearings and map coverage until we reached the Zermatt ski area(s), and made a horrible assumption, but I’ll get to that later. From Adler Pass the first few hundred meters were icy and then gave way to a breakable crust on about a 46 degree slope until it ran out to lower angle terrain and higher quality of skiing. Another few hundred feet below that, the cash box lay waiting. The snow became stupendous and we were able to carve out great turns for 1500m on the glacier. Monster hanging glacier rose above and sat idly on top stone yet uncovered from the last ice age. We dodged through intermittent moraine rock fields, and then finally, the snow turned into worsening conditions at about the halfway mark. We were able to follow our route for the most part, but the glacier became increasingly dry and would not only be poor skiing on ice, but would also be a potential fall hazard. We deviated slightly and the angle was too shallow to ski in the fetches where the snow was deeper. We would up skinning downhill a bit, then ran into a cliff band. We navigated it as the sun went down and wound up in the valley floor that a small creek ran down and into the ski area that we were aiming for. Once we finally reached the ski area we were dumbfounded to find out that the only way to get from our location within the ski area to Zermatt was by train. We found a restaurant and an old man answered the door. In his broken Swiss English he was able to tell us to follow an old trail that would take us into a small village. By headlamp we skied this trail and gained the village. From there we could only find a footpath that was located on the opposite side of the ski area. The sign for the footpath said “CLOSED.” We hiked back up hill and found a bar that was closed to ask for directions. A lady and two men opened their electronic digital locking doors and told us by really broken English that “no ski to Zermatt…trail…yes.” We skied back to the “CLOSED” sign and made our way into Zermatt! We stopped at a restaurant and grabbed a Hot Bailey’s and Hot Chocolate and some dinner. Then we took a taxi back to Saas-Fee! I was so psyched to be able to get in a route like this. It was a big day and well worth the trip out here in and of itself, let alone to be able to compete in one of the World's biggest and best ice competitions.
1/18/2010 - 1/19/2010 Milan, Italy to Saas-Fee, Switzerland Up and at ‘em ! Moving on to the next competition venue on a cold and foggy morning in Milan, we caught a ride by shuttle bus to the train station. We must be headed to Switzerland because all the transfers ran like clockwork. No waiting around. The train out of Milan was fast and smooth and only made a few short stops. Waterfall ice and climbing crags littered landscape when we got into the mountains. I was able to get some studying done by reading some of my textbook for the spring semester at UNM that hasn’t started yet. Malcolm Kent from the UK had given us some food when he dropped us off from our trip out of Valle di Daone, and I carried it in a bag with two bottles of champaign that Emilo, the owner of Zamberlan boot company had given to Justin and I at the last competition. We ate the food, but left the bubbly for another time, likely in Saas-Fee. Gordon McArthur is supposed to show up from Canada today/tonight. This will be his first World Competition and I’m sure he’s super excited. We all have a flat in Saas-Fee, and as you can imagine, it’s pretty nice. A quaint chalet with a bomb shelter serving as the game room downstairs comes complete with incredible views of some of our ski tour lines that we’ll be doing later this week. We strolled through the town after getting settled in. The 1:25,000 maps are available at the local gift shop and the magnetic declination is about 0, so that makes navigation a bit easier in whiteout terrain. I’m pretty psyched to get some big days on skis here, especially since I’ll be taking my AMGA Ski Mountain Guides Exam in Alaska in a couple months. The Swiss take the Euro, but give change in Franks. They don’t take Euro coins however, and so we’ll be stuck with buying trinkets with our leftover Franks when it’s all said and done. Pretty good scheming, I’d say. The exchange rate is nearly 1:1 with the US dollar, but they don’t take US that money. They nail you on currency exchange, so the best bet is to use the evil Visa card. Ryan Nelson, a hard mixed climber who pushed the limits early on in mixed climbing history has been sending me information on Facebook about what to do and where to go! He’s becoming the best tour guide and single best information point for the entire trip so far. Really, Ryan should be climbing with us at this competition. I remember seeing him and Jarrod Ogden putting up hard mixed lines in Ouray when I was still coming to grips that what they were doing was even possible. I’m sure Ryan could train up and get on the podium. Yes, this is a call to arms. Not only Ryan – you know who you are out there. Answer the call, push your limits, and train hard. Hope to see your name on the docket for the World Ice Comps someday! We took a quick peek at the venue for the competition here is Saas-Fee as well. It didn’t appear that anyone was working on it or was in shape for competition, so we took a closer look. Holy crap, they would never allow this in the USA (something cool and fun). The structure is fixed inside a 10 story parking garage in middle of the spiral drive! The wall is bolted on, fixed with cable and manipulated with a monster-sized winch on the -5th floor. Yes, the minus 5th floor. The parking garage is built on the side of a cliff as there are no high-rise buildings in Saas-Fee to ruin the viewscape. Ice runs down the semi-symmetrical looking climbing structure. The holds look like real rock holds and are mounted on extremely overhanging terrain. Large blocks of ice have been hoisted up and fixed speckling the structure with volumous opportunities for outlandish mixed climbing terrain. I can only hope that I have the drive to get up this thing and have as good a time as it promises to be.
1/16/2010-1/17/2010 Competition day in Valle di Daone I went through the usual labors of getting up, but added clearing my respiratory tract from my recently acquired illness, a production to be sure. Breakfast was good and the skies were clear. My pack was light since I didn’t have to take much more than the essentials, harness, helmet, fruit boots (crampons), iPod, and a thermos. 77 men squeezed into the isolation room where there was two warm-up structures. The one inside was well fitted to doing regular climbing, but was also set up to do upside down stein pulls and long side pulls. It was spray painted with “WELCOME” in English! It was nice to know that we were putting the US flag firmly on all the UIAA competition venues this year, and we have been quite welcomed here in Valle di Daone in general. There is a lot of talk about this sport going Olympic. In fact, the opening ceremonies even had an Olympic-style fire, symbol and all. With the amount of international participation, it’s hard to believe that it would not be a good fit for the winter games. In fact, it would be one of the few excellent spectator sports. Perhaps someday it will make its way to the big time, but for now it’s big enough for me. It’s interesting to inside of a room full of enough nervous energy that one might be able to run a small town’s electrical needs from it. I was one of the last people to climb since that’s how the draw came down this time. It was the first time I had to wait until the end to climb and I was, in a way, happy to have the time to warm up properly and get focused. From previewing the route I could tell that the moves on my given line were long and powerful. So went through some of these moves on the isolation work board and felt pretty good about them. The passing hours and eventual decline in athletes in isolation left a bored few of us playing hacky sack with an empty Red Bull can. So although none of the six of us could speak a common language, we could all play the game together. Finally, I was called and I walked to the transition isolation shack behind the climbing structure. I went inside the small wooden storage shed and was locked in with two other athletes. I could not stand up inside but was able to sit down on a bench seat next to a small ceramic heater. Once I was called for the last time I was led through a tunnel and out to the climb. I took one last look at the climb. I was hesitant to even start. I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to break some rule that I wasn’t used to, like a false start. It would be easy to be disqualified if you had one foot on the ground, both axes on the starting hold, and then moved and axe from the hold. I also was pretty damn nervous, but felt in control. I was also a bit worried since the belay was asking me how much I weighed. “90 kg” I told him. He was a bit unnerved as I guess I am the heaviest competitor in history. There’s not a lot of 200 pound competition ice climbers running around, most are below 80kg and usually closer to 70kg. “Ya, I have to haul it all up there” I told him, and I tied into the rope. I climbed very slowly and very tentatively, so much so as to a fault. I also realize now that I should be more aggressive kicking into the wood. This is something that I have never done before Kirov, and that experience was futile in -30°C. I reverted to tracking, a style of climbing using only the holds for my feet that I used for my hands, a very common American style of climbing. I got up past the third clip and my foot slipped off a hold while I was in a full bicep lock off upside down stein pull, leaving me lowering myself with a one arm decline. I immediately grabbed harder as the anxiety sky rocketed, a wicked cycle that makes for a brutal pump in the forearms. I was 1/3 the way through the route and I just want to get higher and didn’t really care about my time. I was able to shake out my arms for a brief moment but had trouble with my gloves stacking up and essentially entrapping my hands on each other while trying to grab the tools. I could hear friends cheering for me and I pulled hard to the next hold. I placed the tool on the right side and could not see a hole to put the pick into, so I fished around for a second and then popped off as I lost power and hooked my tools together. There’s nothing like a good ass beating to realize how different the climbing style is here in Europe. The techniques and demanding mix of dynamic and static climbing are far beyond anything that we train for in the states. My only regret in not making it further in the competition is that I will not be able to climb more on these climbs to gain more experience. I know that it is up to me to come up with a better training regimen if I am going to come back and be a serious competitor in this venue. The speed climbing competition was held on a large snow mound that they had trickled water down on to try to make an ice surface for climbing. It seemed like a good idea, but many of the ice hold pulled out during competition, breaking off large faces of the frozen façade. One of the guys from the Netherlands ripped through the ice with a tool and lacerated the medial aspect of his forearm. Some thought that he might have actually broken his arm at first, but it was just a small laceration that the local medical authorities decided that he needed to go by ambulance to a hospital far away to get stitched up. I offered to stitch him up back at the hotel room, but he was already involved in the drama, so they took him away. Justin Spain and I both had a great time and made it to the Semi-finals in the speed climbing competition. We beat some Russians, some of which are the fastest speed climbers on the planet, but we didn’t make it to the finals. Speed climbing is quite fun, but perhaps one of the most dangerous things we’ve done, besides taking a car up and down the Valle di Daone road. I am inclined to come back to Valle di Daone to compete again. I would be great to see more of the area climbing and skiing. Many UIAGM mountain guides run this event and are helpful with information. The competition routes are well set and a lot of work goes into them. I told the route setters “thank you.” I’m hoping to actually feel good for the next competition is Saas-Fee, Switzerland. In Kirov, I was sleep deprived, and in Daone I was sick with a respiratory infection. We’ll see. I’m still enjoying the journey and am learning a ton!
1/14/2010 - 1/15/2010 Rested pretty much all day yesterday and then we made a trip into town to pick up some more provisions and check e-mail at the local library. Food isn’t as expensive as petrol is. Both Justin and I ran headaches all day long. He got a stuffy nose, but then got over it quickly. I on the other hand, got a full blown sinus infection. I got yet another horrible night sleep and had to physically get up at 5 am just to breathe. I hate that. Blowing my nose and scrambling for some kind of medication I might have in my bag to control the symptoms was not helping Justin sleep, so I went downstairs to read my book and blow my nose in private. Still feeling physically strong, we packed up and started walking to the pharmacy in Daone, about 6km down the road. I loaded up on everything I could and was happy that I could breathe through my nose once again. We were able to thumb a ride both ways, so it was easy to get around. We met Dennis who was hanging out in his van once we were back at the competition area. He brought 3 other Dutch people with him. They told us that they too had been ice climbing up the valley and found the same sketchy conditions that we had come across the day before. The Dutch crew is good energy and all smiles. It turns out that Dennis also got a sinus infection. I attribute it to the train ride epic to Moscow. It’s about the right incubation period and we all have the same symptoms. Hmmmm. We went back to our sweet accommodations and I went to bad to warm back up since I felt like I was running a bit of a fever still. We had to load back up once more nad go register at the UIAA office in Daone, then back up the valley. It’s bit of a dog and pony show, but I’m really looking forward to climbing tomorrow and doing my best. Tomorrow is the next competition and I need to have my game face, put on my big boy pants, and “harden the $%&* up.” Got registered for the competition and we're loaded guns and ready to go ! Should be fun.
1/12/2010 I was up early after a good night sleep. Justin tossed and turned and woke up with a headache. I typed some journal entries and then we had breakfast. I had gone through the local ice climbing guide book and figured out where we were in relation to some of the climbs. We only had to walk 6km and gain 300m in elevation and we could do that on a paved road. So, we packed our gear and headed out at the crack of 10:00 am. Walking up the valley, we were impressed by the grandeur of the area. The rock quality was amazing granite with many large boulders that we stopped and climbed on our way up the road. The reservoir came into sight, as did a large 400m granite face. We scanned it for climbing routes and found a few, but the rock was wet since it was south facing so we would not be able to go sport climbing there on this trip. But it was interesting to know about it. We reached the reservoir and hiked all the way to the top end where the river enters. Along the way we could see the ice climbs lined up on the north face. We had been told that the climbing was no good on the ice since the temperatures had been warm and the quality of ice was poor. We looked at the local favorite climb, Regina de Lago, and indeed, it was running water with a high flow, spraying mist into the air, starting at about 2/3 the way up the climb. The other climbs near there were getting sprayed from this waterfall, so we decided to head back, cross the reservoir, and try to climb something else. A low angle climb that had a nice pillar finish was in sight and a guided party had just bailed off the first pitch. The ice looked like it got thicker near the midway point of about 100m from the bottom, so we thought we might give it a go. We cruised over and met the party as they were hiking out. They confirmed my thoughts that the ice was a bit too thin and that’s why they bailed. The guide said that he was not able to get any ice screws in since the ice was too thin. I told him about Notre Dame, a WI6 pillar that was just around the corner that we passed up, but he didn’t seem thrilled to have a look. We hiked up to the base of the climb and Justin took a look at the ice. I asked him which pitch he wanted and he said I could start. The guide was right when he said the ice was thin and eggshell. Granite slabs don’t adhere to the ice very well since there are not a lot of cracks for the ice to bind to. I climbed the first 70m and was able to place only one ice screw. At the belay I was able to get in three short screws in, two of the all the way, so I was happy. Justin’s lead was entertaining and was also a rope stretcher at 70m. Since we were alpine climbing in our full sport climbing regalia including our competition boots, leash less ice axes, short quick draws and only one rope, we were a sight to see. Our equipment is meant more for steep to over-hanging terrain. I would have preferred to have glacier crampons and a mountain axe for the first 1.5 pitches. But then we got to the good climbing. A short 35m pitch gained the base of the pillar where I elected to stage the next belay from. The pillar was a brittle chandelier and would not accept ice screws. It also didn’t like for me to swing my tools into it, so I was left with hooking on the delicate cauliflowered faces. Being a bull in a china cabinet was definitely not the way to climb. I got about 4m up and went to weight my right tool and it ripped out. The left too was weighted quickly enough to fracture the ice that it was on and it raked through about 5cm of ice before catching on something and preventing a fall. I said “oh, shit” and I could feel Justin on the belay making the rope taught. We couldn’t see each other since he was behind the pillar and I was climbing the front face, but he could see the ice that I was bringing down once it fell off. The WI6- pillar was short, but held my attention. The angle eased off and the ice became more homogenous. I was able to get in a couple of ice screws on the 35m pitch and finish off in the avalanche gully above on some trees. Justin came up and told me that he was climbing out right of my line just a tad. It seemed like he had a good time of it and we were both pretty happy to be in our position. The light snowfall throughout the day and the grey skies didn’t enshroud the valley, so we had great views and fairly good temperatures all day long. We went back to the B&B and ate some food, then headed down to the local bar. The man who owns the bar ice an old ice climber who pioneered some of the ice climbing routes in the valley. Looking in the bar, there was a light on and nobody present. We opened the door and said, “hello?” A large man with a veterans cap on came out of the next room and greeted us in Italian. Old ice climbing photos lined the walls and volumes of guide books and hand drawn routes were shelved by the 1970’s-style juke box. I ordered a couple glasses of red wine for us and we sat down at the small bar. He brought over the local guide book and showed us some routes and wanted to know what we had been up to. He is apparently the local information source, so he wanted some information. He flipped through all the climbs located near Regina de Lago and I cited the one that we climbed. I informed him that it was in difficult condition and not the usual grade. He nodded, and as all ice climbers understand, ice grades are highly variable. It was good information for him also that we were the only party out of 4 to summit a climb that day, including two local Italian UIAGM guides that had given us a ride back down to our lodge. Justin ordered a Coca-Cola. Once I saw that when it was getting poured from a tap, I ordered one too. I can’t ever remember seeing Coca-Cola on tap, so I had to bite even though I don’t drink sodas. I asked the man in my broken Spanish with an Italian inflection if he had a guide book to sell. He said yes, and I ordered one for Justin and I each. We also asked that he sign the book, it’s always a good idea and I always sign my book if someone asks. We paid up and walked the 2km back to the lodge. On the way back, the route setters were still busy working on the sequences and making sure everything was ready to go. Route setting is hard work. Anyone who tells you different isn’t a good route setter. After having worked with Timy Fairfield in China when I helped set the Asian X-Games climbing competition routes, I realized how hard it is to set for an international venue for today’s athletes. Many long hours go into making a creative line that tests the skills of the athletes. Some are the world’s best competitors. We couldn’t stand around and watch the climbing since its not sportsmanlike to sneak-preview, but it was hard not to look at the structure. Words really can’t describe this thing. It’s like some kind of space vehicle that landed on Earth. Actually, it looks more like the Crystal Cave that we just explored down in Mexico where the world’s largest selenite crystals are found. The cave looks like Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. This structure is similar, but you can climb on it!
After the monster train ride from Kirov to Moscow, we caught another ride on the Metro and then hopped back on the train to Domodedomo airport "in" Moscow (:45 min outside of the city). Justin took a separate flight then me. All the athletes were scattered around the airport and looked like zombies walking around, aimlessly looking for some rest and a way out. I caught a flight through Brussels and had a great dinner on the plane, the finest airplane food ever.
Justin and I met back up in Milan, Italy after a series of delays in flights. After a good night sleep in a hotel room and a hot shower, we had a hot breakfast then hit the road. We took a bus to the train station. The bus driver performed some impressive road rage on a small passenger car complete with finger throwing and a full-on attempt at running the car off the highway. I was sure the small car would pull out an Uzi and finish the deal, but we somehow successfully made it to the train station without any gun fire or grenades going off.
It was easy enough to buy a train ticket for 8 Euros, but the 50 Euro fine for "not validating the ticket" was more than enough to pull my trigger. I paid our fee and we got off the train at Brescia. I immediately went to the "Customer Care" department and attempted a civil approach in explaining our case that we were foreigners and that we were sorry for our misunderstanding since we have traveled in a lot of trains and they are all different. Some have it so that you pay up front and get on, some have you scan your ticket when you get off. They're all different. Since the lady started talking over me, increased her tone, shortened her interval between words, and didn't want to listen to my case (not to mention the language barrier - Spanish and Italian are two different languages), I got heated up a tad. Those who know me know that it could have been a bad scene, but I was able to keep the extent of the explicates to a minimum and was able to have them write out my case in Italian on a "beg for forgiveness form."
The bus ride out of Brescia and into Vestone was quite impressive. Loads of old architecture, fields, and marble/travertine quarries had me thinking about my dad. He's an architect and I've grown up with an appreciation for architecture, something I haven't seen much of lately. The amount of industry along the valley is impressive. There's also a large cross section of races and backgrounds among the Italian people. For the most part, they are helpful and friendly. I think the train manager should move farther north (or maybe to the East Coast of the USA) to fit in.
We got a flat for 50 Euros and settled in for the evening. Justin broke out some tunes on the iPods and we tapped into the internet to check on friends, family, and what the status of the next competition will be. Our room has a 3 story bouldering wall right out the back window. We might be able to get a good workout on it tomorrow, who knows ?
We both feeling a lot better today and I think the jet lag might be going away for good. One more good night sleep, and I'll be a happy traveler.
We've been on the road and up for so many days, it's hard to remember what day it is. In fact, Justin had a different day on his watch than me, so we couldn't really figure it out until later tonight. One nice thing is that the sun is present and is about 3 times as high as it was yesterday!
1/8/2010 A blank stare In Moscow we had to find our way to a train station. Since neither Justin nor I read or understand Russian, we were limited to form recognition of parts of works. So we would look at a Russian name and say it in English as best as we could. Even though we could kind of communicate with each other, all bets were off when we had to talk to someone else. The Russian language looks like the English and Greek alphabets were speeding in a car together down the autobahn and then were involved in a major trauma scene. We finally made it to our train station after working our way through the impressive metro system. We had no cell phones or any other means of communication, but we had a time and a place to meet our contact. Luckily, we looked like out of place American ice climbers and we were snatched up by Michelle, our guide to Kirov. All the athletes lined up to get on board once we were all assembled, and we were assigned a cabin. There were four of us to one cabin and we took all of our baggage in the room with us. Needless to say, there was no room to move. Our beds were small and cramped and we settled in for the 14 our train ride on the Train. The crew of about 15 athletes fell asleep fairly quickly as there was nowhere else to go, no commons area and no amenities otherwise. I have not slept well since arriving in Russia and the train trip didn’t help. I was up 4 times as it was intriguing to see the train stations at the stops we made as well as looking at the bleak countryside light by moonlight. Once I’m awake, I have a hard time going to sleep. My mind wanders and with all the excitement going to the World Competition, my nerves are a bit fried. I wake up in the morning more tired than when I went to sleep. The jet lag has taken a severe toll. We hopped on a bus that took us to the hotel. Some athletes look as bad as I feel and some are asleep in their seat as soon as they sit down. Arriving at the hotel, we are given rooms and have to report back within the hour to register for the climbing competition. All the foreign athletes are in a small room upstairs in the hotel when 20-30 Russian athletes arrive and register. Most of them are teenagers. The rules are explained in several languages and there is some confusion with interpretation. A short walk from the hotel brings us to a large tower, a ski jump tower to be exact. Underneath is our climbing venue. We are ushered to the isolation building that is an old building with no heat. The temperature outside is minus 29°C. Ice becomes brittle at minus five. The “warm-up area” is a timber post and lintel system inside the hallway. Competitors swing wildly past each other on the monkey bar structure in hopes of getting some kind of warm-up. I’m leaning up against the wall and as I look down, the whole room shakes, as if a bomb went off outside. I looked at Justin to see if he felt it, but his face tells me that I am the only one feeling it. I realize that I am in trouble. The jet lag, travel, and excitement have taken their toll. I now know that I am punch-drunk tired and I am not ready to compete. My heart drops into the pit of my stomach. I get more nervous since I know that I am in a weakened state and am not strong enough to even get a good warm-up session in before heading out to take my turn at on-sighting a climbing route in this competition. It’s over before it’s begun and the room continues to shake intermittently. I almost can’t stand up without losing my balance. Trying to get a warm-up on the flexing timbers, my muscles are at about 60-70% capacity. My name is called out in Russian and I am taken to the venue. They tied my knot and I am looking at the route. I laugh out loud and look around and know that I only want to lay down right there and go to sleep. It’s crazy to think that, after all the training and effort to be afforded a chance to be where I am, that I cannot even climb. I am trying not to internalize the shameful feeling that somehow I screwed up to be in this poor of shape. They prod me to climb, so I get on the wall and start. Both axes on the starting hold and I begin to move across the traversing opening moves. The third move goes to overhanging terrain and the weight of my body feels like a ton of bricks. The cold penetrates past the skin and my arms feel like lead. I try to kick into the boards, but my crampons bounce off. I let go and drop to the ground. We are allowed a second try, so I get back on thinking that somehow I might get a better flow to the climb and that by some miracle that I will be able to get moving upwards. The second round I get a twinkle of power, but only briefly. I do some figure 4’s and figure 9’s and get through the same moves and one more. Then, the high feet come in pulling the overhang to a very long stretch to the next hold. This is my main weakness in climbing since short people have an easier time crunching up and bringing their legs up to move past the overhang and I am not a short build. I’m too cold, too tired, and I can’t think. I look at the hold and I now see two of them. Double vision isn’t what I needed. I simply let go and I’m done with my first World Competition climbing event. I’m completely embarrassed. I feel I’ve disgraced everyone, including the route setter, friends, family, and sponsors. I just want to puke. As cold and miserable as it was, I stayed around to watch Justin climb. Justin, unfortunately, did as poorly, but was also the victim of either the language barrier or unfair judging since they called him “outside the boundaries” on his second attempt at the second hold. They counted his highest point however, so we tied for 33rd place out of 38. The route was too hard right off the deck since we weren’t the only ones who suffered as bad. Nearly 1/3 of the climbers has fallen there and never even made it past the first clip. In fact, nobody even finished the climb, not even the world’s best climbers could not finish it. As a result, there is a complaint to be filed by the judges to the overseeing body of route setters. I’m not sure how any of that will work out in the future, but it was a rough start for the newcomers from the USA. I wasn’t really phased by the ordeal since I couldn’t expect that I knew that I was pretty much doing well just to make the appearance and to expect much more would be unfair. Justin was upset for a while but he got over it quickly after I told him how I did and reassured him that this was only the first of a long series of competitions this month. We weren’t in Ouray where we only had one shot for the whole year. We were on the World Competition circuit and would have at least three more opportunities to tie in. The rest of the evening was spent socializing and meeting some of the people involved in organizing the competition as well as some of the other English speaking athletes. The following day we were able to go to the Kirov indoor rock climbing gym where all of the local people climb and train. I was shocked to find out that this was the only place that many of the Russians have ever climbed using their ice tools. So, they are familiar with all of the climbing holds used in this competition in Kirov, whereas we were learning on-sight, meaning that we had never seen the holds or were able to hang off of them. This is a clear hometown advantage. I would have liked to of climbed in this gym at least once before getting on the route. The locals make all their own holds out of 1 part polyester and 3 parts sand, but wouldn’t share an exact recipe, all interesting and good information for me or anyone else who might compete here in the future. Anyway, we all got a good session of climbing in under more hospitable conditions. It felt good to move and I got into bett humor quickly. We dressed up for the speed climbing competition in the early evening. The sun had set hours ago and the ice climbing wall was lit up with bright lights and a disco ball with music trying to pump a good vibe through high winds and blowing snow. I had never competed in a speed climbing competition before, although I had set a few of the lines in Ouray several years ago when they used to have speed climbing competitions. Dennis Van Hoak lent my his speed climbing tools and I gave it a go with a couple of warm-up tries. I as moving well enough and thought I might have some fun. Indeed, I had a load of fun in the competition round. I climbed well all the way up and nearly hit the buzzer at the top when I pulled out a chunk of ice that sent my flying, leading to my disqualification. I would have made the next round had I stayed on, but it was not to me. Dennis was really upset since he fell off only three moves up the ice. Having taken 2nd in a World Cup speed climbing competition, he was a bit disturbed. I gave him some good words that it wasn’t his fault and that he still has more competitions. It seems like a nice way of coping with failure when we look ahead at the next round. It sooths our emotions somehow and is like a little sugar after having swallowed a heap of bitter. More socializing and hanging out watching others climb in the semi-finals and finals competitions for the remainder of the stay in Kirov. There’s really no nightlife for foreigners that we knew about, especially with the language barrier. The finals route ended as expected. The girls all failed at the ice since they have never thrown their ice axes into virgin ice. The men finished as expected with Markus Bendler finishing first. Harold Klammer from Italy might have been closer to the podium, but he dropped an ice tool and was not allowed to continue. Russians finished out the top remaining slots. We were still on the clock since we still had to pack, eat dinner, and catch a bus to the train station all within an hour. We got on a train the took us about half way back to Moscow and we went into the bar and had a good time with al the athletes and some of the local folks. Unfortunately, we had to be dropped off at the half way city for some strange reason. Likely it was an error on the organizers part. This set us laying on the terminal floor for four hours until the next train came through to pick us up for the remainder of the trip. At least on the second leg we were able to get a bedded cabin and catch some sleep, although I didn’t sleep much. Go figure. Time to start changing something.
1/5/2010 Thawing out from an active morning in Moscow is an active endeavor. Justin Spain and I had had to cruise in to the Kremlin (where we were ejected from with our Avalung backpacks previously) to see what all the hubbub is about. There were tons of kids being separated from their parents at the checkpoint. That would freak me out as a parent. Ya, just send my kid into the Kremlin and I’ll pick them up in a couple hours. Hmmm. They let me go through and Justin followed, trepidatiously. Why they let the tall American with a yellow jacket through is beyond me, but we just kept going and didn’t look back. All the rest of the locals were ushered off somewhere and we rolled into the Kremlin somewhat unattended. It was 09:30 and the sun was barely above the horizon. The center of the main plaza was empty except for about 4 other people. We rolled into some of the cathedrals and witnessed some impressive history I’ve only seen or read about in history books. Some of the artwork on the walls dates back to about 1030 a.d. and graves of many Catholic Saints were laid to rest inside of metal caskets. The Muslims had built some incredible structures that the Catholics had laid claim to and subsequently placed golden crosses on top of. The struggles of religion have always been a major point of strife and more lives have been lost due to holy wars than any other reason. This became very clear standing among these cathedrals. The fortress of the Kremlin is impressive. The hand cut cobble stone roads frozen at -10C this morning have seen so many people come and go through the ages. Nobody talks, perhaps because of the lack of having the freedom of speech, but the silence here as opposed to the bustling Capitol Hill undeniably reflects the cultures differences. There is no laughing or joking around. Being light hearted is somehow unacceptable, unprofessional, and inexcusable. I’d be in a lot of trouble if I lived here. Justin’s got the iPod cranking and I think that’s the most music our hotel floor has ever heard! No complaints by the other people here yet. Tomorrow is a big day. We have to meet our sponsors to Russia and get on the train to Kirov. We will say good-bye to Moscow and take a night train across some of the 51% virgin and uninhabited territory of Russia. It’s time to relax and try to stay warm and recovered in preparation for trying to give it our best shot in the competition. The temps are suspected to be about -20C at competition time – sporting for sure. Marcus Bendler is the present World Champ. If you’ve never seen someone like Bendler or Will Gadd climb, it’s impressive. Bendler is featured on YouTube with some inspiring ascents during competition. The IWC competition presents itself that any competitor has a chance to do well. I’m hoping to do well, and rise to the level of the competition. Justin and I are representing the USA in this competition. I’m sure that the other competitors will be out to trump us. Anything can happen, so we’ll just do our best and hope to get this first competition off to a good start for the remaining three. It’s just the beginning of the 6 week circuit. We’re sharpening tools and crampons tonight. We have a train to catch. I don’t want to think about anything besides sleeping tomorrow night and I want to stay out of the cold for a change!!!
As a Mountain Guide, I take people into the mountains to attain a goal who are in the same shoes and have the same excitement that I have for this trip to Europe for the 2010 UIAA International World Mixed Rock and Ice climbing Competition. For some, climbing a 14er in Colorado might be a life-long goal. This competition is extraordinary for me and is one of my life-long goals to participate in.
To date myself, I learned how to climb ice with a mountain axe (not a technical ice climbing axe) and when it wasn’t fashionable to fall. Since then, I have chosen to climb on ice axes without leashes, following a more progressive path, and even learned to love the heel spur, an additional crampon that allowed the climber to alleviate some of stress of hanging on by transferring weight to their legs. The spur allowed some to achieve climbing at a level that was previously thought impossible. The use of spurs also allowed for a more enthralling visual experience for spectators. Then, some people took the spur off and went on to climb hard routes “bareback” or “spur-less.” Now, the spur is not allowed in competition, a shame since the evolution of climbing should be embraced and not clipped like the birds of a feather condemned to not experience their full potential. Climbers are presently forced into contrived series of climbing moves in competition routes using “figure 4s” and “figure 9s.” If you can’t do these moves, then it’s going to be a show-stopper. Perhaps the reader can feel my sentiment as a bold statement, but I believe that part of the reason that many people get into climbing is to be able to express their own style and technique. It appears that conformity is etching its place here as it has across the remainder of the climbing culture, a pity.
The opposite is true in Ouray, CO, where I’ve had the great privilege of competing for the last three years. There, the competition routes have been set in a more traditional/alpine style that are more based on the skill of finding a hold on cryptic rodentie and progressing in a generally vertical, straight-up fashion. Sometimes, the competition route is covered with verglass, a thin ice layer that usually never holds my weight of about 200 pounds (90kg). So, I’ve set my sights on climbing in a competition that I know where the holds are and I’m not worried about them breaking. The IWC climbs are standardized so that every climber has an equal opportunity to climb a route that will be generally the same throughout the competition, so there is no advantages to going last, per say.
Although I have grown up climbing on ice, and I call myself an “ice climber,” I spend less than 10% of my ice climbing time actually on waterfall ice. I spent several years learning how to climb bigger and more intimidating ice climbs in the Canadian Rockies. When I was going through Physician Assistant School, I was fortunate enough to land a family practice rotation in Ridgway, CO and I spent most of my time off doing night solos of all the climbs in the area, including Ames, Bridalveil, as well as the Ouray and Silverton area climbs. Dragging a rope behind me, I found it easier to climb at night and by headlamp without any pressures from other parties, the main objective hazard in ice climbing.
Taking the flight from Albuquerque to Chicago Midway, then on to Dulles Washington was an easy first leg. The awakening that I was going to Russia became apparent once checking in at Dulles. Having traveled a fair amount, I never ceases to amaze me how large the discrepancies are between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” At home, I consider myself always bordering on the “have-not” side, but compared to the rest of the world, I have more than most. People see how I get by on meager earnings and ask me “how can you do it?” “Everyone has a different reality” I tell them.Mostly, I am happy be alive and be able to experience the places, people, and events that have shaped me into who I am. Today I am a competition ice climber headed for the World Cup in a foreign, and in the past, a hostile land.
My father and my grandfather were not able to go to Russia, and there may be a possibility that Russia may not welcome Americans once again with the resurgence of communism under Putin’s rule. I wonder how we will be seen in the Russian’s eyes once we are on their turf, the largest geographical, and still a political powerhouse, country in the world. Will it be different in Moscow than Kirov? What about general safety? So many people have been afraid of the perceived low level of safety and stability of the country. I can definitely feel the distance between the cultures just in getting on the plane, but I’m looking forward to dispelling the mystery and making friends and establishing relationships that could possibly tie our countries closer. I wonder if the language barrier will be as limiting as I predict.
Training Blues
Last week was a heavy hitter on the training side and I’m still feeling the effects. It’s now been three days off from climbing and I’m itching to get back into getting some hang time on the ice tools. I know, however, that I can’t afford to push it too hard this close before a difficulty competition. I know my body after several years of ice climbing competition how I need to do things. Everyone beats to a different drum and has a different training regimen. In training with other people it becomes necessary to help each other out since none of the ice climbers I know in the USA have a climbing coach. We are all self-sustaining on all fronts and so we lean on each other to train and climb with. People who don’t climb hard routes find it difficult to understand our “selfish and non-recreational style.”
Timy Fairfied has been as close a coach for me as I could possibly have. He has participated in International World Climbing Competitions and he has the heart and soul of a competitor. He has taught me how to climb better for sure, but has also been able to forge my minds perceptions into strong positive beliefs that allow for completion and success. He still continues to inspire and coach young adults and helps good climbers become even better. Timy has also inspired me to travel and test my mettle outside of my comfort zone. I’ll always carry a little bit of Timy with me, especially on trips like this. I once went with him and Brandi Proffitt to China to set a UIAA competition for the Asia X-Games, so this competition won’t be too shocking, but this time I am a competitor, a bit nervous and excited.
This is a journey that I dreamed of after completing my first Ouray competition in 2007. I brought up going to Europe to compete in this circuit to many people, but nobody was interested and thought it was not worth going. I remember watching another of my inspirations, Will Gadd, appear at the IWC in climbing magazines and even as a cameo in Petzl’s CD movie, “Picth Sorbet.” From there, I become enthralled with the possibility of making my own reality.
Climbing is an interesting activity. Some people take climbing as a loose recreational hobby, especially since the advent of climbing gyms and the high relative safety that accompanies that theater. Another theater has introduced more people into Ice climbing than any other in the world, the Ouray Ice Park. It also has a high safety margin when compared to the way I learned how to climb ice. Now, I train those who are willing and ready, how to climb hard on rock, sometimes even before they have ever tried to climb on ice. This makes for a physically strong climber, albeit, not a strong alpine awareness. The evolution of climbing and its techniques are never-ending. Perhaps tomorrow’s clever climbers will come up with something new and revolutionary.
So, my training has taken the mandatory abrupt turn and instead of working on cryptic alpine-style routes that are also somewhat physically demanding, I have had to work on my power and confidence on the “euro-style” of mixed climbing in order to even think I could show up and sign in for this competition. To the lay person, climbing in one style generally looks like climbing in any other form. However, I can attest that this is far from the truth.
The climbers from Europe are very strong, driven, motivated, and supported by their country and sponsors. I have worked diligently for three years to seek sponsorship in the United States. My efforts have been fraught dead-ends during a hash economy. The USA Olympic Training Committee was completely unsupportive, but it’s understandable, since mixed rock and ice climbing is not an Olympic sport. Having said that, I was extremely fortunate to be picked up as an Ice Holdz team member and received modest financial support. This was the fuel I needed to continue looking for sponsorship and PMI Rope came through with a little more money, enough to cover my rail travel throughout Europe! I was elated. Huge thanks to those two entities. I hope that anyone reading this will support them.
Running track based on my personal VO2 max, climbing days, rest days, eating “right”, not drinking alcohol (as much) and not traveling so much, all spells disaster for personal relationships. I thought that my eating was in check last year when I was counting calories, but I obviously was mistaken when I developed a myeloproliferative syndrome, a condition where my white blood cells were generated, but didn’t turn into full-grown cells. In addition, I had anemia, which contributed to a fairly major fatigue problem. Falling asleep in the middle of the day on a whim isn’t good. I started to eat more and somewhat indiscriminately and became better, I realize that eating is more important than I gave credence.
1/4/2010
Got up yesterday morning and drank some fairly expensive coffee downstairs in the hotel. I worked on my research project for about 2 hours and then checked in with the hotel to see if we could stay for another day since we were told that we did not have a room the day before. Luckily, we got a room. That freed us up for a large chunk of time that we were able to devote to running around greater Moscow unbridled.
We took the swanky Metro to the town center and tried to get into the Armory, Unfortunately, they didn’t allow our Avalung backpacks in, or maybe we had too much of a tan, but we as soon as we got through the metal detector check point, they kicked us out.
So, we ran around Red Square at -22°C and checked out some cool architecture at St. Gabrial’s’ Cathedral. We strolled through the vendors, all of which sold the same trinkets. I bought a couple CCCP t-shirts and we rallied to a rock gym that Justin had found on the internet. Justin’s really good at sniffing stuff like that out with today’s technology, something that most people here are completely oblivious to.
We took a metro to as close as possible and then hiked a km or so to get to what seemed to be an educational compound of sorts. We made our way up to the 4th floor with the help of two Moscovite girls who spoke the best English we’ve encountered so far. They were able to get us into the gym saying that “we were with them”. We paid our $150 rub and got to climb on their wall that was located in a quite large structure that included a full gymnastics floor, a superimposed track, and tennis courts. The wall was about 150m long and had a good selection of bouldering and tope rope and lead climbing. They desperately need rope. I would have left mine, but we need it for the remainder of the trip. I showed then some IceHoldz and they were a bit perplexed. I left some literature with them about indoor ice climbing and they seemed put out that I would give them information. Perhaps it’s because they can’t use the information or there’s just no way could they ever afford doing this activity since they are limited by their government in what expenses can be covered. The ropes were so bad that when I went to tie in, the rope end felt like a bag of worms since so many people have fallen on the first 8m of it. Justin took up that first 8m, coiled and clipped it to his harness, tied in short, and got stares from the manager of the gym I don’t think the manager understood our thought process. Our though process was, “don’t fall.”
The youth seems to be a lot more accepting and outgoing. Once people here get to be about low to mid 20’s, they seem to have a stern affect. There’s not much smiling, joking, or laughing in any venue. Moscow, in general, is a very quiet and a very clean city. There is no trash anywhere, period. There is also no advertising signs or billboards cluttering the viewscape, that being what it is. Busses and trains run constantly in every direction on overhead electrical power lines, reminiscent of the 1920-30s in the United States. They are quiet and don’t spew CO.
The architecture is by and large rigid, geometrically square, and functional for the time being. I seriously doubt that many of the homes and apartment complexes will be able to be refurbished and brought up to modern day standards easily. My fear for Moscow is that a small earthquake could be absolutely devastating. Justin walks around shaking his head at all the fire hazards he sees. It’s amazing that the amount of public responsibility is at such a high standard and that is what enables this city to not have large disasters. The United States seems to have way more events that could carry a larger threat should it occur in Moscow.
It’s been good to get here early and have a chance to get over the jet lag. We are about 13 hours opposite from home, and the change is a bit grueling, especially at this high latitude. I’m reading my textbook for advanced environmental exercise physiology and the only research that shows helping out with jet lag is Bright Light Exposure (BLE) and melatonin. I have neither. I do have Ambien (works well) and loads of alcohol (blahhh). So spending some days here in advance is a good thing.
Americans stick out like a blinking strobe light here. We are wearing standard clothes for the States, but the Moscovites wear lots of fur or black, brown, and dark drab colors. It’s not my style at all, so I was considering buying a large fezz (or whatever the furry hats are)…ya, right.
On another note, the last time that a UIAA Ice International World Competition was held in Russia was also in Kirov. Will Gadd was the last North American to compete in this competition here, and it was at the time when the revolutionary transition to leashless tools and spurs made an explosive appearance on the ice climbing scene and the front cover of climbing magazines. It was a pivotal point in ice climbing history.
