Jack Roberts Death on Bridalveil Falls

On Sunday 15 Jan, 2012, another friend of mine died “doing what he loved most”, ice climbing on the incredible Bridalveil Falls in Telluride, Colorado. He suffered a fractured hip and went into cardiac arrest sometime thereafter while he was being evacuated from one of the most ethereal locations on earth. Perhaps he bled out internally from his pelvic fracture. No matter the cause, he had time to suffer and contemplate life. I wonder what Jack, the author of Colorado’s best ice climbing guidebook was feeling at the time of his would-be rescue.

It’s been said that when people die in the mountains, “at least they died doing something they loved.” Other grow bitter with those words, I think simply out of grief and the loss of a loved one. The mountains are dangerous, no doubt. So is driving your car, but I’ll bet unless you own a Ferrari, it’s not the most rewarding time spent. Steve Jobs died doing what he loved, nobody says, “don’t venture into the treacherous field of making awesome computers.”

Yesterday while I was leaving South Korea, a close friend sent me some of the most inspiring prose:

So many people don’t get “it,” regardless of what “it” is.

“why don’t you retire from that”

“there was nothing I could say…because anything I said would not be understood. I would have been speaking a language he could, or would, not comprehend. While many don’t understand why you (me) travel around the world to compete in a sport they are even further from understanding; know that I, and a few others like me, get it and support you with everything we have. Keep pushing hard ! Enjoy the camaraderie that comes from pushing hard, and suffering, with others. Once it is formed, it is an unbreakable bond that is only understood by those who share “it”.”

What defines us are the actions we take, the people we touch, and what we give and receive. I hope that Jack loved every step up the splendid falls, savored the smell of the incandescent blue frozen waterfall ice, and realized that he leaves a legacy of ice climbers who share all the things that make climbing special. Your family and your friends will miss you. I hope you know that with every swing my ice axe that you are part of that energy, as are others who have inspired and helped me become who I am: Craig Leubben, Guy Lacalle, and many more. Thanks for helping me get "it". God speed.

(Post-dated blog for respect for family notification)

SOUTH KOREA ICE CLIMBING WORLD CUP, 2012 - EPILOGUE

UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup, Cheongsong, South Korea

REPRESENTING THE USA AT THE COMMENCEMENT - imagine that.

This year was exceptional in South Korea with the second ever UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup in Cheongsong (Nature Song). The culture is rich, the people so friendly and the organization of the competition and event being second to none. There were more than 127 athletes representing 24 countries at this competition. Only the top 40 are ever listed in the results, I was good enough to get listed and beat my previous rating of 36th in 2009-10 and am presently ranked 34th for 2012.

MEN'S QUARTER FINAL

This as my third year of competing in the World Cup and I have been lucky to meet some of the most interesting people along with all the travels. This year, Kendra Stritch makes her debut and is from Minnesota. Although most people think she's from Canada, she's actually from Minnesota. Ian Holmes is joining up with Gordon to form the Canadian consortium. The Russians pretty much crushed the entire field of all comers, hold a couple of Korean slots. Somehow, Bendler fell off. Someone must have greased his picks because that hardly ever happens. I would buy a lottery ticket before betting Bendler would fall in the first round.

THE IMPRESSIVE CANADIAN, IAN HOLMES GIVING ONE OF THE RUSSIANS A LIFT.

I am happy with my meek performance this year since although I did not make it to the half final, I climbed well and had recognition from the athletes and judges and route setters congratulating me on making good progress with making no stupid mental mistakes, climbing strong, and with consistency. Actually, I was just afraid that the belayer wouldn’t be prepared for how heavy I would be if I fell, so I just didn’t fall – ha ha. Markus didn't think it was funny, he really did think I would get dropped - didn't happen. However, one athlete fell a long distance and got harpooned in the abdomen by one of his axes. I checked him out and he had to be sent to the hospital for a perforated bowel.

I don’t feel like much has changed with my climbing in the past couple of years, but perhaps I can’t see the grass growing. Funny though, I’ve put on 10 pounds and only have about half a dozen training days total this year. Time in the pilot seat is what’s keeping me where I am, but I know I am not as efficient as I could be.

Although some of the best climbers fell early and some surprises by underdogs were seen I’m still a long way from being where I want to be. Sometimes there are doors that are before us that we have a choice to open and walk through. Simply cracking the door open isn’t good enough. I have some personal goal choices to make. I’ve taken a hiatus this past year in training and am ready to get back at it. I’m happy with my performance here this year and am looking forward to doing even better next year. Even though it is distant, it is likely my favorite world cup venue now that Val Daone is no more.

The ice competition season isn’t over yet, far from it in fact. Next on the hit list is the first ever TEVA Winter Games. I’m fortunate to have been invited to compete at this competition in Vail, CO. It is a different climbing format. The routes will not be as difficult and there will be two climbers facing off on identical side by side routes as this format is generally much more exciting for spectators. It will be similar to the 2007 Asian X-Games in Shanghai, China when I went there with Timy Fairfield to set the competition routes. I feel more compelled to attend this event on USA soil since I want there to be a World Cup in North America and there needs to be a good showing of competitors at “home games” to assure that it happens.

There is a movement for Competition Ice climbing to go to the Olympics and there needs to be a more organized International event and venue in the USA. However, there needs to be financial support for this to happen. I’m sure that there is someone or some entity that would be willing and able to help this cause, I just don’t know how to connect with them. I have lots of ideas though and can see it happening. Perhaps there will be some glimmer of hope when I visit Vail.

SOUTH KOREA ICE CLIMBING WORLD CUP, 2012

SOUTH KOREA ICE WORLD CUP, 2012

FULL MOON SET AND GETTING READY TO CHASE THE SUN ... TO SOUTH KOREA

Sitting in my seat and looking down on northern Russia and towards the pole, the temps are -50C. Unfortunately, the temperatures in Kirov, Russia were -38C with moderate winds and snowing during my first Ice World Cup. I knew that it was going to be tough going for the next 2 months and that I had a long way to go and a lot to learn about the mixed climbing scene in Europe.

ANTICIPATION.

Over the next three years, and logging many trips across all the ponds to Korea, Romania, Italy, Switzerland, France, and Russia, etc., I found that the American scene had somehow lost its way in the evolution of mixed climbing. The standard that I thought was so high was, in fact, not. Perhaps it was the climbing media’s portrayal that mixed climbing was a “dead-end sport,” or perhaps it was those who were leading the scene got their asses handed to them, they ran out of vision, or simply “got their cups filled,” but there was a sudden ceiling effect.

Going to the French National competition, I met up with Jeff Mercier. I had helped set the competition route at Ouray on the “diving board” that he made famous with his go-for-broke dyno to the finishing hold, barely making the magic happen. Jeff and crew has never slowed down with his “no figure 4 rule” in the competition left all the World Cup competitors launching for holds so far away that it just inspired everyone to throw harder. Jeff’s style isn’t for everyone, but it is fun to climb his routes in his style.

Stephanie Mereau took us to Le Usine, France last year for a proper schooling. This monstrous cave is home to dry tooling at it’s most refined extreme touting grade of D15 (like M15 without the ice). Later, I climbed together with Markus Bendler. I’m not sure what the grade difference is between North America and Europe, but I couldn’t knock off one of Bendler’s “M9s” when I can on-sight M11 back home. You should see one of his “M12s,” a completely blind horizontal dead point to a hold about 3mm deep. Marcus has won over 40 World Cups and can nab that hold 1/20 attempts on a good day. Needless to say, I’m still in my infancy of the learning curve in this game.

KOREAN ALPINE FEDERATION'S INDOOR 5 STORY ICE CLIMBING TRAINING CENTER.

Many countries have proper teams, supported financially, and have coaches. I’ve never had a coach for ice climbing, but I have coached. Intimidating as it is, being an athlete from the USA to compete at World Competitions still inspires me. It’s a big challenge, not only to participate, but to take on droves of Russians, South Koreans, and many other countries with formal teams.

I love the sport of this type of climbing, but it can be so taxing in so many ways. It’s the time machine that kills me: planes chasing the sun over the pole and around the earth, long bus rides, train transfers, and many nights in a foreign bed, on a floor, or on a couch. It’s all worth it though. That’s part of the cost of the ticket to live this life and have it be a memorable one without regrets. Keep on following that dream !

Korea World Cup

I'm looking forward going back to Cheongsong and once again representing the USA as an "Army of One." It's time to go back to the "big pond" in the climbing competition circuit, the World Cup. South Korea is host to the opening UIAA International Ice Climbing World Cup Competition. This is by far the biggest event in mixed rock and ice climbing competitions anywhere in the world.

Flyer by UIAA

After being injured with a torn bicep muscle, I am managing to stay healthy and have had a fairly descent recovery thus far, but my pre-season training suffered. I had not climbed a route until I took second place at the indoor mixed competition in Colorado Springs in November, 2011. I'm a bit intimidated this year since I know how hard the competition routes are and how honed the other competitors will be, but I hope that I am on the uprising of performance at this point. Anything can happen in competitions though.

It's hard to get all my affairs in order prior to departure. Passport, competition license, reservations, airfare, and all the logistics it takes to get there...and back. The guide service suffers and Strike Rescue is getting ready to launch a new program at the University of New Mexico's EMS Academy. I'll be working while resting. I'm still working with the US Forest Service on permits for avalanche courses and keeping up with continuing medical education. There's always work to be done, even while on the road.

I stay up all night the day of the flight, not only because I'm afraid I'll miss my flight, but also to feel somewhat human when I land in Seoul. Crossing the International Date Line and having to compete is not so easy, but it's easier than going to Europe for some reason. I manage to squeeze in one more work out under the halogen lights on my climbing wall in the back yard and get my last green chili fix before heading to the airport. I'll crash out on the plane with knowing that my friends and family support me.

Ouray Ice Competition ... Rules ? Occam's Razor Failure.

So people are asking me about what happened at the Ouray Ice Climbing Competition, 2012. Well, I got disqualified. Conflicting information and rules led to me following some other competitors looking at the route with binoculars and camera. Here's the facts and the latest e-mail I got from the Competition Director:

Marc,

Congratulations on being accepted as a competitor in the 2012 Ouray Ice Festival mixed comp. We are excited to have you participate and hope your psyche level is high and that you have been training hard.

The competition is an invitational event and seeding will be determined by a jersey draw at the competitors meeting to be held on Friday the 6^th. I will notify you of the time and place of the meeting once we have all of the details worked out.

Vince Anderson is setting the route again this season and the route will be located near the lower bridge in the Ice Park by the vendors area. If you are in Ouray and see Vince or any Ice Park employees working on the route please do not watch. I do not mind if you look at the route from the viewing stand area, but anyone caught scoping the route from the gorge floor, on a nearby route or watching work being done on the route by the setters will be disqualified from competing.

I will be in touch in the coming weeks with more details on the comp for you and if you have any questions please feel to drop me an email.

Once again congrats and I am psyched to have you giving your all in Ouray.

Cheers,

Comp Director

In all fairness to the Ice Park, and to my own demise, it does say on the web site that there should be no binos or cameras on the web site. I failed to see this and relied on Bill's e-mail above, and the fact that other competitors were doing the same and I was somehow singled out. However, the rules here change every year and there needs to be some standardization. It was o.k. to use these things several years ago, the comp route was a red point last year (meaning all the competitors actually got to climb on the route before the competition), and this year it's all different.

The part that really bumbs me out is that another competitor felt so threatened by it that they had to make it a big deal rather than approaching me directly. As competitors, we are only able to gauge ourselves against other competitors to measure ourselves. What a pity that they felt so insecure about themselves to have it wind up this way. Furthermore, the fact that the officials decided to take action based on that person demanding action or else they would not compete, and action was taken to grease the squeaky wheel without all the facts presented, is even more disappointing.

When I asked who made the complaint, they told me to divulge the names of the others who were also engaged in the viewing with cameras and binoculars. I refused to give the names of the others who were also doing the same. I don't feel that it is in the spirit of the competition or fair to others who were in the same situation I was.

I'm not so sure that there's any advantage from the use of adjuncts to view the route. To view the route with binos or photos does nothing. Watching someone climb the route is altogether different since seeing someone climb will show where the holds likely are and how to do the moves. The use of adjuncts to view the route is more of a mental exercise since adjunctive viewing offers nothing over viewing with the naked eye aside from perhaps calming the nerves a bit. The Ouray competition is different than World Cups since the climb is on a wall and part of the difficulty is simply finding the correct hold. In World Cup, it's a no-brainer where to go, but the holds themselves are difficult to stay on.

The funny thing is that other athletes in the past have done the same and no action was taken. I recall an athlete actually getting on the route prior to an on-sight competition and nothing came of it. I get it that they are trying to have consistency and uphold the rules. I don't feel like my actions were subversive or in any way compromised the integrity of the competition. Why? There's no advantage of looking at the route since you can't even see the holds. In fact, photos of the route were posted on-line prior to start of the competition (not by me) anyway, the day before the competition.

I hope this doesn't ever happen to anyone else in the future and perhaps this will allow better insight for the powers the be as to how this can be avoided in the future. I set competition routes the Ice Comp and Jeff Lowe in 2000, with Michal Gilbert in 2001, and again helping Jason Nelson by setting the unforgettable diving board finish when Jeff Mercier beat Inez Papert by a single move. I've worked as a belayer on the suspended platform before I started competing. So I understand what goes into making a competition run in Ouray, the associated headaches, and the politics. I appreciate Vince Anderson's efforts as a route setter this year and can only be sad that I was not allowed to climb his route.

At any rate, I was not able to be heard, I didn't get to compete, and that's a wrap. Time to move on. What a waste. That's the way it goes with competition climbing. There's ups and downs and rolling with the punches is just part of the game. So this is my perspective and only my opinion. I respect the decision made, but don't agree with it.

I appreciate all those who can understand and support me through both the good times and the bad. I love mixed climbing. It's my favorite form of climbing and I enjoy competitions most of the time.

The good news is that I got to spend some time with friends and go climbing on some of the hardest routes in the USA. I got to help new ice climbers put on their crampons for the first time and help other competitors sharpen their picks. I was also able to refocus and set sights on loftier goals like getting back to the Hall of Justice where I still have projects, the UIAA Ice World Cup, and the Winter TEVA Games in Vail.

Ouray 2012 Mixed Rock and Ice Climbing Competition

For the past two years I ahve been on a World Cup rampage to try to hone my skills as best I can and submerge myself into the "big sea" of big competition climbing. I've taken 26th in difficulty and 19th in speed in 2009 and then lost momentum in 2010 with no placement. Albeit, I have been busy: completed my UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide Certification, continued with my PhD, rebuilt the house, obtained a contract with UNM to teach Strike Rescue courses, and restarted work as a Physician Assistant. It's been a busy year. Needless to say, I don't ahve much expectation for sending hard lines or winning any competitions. However, the first time I really climbed this year I took 2nd at the City Rock climbing competition in Colorado Springs on the way back from a PA conference.



The Ouray Invitational Ice Competition is this coming weekend and so I've put in some time and will hope to do well. I go back for a day of work and then off to the first UIAA World Cup in South Korea. I am super excited to kick things off this year back in Ouray. It's been about 3 years since I've competed there and I'm hoping that the route will be much better than it was the list time. Hell, I'd rather fall off crappy ice than be called out of bounds like I was in Saas Fee, Switzerland when there's no boundary lines (not going back this year simply to make a statement). Ya, nothing but sour Suiss grapes there. That's o.k. Angelika Rainier (Italy) got totally screwed on the finals in Korea. There's always something in competitions. Even if you're on the podium, you feel that you could have done better. Somehow, its never enough.

Either way, it's all about the journey, and I've learned so much and come so far from where I was. I realize how much I stand on the shoulders of those before me, and the shoulders of my friends. I revel in the competitions not only to push myself but to reconnect with those I share a special bond with - of the element of hard mixed climbing - competition or not.




Angie knows how ADHD I can be so she's coming to NM to help us out with the Strike Rescue (SR) course at UNM this next semester. Justin Spain and Jason Williams are the other instructors that will be taking lead roles. She went with us to Mexico to explore the Crystal Caves with the National Geographic. We have a great team and I'm looking forward to this new year of 2012 and the challenges it will bring.