Competition day in Valle di Daone

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!