UIAA European Open Ice Speed Climbing Competition in Romania

2/7/2010

Finishing up the 2010 Ice World Cup Circuit

So all of the preparation, planning, logistics, and thrill of competing in the World Cups in all the venues that we’ve been to over the last month and a half have been…extraordinary. The Euros like that the underdog Americans have made an appearance. Justin and I have been interviewed by media at every event. It’s intimidating since none of the Americans have ever made much of a presence in Europe.

I’ve learned so much in such a short period of time. New friends have been made, new connections with climbers from all over Europe and Asia have been established, and I had the opportunity to see many places and cultures that I have wanted to see since I was a kid. I have been encouraged and inspired by some of the world’s best mixed rock and ice climbers. The blood lines of experience from many of the original competitors have been passed down to the next generations of climbers that we are competing with. Markus Bendler learned to climb hard mixed lines and was trained by Harry Berger who I have also climbed with in Ouray, Colorado in past years. There’s less than 3 degrees of separation many times as this is a small community.

There is a lot of energy to get a World Competition in the United States. All of the competitors and UIAA Organizers have been very positive about the USA presence on this entire circuit. They feel that it makes for a more international competition. Furthermore, it validates their Olympic movement. There is a lot of energy being put into mixed climbing becoming a venue at the Winter Games. This may not happen in my lifetime of being a competitor, but perhaps I am contributing in some way to make this happen. Both Justin and I are interested in putting together a circuit of sorts in the USA. I have been told that I have two months to tell Urs (the Swiss coach representing the Ice Climbing Federation) if it might be possible to position a mock World Competition in the USA for next year. Although I am excited about the prospect to put an event on, I also realize the implications of taking on such a task from my experience with the Ouray Competitions in the past.

Therefore, I think it is prudent to call on anyone who thinks they have a possible venue, organizational structure in place, and the interest to consider hosting this type of event. I would be more than happy to have a lengthy discussion with those who would like to contribute. Justin and I have some great ideas, but we would need a lot of help to accomplish something of this magnitude.

An event like this in the USA means something different for every individual person. I can’t see anything bad about an event like this on a personal note and I have a laundry list of how it can be a good and positive thing not only for the general ice climbing community and those in the industry, but also for the USA.




We didn’t attend the competition for the finals. Rather, Malcolm drove Urs, Leight, Justin, and me 40km to the north on a mountainous, winding, and snow packed icy road to the north to visit the castle of Dracula. Yes, we learned all about the history and creation of Dracula on a cold, dark, blizzarding day in the Transylvanian Alps. The drab mid-century décor of the castle, along with the foreign feeling was good enough to have some Halloween-style fun. I couldn’t help but think about how many people had been killed with sharp tools in and around the Braun Castle, and now here we are to compete in an athletic event, having a different way to use our sharp tools, and nobody dies. What a concept!

I do know that when we got back and saw the finals, this is what Markus Bendler looked like as the 2010 overall Ice World Champion !!! This guy is a MACHINE I say...maybe he's a Terminator.



Back to Skiing!

Well, we’re in Romania and its puking snow. We competed in the UIAA Open European Championship – Romania. It was laden with Russians and they really wanted us to compete to “make it more interesting.” Ya, it was interesting all right. I missed my first round of climbing out of 5 chances and also got no practice or warm-up before having to climb. I pulled the picks right out of the ice with my Russian-made fifi ice axes on the first round. The second round went better since I made it to the top. I just wanted to get up the thing for a change without the ice breaking. Then, a Bulgarian put a ice tool through his thigh. He was bleeding and limping. There’s really nowhere for someone to get medical care here, but a family doctor was present at the ski are base and came over to take a look. She said to just leave it alone. I told the competitor that I would suture him up for free if he would like, and he agreed. I left the competition and took him into the Red Cross aid room where I was able to break out my medical kit, do a proper job stitching his leg back together, and returning him to the event.

Fortunately, I didn’t miss my turn, so I got a chance to climb again and this time I reached the top. Sweet! Only more than half as fast as the Russians, but I made it. It’s all I can do to get up the climbs without gacking myself in the legs or piffing myself with a crampon tip. I blame my weight pulling the ice apart, but I’m sure it’s my technique that holds me back. I just don’t have a lot of interest in speed climbing because it’s just a side show to the main circus event for me, the difficulty competition, and a way to have some fun. I don’t take it seriously enough to be a real competitor, yet I’ve scored higher in speed climbing than I have in difficulty. What’s up with that?

After today we’re hitting the slopes on our way back to Bucharest.
With all the snow that is falling over the last two days it might be possible that there could be some good skiing available. There’s some quite steep terrain around, up to 60°, or so we’ve heard. There’s not much in the way of rentals here. They have no telemark equipment anywhere, so Leigh will have to learn how to turn with her heels locked down. There’s no touring equipment available for rent either so I guess we’re not heading out to the back country.

I'm ready for some green chili chicken enchiladas!

Saas-Fee Ice Climbing Competition 2010

1/22/2010

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.