I recently went to the SCS Youth Nationals in Atlanta Georgia. Two weeks prior to the comp, I went to the nationals training camp and climbed the walls at Stone Summit to get the feel for them.  Some of the routes are 65 feet high! We also had a national route setter come and tell us some key facts about the way they set. During camp I sent my first 5.13 indoors. It was a long roof climb, but it was all jugs so the only thing that mattered was endurance. Overall I think going to this camp was a great idea.  It made me a smarter and stronger climber.

At Nationals, I flashed my 1st qualifier, but did poorly on the 2nd qualifier and just barely made it to semis.  I had some nerves. Sadly, I rushed a move in the semis and finished 16th; not moving on to finals. When it was time for speed climbing, I had good times in the qualifiers and semis.  In the finals, I got a good time on my first run, but slipped on my last run causing me to place seventh. Speed climbing is a lot different than sport climbing. You have to be precise on every move while, at the same time, moving as fast as possible.  For sport climbing, I love my 5.10 Team – they are super sticky.  For speed, you don’t want a really down-turned shoe so I use my Arrowheads for speed.  Overall I think this National was not a train wreck, but a good learning experience for next time.  A bonus is that my team Zero Gravity won 2nd in the nation.  There’s a lot of strong climbers on our team!