"With Vancouver mostly shut down for the 2010 Winter Olympics, I spent most of the past two and a half weeks traveling around the US. My first stop was at the ABS National Championship near Washington, DC. The people at USA Climbing and the ABS put on an amazing event. The route setting was varied and interesting, and the music, lights, and announcers made for great spectating. I was happy with my performance, finishing 15th overall and 12th among the Americans. I think this should be good enough for an invite to the Vail World Cup, so I'm looking forward to that event in June.

After checking out some of the sights in DC, I flew across the country to Bishop, CA. It was my first time to climb in this world class destination, so my psych was high. Early on, I set my sights on the Buttermilker Stand V12. The problem has great movement on rock that is a bit friendlier that the rest of the Buttermilks. I was happy to have the TEAM Five Ten® shoes in my bag as I needed a good down-turned shoe with toe hooking rubber on top. I tried the problem a little bit each day and managed to pull out a send on our last day.

I'm hoping to keep up this fitness for the spring, when I've got big goals on the Chief in Squamish. Climbing big walls is going to be a whole new experience for me, but I think its just what I need to keep the motivation high. Until next time, stay psyched!"

-Ryan Olson

Going for the final wrap on the Buttermilker V12. Photo courtesy of Vikki Weldon.