http://fiveten.com/ http://fiveten.com/images/stories/NewBox_black.png http://fiveten.com/ http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12792-life-is-just-so-swede-sasha-digiulian http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12792-life-is-just-so-swede-sasha-digiulian This past week I traveled to Stockholm, Sweden for the Tierra Boulder Battle and to climb some Swedish Granite. I could not have anticipated how cool and friendly all the Swedish people are and how great of a time I had! I was staying with one of my best friends, Mathilda Soderlund, who I have known previously through competitions. She is a great competitor and climber, but she also knows how to have fun. It was easy to have a lot of fun because we have very similar interests and hobbies… shopping, baking, watching movies, painting our nails... ]]> Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:31:00 -0400 12792 2012-03-29 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-0962-1333042293.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-0877-1333042294.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-0964-1333042295.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_cover-usa-climbing-1333042296.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12765-youth-bouldering-nationals-2012-francesca-metcalf http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12765-youth-bouldering-nationals-2012-francesca-metcalf My last Youth Bouldering Nationals were held a few weeks ago, and I have to say that I am so sad it’s over. I’ve looked forward to going to this competition every year since I was 11. It’s pretty sad, and a little scary, saying goodbye to that stage of my life. ]]> Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:53:00 -0400 12765 2012-03-21 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_nats-1332345226.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12763-if-only-ryan-silven http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12763-if-only-ryan-silven Exactly one year ago today I returned from my first trip to Fontainebleau, France. If I had my way I never would have left. I took some footage from the trip and together with Jon Glassberg and Alton Richardson we made a little movie of my time there. There wasn't any rhyme or reason to the boulders I filmed, they were just things that looked nice, or were different than the standard Font fare, or I just happened to have the camera ready. The pictures in this post are courtesy of France and it's beautiful pastoral countryside. ... ]]> Wed, 21 Mar 2012 01:03:00 -0400 12763 2012-03-21 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_font3-1332291822.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_font1-1332291822.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_font2-1332291822.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_font4-1332291822.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12733-2012-hueco-rock-rodeo-a-first-nina-williams http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12733-2012-hueco-rock-rodeo-a-first-nina-williams A couple months back I enjoyed my first-ever trip to Hueco, and now one week ago I attended my first Rock Rodeo! It was my first outdoor competition I'd participated in and was quite the experience. I'm glad I went down a week beforehand to toughen up my skin and get used to the climbing style; I had some great days with sends of Free Willy, Purple Flowers, This Is Your Brain On Drugs, Better Eat Your Wheaties, and New Religion before the weekend had even started. With these reinforcing my confidence I went into the Rodeo relaxed and... ]]> Tue, 13 Mar 2012 01:42:00 -0400 12733 2012-03-13 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_nina-emilia-1331602922.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_free-willy-1331602922.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_glas-roof-1331602922.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_open-girls-1331602922.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_sending-gear-1331602923.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_afterparty-crowd-2-1331602923.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12722-2012-abs-13-youth-boudering-nationals-mirko-caballero http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12722-2012-abs-13-youth-boudering-nationals-mirko-caballero This past weekend I participated in the 2012 USAC ABS 13 Youth Bouldering National Championships. My Dad had to work in Colorado all week, so my Mom and I traveled with him. On Tuesday I went to train at the Movement gym in Boulder, and we met Lynn Hill. We talked for a while, and then she bouldered with me. It was just awesome meeting her, and Lynn was really nice! I also met Matty Hong and Jamie Emerson. Wednesday I trained for a couple of hours with Justen Sjong, who gave me lots of good advice, and Thursday... ]]> Sun, 11 Mar 2012 03:06:00 -0400 12722 2012-03-11 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_36558068-abs12-04-111954-1331435160.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-5902-1331435162.jpeg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_national-champion-1331435162.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_zero-gravity-1331435163.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_usa-team-1331435164.JPG http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12694-the-getting-fit-and-fancy-diary-andreas-moelk http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12694-the-getting-fit-and-fancy-diary-andreas-moelk Question of the new year: am I fit? I've to say no, but I'm working on it! How? Here is the idea: Campus for start, Albarracin for warm up and Tuzgle for ultimate showdown. ]]> Sat, 03 Mar 2012 09:07:00 -0500 12694 2012-03-03 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/12694_cimg0811-1331135588.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/12694_img-0313-1331135589.JPG http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12693-nostalgica-bernd-zangerl http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12693-nostalgica-bernd-zangerl NOSTÁLGICA I love granite ! It is absolutely my favorite rocktype for bouldering. Usually the lines on granite rocks are so evident and pure, or sometimes just not possible ever to be climbed because of one "missing link". Without a doubt the sandstone in South Africa or Fontainebleau also offers world class bouldering, as well as in other areas which I don’t even know yet! BUT I started bouldering in Ticino, so this is maybe the reason for my keen preference for granite. ]]> Sat, 03 Mar 2012 05:53:00 -0500 12693 2012-03-03 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_bernd06se-1330754006.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12688-2012-bouldering-nationals-greg-padovani http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12688-2012-bouldering-nationals-greg-padovani Overall, from fit to finish, I felt pretty good this weekend. I could tell right when I landed that I was at a significant disadvantage due to the change in altitude - I was winded walking off the plane. I tried my friend’s trick of doing some sprints immediately after landing, but it is hard to tell if it helped. I proceeded to follow a high water and lower protein diet for the day preceding the comp to help my body acclimate to the altitude. ]]> Fri, 02 Mar 2012 20:24:00 -0500 12688 2012-03-02 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_greg-p-1-1330719860.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_greg-p-4-1330719861.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_greg-p-6-1330719861.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_greg-p-15-1330719862.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_greg-p-5-1330719862.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_greg-p-7-1330719863.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_greg-p-16-1330719863.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12680-horsetooth-fever-emily-dudley http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12680-horsetooth-fever-emily-dudley February was a pretty busy month with school and work. Plus the weather was windy and cold in Colorado. However, because of the lack of time and the lack of long periods of good weather I have re-discovered my home crag, Horsetooth. There is notable bouldering history at Horsetooth and some amazing lines like Moon Arete and Doxology. However, the lines that got my attention are the “highball” classic Kelley’s Traverse_V10, which basically traverses the foot holds of Punk Rock Traverse_V5 and everything on the Talent Scout boulder. ]]> Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:36:00 -0500 12680 2012-02-29 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_powerglide-ed-1330526168.jpeg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12679-eric-sethna-at-abs-nationals http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12679-eric-sethna-at-abs-nationals I've just returned home from my trip to Colorado Springs for ABS Nationals! After watching videos of the ABS 12 last year, I was super inspired and was able to fit this competition in this year. This was my first time competing in any ABS competition. I've made it to a couple of the UBC Pro Tour stops but the strength of the field at this national championship was insane! ]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:55:00 -0500 12679 2012-02-28 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_429374-10150589865572877-557262876-9365204-1812296264-n-1330458913.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_422045-10150589856462877-557262876-9365162-474798099-n-1330458913.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12677-bishop-crushin-with-friends-mirko-caballero http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12677-bishop-crushin-with-friends-mirko-caballero This is my first blog as a new Five Ten Youth Team member. I'm so psyched to be part of the team. I was hoping to get a sponsorship, but Five Ten has always been my favorite climbing shoes company, so that makes it really exciting! I just got my first pair of Team 5.10 shoes mailed to me just in time for US Nationals... ]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2012 06:24:00 -0500 12677 2012-02-28 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-0035-1330410255.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-0236-1330410257.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-0057-1330410257.JPG http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-0212-1330410258.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-0473-1330410258.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12657-weekend-bouldering-greig-seitz http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12657-weekend-bouldering-greig-seitz This past weekend, as I mentioned before, I got the opportunity to go climbing at Rotary Park. We climbed there Thursday , Friday, and Saturday. My main goal was to send a problem called Silver Leaf. While we were up there, we also got on a few other boulders. Overall, we had a nice weekend. ]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:15:00 -0500 12657 2012-02-22 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_climbing-1329945326.jpeg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_climbing-1-1329945326.jpeg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_climbing-2-1329945326.jpeg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12648-la-living-cerre-francis http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12648-la-living-cerre-francis In October I picked up life as I knew it for the last decade and left Salt Lake City for Southern California. Venice Beach to be exact. While I was excited for the change, I was scared of leaving the great climbing community and rock Utah offers. Within two days of my arrival I found myself at the closest climbing gym. Funny how we change our lives, but still migrate to our comfort zone. Lucky for me I ran into Isaac Palatt who I had met years back while competing. He offered a tour of Black Mountain the following... ]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:28:00 -0500 12648 2012-02-20 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_black-mountain-1329701281.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_beach-1329701281.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_hip-surgery-boo-1329701281.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_santa-barbara-1329701281.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_j.tree-1329701281.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_my-new-backyard-1329701282.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12646-freezy-font-michiel-nieuwenhuijsen http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12646-freezy-font-michiel-nieuwenhuijsen Arctic temperatures in northwest Europe, most of the Dutch had ice skating favor but I had only one destination in mind...Font! My last visit to Font was more than a year ago so and that was too long go for me so we went for the weekend (3 day weekend). With temperatures between -5C and -12C I knew that it was going to be cold, but the friction was well worth the suffering. ]]> Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:42:00 -0500 12646 2012-02-18 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_DSC07344.1five-1329568937.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12632-a-work-in-progress-check-your-head-sam-hayden http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12632-a-work-in-progress-check-your-head-sam-hayden Went to P-Way today, 20 degrees, the friction was great, but I figured out later that my fingers had been numbed by the cold and I didn't feel the terrible burning pain in my fingers that I have now. My dad got me up at 7:00am...-10 at our house! We headed south hoping the temps would increase and thankfully they did. I worked a V9 there called Check Your Head and found it was definitely one of the more challenging problems at P-Way, I gave it 36 tries and after an hour and a half of... ]]> Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:26:00 -0500 12632 2012-02-14 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_utah-1329186412.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12616-3-comps-3weeks-sebastien-lazure http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12616-3-comps-3weeks-sebastien-lazure January 28th.It was the third editions of the Gonflé à Bloc comp in Montreal and it feels to me that the first one was held only few days ago. Time goes by, and it's been already three years since my home gym's first Tour de Bloc stop. It was the only stop of the tour in Montreal this season and expectations were high! A total of 235 climbers competed that day! I think it was an overall success and one of the best one so far! Not because I’m really happy of my climbing that day but surely because... ]]> Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:44:00 -0500 12616 2012-02-10 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_seb-problem-5-nic-1328903097.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_bagley-darkhorse-2-4-2012-3725-1328903097.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_bagley-darkhorse-2-4-2012-3923-1328903097.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_vertical-bourdeau-2-1328903097.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_vertical-bourdeau-1328903097.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_vertical-guy-1-1328903098.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12608-training-blog-3-the-dark-horse-championships-angela-payne http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12608-training-blog-3-the-dark-horse-championships-angela-payne Since my last blog, I feel like my attitude has improved and my motivation has been somewhat renewed. I had a pivotal moment at the gym last week when I was climbing poorly during an evening onsight session. I was feeling angry and frustrated and tired and my attitude was deteriorating quickly. I wasn’t doing any of the boulders, and I was basically being sour and negative. I don’t get nearly as down on myself for failing as I do for not trying hard. That night, I knew I wasn’t trying hard, so I... ]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:21:00 -0500 12608 2012-02-09 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_imag2178-1328768493.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12607-boulder-area-day-trips-urs-moosmuller http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12607-boulder-area-day-trips-urs-moosmuller Winter has arrived in Boulder, Colorado. Snow is starting to stick and temperatures are dropping below freezing. In the past two weeks I went on several day trips to Clear Creek Canyon, Boulder Canyon, and Carter Lake to focus specifically on bouldering. The first day trip was out to a problem called Animal in CCC. Animal is a small roof problem right beside the road. This problem as I quickly found out has a lot of confusion around were to start and what the grade is. The most logical start is off double underclings and powers left through... ]]> Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:41:00 -0500 12607 2012-02-08 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-0009-1328744515.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-0011-1328744516.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-0012-1328744517.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_img-0015-1328744519.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-0013-1328744520.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-0030-1328744521.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_dsc-0036-1328744522.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12606-unlocked-tim-rose http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12606-unlocked-tim-rose Every area that I have been to over the past 14 years climbing has its gems. Every once in awhile those gems turn out to be difficult and beautiful. In central Pennsylvania at one of my local crags Governor Stables, we have been trying to unlock the beta to one of the proudest boulders in the field for almost half a decade. People have come through looking at this horizontal roof devoid of holds near the lip and tried countless ways to figure out how to gain the head wall and finish the boulder to the... ]]> Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:56:00 -0500 12606 2012-02-08 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/_blogpic-1328730961.jpg http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12595-memory-is-parallax-dave-graham http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12595-memory-is-parallax-dave-graham Well after one month in the South East, I was overtaken by humidity, perpetual downpours, and a general lack of a muerteness. I made a clutch decision, bought a plane ticket, gathered my gear and flew back to Colorado with the fire. As I was feeling defeated by weather, typically leaving me with a mixed sensation of insignificance and a temporal sensation about life on planet Earth, I gathered my shit, installed myself in Nederland (far up canyon from the loathsome b-town) and prepared for a second onslaught of the Estes Park bouldering zone I was climbing at before... ]]> Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:53:28 -0500 12595 2012-02-06 http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/12595_orshow-26-1328569586.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/12595_orshow-23-1328569587.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/12595_orshow-29-1328569589.jpg http://fiveten.com/images/stories/jreviews/12595_orshow-30-1328569590.jpg