After the Meiringen World Cup I spent Sunday paragliding in Lauterbrunnen (a must-do if you have the opportunity) and had a photo shoot with MAMMUT on Monday and Tuesday. While I have been parasailing (over the ocean) before, I had never been paragliding. This was also my first time walking in serious snow and being on a ski lift! Thank you Brian (a climber I met last year in Meiringen) for setting up this great experience. I’ve attached some photos at the bottom so you can check them out if you would like.
The MAMMUT shoot on Monday/Tuesday was a blast as well. Jakob Schubert (a super strong climber and really nice guy) was also at the shoot on Monday, while I was by myself on Tuesday. The only hiccup we had during the shooting was when I left one of the items of clothing we needed at the gym in Lenzburg and realized it after we arrived at the gym in Uster! Other than that, the shoot went off without a hitch and I am so excited to see the photos/videos.
Late Tuesday night we flew to Moscow so we could begin our Russian adventures early the next day!
On Wednesday morning we went to Tokyo to get in some training with the Canadian team (Sean McColl, Seb Lazure, Nathan Smith, and Malek Taleb). The gym was great and it was nice to have a fun climbing session to unwind in between the World Cups. After the gym we visited the Bolshoi and walked around downtown Moscow, which was an amazing experience!
I also want to note that we ate at an amazing restaurant, Mari Vanna, where they have a resident restaurant cat (Benjamin). He was sweet, friendly, and made the experience unique. I also love cats…so I was in heaven!
With Wednesday being such an action packed day, we spent the majority of Thursday and Friday relaxing at the hotel and visiting the mall nearby. I definitely wish we had time to visit the Red Square and have some more sightseeing experiences…but I was also trying to preserve my energy for the competition :)
Qualifiers took place on Saturday afternoon for the women. Since there were so many competitors we climbed in two groups (A & B). Below is a video of my highpoint on all of the boulders and then a short breakdown of how the boulders felt to me. My final score was 3T4Z, 8 5. An easier reading of the score is: 3 Tops, 4 Zones, 8 Attempts to Top, 5 Attempts to Zone.
Boulder 1: Only a few moves long, this boulder began with a jump to a good hold, then a gaston to a crimp on a volume, and finishing on a large crimp. I felt really confident climbing this boulder!
Boulder 2: More strenuous than the first boulder I fell on the last move of this boulder off of a slippery sloper.
Boulder 3: Beginning with a dyno, this boulder was probably my favorite of the round. After a dyno, you had a few remaining moves on crimps on volumes and then you were finished.
Boulder 4: This was the one boulder where I struggled with the beta at the start and eventually figured it out when I was running out of time! I wasn’t trying the wrong beta exactly, but I think a more dynamic beta suited my climbing style better. My initial go-to beta was a left arm press. Other competitors used the left arm press successfully, but the more dynamic beta felt more doable for my personal style.
Boulder 5: A delicate slab, matching the finish hold felt nearly impossible on this boulder. I fell at the top a few times while trying to adjust my feet for the match. Luckily I did the match in the knick of time!
While I placed better than last week in Meiringen, I still missed semi-finals in 27th place. But again I climbed really, really well and felt great.
It’s kind of a crazy thing to feel like you are climbing better but placing worse (in comparison to my first two WC’s of the season last year). Even though I didn’t make semi-finals in either competition (Meiringen or Moscow)…I was not bummed out at all. It’s nice to feel like you are climbing well and to not feel stressed when you are competing. I feel like I am really capturing the experiences of the World Cups this year and I am confident that my competitions will continue to get better and better.
Now I am at home for a few days before I fly off to China for the Chongqing and Tai’an World Cups!
On to the next adventure…
<3 SBC
