My Day of SPEED!

 

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                                                                                  Photo credit: Dan Gadja

I decided to help out by volunteering since Brendan and I have been at Nationals for a while. I was looking for a low-stress job and finally found one I THOUGHT was going to be the least among of stress: being a Speed Clipper. I have to say, once I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy and the least amount of stress I have ever experienced volunteering at a climbing event.

But who would have thought how complicated it would be???!!! So, for my orientation, I was given a crazy amount of information by a very experienced parent in the discipline of speed climbing. Here is everything I learned in case you want a 'relatively' stress-free volunteering experience!

• First, DON'T FORGET YOUR HARNESS...like me...I had it at the hotel, just forgot to bring it.🙄
• Then, you have to learn how to tie the safety rope to your harness. This is the clip/rope that you need to attach to the auto-belay rope, so in case it gets dropped, it won't go all the way up to the top of the tower. This gets attached to your belay loop on your harness.
• Next, you have to learn how to open the Carabiner one-handed to attach to each climber.
• After a climber descends, you attach the safety rope and unclip them, either holding the auto-belay rope or clipping it to yourself.
• THEN, in between each climber, you look up and make sure the auto-belay rope isn't twisted. If it is, untwist until it is straight. A twisted rope could cause the auto-belay to fail...and we don't want that!
• Now, for the cameras, the two clippers must work in unison, unclipping both climbers at the same time. This looks professional and synchronized on the video and has the least amount of commotion in the view.

That's it! There are a few nuances that you will learn, but the time really flies by fast! And it was a lot of fun seeing the fastest climbers in the country do their thing. I think this will be my new favorite volunteer job...🤔 .

                    CLIMB ON!

2025 USA Climbing Youth National Championship - Beaverton, Portland, Oregon

 

Photo Credit: @Permafrostpictures.photography

We are having a great time at the newly added onto Portland Rock Gym in Beaverton, Portland, Oregon.  We first came to this gym last year in 2024 for Divisionals, and they had only completed the Bouldering side. Now, the Ropes building is complete and is amazing. I just wish that when these gyms are built, more thought is put into where to put spectators. There has got to be a better way! 

UPDATE: OK, so my previous comment was about the rope area. The boulder area is amazing! Now, why couldn't there be seating for ropes?? There were a huge number of seats set out in front of the boulders. Bravo! 

The walls are amazing, and the warmup area is spectacular for competing athletes. They really thought about all aspects of the climbing experience for athletes, especially during competitions.

The only downside to this gym is that it is in an area that has terrible cell phone coverage. Inside the gym, the only way to check the results page is to consult a computer that the gym puts out for the crowd to access... not fun. On the plus side, there are lots of shops in the surrounding buildings of the shopping strip where the gym is located: Starbucks, a Barber shop, and a Gyro shop, among others. This is a welcome change from going to the Portland Rock Gym location downtown. It is really nice to be out of downtown and in the suburbs with more options and accessible amenities.

When it comes to planning for your climber's time in Isolation or ISO, here are some things to keep in mind: when competing in ropes, there is such a thing as a rolling clock. This means that if a climber on the wall falls before their allotted 6 minutes are up, the next climber is brought out to start. This can really mess with an athlete's warmup, because you never really know how much time you have to get ready. Brendan's time in ISO is getting shorter and shorter in ropes because of this, so plan to send in things like protein bars instead of perishable foods. 

Now, it’s different with Bouldering. Everyone has 4 minutes on the wall, so folks in ISO HAVE to wait. Their time could be hours, so in this case, it is a good idea to send in lots of food!

Well, Brendan delved into the world of Finals this year in Ropes and made it onto the USA Climbing Development Team! As in my previous post about the Youth Circuit, the top 5 places in each category are on the USA Climbing team. The next 5 spots will become members of the Development team. Pro tip:  If you make finals, be sure to head back to ISO for the awards ceremony! You will be presented as a group!

We are super excited about this, and when I know more, I will write a post about it! But it was interesting to find out that spots 4 - 10 in Finals get medals as Finalists. See below!

One of the most important things you can do as a parent to prepare for nationals is to read the Info sheet on the event in its entirity. Sometimes this is hard to find, as the current one gets taken down after an event. I have saved this year's HERE so you can get an idea of what to expect, even though the details will change.

Brendan is going to sit out Bouldering due to a shoulder injury, but the 2025 Youth Climbing Nationals have been a blast!

                    CLIMB ON!

Photo Credit: @Permafrostpictures.photography

The guys!

Photo credit: Pam Keskula

Wondering if you should use a hotel or Airbnb? See my post HERE

Wondering more about Elite events like the North American Cup Series and how to compete? See my post HERE

Wondering what colleges have climbing teams? See my post HERE

Want to know more about Open Nationals or the Yeti Elite National Championship? Click HERE

NACS Edmonton, Canada 2025

 

Well, this is our first time doing an International North American Cup Series (NACS).  We find ourselves in Edmonton, Canada, at the Climb YEG outdoor climbing facility.

I have to say, so far, my stay in Edmonton has been great. Only one small thing...when we got off the plane, I had NO INTERNET at the airport. And I wasn't alone. I heard other people talking about getting on the airport wifi, so I did the same. Since I didn't have internet, we decided to jump in a taxi...I haven't been in a cab in years...🙄. After some guy yelled at our cab driver, while taking his picture, hitting a curb on our trip, and trying to explain that I needed air in the back, the driver informed me how much our trip would be while we were driving. And then guess what? LTE showed up on my phone! 🙄🫩 Oh well, we will Lyft back to the airport.

UPDATE: No rideshares can be hailed at the airport, and all taxis have to charge the same flat rate of $62 CAD at the time of this writing. Our Lyft back to the airport will be $40 CAD...😒. You can meet your rideshare at Paid Arrivals outside Door 10.

Other than that, customs was a breeze. Be sure to get the ArriveCan app on your phone. It makes the border process super smooth and quick. I was glad, as I was worried about that...

I had to book an Airbnb for one night since the competition schedule was changed. We found a really nice 2-bedroom apartment that I will definitely come back to if we return to Edmonton! There are a lot of high-rise apartment buildings in Edmonton. I'm not sure I would live in an apartment on the 11th floor, but it was comfortable. This is a big city for sure, with lots of noise...reminds me of big cities back home. And for me, that is New York State, yes, including the Big Apple. We are at the Westin for the remainder of our stay, as that is right across from the climbing venue. Can't wait!

Oh, Brendan always laughs at me that I have plastic covers for our suitcases, but it is POURING in Edmonton today. They will come in handy, keeping our luggage dry! I hate bringing an umbrella, but in this case, maybe I should have...

We moved over to our hotel, the Westin. Good hotel with amenities. The room had a fridge but not a microwave. That is a bummer to me, but it is close to the venue and shopping options, including restaurants.

Edmonton has some amazing and unique restaurants, but I will say that walking around town can be an interesting experience. I can't say I felt 100% safe with the characters on the streets, but I'm glad I didn't have a car. We took a lot of Lyft rides and stayed in well-lit areas with people around.

Well, we found the venue. Holy cow! Right on the Saskatchewan River, and you have to climb down a lot of stairs to get there. (Smart tip: take the escalators in the Edmonton Convention Center!!! Big leg saver.) What a view and outside venue...see below.

The comp was held at ClimbYEG, and boy, do these people know how to please. They thought of everything, right down to VIP seating. I jumped at this and had a comfy, covered seat all three days, with snacks and 2 free drinks! I even came for the free showing of Reel Rock 19 in the pouring rain, and they set up my own tent! (Which I shared with other people who showed up...)

When it comes to planning for your climber's time in Isolation or ISO, here are some things to keep in mind: when competing in ropes, there is such a thing as a rolling clock. This means that if a climber on the wall falls before their allotted 6 minutes are up, the next climber is brought out to start. This can really mess with an athlete's warmup, because you never really know how much time you have to get ready. Brendan's time in ISO is getting shorter and shorter in ropes because of this, so plan to send in things like protein bars instead of perishable foods. 

We also had a brush with fame as Kai Lightner was there at the event competing! Boy, was it cool to see him climb in person. The last time we saw him was at the 2017 Youth Nationals. He is amazing to watch! What he can do is truly inspiring, and so is his story. Had to get the obligatory picture...

Well, before this trip ended, I decided to try my hand at the ClimbYEG walls myself and entered the community competition. Needless to say, I have a newfound respect for Brendan and what he does. Those walls kicked my you-know-what (notice no video here of me...👀). However, going through the entire experience gave me a new understanding of competition climbing and the rush you get when your name is announced over the speakers and the crowd cheers for you. I was struggling on my 2nd climb, and I actually thought I heard a guy telling me what to do! 😂 I couldn't do it, of course, but I felt like folks were with me as I tried to get up the wall. That is a definite high that I can see being addictive!

Youth Nationals next! Stay tuned!

        CLIMB ON!

Photo Credit: @Westlake.Photo