another boring post

Heather and I spent yesterday afternoon at Crank Cave with several friends. I was blown away at how difficult the routes felt for us. Other than our standard warm up routes, we got completely shut down! It felt really good to work so hard on routes that felt obtainable last year. I admit, we really haven't spent any time at the cave this year and the super bouldery nature of the place really kicked out butts! I did link the Wave of Mutilation into Karma Police. I need to finish equipping the headwall for WOM to finish off the route. As it stands, the link into Karma Police is very worth while with some cool double knee-bar action!

Life is quickly getting back to normal after a very crazy week in SLC. The comp went well and the O.R. Show was a lot of fun. Highlights from the week are: several hundred dollars of sushi at Tukashi's, seeing many friends, working hard, and staying out super late. There are a ton of photos and the comp results on the Internet. Just do some googling!

I hope to have a little more time the next few weeks to put some actual effort into posting on the blog. It seems many of the posts have been idle filler. I have a lot of things to share, but just haven't had the time. We'll see what happens!

comp wall

John Stack really built a piece of art. Here is a little view of what's going on! I will have a few more photos after the comp on Saturday so you can get the full value of the master piece.

Things here in SLC are running smoothly. No real hick-ups thus far and it looks like things should run like a fine watch for the comp. I've been able to spend a few minutes with some of my outdoor industry friends. It is always good to get caught up on each others successes and works in progress. I am always inspired by what others are doing and these few days twice a year really bring back some much needed focus.

Heather is climbing in Maple Canyon for the next few days with several of her girlfriends. I wish i could be there but I'm glad she's able to have "a Ladies" trip this summer. I'm sure they'll get a lot done over the next few days. I am looking forward to seeing her and many of our other friends on Saturday.

This might be one of the only nights i can get some actual sleep, so it's lights out for me....

the fear is almost here

Sir, yes Sir...

OK guys and girl,

I’ve finally gotten everything together on my end so I could get you guys the final details. Pay attention, you will see this material later…(sorry, one of my favorite expressions from military school)

Arrival in Salt Lake
Dean – 5 Aug.
Sean – 6 Aug
Sarah – 5/6 Aug
Chris – Already there

Hotel Rooms
Sean- we already spoke about this and you are all set. The room will be under your name and available for you on Aug. 6th

Dean & Sarah
Mammut Switzerland is sending two of their athletes over from Europe to compete in the bouldering comp. I am going to have each of you share a room with one of the athletes. Could be kind of nice for you guys to spend a little time with these cats. You know, athlete to athlete stuff.
Dean – your room will be available starting 5 August till 12 Aug. and your roomie will be Jonas Baumann from Germany. Feel free to spend whatever nights you want in that room, I know you have options. The room is under Jonas’ name.
Sarah – your room will be available starting 5 Aug till 12 Aug. and your roomie will be Nina Caprez from Switzerland. Same as Dean, the room is there for you so feel free to use it as you see fit. The room is under Nina’s name.

Work Schedule
Dean – 6 Aug (booth set-up), 7-8-9 Aug (comp)
Chris – 6 & 7 Aug (booth set-up)
Sean – 7 Aug (booth set-up), 8-9 TBD
Sarah – 6 Aug (booth set-up), 7-8-9 Aug (comp)

We’ve also got a few things going on with the Rock & Ice climbing wall that will involve all three of you (Sean, Dean & Sarah), I’ll bring you guys up to speed on that stuff once we are all in Salt Lake. I apologize in advance, but it will probably require some running back & forth between the comp site and the Salt Palace.

That’s about it for now. I leave for Utah on Friday and will be there working with Pete over the weekend. Anyone driving in from places that have real beer, if you bring me some you are first on the list for a raise next year! Call me (cell-###-###-####) if you have any issues or questions, see you in Salt Lake.

Ian

Ian Connor
Marketing Services Coordinator
Mammut Sports Group, Inc. - USA
Mammut / Raichle / Toko / Climb High
Long Live the Mighty Mastodon!

Oh man, do i love the summer Outdoor Retailer! Last year it required a month of wicked Tufa climbing in Greece to recover from the madness we've created with the Nationals Comp on top of the Shilo Inn. I don't think i slept more than 10 hours the entire 9 days i had obligations at both O.R. and the Nationals Comp. If you didn't make it last year, you missed out, but this year will be even bigger and better! Prepare to be wowed!

I think I'll need two months of recovery this year. Maybe Malaysia this time??

Seattle

This week in Seattle has given Heather and I the needed recovery from our two week stint in Riggins. We've eaten good food, visited old haunts, and spent time with family and friends. I love coming back to Seattle. It opens a flood gate of memories from years ago. It almost seems like a different life, perhaps more like memories from an old movie i saw a long time ago. I was 21 and life was upside down and right side up at the same time. Wanderlust, discovery, a change in direction. Leaving a part of who i had become to turn the page and start a new chapter of my life. I did not know Heather back then. It would be nearly 4 years before our paths would cross. And I'm glad they did. For someone who is driven by wanderlust and directed by a free spirit, i have never felt so free as i do with Heather. Life is beautiful.

We'll be back in Idaho this weekend. Heather has a conference in Boise, so I'll be a lone bachelor looking for some trouble! I hoping a return to Riggins will be in the cards while Heather is away and before i need to be in SLC for my bi-annual obligations at Outdoor Retailer. I don't look forward to the heat of SLC in August and would much rather be in Canada, but it's always great to see my industry friends and other athletes who i only get to see a handful of times during the year.

I finally picked up this months issue of Rock and Ice Magazine. Heather and I got word from a few other climbers while in Riggins that we were in the August issue. Kudos to Nathan for such fine photography skills. I felt it an honor to be in the same spread with Mike and Tammy too. Super cool.

Not so much about climbing in this entry. Just rambling.

** UPDATED Riggins Recap

What a great time we've had the last two weeks. Climbing in Riggins is never disappointing! The routes are long (except for Lard!!) powerful, thought provoking, and just plain ol' fun. Chad came away with a Chicken Dinner 5.13a red-point and came close to sending Tractor Girl 5.13a/b. Heather had some very proud links on Chicken Dinner and really put in an effort for the redpoint the last few days. It is very easy to see the progress she's made both in movement and mind control. She's awesome! Matt TeNgaio, Tyler, and Joe showed up on Wednesday. Matt had some really good goes on Chicken Dinner and Tractor Girl, topping out on both routes. He's stronger than he realizes on steep cave terrain and pretty much crushed everything he got on. Chad Jr. left with a last attempt send of Lard and some hard work put in on Chicken Dinner. I think Tyler and Joe take home the grand prize though. Both of these guys are very new to hard climbing (as in Riggins was the first experience). Both fought to the death on Chicken Dinner, and learned that all of my silly gym climbing exercises and routes really do mean something in the world of outside madness. They were pretty intimidated walking into the Riggins cave. I told them it's easy and that your first day you can say "take" all you want while figuring out the moves, but after that, taking is no longer needed unless you feel like you're gonna get hurt. Oh man, it was unbelievable, both Joe and Tyler got after it and after the first day, i never heard them say take. It often lead to big commitment, big air, big grins, and some personal successes. Very inspiring to say the least. Those of you who couldn't make it during the last two weeks, really missed out on a meaningful and productive trip. Next year, there will be no excuses!

During our rest day (Wednesday) Chad and I decided to donate blood. I think this could be some of the reason for my lack of climbing strength the last few days of our trip. It may have kept me from sending John Deere but i feel pretty good about things. I gave it an honest effort, learned a lot, and realized i am capable of more than what i think i am. Not only that, according to the lady who drew my blood, i saved three lives in six minutes and forty-seven seconds. Now that's a proud send... I'll be back for John Deere but for now, it's time to party in Seattle for the week...

Some of my favorite things about Riggins...

Afternoon beach life!

Not having to deal with the negative energy of rock snobs and elitist's.

Good movement and steep stone.

Good milkshakes at the Back Eddy Grill.

I had the great pleasure to sit around the camp fire on our last night in Riggins with the legendary, Tedd Thompson. We talked about our mutual friends like Bingham and Stoger. The past. The future. History of the City of Rocks, Leslie Gulch, and Riggins. I've heard so many crazy stories of Tedd's wild ways over the years. I never really formed any sort of opinion of him as it's not in my nature to judge someone I've never even met. And I'm glad i didn't as it might have been a completely different direction. In a matter of hours I came to know a kind, passionate, and motivated new friend.

Tedd Thompson, Dean Lords, Scott ??, and Jeff Landers.

Chad Jr. teaching some of the local kids at the city park.

something to pass the time

Three videos containing separate attempts on John Deere. The first doesn't show the lower 20ft of easy 5.10 climbing. The third video shows the top crux sequence. Pretty boring video, but something to pass the time while i compose a blog post in the next day or two.

cruxy

Here's a short little clip me falling off the final boulder problem before the big pod/rest. Right hand on a left slanting crimp. Deadpoint/dyno to a right slanting slopey crimp. Oppose forces while feet are flying to catch a high left foot! Stick it or fly. Usually fly. Getting if off the hang every time, but not on the attempt. Pretty fun though.