Twenty Twelve

Happy New Year!  A little late, but I’ve been busy.  2012 is already shaping up to be an even better year than the last, and that’s saying something.  Europe is back on the radar, and it looks like Fontainebleau for the whole month of March!  Before launching into that, check out this video that I produced for Five Ten highlighting some sends from last season in the Colorado Alpine.  I filmed a ton of stuff last summer and without much of a story line for each independent problem or day of climbing, I decided to throw it all together into one video.  Let me know what you think:

Arkansas!

I’m in Arkansas! Hell yeah! It’s amazing here and the crew has been having a blast. 4 days ago I rolled down to The Natural State with my girlfriend, Mary Mecklenburg, and good friends Nic Sherman, Cameron Maier, and Dallas Erwin. I visited the Ozarks of Arkansas a few years ago and was amazed by the quality of the rock, potential for new climbs, and the beauty of it all. Warm temps and rain cut my last trip short, but ever since I’ve been determined to make my way back.

Video from a few years ago:

The trip started out slowly this year with some wet weather and a little bit of rain. We still managed to find plenty of dry rock over the last few wet days and tear our tips to shreds. However, it’s been hard to search for new rock when the weather looks like this:

But we made do, climbing and checking out some of the classics of the area like the fantastic problems in Fred’s Cave and a short stop at Wood Grain Grippin’ V14.  Wood Grain has been on my list to check out for a long time now, and it was cool to finally give it some effort.  Looks like V11, climbs like V13/14.  I pieced together some of the moves and got close to the crux, but unfortunately, near the end of the session, I broke a small bit off the crux edge:

The problem definitely still goes and is still just as good, but the big move to the edge (which is the crux for me) is definitely a bit harder now.  The hold is not quite as deep at the bottom.  After Wood Grain, we headed up the road to look at the now iconic, Witness The Fitness V15:

And it is by FAR, one of the coolest natural roof climbs I could ever imagine!  Sculpted pinches and bulbs on a horizontal roof for 30+ feet.  What more could you ask for?  Rumors have talked of a number of breaks making the already difficult climb impossible.  After checking it out, I am sure that the climb has broken quite a bit, but is still very possible.  I’m really excited to try it, and I hope that the weather stays dry for long enough to give it some effort.  Wet sandstone leads to holds breaking, and Witness can’t handle any more breaks!

Today was the first day of sunshine and we spent the whole day climbing at Horeshoe Canyon Ranch, where we are staying for the extent of the trip.  It’s nice to be able to casually wake up in the morning and walk to the boulders from the front door of the cabin.  Life is good.  The morning temps were great and spent probably 2 hours warming up before repeating some classics.  It was a mellow day and we all had a blast.  Except for Cameron who had his pad stolen from the rocket box on top of his car.  Not Cool!  I think we are all still in disbelief that something like that happens amongst the climbing community, particularly on such a family oriented ranch.  Here’s a few more pictures from the last few days:

Grand Dragon V7…one of the coolest natural features out there.

Colombian Sport Climbing Nationals Video

This past May I visited and climbed around Bogota, Colombia for 2 weeks.  The experience was truly inspiring and one of the highlights was the Sport Climbing Competition that I competed in at the local gym, Gran Pared.  I managed 2nd Place, after absentmindedly skipping the second to last clip, but the competition was one of the most enjoyable that I have ever participated in.  Check out the video.  The camera man gets a little up close and personal at the top of the wall:

Attack Mode!

The last two weeks have been filled with lots of traveling and very little time to climb outside.  The past two weekends I was in Dallas, TX and then Portland, OR teaching Pro Clinics for Professional Climbers International.  The clinics were a huge hit and I had a great time teaching both kids and adults alike.  I’ve amassed a fairly large base of knowledge about climbing in the last 10 years and it greats to have an outlet to share that info.  Be sure to keep a lookout for a PCI Clinic that might be coming your way soon!

Stepping off the plane at Denver International Airport this past week, I could feel my hands sweating and aching for some real rock.  Luckily the temps have been some of the best of the season.  Dry and cold, and most of the snow has melted off.  Right now, there are three very high quality projects in the Estes Park/RMNP area that are just begging to be sent.  And they are all at least V14.  It’s very exciting to have new stuff to project.  Here’s a glimpse:

The ATTACK is on!

Talking Adrenaline With Bear Grylls

Thanks to my wonderful shoe sponsor Five Ten, I had the opportunity to chat with Bear Grylls about adrenaline for the Degree Men Adrenaline Lab which is a series of commercial web episodes featured on The Discovery Channel. It was a really cool experience and it’s great to see mainstream television showing interest in climbing.

The Latest

The last few weeks have been CRAZY!  And everything is about to get even CRAZIER!  I have had very little time to do much other than climb and work, but it’s been great.  Two weekends ago I traveled down to the annual Yank-N-Yard Competition in Albuquerque, New Mexico and managed to place 2nd among the stacked field of competitors.  I wrote a little write-up on the Five Ten blog here: http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/12199-2011-yank-n-yard-in-albuquerque-nm-carlo-traversi.

Pressing it out in Qualifiers! (Photo: Greg Mionske)

And here’s a nice video from the event:

After that it was back to Colorado for some outdoor bouldering.  Both Sides Of The Spectrum!  It was a perfect fall day when Jonny Hork and I made the hike back out to the boulder in Moraine Park.  Cold breeze and dry air.  3rd Try and it was done!  And Jonny followed with an ascent on his next go.  I spent some time shooting some nice video and it should be out soon along with a number of climbs and clips I’ve collected over the summer.  I’m OVERDUE for some video release.

This past week and weekend I was consumed with The Spot Gym’s annual PSYCHEDELIA event which went off with it’s usual spice.  After far too many days in the gym preparing for the comp, it was back out to the alpine granite on Sunday.  With absolutely zero expectations, I managed one of my best days of climbing in a long while.  A flash ascent of Mind Matters (V12) and a flash of Dark Horse (V10) at Guanella Pass.  It felt really nice to try hard on new boulders.  It’s something I haven’t had the chance to do in quite a while and I look forward to more.  Guanella Pass has also presented itself, in my mind, as a potential “zone of the future” with more good, unclimbed rock than I’ve seen in a long while.  Why hasn’t anyone told me how good that place is?  Hopefully back again for more before the snow hits…

Another Day at the Office

Third day in a row in RMNP.  Temps were PRIME!  I gave my first goes (in decent conditions) on Both Sides of the Spectrum V12 in Moraine Park.  It’s one of the most amazing pieces of rock that I’ve ever climbed on and the moves are fantastic.  A giant dead point to an impossible sloper followed by some subtle bumps on small crimps to the top.  This problem is VERY hard for me.  Mostly due to my shorter height.  It’s a tall man’s problem!  But that’s one of the reasons why I’m so psyched to climb it.  The ultimate CHALLENGE!  Today I surprised myself by sticking the crux first move (after probably 70 tries) but slipped on the bump to the lip.  I never stuck the move again and managed to wear my tips down past the final layer.  Tomorrow is a new day.  Back to the Park!  With or without skin.

Both Sides of the Spectrum V12

With Cold Air, Motivation Returns

This past weekend was the IFSC World Cup in Boulder, CO.  It was a great time and I will have a nice blog up on Five Ten soon!  Aside from all the time I’ve been spending on plastic training for the comp, I’ve been able to get outside quite a bit.  The temps in Colorado have been dropping and it’s providing some of the best climbing conditions I’ve felt in a long time.  Until the snow hits the Alpine, ending the season for good, my sole objective is Hypnotized Minds V15.  I’ve spent 3 days on it so far.  Although, only one day with decent conditions.  For the time being, it feels much harder to me than The Game V15, but it is not exactly my style.  Long moves off thin holds on a slightly overhung wall.  It’s amazing.  I’m not sure why it hasn’t had much hype around it.  I honestly think that it might be one of the best, hardest boulder problems in the world.  It hosts a variety of unique, fun moves; a distinct, tall line; and some of the more difficult moves I’ve ever seen or tried.  A true test piece.  After months of waiting, I’ve found something to obsess about…

Lock off the Credit Card!

Arco, Italy

 Lago Di Garda, just outside of Arco.

I am currently in the small town of Arco, Italy attending the 2011 IFSC World Championships.  This competition is not part of the normal World Cup circuit and it features multiple categories of climbing (lead, boulder, speed, and the Duel!)  It is by far, the largest and most difficult climbing competition that I have ever attended.  Because it only occurs once every 2 years, the event is taken much more seriously.  Last weekend I competed in the Bouldering Qualifiers.  With about 140 competitors, it was overwhelming to say the least.  We were split into two categories randomly (A&B), and then placed on different sets of 5 boulders.  Top 10 for each category advanced to the next round (so 20 total into Semis.)  To put that into perspective, a normal World Cup event consists of only 50-70 competitors, with 20 moving in to the next round.  So qualifiers here, was like 2 World Cups, with 10 less people allowed into the next round per category (A or B).  Hopefully, that all makes sense.  Trust me, I think the whole system is pretty confusing in the first place and can be extremely unfair.  Because there are two sets of problems, you basically have to get lucky and be placed on the boulders that are more your style.  I was lucky, and it still did not help.  I ended up (I think) 18^th in my category, which put me in 36^th overall, when A & B were combined.  On problem #2, I greased off going for the finish hold, and had I topped the boulder I would have easily made semi-finals.  Looking back, it’s kind of a bummer.  Such are the nature of these comps though.  It all comes down to executing quickly and efficiently.  The problems are not super difficult, just low percentage, and hard to put together quickly.  Physically, nothing felt super difficult, and I didn’t get very tired, so it’s nice to know that I am “in shape” at the very least.  I just need to work harder at being a “skilled competitor”.  Overall, it was a GREAT experience, and I can’t wait to bring back everything that I’ve learned to the States.

After qualifiers, I’ve had quite a few days off.  I’ve been taking advantage of everything that the Trentino region of Italy has to offer and it has been an unreal experience.  Amazing food, stunning scenery, and tons of stuff to do.  Along with the other members of the US Team, I’ve been swimming in the lake, climbing on all the cliffs around the town, and embracing the wonderful Italian life.  I couldn’t be happier.  Check out some random photos from the trip so far:

Flags, the river, and the cliffs.  All around the town…

These banners for the WC are everywhere!

 The bouldering wall.  This was shot during the end of qualifiers.  The field was PACKED for finals!

 Swimming in the lake.  So good.

Underground 9a. An amazing route in an old quarry above the town of Massone.  Entirely manufactured, but it’s close to town, very hard, and has some really cool moves on it.  This photo is of me climbing through the lower crux.  You do a massive dyno to the next big rail, which is a huge jug that you can “bat hang” from. Such cool climbing.  I have the whole thing pretty dialed.  I’ve climbed through the crux final boulder (which is like 8A+ maybe?) 3x in a row.  Feeling psyched!  Headed out to try it again later today.

Anyways, the lead qualifiers for the men are in two days, and I’m actually starting to feel in shape.  I’ll keep posting photos and updates.  Stay tuned!

The Swiss Account ~ Feature Length

Jon and I finally managed to put the finishing touches on our Feature Length film about Switzerland.  Of course with some added help from Jordan Shipman and his VFX skills.  I’m really happy with this film.  It is the first feature length film any of us have produced and I think it’s a pretty solid effort.  We have a lot of things we want to do better next time, but that’s the whole point.  It’s all a learning process.  Please watch this film, leave a comment, spread it around, and hopefully enjoy the hell out of it!  And so here it is, FREE OF CHARGE: