Josiah's Climbing

World Youth Champs Summary

2011-12-22T16:17:00.003+13:00

Because of exams, which finished some weeks ago, I was busy and didn't get around to updating my blog. So here's a summary of the World Youth Champs.

Wednesday 17 August

We had a one and a half hour train ride to a different climbing gym with a ten metre speed wall. When we got there we found out they no longer had the speed holds up on the wall (we found some of them in the boulder room), so we did onsighting instead. After some not great first attempts Ken gave us a team talk about how, after going to the swimming complex the day before, we were in 'holiday mode' and needed to switch into hard climbing mode. After Ken's motivating talk I was putting more effort in and getting further on the climbs.

Thursday 18 - Sunday 21 August: last days in Munich

We had three more days in Munich. We went to the Dachau Memorial Concentration Camp and watched the semi-finals and finals of the Boulder World Cup at the Olympic Stadium. One night we watched as more and more people arrived outside our hostel to film a scene or part of a scene for a movie. On Sunday we caught a coach to Imst, Austria.

Sunday 21 - Wednesday 24 August: Comp prep in Imst

We climbed on the indoor wall on Sunday and Monday (the Comp would be on the outdoor wall) and met some of the other competitors who were also doing some last minute training. On Tuesday we went up to the Alpine Coaster for the third year running but the ride didn't seem worth the money so I sat around instead.

Thursday 25 - Sunday 28 August: The World Youth Champs

My first qualifier went ok but I think I could have got further. The climb was very cool and I enjoyed trying it. The next day on my second qualifier I psyched myself out about a move low down and fell off there. I was very frustrated and disappointed about that climb.

In the speed qualification I did better than last year's time and got under 20 seconds.

The team's results were

Junior Male

Daniel: lead: 54, speed: 26 (16.99)

Youth A Male

Christoph: lead: 34, speed: 27 (18.76)
Sam: lead: 65, speed: 33 (22.08)
J.J. (me): lead: 67, speed: 30 (19.80)

Youth B Male

Josh: lead: 39, speed: 27 (21.23)
Kaze: lead: 46, speed: 32 (33.36)
Peanut: lead: 49, speed: 28 (22.90)

Youth B Female

Tayla: lead: 39, speed: 29 (34.29)
Aiyana: lead: 45, speed: 32 (46.05)
Alex: lead: 61, speed: 31 (45.93)

The next day it was raining. The semi-finals were in the morning and we all went down to watch. I got very cold and wet but I stuck it out to the end. In the afternoon the clouds cleared and the mountains all around were covered in snow. In the evening we watched the finals and then the medal ceremony.

On Sunday, the last day of the competition, we headed down to watch the speed finals and trade some of our team uniform. I ended up with a Swiss hoody and a Singapore singlet. We went to the after party that afternoon but the only countries attending were us, the Ausies, South Africa and Japan.

Monday 29 August - Thursday 1 September: Heading back home

We had another long coach ride back to Munich. In the afternoon we did some shopping and I somehow managed to get left by myself in the climbing shop. Because Glenda told us not to go off on our own I made my way back to the hostel and waited there.

We left Munich the next day and travelled back to Auckland with a short stop in Singapore. We arrived in Auckland at 11:00 at night so there were no domestic flights until the next day. Most of us were met by family but Glenda, Sam, Christoph and I all had to stay the night and fly out the next day.

The next day I arrived in Wellington and Mum, Dad and Tessa were waiting for me. I was Home.

Photos:

1. Peanut on his first Qualifier
2. Josh on his first Qualifier
3. Sam on his second Qualifier

2011-09-26T16:14:00.004+13:00

Friday 12 August

We had a rest day and went climbing gear shopping. I bought a pair of 5.10 Arrowheads and some of the others spent almost all their money.

After lunch we took two trains and a tram to Nymphenburg Palace and I took lots of photos.

That night Daniel and I did the video diary.

Saturday 13 August

During our first two days climbing we took it easy because of jet lag, but were back to training hard now.

Sunday 14 August

Because it was Sunday almost all the shops were closed and the gym opened late. After hunting around for some time we found a bread shop and had sandwiches for lunch.

Monday 15 August

This was a public holiday so the shops were still closed. Training today was all about getting the boom (German slang for pump).

Photos:

1. Nymphenburg Palace.
2. Josh, Aiyana, Tayla and Alex outside Nymphenburg Palace.
3 to 5 Alex, Aiyana and Kaze training at the gym.

Munich Day 1 & 2

2011-09-22T20:19:00.004+12:00

Wednesday 10 August

When we got to Munich we caught a train to our accommodation and had breakfast there. We couldn't check in to our rooms until 2:00 so we went for a walk and played hacky. After lunch we went to the climbing gym and climbed for a while. The climbing gym was massive. It had two indoor, NZ-climbing-gym-sized rooms and an outdoor wall. There was a boulder room downstairs with set problems and another one up stairs with campus boards and other training stuff. That day, though, we just climbed in the first room.

Thursday 11 August

On the way to the way to the climbing gym we went to an old church and some of us went up to the top of a bell tower and took photos of the view.

Photos

1. View of Marienplatz from bell tower.
2. Peanut, Tayla, Aiyana and Alex in the bell tower.
3. The bell tower.
4. The team at Marienplatz.

Christchurch to Munich

2011-09-16T09:52:00.002+12:00

On Tuesday 9 August I left Christchurch, via Singapore on Singapore Airlines, for Munich, Germany, along with the New Zealand Youth Climbing Team. The members of the team were:

Adults

Ken: Coach
Glenda: Manager
Ari: Manager

Junior Male

Daniel

Youth A Male

Christoph
Josiah, JJ (me)
Sam

Youth B Male

Kaze
Josh
Adam, Peanut

Youth B Female

Alex
Tayla
Aiyana

After training in Munich for a just over a week, we would head to Imst, Austria, to compete in the IFSC Climbing World Youth Championship.

After saying good bye too our parents we went though security and boarded our flight.

On the first flight I watched five movies: Kunfu Panda 2, Source Code, Thor, Kunfu panda and Hanna.

At Singapore airport we had a five hour stopover before our next flight and I sent an email back home.

On the second flight I had three seats all to myself! I slept for most of the flight and only watched one movie: Red Riding Hood.

Photo: from left to right top to bottom: Ken, Ari, me, Tayla, Alex, Aiyana, Christoph, Sam, Daniel, Kaze, Peanut, Josh, Glenda.

National Championship - The Roxx, Christchurch

2011-08-17T11:11:00.000+12:00

On Friday 5 August, Mum and I flew down to Christchurch to compete in the National Champs. On Tuesday 9 August I will be leaving NZ from Christchurch and flying to Europe to compete in the IFSC Climbing World Youth Championship in Imst, Austria. You can follow the team's progress on our video blog.

Sat 6 Aug: Comp Day 1

My Youth A first qualifier wasn't too hard and I topped out along with two others.

I found it hard to find a good sequence on the speed routes. Daniel Krippner and I have been consistently in the top two for Open Speed all year but this time I was coming third, Daniel fourth, and Masters competitor Rich Morgan was coming first. In Youth A I did better and was coming first.

In the Open qualification, I was close to topping the first climb, topped the second one and was second going into the final.

In isolation I could guess by the cheering that the guy before me had topped out. When I got to the end of the roof, I slipped off a big hold after making a difficult clip. The climber after me topped out and I came third.

Sun 7 Aug: Comp Day 2

On my Youth A second qualifier, I fell off on a big move and was third going into the final. On the final, I came second.

The Speed finals were on different routes to the qualifiers but the Open Male results stayed the same. In the Youth A I was Speed Champ.

Written by Josiah; posted by Lisia.

IFSC Oceania Series - Round 2, Bayside Rock, Melbourne

2011-08-05T13:40:00.001+12:00

On Friday 29 July Dad and I flew across the Tasman to compete in round 2 of the Oceania Series. Once we were in Melbourne, we had a long journey, consisting of two buses and a train, to our accommodation in Carrum Downs. The NZ climbers who had gone over compete were:

Jorgia Oliver (YDF)
Alex Jones (YBF, OF)
Aiyana Grigsby (YBF, OF)
Matthew Sutherland (YBM)
Charlotte McConnochie (YAF, OF)
Josiah "JJ" Jacobsen-Grocott (me, YAM, OM)
Christoph Riedel (YAM, OM)
Geoff Jacobsen (Dad, Masters Male)

Sat 30 Jul: Comp day 1

Youth A First Qualifier

My first climb was easy and all but one of the ten climbers in my grade topped out.

Youth A Second Qualifier

This route was harder than the first. I topped out along with Christoph and one Aussie.

Open First Qualifier

The open climbs were much harder than the youth ones and this climb had a big dyno to a jug in it. I managed to get both hands on the jug but couldn't hold the swing. After that climb I was coming sixth equal with a lot of other people.

Open Second Qualifier

The climb started by climbing up a rope dangling from the bottom of a massive stalactite! The route crossed over from the stalactite and traversed left for a bit without footholds. It then went up onto a roof and after that onto a 45.

The climb highlighted my lack of bicep power, but I made it onto the 45. At the end of the qualification round I came tenth, two places and about two holds from making the final.

Speed Qualifiers

I got second in both Youth A and Open.

Sun 31 Jul: Comp day two

Youth A Final

My final went up a slightly overhanging wall, across a roof, and down the huge stalactite from the open climb. The climb finished by clipping the clip at the bottom of the stalactite.

By the second clip the climb felt hard. I persevered and made it onto roof.

When I came down I was told that I was coming first and taken to room where potential first equal competitors stayed in case of a super-final. Two climbers later I was told that I had won and allowed to leave.

Speed Finals

I came first in Youth A and second in Open.

The Kiwi results for the comp were:

Youth D Female

1st Jorgia Oliver

Youth B Female

1st Alex Jones
2nd Aiyana Grigsby

Youth B Male

5th= Matthew Sutherland

Youth A Female

4th Charlotte McConnochie

Youth A Male

1st Josiah Jacobsen-Grocott
6th Christoph Riedel

Open Female

7th Alex Jones
11th Aiyana Grigsby
16th Charlotte McConnochie

Open Male

10th Josiah Jacobsen-Grocott
12th Christoph Riedel

Masters Male

2nd Geoff Jacobsen

Climbing NZ National Cup - Round 4 / IFSC Oceania Series - Round 1, Extreme Edge, Auckland

2011-07-18T10:09:00.002+12:00

On Friday 8 July Mum and I flew up to Auckland in order to compete in round 4 of the National Cup Series. This comp was doubling as the first round of the Oceania Series, so some Ausies had come over to compete as well.

Sat 9 Jul, Comp day 1

Youth A First Qualifier

The first part of this climb went up to a roof and wasn't easy, but I managed to do the moves. The climb then traversed the roof with feet on a side wall. I fell off trying to pull up over the lip. I came third on this climb.

Speed Qualifiers

The routes were quite steep for speed climbs. I didn't do very well the first time round and was coming third in Youth A, but I upped game and got first in Open.

Open First Qualifier

This route went up a vertical wall with a hard start, on to a roof, and finished on a vertical head wall. The first bit wasn't as hard as I thought and I made it across the roof, but I was too pumped to clip the last clip on the roof. I came eighth equal.

Open Second Qualifier

The climb started on a 45 degree wall, went onto a nearly vertical face, and finished on another 45. The first 45 had lots of jugs. There were a couple of slopers on the next bit, but I stayed low and they weren't too bad. The last part was very hard. I was too pumped to clip the second to last draw and fell off going for the second to last hold. I came fourth equal on this climb and was sixth going into the final.

Open Final

This route went up a 45 degree wall and then on to a vertical head wall with an arête. Everyone fell off on the same move, going to a big yellow sloper on the head wall. Three of us got a minus on the sloper, three of us got a plus off the previous hold, and a couple of us didn't manage to move on. I was in the second group and came sixth on countback.

After the final there was prize giving and I came first in the Open grade in the Climbing NZ National Cup Series!

Sun 10 Jul, Comp day 2

Youth A Second Qualifier

This climb was on the same wall as the Open second qualifier and had a side wall for the second half. I got a couple of no-hands rests at the top and topped out. At the end of the qualification round I was coming third.

Youth A Final

The route followed roughly the same line as the Open first qualifier. I mucked around on a hard move down low and got pumped. I made it to the last hold on the roof and fell off trying to clip a clip in the middle of the roof. In the end I came third.

Speed Finals

I came second in Youth A and first in Open with a few very close finishes.

Prize giving was very long because people got medals or certificates for Climbing NZ National Cup Event 4, IFSC Oceania Series Event 1, and Climbing NZ National Cup Series. In the Series I came second in Youth A Lead, first in Youth A Speed, and second in Open Speed.

Thor's Hammer

2011-06-21T19:40:00.000+12:00

On Wednesday 15 June, Mum and I went out to Turakirae. After warming up I went over to Martini Roof to try the extension to Loki the Trickster. It was cold and all the slopers felt really good. After one go at the start I managed send the problem, but nobody was around to see me. I went over to Mum and asked her to video me. After a rest I did the problem again. I decided to call it Thor's Hammer. Here is the video.

Thor's Hammer (V10) from Josiah Jacobsen-Grocott on Vimeo.

Climbing NZ National Cup - Round 3, The Rock House, Mt Maunganui

2011-06-17T16:34:00.001+12:00

On Friday 10 June, Dad and I drove up to Mt Maunganui to compete in the third round of the National Cup series at The Rock House. I would be competing in the Youth A Male and the Open Male, and Dad would be competing in Masters.

Sat 11 Jun: comp day 1

Youth A First Qualifier

This climb went up a vertical wall, on to a roof, and then on to a hard to describe tree feature where it topped out. I fell off on a hard throw on the tree and a couple of climbers stuck that move so I came third.

Speed Qualifiers

I came third in Open and second in Youth A.

At this comp the Opens was made more interesting by the Youth B competitors who were going to the World Youth Champs being allowed to compete in Opens as well. They wouldn't affect the series scores but they could win medals and take up final positions.

Open First Qualifier

I did OK on this route. I did a big throw part way up to avoid using a poor pocket and everyone after me did the same thing. I fell off on the second-to-last-hold and came third equal with three other climbers.

Open Second Qualifier

This climb finished on the tree feature at the same place as my first qualifier. The climb was my style with lots of heelhooks at the top and I topped out.

At the end of the Qualification round I was coming second behind a Youth B competitor.

Open Final

This climb roughly followed the same route as the Open first qualifier and it had a big dyno low down which everyone got past. I got about half way across the roof and fell trying to stick a jug. The guy after me got a little bit further than me and won the comp, so I came second.

Sun 12 Jun: comp day 2

Youth A Second Qualifier

This climb went up a slab and onto a roof. I mucked around on the roof, got pumped, and fell off on the last hold. The competitors who bet me on the first qualifier stuck the last hold and one of them managed to clip the last draw.

At the end of the qualification round I was coming third.

Youth A Final

This climb was very long. After the start there was a no-hands rest. From there it went on to the roof past a couple of volumes and carried on to the end of the roof. I stuffed up the hand sequence on the volumes but managed to carry on and fell going to a pocket. The climber who was winning got to the same place as me and won on count back, so I came second.

Speed Finals

I won Youth A and came second in Open.

Mon 13 Jun: Froggatt Edge

The day after the competition, Dad and I climbed at Froggatt. Neither of us did much. I warmed up on Jim Bulger (20, onsight) and had a couple of goes at Burn (28). Burn is a variant of a 27 I did last year called Automatic Dour and I think I could send it next trip.

Loki the Trickster

2011-05-31T11:37:00.001+12:00

On Sunday 29 May, I went out to the Bronx with Mum and Dad.

After warming up I saw Ivan Vostinar working on a new project and decided to try the climb too. The climb was on Martini roof. It started as for Brassneck (V8), threw to a sloper followed by a hard (for me) toe hook move, and finished along Vision Thing (V7).

Ivan could do the first two moves but fell off on the third. I found a heel hook that made moves after the toe hook not too hard. We made progress; Ivan got all the way to the crux of Vision Thing clean, and I did all the start moves, and sent Vision Thing. Ivan decided he would try do the problem with an earlier and easier exit up Tricky (V5). He got close a few times, but didn't send. I finally managed to do the first moves clean and sent the problem, exiting up Tricky.

Ivan and I think the problem is about V9. I decided to name the climb Loki the Trickster, thinking the extension, finishing along Vision Thing, could be named after another Norse god.

NZ Team Trials and Froggatt Edge

2011-05-24T15:35:00.001+12:00

Mon 9 May: Trials

We were split into two groups, boys and girls. Us boys worked on one route and then performed on that route and the girls did the same on another route. Then we swapped routes and had a flash attempt. I did all right on the first route and well on the second route.

A week later we received an email stating that I had made the team :).

Tue 10 May: Froggatt

Mum and I planned to go and climb at Waipapa, but when we got there a sign said the track was closed so we went to Froggatt and climbed there instead. I was tired after the comp and trials so I did easier climbs:

Streetwise (19), onsight, warm up
Sun Strike (20), onsight
Safety Buffalo (24), second go
Terror Incognito (18), onsight, warm down

Mum had a good day and she did these climbs:

E-Grade Get a Real Grading System (15)
Shane in the Red Balloon (18), onsight
Streetwise (19), flash
Bonne Anne (16), onsight, warm down

Climbing NZ National Cup - Round 2, The Wall, Rotorua

2011-05-17T16:36:00.004+12:00

On Friday 6 May, Mum and I drove up to Rotorua. During the weekend, we would be competing in the second round of the National Cup Series. The day after I would attend the NZ team trials and then on Tuesday we would climb at Froggatt Edge. Wiz, one of the guys who came first with me at the last comp, broke his thumb after that comp so he wasn't competing.

Sat 7 May: comp day 1

Mum had to get up earlier than me because she was judging the younger competitors. I didn't have to be at the climbing gym until 10:00 so I got up later.

Youth A First Qualifier

This climb went up a gradually steepening wall onto a roof and had lots of pinches. I fell off on a throw from a pinch. I got the next hold and my feet came off. I hung there for a second before I fell. As I fell my right leg swung through the rope and I got rope burn.

The guy after me found an better sequence and topped out. Every one after me who got high enough used that sequence but only one other guy from my grade got that far.

Speed Qualification, Open and Junior

I came first in the Youth A and second in Open.

Open First Qualifier

This climb went up left of my first one and I topped out along with three other climbers.

Open Second Qualifier

I was first up for the second comp running. I did all right and came off about two thirds up the climb. At the end of the qualification round I was coming fourth.

Open Final

The open final went up a gradually steepening wall to a roof and then over the roof onto the head wall. I got past the roof and fell off going for an undercling crimp. I hit the side of the hold with my middle finger and held on for about a second before falling. Only one guy stuck the crimp and a couple of others threw for it but didn't hit it so in the end I came second.

Mum was coming first out of three in the Masters category after doing really well on her first qualifier.

Sun 8 May

Youth A Second Qualifier

This climb went up a vertical wall with the Youth D first qualifier on the wall to the right. I got past a hard move half way up and got a bridge by putting my foot on the Youth D climb. While I was resting I decided to go up the Youth D climb and come back to top out. This worked and I topped out.

The route setters weren't very happy about me using the Youth D holds and taped them out for the Juniors who were doing the route next. The Juniors, who I'd overheard planning to use the Youth D route, weren't very happy with me either. No one else in my grade did the hard move half way up, And I ended up coming first in the qualification round.

Youth A Final

My final went up a mildly overhanging wall onto the roof and then around the corner and up to top of the wall. I got past the roof and fell off going for a blue sidepull. The guy before me climbed really well and got to the second to last hold so I came second.

Mum came second in the Masters as well.

Speed Finals, Open and Junior

I came first in Youth A and second in Open.

Wanaka Outdoor Climbing: Part 2

2011-04-16T16:30:00.007+12:00

Thu 7 Apr

Dad and I warmed up on a cool slab climb and then I tried Onion again and, after a few goes at the start, I fell off on the crux move. I found an easier sequence and then came down and rested for a bit. When I next did the start I managed to keep going and send.

After that we went to an area called Sunnyside and I onsighted some climbs:

Sisters of Mercy (22)
Head on (24)
Creepy Crawler (23)

Dad did Sisters of Mercy second go and did all the moves on Creepy Crawler.

Fri 8 Apr

It was much more sunny than the previous days and we went to Sunnyside again. We warmed up on Mum's on the Run (20) and Dad tried Creepy Crawler but it was too hot and sunny for him to send. Because of the poor conditions we decided to go climb somewhere less sunny. We went to Riverside and I tried Inshallah (25) and sent the climb second go. I then tried Lollapalooza (26) and, after a long struggle, I made it to the top clean and onsighted it. This is the hardest onsight I have done and I was very pleased.

In the evening we packed and the next day we caught a couple of flights back to Wellington.

Photos:

1. Me resting before I send Onion
2. Me working out what to climb at Sunnyside
3. Riverside
4. Me ready to onsight Head on at Sunnyside
5. Me at the top of Lollapalooza

Wanaka Outdoor Climbing: Part 1

2011-04-14T09:04:00.002+12:00

Mon 4 Apr

Dad and I went to Roadside Attraction and we warmed up on Short Cut to Exposure, a 45m 17. I then onsighted Up Your Scud (23) and set up a top rope so I could try Onion (29). On my first attempt at Onion I spent ages working on the start before skipping out the hard move and trying the rest of the climb, which turned out not to be as hard. On my second go I managed to do the start and then got up to the crux at the top.

Tue 5 Apr: Rest Day

Wed 6 Apr: My Birthday

We warmed up on I Need a Pie (21). After a few goes I managed to get up to the crux clean on Onion, but I ripped the tip on my left hand pointer finger, which was tender from Monday, on a sharp hold at the crux so we had to tape it up when I came down. After falling off again on my next attempt I tried using the sharp hold with my back three fingers and when I came off my middle finger was bleeding! After we taped that finger up as well I found an easier sequence which didn't use the sharp hold. Dad sent Up Your Scud and I had another go at Onion but I was too tired to do the hard start.

Photos:

1. Roadside Attraction
2. Me by our rental car getting ready to go climbing

Climbing NZ National Cup - Round 1, Base Camp Wanaka, Wanaka

2011-04-12T09:26:00.003+12:00

On Friday 1 April Dad and I left Wellington on a climbing trip to Wanaka. We would be competing in round 1 of the National Cup Series. I would be in the Youth A Male grade and Dad would be doing Masters, and both of us were doing Opens as well. After the comp we would stay in Wanaka for a few days and do some outdoor climbing.

Sat 2 Apr: comp day 1

We got up at 8:00am, had breakfast and drove to the climbing gym. There were six people in my grade including me, and Dad was the only one in the Masters.

Youth A First Qualifier

My first climb went up an Arête and was quite technical and delicate but I managed to top out, without too much difficulty, along with two other people.

Speed Qualification, Open and Junior

The speed routes were very narrow and the one on the left was quite hard, the Youth D competitors fell off on that route. I got the fastest time in both Open and Youth A :).

Open First Qualifier

My first Open climb went up on to the right hand side of the roof and the last move was a dyno off a bad crimp to handle. I got a no hands rest before the roof but it didn't help much as I wasn't pumped. I got to the dyno but didn't hit the loop. At the end of the first round I was coming fourth equal with one other competitor.

Open Second Qualifier

My second Open climb went up onto the left side of the roof.I was first up and I fell off going to the second hold on the roof.

At the end of the Qualification round I was coming fifth and Dad came ninth.

Open Final

Our final route went up onto the roof, traversed right bit on to a 45° wall, traversed the 45° wall and then went back left across the roof and topped out. I fell off just before the climb back onto the roof. The climber before me topped and only one guy after me did better than me so I ended up coming third. I was pretty pleased with that result.

Sun 3 Apr: comp day 2

Youth A Second Qualifier

This climb went up onto the far right side of the roof and the two guys who topped our first qualifier topped this route along with me. At the end of the qualification round I was coming first equal with two other competitors.

Youth A Final

My final route roughly followed the same line as the Open second qualifier. I fell off on a hard throw to a sidepull on roof. The other guys who topped our qualifiers fell off at the same point so we all came first equal for the comp.

Speed Finals

I came first in Youth A, and second in Open.

Baring Head Rock Hop

2011-03-05T16:16:00.002+13:00

On Saturday 26 February I went to round 2 of the NBS at Baring Head. As it happened I was the only Junior (under 16) competitor at the comp but that didn't stop me having a good day. I warmed up by doing a couple of V5s and then tried A Show of Strength (the first V8 in NZ, a climb I sent the previous weekend) but I didn't have much luck. I went back to the area where I warmed up and, after many attempts, sent a different V8 (Das Fuer). I did a V6 traverse and I did Sand and the Vaseline (V7). I then went over to Split Apple and did Split Apple One-Handed Dyno (V6). After that I tried different problems without much success and did another couple of V5s. Not long before 3pm when climbing finished, I finally did a V6 Dyno I'd been trying for ages.

At the end of the day I had a score of 500 points. I made a mistake when I added up my score and gave myself 600 points but I got it sorted out before the winners were announced and the spot prizes handed out.

Central North Island Climbing Trip: Part 3: 6-9 Feb

2011-03-05T16:07:00.001+13:00

Day 6

I was pretty tied after the NBS the day before so I had a day of easy climbing. I warmed up on Bother (20, Flash) and then onsighted Zoomers (20). I flashed Opel (23), which was a bit hard for a day of easy climbing, and did some easier climbs.

Day 7: rest day

Day 8

I warmed up by putting the draws back on Louder and sent the climb two goes later. I then onsighted Mister Daddy Long Legs (22). Dad and Mum tried Opel and Dad managed to send. Mum also did Bother.

Day 9

We packed up and left Bryce's in the morning. On the way home we stopped at Mangaokewa and did some climbing. I tried Model of a Modern Major General (25/26) but the top holds were really dirty so I gave up. I then tried Hot Harissa (25) and sent the climb next go. Dad did Moonshine (23) and I warmed down by onsighting Yellow Snow (22). After that we left and went home.

Central North Island Climbing Trip: Part 2: 4-5 Feb

2011-02-22T09:14:00.001+13:00

Day 4: Rest day

We went up to Hamilton to go supermarket shopping and watched a movie.

Day 5: NBS Waitomo

We got up early and drove to Waitomo to register before briefing at 9:45. It was raining when we got there so the comp was postponed to start at 11:00.

A competitor's score in an NBS comp is determined by their top 8 problems. The score of each problem based on the Fibonacci sequence:

VE = 1
VM = 2
V0 = 3
V1 = 5
V2 = 8
and so on

My top 8 problems were:

V7 - problem 10 Greek Gods (repeat, extremely soft V7 which everyone does)
V6 - Oh Lord (repeat)
V6 - Swing and a Miss
V6 - Got Dirt
V5 - Down Load
V5 - problem 10 Totem Area (repeat)
V5 - Reservoir Dogs
V5 - Roasted Addiction

I had a score of 390 points. As well as the problems above I did Echo Psycosis (V4) and got close to Wazzup (V8), a one move wonder I tried the year before as well.

I won the Junior Male category (under 16 as of 01/01/11) and won a set of Metolius 3D rock rings for coming first. Dad also won a set of Metolius portable power grips as a spot prize.

Central North Island Climbing Trip: Part 1: 1-3 Feb

2011-02-15T10:24:00.005+13:00

Day 1

After my sister left for school camp on Tuesday the 1st, Mum, Dad and I drove up to Bryce's at Wharepapa South, and then unpacked into our unit. We stayed at Bryce's for the duration of our trip and climbed mainly at Froggatt Edge.

Day 2

We went to Froggatt and I warmed up by onsighting Lunar Leopard (21), and then did this really hard 23 called Hardon, 3rd go. After that I tried Louder (28), a climb that had been recommended to me as a soft 28.

We went back for an evening session and I tried Louder again.

Day 3

I tried Louder again and on my second go I got really close and fell off on the crux pocket near the top. After that I was too tired to send and on my next attempt I had to clean the route in case the weather was bad after the NBS comp on Saturday and we went home early.

Photos:

1 . me working out what to warm up on
2 . & 3. me on Louder

Black Out

2011-01-28T16:16:00.002+13:00

I started working on Black Out , a V9 at Turakirae Head, about the same time as I started working on Mr Olympia. But, because I made more progress on Mr Olympia, I stopped working on Black Out, and focused on Mr Olympia instead. The day I sent Mr Olympia I tried Black Out again, but because I still couldn't do one of the hard moves I decided the problem was too hard for me. A few days before I went to Paynes I tried the problem again and found a new sequence for the move I couldn't do before, but I didn't send.

On Wednesday 26 January, Dad and I went out to Turakirae for an evening session and after many goes I finally managed to put it all together, stick the top sloper and send the climb. Black Out is my second V9 and my third V9 or higher.

Paynes Ford 2011: Part 3

2011-01-27T20:06:00.004+13:00

Day 13 15/1

I sent Dancing on a Skewer in the morning and then tried the direct version (29), but that was too hard for me so I gave up. I then onsighted Amino Pro (24). In the afternoon we went to the main swimming hole and I tried a problem called The Acid Test. I got the problem but I thrashed around with my feet in the water near the end of the roof so I don't think it counts as a send.

Day 14 16/1

I sent Make My Day (25) second go having tried it once last year. I then tried the climb next to it, Feeling Lucky Punk (25). I onsighted Why Would You Wave To a One Armed Man Riding a Bike (25). We took friends climbing that day so I didn't do any more notable climbs but Mum did her first 22, You're Either Dead or You're Not.

Day 15

Dad and I went to Pohara and climbed on the sea cliffs. I warmed by flashing Coup de Grace (22), sent Red Tape (25) second go and warmed down with an onsight of Honor and Obey (21).

The next day we packed up in the rain and went home.

The photos are:

1 Me and Mum stretching.
2 Me, Mum and Dad on the ferry.

Paynes Ford 2011: Part 2

2011-01-22T16:59:00.005+13:00

Day 8 10/1

Had a rest day.

Day 9 11/1

I warmed up on Electricorp Production (22), a climb I'd had a go at last year, and sent Bulga Nomics fourth go total. After that I worked on Electrocution (27).

Day 10 12/1

I sent Electrocution in the morning and then had a couple of goes at Dancing on a Skewer (28). I warmed down by onsighting Woop Woop Pull Up (22).

Day 11 13/1

I onsighted Recidivist (20) as a warm up and then worked on Dancing on a Skewer for a bit and got to the top with only one fall. After that I sent Gravity (24) second go having tried once last year. Some climbing friends from Nelson gave me lots of beta on the climb which helped a lot.

Day 12 14/1

Rest day and Dad's birthday.

The photos are:

1 Me, Mum and Dad at The Grove
2 Me during a rest day
3 Me on Electrocution
4 Me on Dancing on a Skewer

Paynes Ford 2011: Part 1

2011-01-21T13:04:00.013+13:00

On Sunday 2 January my family and I embarked on a two week holiday in Takaka, Golden Bay. Most of our days would be spent climbing at Paynes Ford. We had gone to Paynes during the summer for the last three years and it's my favourite crag.

Day 1 3/1

I warmed up by onsighting Feeding the Rat (21) which was probably a bit hard for my first climb of the year. I then struggled on Slaprobatics (24). This is probably the dirtiest climb I have ever tried. After that I had a couple goes at African Head Charge a very pumpy 25m 26. At the end of the day I decided that, having spent the last one and a half months bouldering and doing very little route climbing, my endurance was very poor.

Day 2 4/1

I onsighted The Good the Bad and the Dread (23), worked on African Head Charge and had a go at Mea Culpa (27).

Day 3 5/1

Had a rest day.

Day 4 6/1

Had another rest day because it was raining.

Day 5 7/1

The top of African Head Charge was wet so I worked on Mea Culpa instead.

Day 6 8/1

I flashed Bury Me in a Y Shaped Coffin (21) as a warm up and spent the rest of the day working on Mea Culpa.

Day 7 9/1

After warming up I finally sent Mea Culpa and then followed it up by sending African Head Charge. I then tried Bulga Nomics, a 25 I'd tried the year before. At the end of the day I decided I had my endurance back.

The Photos are:

1 Me on African Head Charge
2&3 Me on Mea Culpa
4 The African head

Mr Olympia

2010-12-13T10:36:00.004+13:00

Over the last few weeks I have been working on Mr Olympia, a V10 at the Bronx, Turakirae Head. Mr Olympia is an extension to my first V9, Pumping Iron, itself an extension to a V7, Toast. I have been going out to the Bronx twice a week and when I first started working on it I couldn't do the hard start sequence.

On Sunday 12 December I got up at 6am in order to get out to the Bronx before it got too hot. After warming up I hopped on Mr Olympia and sent the problem first go of the day. Mr Olympia is my first V10 and the first V9 or higher I have done since I did Pumping Iron in April.

Here's a video of me sending the climb:

Whanganui Bay - 7-9 November: Day 3

2010-11-16T11:53:00.000+13:00

Tuesday 9th

Dad and I got up at 6:30 and had a one square meal bar on the way to the rock.
I warmed up by attempting to repeat Childhood's End but I took a rest on the rope half way through. I then had a go at Trilogy and fell off on an easy move just after doing a hard move where it splits from Trinity. On my next attempt I sent the climb! I was really stoked.

I offered to belay Dad but he had a sore shoulder and back so didn't feel like climbing. We went back to the campsite and had breakfast. Then we packed up and left.

Whanganui Bay - 7-9 November: Day 2

2010-11-16T11:52:00.000+13:00

Monday 8th

Dad and I tried to get up and get to the rock before the sun was on the rock but by the time we started walking to the rock the sun was already on the top half of Trilogy.

I warmed up by onsighting Picked the Wrong Week to Give Up Chocolate Marshmallowpuffs, grade 25, and then worked on Trilogy for a bit. Dad got all the moves on Kafunka... and then we went back to the car and had lunch.

At the campsite we met a couple of Austrians and they recognised my top I'd been given in Austria for a competition there, and we let them borrow our guide book for a bit.

In the afternoon Dad and I went back up to the rock and I worked on Trilogy and managed to get to the top with only one fall. Dad got all the moves of, and took lots of falls on, Schneiderburner, a 21 he tried last time we went to Whanganui Bay.

We planed to get up early the next day and have a One Square Meal bar on the way to the rock instead of breakfast.

Wanganui Bay - 7-9 November: day 1

2010-11-16T11:51:00.000+13:00

Sunday 7th

Dad and I had breakfast and packed the car and left at about 9am, an hour earlier than we planned. We stopped in Taihape to have lunch and made it down the road to Whanganui bay. It was about 2:30 when we arrived so we put the tent up before we went climbing.

We went up to the plateau and I warmed up by putting the draws up on Trinity, a grade 29 project of mine I'd worked on last time I went to Whanganui bay. I went for the send on my next attempt and I and got up past the crux but I fell off on a hard move near the top. I wasn't very happy and I let out a big scream of frustration as I fell and then yelled 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'. I went back up and found a sequence which made the hard move not very hard at all.

I belayed Dad on Kafunkafunakfunkapteschew, grade 25. He took a big fall between the second and third clip and he and I collided.

After that I had another go at Trinity and fell off low down because my foot popped. I went up again and this time I sent it, my first ever 29.

On the way down Dad convinced me to try Trilogy, a grade 30 climb which combined the start and crux of Trinity with the hard part of Up For Grabs, a 27 to the left of Trinity. So I put the upper draws of Trinity on Trilogy.

Dad and I listened to some of a story we were listening to on the way up before we went to bed.

13-15 September

2010-11-16T11:29:00.000+13:00

We got up early, tidyed up our cottage and left about an hour later than James said we were leaving the night before. When we were at the airport we had to wait a while before we could check our bags in through to Auckland. After we went through security we had another wait before we could board our plane.

Once we were through security at Heathrow James gave us money to buy ourselves lunch and we spent a while looking at different food places until we found a mini supermarket. When we were finished lunch we played cards with a pack of quilt shaped cards Josh had bought until we boarded our flight to Korea.

When we got to Korea we had to go through another security check before we were in the duty-free area. Once we were in the duty-free area I tried to find a lounge where I could rest but the ones I saw were for people with first-class or premium-economy tickets.

When we arived at Auckland airport we had to pick up our bags and go through customs before we could meet our families. Me, Sarah and Mark had another flight to catch so we walked to the domestic airport and I worked out that you had to cross the road before the blue and white line started so thats why I couldn't find it last time. We played cards for a bit then went through to our gates.

On the the plane one of the flight attendants gave me this sports magazine and I found an interview with Kilian Fischhuber and his partner. Kilian is the IFSC number 2 world-ranked competitor.

When I got off the plane I met Mum and Dad and they drove me home. Tessa wanted to come too but she had to go to school.

Sunday 12 September

2010-11-16T11:28:00.003+13:00

We went to the gym and watched the speed finals. I traded tops with the Equador competitor, and some of the others went into town with friends and relatives. Me and Chase went on a big walk looking for a place to put up his slackline he bought, but we didn't find anywhere. In the afternoon we all went into town and some of us put Chase's slackline up and played on that for a while then everybody met up and we had fish and chips for dinner. After dinner Speedy and her mum left for their holiday in Europe and the rest of us went on a ghosts and ghouls tour.

By time we got back to our cottages it was about 11pm and we still had packing to do. I went to bed at about midnight but some of the others stayed up drawing pictures in my book of paper. When I asked in the morning what happened to the book Jesse said they used up all the paper :)

Saturday 11 September

2010-11-16T11:27:00.002+13:00

We didn't have to get up so early, but we had to get to the gym early enough for Sarah to have plenty of time to warm up. Sarah climbed realy well and ended up coming 21st. In the evening we watched the finals. It was pretty cool to watch all the top competitors especially when Sebastian Halenke topped out. During and after the finals I arranged to trade tops with an Equador competitor the next day, and traded tops with a Japanese competitor.

Friday 10 September

2010-11-16T11:27:00.001+13:00

We had to get up really early so we could get to gym an hour before demonstration because some of us were climbing early. I was the last New Zealander to climb and I started warming up too early. When I was on the climb I got up to the first hard move and put my heel on my right hand hold, and when I moved my right hand up to the next hold I knocked my heel off the hold and fell off.

At the end of the qualification round our results were:

Junior Male
Jesse: 46
Chase: 47

Youth A Male
Mark: 31

Youth A Female
Sarah: 24
Speedy: 35

Youth B Male
Josh: 36
Wiz: 46
Penut: 55
J.J.(me): 63

Youth B Female
Tayla: 46
Alex: 54

Sarah was the only one us to make the semi-final the next day. The top 26 make the semi-final.

In the evening we had the speed qualification. We all climbed fast but none of us made it to the next round. 16 people go to the next round and they do a knock out competition like the fifa world cup. About An hour before the speeds I cut my foot on the ground. Glenda taped it up for me and put antiseptic stuff on it and it really stung. It hurt to step on it but I don't think it had any impact on my speed time.

Our placings were:

Junior Male
Chase: 30 (18.72)
Jesse: 33 (20.86)

Youth A Male
Mark: 35 (19.56)

Youth A Female
Speedy: 25 (28.43)
Sarah: 29 (she didn't hit the buzzer hard enough both times!)

Youth B Male
Josh: 26 (20.30)
J.J.(me): 27 (20.75)
Penut: 28 (21.52)
Wiz: 33 (34.08)

Youth B Female
Tayla: 21 (33.79)
Alex: 25 (48.16)

Thursday 9 September: World Youth Champs

2010-11-16T11:26:00.002+13:00

We got up, had breakfast and went to the climbing gym. Josh and Mark were both up first in their grade, Mark for the second year running! My first climb wasn't that good: I wrapped a hold the wrong way so I couldn't clip a clip and I fell off. At the end of the day our results were:

Junior Male
Jesse: 36
Chase: 48

Youth A Male
Mark: 33

Youth A Female
Sarah: 27
Speedy: 33

Youth B Male
Josh: 39
Penut: 45
Wiz: 46
J.J.(me): 58

Youth B Female
Tayla: 43
Alex: 45

At the end of the day James said that we climbed like we deserved to be here at the World Youth Champs, even if some of us didn't climb as well as we could have.

Wednesday 8 September

2010-11-16T11:25:00.000+13:00

We spent most of the day playing tennis and jokgu, a Korean game that we saw in Korea which is like volleyball but played with the feet.

Tuesday 7 September

2010-11-11T10:09:00.000+13:00

In the morning we had breakfast, put our last things in our bags and tidied our rooms; I did the vacuuming. We were ready to go about an hour before our bus arrived so we hung out in Imst and bought food from the bakery. When we came back our bus arrived and we travelled to Munich. We checked in at the airport and had lunch. On our flight to London I managed to sleep for about an hour.

It took a while to get through customs because there were lots of people. We caught our next flight to Edinburgh and once we arrived we picked up our rental van and Glenda drove us to our accommodation. James didn't drive us because he had forgot his drivers license. Our accommodation was a cottage for Mark, Chase and Jesse; a cottage for the rest of us guys; and the girls were staying at another place. We had Indian for dinner and went to bed.

Monday 6 September

2010-11-10T10:08:00.001+13:00

We went to the gym and tried some of the competition climbs. When we were finished trying comp climbs some of us did speed practice. In the evening we packed our bags because we were leaving the next day.

Sunday 5 September

2010-11-06T15:21:00.001+13:00

We went up a track to the alpine coaster like last year and had fun going down the luge. It was much more fun on my last ride when I didn't have slow people in front of me and I didn't have to brake the whole way except at the end. I don't understand why some people don't go as fast as they can; the whole reason I went down the luge is so I could get excitement and enjoyment out of going down the track, so wouldn't going down faster mean someone has more fun?

Saturday 4 September; Austrian National comp

2010-11-05T12:29:00.000+13:00

We went to the gym in our NZ uniform and when we got there we got given competition t-shirts that all the competitors had to wear.

My first qualifier went up a slightly overhanging wall with a little roof at the top. It then swung onto a flat wall facing the first wall and toped out.

Wiz and Josh topped out but me and Peanut fell off near the top.

Our next qualifier went up a gradually steepening wall then onto a massive roof with a 45 degree headwall at the end.

Me and Peanut fell off just before the roof, Josh fell off on the roof and Wiz climbed really well and fell off going to the headwall.

The top ten climbers in each category went through to the final and those of us who went through were:

Junior Male and Youth A Male (all one category)
Jesse

Junior Female and Youth A Female (all one category)
Speedy
Sarah

Youth B Male
Wiz (coming 3rd!)
Josh

Sarah had gone to the supermarket with Mark and Glenda and would have come back in time but the final was moved forward an hour. James told me to run and get her but I think it was too late by then and I couldn't remember where the supermarket was and ran past it. By the time I got back to the gym the finals were starting.

Wiz didn't climb as well as he did in the qualifiers and came 8th. I think Josh came 4th or 5th, I think Jesse came 6th and I think Speedy came 7th, 7th= or 8th. Sarah came 9th, I came 12th or 13th and Peanut came 15th. I can't remember where Tayla and Alex came and Mark didn't compete because he had an injured finger.

After the finals we did Speeds; the route was the official route but with the top hold spun around. There were just two categories, Male and Female. In the qualifiers I had the fastest time out us NZ guys, but in the round of 16 Jesse got a faster time than me, 19.12.

After the prize giving, in which some of us got prizes, we played at the play ground by the gym for a bit. Someone had thrown Tayla and Alex's jandals onto a weedy bank. When we were about to leave I went and collected them but when I thew one of Alex's jandals off the bank it didn't quite make it past the weeds and I looked for it again but I couldn't find it. We all searched for ages but couldn't find it. When me and Alex looked for it again the next time we were at the gym we still didn't find it.

Friday 3 September

2010-11-04T11:19:00.000+13:00

We did some home work in the morning and went climbing in the afternoon. We packed for the next day in the evening.

Thursday 2 September

2010-11-03T11:05:00.001+13:00

We went for a wander after breakfast and I found a soccer ball. We did lots of climbing after lunch then went back and had nachos for dinner. In the evening we went for a walk up a steep road passing the ball to each other on way and having to get ourselves and the ball out of the way of cars going up and down the road.

Wednesday 1 September

2010-11-02T10:14:00.002+13:00

We got up, had breakfast and packed our bags. Some of the others went for a wander but I didn't because I was still packing. We caught a train to Munich then another train to Innsbruck, Austria, and one final train to Imst followed by a taxi to our accommodation. In the afternoon we went to the climbing gym and did some climbing.

Tuesday 31 August

2010-10-22T10:57:00.001+13:00

We had breakfast and then packed our last items. We caught a bus to the airport and checked in. We wandered around and some of the others had lunch.

I had a good flight. I slept for a bit and caught up on my dairy, no food problems this time.

When we arrived in Frankfurt we caught a train to our hostel, had dinner and went to bed.

Monday 30 August

2010-10-21T09:57:00.000+13:00

Very different weather to the day before: it was so sunny I got sunburnt! we watched the men's final and the women's semi-final then some of us went to the market for a bit. Then we came back and bouldered for a bit before all non speed competitors or women's finalists were told to leave the warm up zone. We watched the speeds and women's final then did some more bouldering before the awards ceremony.

In the evening we went to the closing ceremony and packed our bags.

Sunday 29 August

2010-10-20T14:38:00.001+13:00

We watched the semi-finals in the rain and got soaked. The women's route got wet so their semi-final was postponed to the next day and would be on a different route. We all had showers when we got back to the resort.

Our results from the qualification round the day before were:

Male:
Jesse 36
Mark 37
Chase 40

Female:
Sarah 28
Speedy 30

The top 26 make it to the semi-final so none of our guys went on to the next round.

Saturday 28 August - Wiz's birthday

2010-10-20T12:07:00.001+13:00

We got up and ate breakfast then played cards in Wiz and Peanut's room. We then caught a bus to the World Leisure Games event, which the climbing comp was part of, and then had lunch. We watched the qualifiers and bouldered when the warm up wall wasn't crowded. Some of us were late to dinner and they had none left so we had to wait for more to come.

We then went to the opening parade of the World Leisure Congress and Leisure Games. We waited outside the stadium for a while and then went into the stadium along with lots of other countries' athletes. We walked around the stadium and then onto the field in the middle. Some of us sat down and we listened to lots of speeches made by important Korean people with a fireworks display at the end.

Friday 27 August

2010-10-18T10:30:00.000+13:00

We got up and went down stairs and waited in the lobby for a bit. Then we went with a guide to a different resort for breakfast and most of us ate too much. We hung out and wandered around for a bit then we went back to our rooms and did homework.

In the afternoon we went to this great big swimming complex and I spent all my won on the entry fee. We had to wear life jackets and we didn't go on the big slides because the queue was about two hours long! We had lots fun in the wave pool which made great big waves that we tried to body surf and in the extreme river which used waves to move us along.

In the evening we went to the opening ceremony of the climbing competition and had dinner there.

Thursday 26 August

2010-10-17T14:40:00.000+13:00

We got up when Wiz's alarm went and got all ready to leave. It wasn't until we were about to head outside that Josh realised it was actually 2:15; Wiz's cell phone had NZ time. So we went back to bed and got up at four.

On the plane I had trouble with vegan meals again and I think I got given vegatarian meals instead of vegan ones. My second meal was covered in cheese but me and the flight atendant managed to sort out a meal with a mixture of the vegan stuff from the vegatarian dish and the vegan stuff from a meat dish.

When we got off the plane we had to wait in a long queue in order to get through customs.

We met up with Mark and got on a bus especially for world cup competitors. We then had a really long bus ride to our accommodation. We had pizza for dinner but I had watermelon and chips instead because the pizzas had cheese on them.

Wednesday 25 August

2010-10-16T11:46:00.000+13:00

We got up and ate breakfast. Then we caught a bus to the train station and Chase got told off by a securaty guy for walking on a chain. We took a 50 minute train ride to the Villa Wood climbing ym and climbed there for a while. At the end of our session I practised speed climbing on a copy of the official speed route. When we got back to the hostel we had to get all ready go at 4:15 the next day so we set our alarms to 3:45.

Tuesday 24 August

2010-10-15T10:57:00.002+13:00

I got up really early and got to the airport ages before my flight so I could check my bag through to Sydney. We used the spare time to find a photocopier and photocopy the pages I was going to use for homework fom my textbooks so I didn't have to take the textbooks with me. When I got to Auckland I couldn't find the path to the international airport so I caught the bus. I then met up with the others and got given my uniform. Then the others checked in but I didn't because I had checked in through to Sydney in Wellington. We had lunch then went through to secrity and then on to our gate. While we were waiting for our flight James got us to work out what our numbers were and they were:

No.1 Sarah
No.2 Mark (who would join us in Korea)
No.3 Jesse
No.4 Speedy
No.5 Me
No.6 Wiz
No.7 Chase
No.8 Alex
No.9 Josh
No.10 Tayla
No.11 Peanut

What number someone was was based on how many years they had been to the worlds before and then on how old they were. I was called up along with some other people to have my boarding pass swapped for a new one because the planes had changed.

On the plane I didn't have a vegan meal prepared for me because it wasn't pre-orderd but it was ok because someone had ordered a vegatairian meal but changed their mind so I got it.

Once we were in Australia we caught a taxi to our accommodation, Glebe Village Hostel, and unpacked. We then caught a bus to the climbing gym. The gym was massive and really busy. We climbed for a while and had dinner there, and when we got back it was really late.

2010 Trip to the World Youth Championship

2010-10-15T10:43:00.005+13:00

This year I went to the World Youth Championship again. The following posts will be an account of my trip away.

Live Streaming 2010 World Youth Champs

2010-09-09T21:46:00.002+12:00

Climbing in the first qualification round of the 2010 World Youth Champs lead competition is about to start. Josiah will be the 27th climber in the Youth B category! All categories are climbing at once.

Live streaming.

Start lists and results.

Competition programme and other information.

Last post for now

2009-11-05T12:32:00.003+13:00

30 August

We were put in three groups and did a photo rally. It was lots of fun even though our team came last by quite a bit, and we all met at the speed wall while the speed finals were on. Lots of people were still swapping tops and I swapped all my tops!

31 August

We took a train to Paris and were in first class seats. We then flew back home with a 12 hour stop in Singapore airport.

Photos

2009-09-30T12:56:00.006+13:00

Here are some photos I took on the trip: our apartment in Switzerland, a view from the train going to Austria, and Wiz climbing in the competition.

World Youth Champs comp

2009-09-23T15:08:00.002+12:00

27 August

Comp Day 1

We caught a bus to the wall. Me, Damon and James were early, because I was first up and Damon second, but they changed the order later and I was 53rd up. My number was 393.

"Everybody climbed well," that's what James said, but my climb wasn't so good in my opinion; I cut loose and swung off because I didn't think. In the afternoon we, all the teams, went on a parade across town from the climbing wall to the speed wall.

28 August

Comp Day 2

We went to the wall again and climbed. My second climb was better than my first. In the afternoon to evening we did speeds. There were two different routes on the speed wall: one was the official speed route with extra speed holds added in and the other route was new. My grade was the last grade to do speeds and it was lots of fun.

29 August

We went to the wall and watched the semi finals, and I bought some climbing holds. Then we went around shopping and after that we were given five Euros each for dinner. I bought some carrots, a cucumber and a can of fruit salad. I ate some of the carrots and ate the cucumber, but I couldn't open the fruit salad so I had to eat it the next day. After dinner we watched the finals and some of us swapped tops with other climbers, but nobody I ask wanted to or could swap :(

Imst to Valence

2009-09-16T15:18:00.004+12:00

21 August

We, Youth B, made lunch for the Youth A's and Claire, and then we went and watched the climbing in the IFSC Kletter Weltcup. The climbing was cool to watch and our guys climbed well.

22 August

Watched the semi-finals in the morning and the finals in the evening. I thought the presentation of the finalists was weird and it was fun to watch Adam Ondra top.

23 August

We went on a bush walk to a place where there was an alpine coster; you went up on a gondola thing and down on the luge track. Apart from slow people it was lots of fun.

24 August

We caught trains to Bern, Switzerland, and went climbing in the evening.

25 August

We took a train to Geneva, walked into France, and took a train to Valence.

26 August

We did lots of stuff and this is not in order:

We met the Australian and Equadorian teams and played frizby with them and Wiz's cousin Jamie. We went to Valence2, the mall, and then went to the supermarket to stock up. We also wrote our pre-comp plans and took photos of me and Wiz in dresses at the mall. This was so that James would give us pain au chocolat. I didn't get one though because I'm vegan.

Milandia and zoo

2009-09-15T11:26:00.002+12:00

15 August

We went to Milandia and did competition onsight/flash practice, and we had to get our warm up routine sorted.

16 August

I wrote the team diary.

17 August

We got Euros turned into Swiss Franks so we could go to the zoo, and we had money left over to spend on things.

18 August

Went to Gaswerk again and did packing etc.

13-14 August

2009-09-10T10:28:00.001+12:00

13 August

After breakfast we guessed what we would do tomorrow, one guess each and if one of us got it right we all got ice creams. We guessed in reverse number order:
No. 1 Claire
No. 2 Sarah
No. 3 Damon
No. 4 Mark
No. 5 Rowan
No. 6 Jesse
No. 7 Speedy
No. 8 Olivia
No. 9 Irmak
No. 10 Emily
No. 11 Josiah
No. 12 Charlotte
No. 13 Wiz

We got some clues, and Claire guessed correct. So the next day we got ice creams.

At Gaswerk we did hard climbing and my hands hurt from the day before. We also had to work out our warm up.

14 August

We went to the Mammut factory and got a tour of the factory, the different steps of making ropes and other stuff. At the end we each got given a Mammut mammoth and it was lots of fun.

Switzerland

2009-09-09T19:56:00.000+12:00

11 August

On the next flight I attempted to sleep. Then I did some more stuff on the computer and had breakfast.

When we got to Zürich Jesse's luggage didn't come so it had to be sent to us. We met Emma and Rob at the airport, and we ate breakfast again. We then caught a train to Oerlikon.

When we got to our apartments we sorted out who shared a room with who, me and Rob in our apartment, and after that we went to the supermarket. We then ate lunch at a small bit of grass, and we then played games afterwards. After that we went back to our apartments and made dinner.

12 August

We went to Gaswerk, where you're not allowed loose chalk or bare feet, and on the way there we caught two trains and then did a lot of walking. I touched a poisenous plant with my hand on the walk and it really hurt. Gaswerk is so humongous it makes HangDog look like a home boulder wall. We then did some pumpy leading and bouldering and I got a B5 on the outdoor boulder wall. One of the boulder rooms had a 45° angle boulder mat so you could do really high and long problems and everyone thought my yells were funny.

My journal starts

2009-09-07T13:41:00.004+12:00

I had a good time on the trip, competing, training and doing other stuff. My journal of the trip will be posted here in instalments over the next few days ...

10 August

At the Airport my bag weighed just under 18 kg and nearly everyone was early to arrive at our meeting spot. When James arrived we got given a box with our uniforms in it and we had to sort out who got what: a pair of TOTA shorts, a singlet, a t-shirt and a long sleeve top each. We put stickers on our passports so we knew whose was whose, but Wiz's passport was red though. I played hacky with some of the others while we waited to board our flight.

On the plane I watched a few movies, monitored our progress, played games and watched TV programmes, all on the computer in front of me.

Singapore Airport is humongous! We went to a butterfly place where they had lots of big, colourful butterflies and I saw a small lizard. We went on the free Internet and I sent an email home. We then played bungy tug of war hoop shooting on a bouncy castle. Me and Charlotte put on harnesses which were attached by a bungy through a hole in a blow-up wall, and we had to run in opposite directions and get beach balls in a hoop. It was lots of fun, and we got given medals and a $10 voucher for anywhere in the airport. After spending the voucher we played knucklebones until our next flight.

Results

2009-08-30T11:12:00.011+12:00

The 2009 Climbing World Youth Championship is nearly over, just speed climbing finals to go. Watching the live coverage, we saw quite a few of the New Zealanders climbing, including part of Josiah's second climb. We thought they all looked relaxed and focussed, climbing well. Emily and Sarah each topped their first climb! We haven't heard from Josiah how he found it all.

Difficulty and speed results for the New Zealand team are below. The difficulty category is their priority: they enter the speed competition just for fun and the extra experience.

Youth B Male (Under 16)

Difficulty: 73 competitors

Wiz 44th
Josiah 59th

Speed: 41 competitors

Josiah 34th
Wiz 36th

Youth B Female (Under 16)

Difficulty: 67 competitors

Emily 32nd
Irmak 48th
Charlotte 58th
Rowan 60th

Speed: 39 competitors

Emily 19th
Charlotte 31st
Irmak 32nd
Rowan fell

Youth A Male (Under 18)

Difficulty: 81 competitors

Mark 46th
Jesse 51st
Damon 60th

Speed: 47 competitors

Damon 30th
Mark 31st
Jesse 39th

Youth A Female (Under 18)

Difficulty: 69 competitors

Sarah 33rd
Amanda 49th
Olivia 52nd

Speed: 44 competitors

Olivia 39th
Amanda 43rd
Sarah fell

Junior Female (Under 20)

Difficulty: 45 competitors

Claire 38th

Speed: 27 competitors

Claire 20th

Competition starts!

2009-08-27T08:35:00.007+12:00

The Climbing World Youth Championship starts today, Thursday! There is live coverage of the competition at Mineral Spirit beginning at 9am local time (CET/UTC + 2), 7pm in NZ. Climbing in all lead categories is due to begin at 10.30am (8.30pm in NZ).

There are 713 competitors in total, 75 in Josiah's category (Youth B Male - born 1994 or 1995). Josiah has texted us to say he is up first! But the IFSC has him starting 53rd in his category so not sure which is correct.

Videos

2009-08-18T14:50:00.008+12:00

Below is video evidence that Josiah is alive and well in Switzerland (yay!). And eating sugar, enthusiastically, which surprised us: Josiah is usually highly mistrustful of sugar. This time, however, to earn a share of some leftover iceblocks, he was willing to ...

Day 7 of the Team Diary is also a video ...

For more videos from the team, visit Climbing NZ's You Tube page.

Team Diary

2009-08-15T16:35:00.010+12:00

A Team Diary has been started at the Climbing NZ website and quotes of the day from the team are being posted to Climbing NZ's Facebook page.

The team is away

2009-08-11T11:54:00.007+12:00

It was great to see the team off from Auckland Airport on Monday morning. All were bubbly and excited; the uniforms looked very smart. It's nice that there are some in the team who have been on long overseas trips before and can help the others with unfamiliar tasks like filling out departure cards. They were all looking after each other well.

James, the coach and supervisor, exuded calm and confidence, which was exactly what was needed (what I needed, anyway). He told the team that he is not their mother, or their father, and expects them to take care of their own belongings. Even in the short time before going through to the departure area, there was evidence that this was little more than a vain hope on James's part: James had to repeat his instructions about what to do with their two boarding passes, luggage labels and passports half a dozen times at least, and in the process sounded just like a parent!

Josiah was keen to be off and very happy.

We have had first contact: an email posted from Singapore Airport, where the team had a six hour stop:

I am in Singapore now. I enjoyed the flight here and watched mov[i]es on the plan[e].

The team is back in the air now en route to Zurich, Switzerland, where they will spend their first week, training at the impressive Kletterzentrum gyms.

What's happening

2009-07-29T09:28:00.000+12:00

In just over a week, Josiah and the rest of the New Zealand Youth Climbing Team will be departing for Europe to attend the Climbing World Youth Championship in Valence, France. Josiah and I will be posting here to keep you updated on the trip. Posts are likely to be brief and scarce while Josiah is away as opportunities to write home will be infrequent (and perhaps unlikely to be taken full advantage of by a fourteen year old immersed in his first visit to the other side of the world). But Josiah will be keeping a journal as part of the one-and-a-half hours of school work the kids are required to do daily on the trip, and we intend to post some of that here as soon as he returns.

Josiah's preparations are well underway; he has been training hard, climbing, jogging and stretching. We have been familiarising ourselves such varied topics as hand luggage restrictions on international flights, drug tests at sporting events and the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list, European geography, the IFSC rules in force at the World Youth Championship, and the options available to a fourteen year old for carrying money to spend in a foreign country. Josiah and Tessa have had fun finding useful and not-at-all-useful phrases in a French phrase book. Useful: Je suis végétalien (I am vegan). Not useful: Veux-tu m'épouser? (Will you marry me?).

Josiah says:

I am feeling excited about the trip.

I am looking forward to competing, seeing really good climbers climb and experiencing the different holds, routes and walls. It will be cool training with the others in the team because I haven't climbed much with any of them except in the competitions.