Korean WC and the Olympics

Korean World Cup:

I wanted to say what a great event the Korean Ice Climbing World Cup was.  From the hospitality to the structure and everything inbetween, they provided a great and well organized competition weekend.  I was totally blown away by the support of the local community and the broader population as a whole.  There were literally thousands of banners and flags along with commercials on national TV.  Here is a little taste of the weekend.

 

http://vimeo.com/83952037

As for my result.  I felt that I did ok.  I slipped off of a hold that a lot of people slipped on except my tool didn’t stop and it sent me falling.  As was the same for last year, I came away with the drive to continue training and to become better.

The Olympics:

Due to the terrorist attacks, continued threats as well as several personal issues with regards to family and business, I have decided to forgo my opportunity to participate in this year’s ice climbing demonstration at the Sochi Winter Olympics.  This first crossed my mind when they were not able to make this a World Cup style event opting to make it an actual ice climbing demonstration instead.

This was a very difficult decision as many people have shown great support and many others are depending on me going but the safety issues were the final straw.  I hope that everyone that decides to go is safe, vigilant and has a great time.

ATC Climbing Festival:

On a brighter note, this Saturday will make the first annual Alpine Training Center Ice Festival at Lincoln Falls.  CAMP-USA will be there to demo tools and I will be there to teach a mixed climbing clinic.  Afterwards we will stop in Breckenridge to have food and beers.  If you would like to come (and you should it's free) feel free to hit me up or look for the event on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/events/1377078022536954/?ref_dashboard_filter=calendar).

Work:

Spending some time away also got me really motivated for this coming year of work.  I am really excited about the direction of OURAY Environmental Services and believe that this will be a very big year for us.  With a little luck, some very positive things will be reviled this year.

Support:

I would also like to thank Vega (http://myvega.com) and NW Alpine (www.nwalpine.com) to deciding to support me.  What a great set of companies and a great group of people to work with!

TWO DOWN AND TWO TO GO!

Life is beyond good right now but the stress level is high because I am so busy and have been away from my awesome family for the past two weeks.  But, that ends tomorrow, weather permitting.

It was great traveling last week in Canada with Gordon McArther and Lukasz Warzecha. They showed me a great time, even if it was -20 degrees F for a few of the days.  Just having the chance to go and climb at the Haffner Cave and the Cineplex was very cool.  Training on #thegreatarch (nudge to Gordon) in Gordon's back yard was super cool too.

Cineplex & Gordon's Arch

I have completed the first two competitions of the season.  I placed second in the CityROCK Icenight which went down to speed of completion and made it to finals placing 6th overall at the UIAA North American Championships in Bozeman, MT.  I feel pretty good about both showings after having a chance to analyze my performances. I'm definitely way better than last season, which is good.

Intensity in the finals at Bozeman. Photo by Ben Herndon

Yesterday I had the honor of climbing Octopussy in Vail and be filmed by John Dickey.  The filming was for the movie about Jeff Lowe's life and climbing carrier, Metanoia. This is such a great honor and classic line.  It is literally the climb that changed mixed climbing from something people did in the alpine (when they couldn't avoid it) to a soul pursuit.  Something I am quite involved in I'd say...

Tomorrow I head back to Oklahoma to be with my family and enjoy the holidays.  I am ready for some of that!  Next up will be South Korea and the first World Cup of 2014. Tickets booked!

Thanks to La Sportiva for picking me up as an ambassador/athlete and deciding to help me out! And, as always, thank you to CAMP-USA / CASSIN and The Alpine Training Center.

Just keeping my head down and pushing forward!

Busy, Tired & PSYCHED!

As I look forward to this season of traveling, climbing and competing I can’t help but look back at the previous months and the road that led me here.  Last December 31^st my wife Heather and I found out that we would be having a child.  A short time after, it was discovered that we would be having twins and then identical twin boys, what totally cool news!  On July 27^th the boys decided that they would join us a little early, leading to about a month of them being in the NICU.  

My boys!

The NICU pretty much dominated our lives for a time, but since the boys have come home it has allowed me to turn some of my focus back to work (I own and operate a company, OURAY Environmental Services www.ourayservices.com) and training.  Around the same time the boys came home I also learned that I was selected to represent the United Stated during the 2014 Winter Olympics.  World Cup style ice climbing is being featured during the Olympics as a cultural event in hopes that it will become a sanctioned event in the years to come.

Now, as I fly to New Orleans to attend a Dangerous Goods conference I have decided to reopen a blog that I started and then abandoned years ago.  My intention is to keep updating this blog as I travel throughout this winter season.  I intened to update on my work at OURAY Environmental Services, my training at the Alpine Training Center and then as I travel for competitions in Colorado Springs, CO, Bozeman, MT, Cheonsong, South Korea and Sochi, Russia.

I would also like to say that the key to juggling all this is definitely a totally awesome and supportive wife! Thank you Heather Montgomery!

So…stay tuned and don’t forget to MOVE!

 

BRAIN FREEZE

This was filmed on a recent trip up Brain Freeze on Mt. Otis in Rocky Mountain National Park with Gordon Laurens.  A great climb that was recently discovered.  (M5+, WI3, 1,000ft)