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!