One day Vegas Trip

I helped Jimmy drive out to Vegas and I was able to climb the evening we got there
I was able to do two really fun boulders!
Here is a video of the short trip!!

Day Trip to Vegas from Kasia Pietras on Vimeo.

I flew back to Colorado to set for regionals at ABC!
I'm really excited for the opportunity and experience!
I think it will be A LOT of fun!

Portland Boulder Rally 2013

It was a rough weekend 

I came to this event not expecting anything, just go out there and climb and have fun! 

For the first two hours that's what it was... I was trying all sorts of boulders but only completed two harder ones

But the ones I was trying were really fun and I was progressing on them, but could never manage to get to the top! 

I'm the last hour of the event I started to spiral down into a very bad place... And I couldn't control it

I have five boulders on my score card but three of them were warm ups... And I just couldn't manage to send anything else! 

I try all the hard ones at least once and nothing... 

I was in the rabbit hole and couldn't crawl out... It was very frustrating and annoying... I didn't realize how out of shape I really was

It shows that I have not been doing much to improve my climbing, and the only thing that I have to say to my defense is that I've been traveling the last two months which caused a lot of disorder in my life.  I am just now settling in and feel like everything is in place.  But in the end I feel as it is just another excuse that I give myself. 

In the end I did not make finals but jimmy did so it was great to watch him climb. Chairing outside the gym was I little iritating because I do not like crowds, but once we were let in it worked out well because we were in the front row and were able to have maybe the best view in the house! 

Chris and I were keeping track of results and it was nerve racking to watch jimmy compete since he was last out on all the boulders and I knew what he had to do to stay in the lead.  My palms were sweaty and my blood was racing.  

JIMMY WON!!! I was so happy!! 

Sunday we played putt putt at a glow in the dark place.  It was really fun!! 

We ventured to the gym later on where I tried a bunch of other boulders along with the finals boulders.  Once again I was disappointed with myself, but at the end of the day I was able to calm myself and just turn the last two days into training days.  

I finished off with doing an ab workout after all the climbing and I know I will be sore tomorrow!  There are so many things I need to work on, and my attitude is one of them! Hopefully with time I will be able to get to where I want to be.  I just have to be patient and keep a smile on my face even when it seems I'm failing all the time... 

I mean 90% of climbing is failure, falling, trying hard and only 10% of the time we succeed! 

So it's time to train! And get back into shape!! 

The bonus of today was breakfast!! 

Either way I want to thank everyone that made this event possible!! 

Trip to Idaho!!

Almo, ID is a small town of 172 people which encompasses a large area. They have a general store, a pizza shop/car repair place, an inn and a steak house. 

There are two main areas to climb at in this small town... City of Rocks (free access) and Castle Rocks ($5/vehicle).  There are a few places you can stay such as the Smokey Mountain Camping ($20+ per night) but they do have awesome showers ($3) or there's the City of Rocks campground ($12/night).  There's also the bunk house at Castle Rock that sleeps twelve and is $12.95/person/night and you have to go to the Visitor Center to make a reservation.  We got the hook up and were told about the FREE camping. Down the main road in town till the road turns into dirt and right after you pass the cattle guard you take a right. 

Most of you might of heard of Castle Rocks... It has the infamous 40+ move roof climb "war path" along with many rope climbs for both the trad climber and the bolt clipper... We unfortunately didn't bring our rope and gear, so I won't be able to tell you much about that. 

What I can tell you is that the "taco roof" is an amazing formation of rock that we are fortunate to climb on.  There's a few different lines on.  Most of which are a little bit "morpho" and hopefully I'll be able to figure out some beta before we leave to send a few of these boulders.  

Jimmy and I explored the boulders that surround the 'taco cave' and were surprised at the amount of untouched rock.  There is a great amount of potential out here and hopefully more climbs get developed as the news spreads. 

As of now, due to the goverement closing down nationals parks (which I think is ridiculous but there's a time and place for that rant) City of Rocks has limited access. Some of the land is owned by the state so as climbers we have access to that part of the land.  Jimmy and I hiked around to explore the large amount of rocks that litter the area.  Unfortunately most of the rock is choss with the occasional dyno boulder or some morpho (I hate that word) boulders.  We were able to find a few boulders that had the potential of being good climbs.  

The best part of this trip has been being together with Jimmy (and Oreo).  Even though we had an epic time getting here due to snow in wyoming we have enjoyed our whole time here. I'm really grateful to have these guys in my life. 

The main purpose of this trip was for Jimmy to try and send 'war path'. It took him four tries over a four day period. First day he fell off the move over the lip. Same for the two tries on the second day. Then we took a rest day which involved a lot of hiking around. And the fourth day he did it his first try and made it look easy. I am so proud of him for accomplishing one of his goals.  Watching him over the years has empowered me to become a better climber and I'm psyched to see what the future brings.  

Video of our trip will be up soon!! Till now just pictures!! 

The Heist

I was very fortunate to be part of the Heist competition held at Central Rock Climbing Gym in Watertown. 

For those of you that haven't heard about it,

It was an event organized by FEMALES

set by FEMALES

for FEMALES

I was the head route setter and going into the event I didn't really know what to expect. I have been the head setter/organizer of small local competitions but nothing of this caliber.  The days leading up to the event I felt pretty organized, focus but anxious. I just wanted Monday to roll around so that we could start setting for the event.  At the end of the week I was very grateful to have Sydney McNair at my side.

I have learned that no big event goes without some small problems here and there. Overall things went according to plans.  We fell a little bit behind Monday with having set only 22 boulders out of the 25 which was our goal. But by Tuesday night we had all 60 boulders set.  Wednesday was spent on forerunnimg and setting up the finals boulders. And the bottom half of the route got set as well.  Thursday we spent forerunning finals and the advance/open problems. We finished the route on Friday along with forerunning it. 

It was a long and tiring week where we'd get to the gym between 10am-11am and not leave till 10pm most nights.  I was especially tired because in the 3 weeks prior to the event I had been in 4 different time zones (one of which was in Europe) and I had been on 11 flights. My body was all sorts of tired!! 

Saturday rolled around suddenly and everyone was coming through the door to check in and getting ready to compete. I got really nervous and for a few hours of qualifiers I found myself sitting in a rocking chair in the hold room, thinking what we should do. You see the problem started that morning, when I felt that all the open problems were maybe too easy for the field of competitiors that showed up. After qualifiers my fear became a reality and the top 8 girls sent the top 5 boulders. Luckily they didn't all flash all 5 boulders.  Going into finals we had two ties to break. Two girls were tied for 1st and two were tied for 3rd. 

Final's boulder #1

This was my master piece.  I had to set with the heart holds from atomic.  It was quite the challenge. It was a vertical, technical rock climb that I was very happy with. All the girls sent the boulder, but that's what we wanted. Luckily the boulder broke one of our ties.  

Final's boulder #2 

Sydney was the mastermind behind this powerful pinch fest! (Holds courtesy of teknik) Our goal was to have one of the girls get to the top. Unforunetly that didn't happened.  We might have tweaked it to make it harder than it should of been. But either way it broke our final tie.  

Final's route #1 

I have never heard or attended an event where finals was a mixture between boulders and routes. I think it gave the event it's own little spin on things.  I don't think the route could of been any better.  We expected two girls to top and they did.  And everyone else fell in a different place on the route.  Sydney gets most of the credit for the route with a few of my ideas mixed into it. 

Sunday was a day for clinics with some of the athletes along with myself.  I taught a setting clinic which I think went really well.  I hope that the people that took my clinic learned some valuable things that they will be able to use in the future. 

There was a good amount of publicity for this event with a few interviews prior to the event featuring Sydney and myself. 

Did I mention that there were 158 competitors?!? All females!!! That's amazing!! 

I can't wait to see what next year brings!! 

More sends for Jimbo!!

V15's for Webb and Woods
posted by dpm on 09/10/2013

At Lincoln Lake, Colorado, Daniel Woods has completed the 2nd ascent of Jimmy Webb's new problem Wheel of Wolvo (V15) and Jimmy has added a harder finish to produce Delirium (V15). The addition of the 10-move V14 intro, leading to a jug rest, seems to have opened up a small world of opportunities for progression. Wheel of Wolvo climbs the V14 to the rest, then finishes out the Overcling Traverse, a V11/12 in its own right. Delirium climbs the initial V14 to the same rest, then finishes out Dismantling the Enemy (V12). Jimmy notes on his 8a scorecard that it's a slightly harder and more direct finish but doesn't change the grade, which makes sense. He also mentions that it's feeling "more and more doable" to finish out We Can Build You, a V14 that starts on the resting hold that marks the end of the initial V14 section of Wheel of Wolvo and Delirium. Confused? To put it simply, a V14 section ends at a good resting hold and there are at least three possible finishes: V11/12 (Wheel of Wolvo), V12 (Delirium), and V14 which has yet to be completed. I'm no mathematician but it seems that if V14 + V12 = V15, then it would be logical to assume that V14 + V14 would equal V16. If that link-up is accomplished, I'm calling it V16. I don't care what Jimmy Webb says. Click the image below to watch some footage of some alpine bouldering around Colorado, including Lincoln Lake. At 9:30, you'll see Jimmy Webb pull onto the start of We Can Build You and if you look closely, you can see the ticked holds of the new V14 entrance beneath his feet.

Gonna have to brag a little... for my boyfriend!

INTERVIEW: JIMMY WEBB SENDS HIS "FIRST TRUE" V15 WITH THE WHEEL OF WOLVO

05-Sep-2013

By

Chris Parker

---

Webb just chilling on the send of The Wheel of Wolvo (V15). Photo courtesy of Dave Graham

Southern powerhouse Jimmy Webb has cranked the first ascent of The Wheel of Wolvo (V15) in Mount Evans, Colorado. Webb, who recently moved from his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Boulder, Colorado, has wasted little time establishing one of Colorado's hardest testpieces.

"Comparing The Wheel to my other ascents ... I do see it as a step up," Webb recently told Rock and Ice.

The problem sits high at the Lincoln Lake area and, according to Webb, consists of a 10-move V14 into a 15-move V11/12. "A pumpy one for sure and suited my style/height perfectly," commented Webb on his 8a.nu scorecard. 

Webb has been on a tear recently. While visiting Rocklands, South Africa, this summer, Webb managed to flash three V13's. After returning to the U.S., Webb then took the win at the 2013 Psicobloc Masters Series in Park City, Utah.

First try in Rocklands from Jimmy Webb on Vimeo.

Today, Webb has taken the time to give Rock and Ice readers the low down on his new V15 and more.

Q&A:

R&I: How was The Wheel of Wolvo discovered?

Dave Graham technically found the line a few years back, but I think he didn't quite see the possibility and decided to wait and come back to it. This year he went down for a look and put some work into cleaning the line and getting it all set up. I showed up two days later and helped him clean it some more and we started working out all the moves. 

R&I: How long did it take you to send the problem?

I tried The Wheel for three full days, working on it a lot with Daniel Woods and Dave Graham.

R&I: Is The Wheel of Wolvo an endurance problem or is there a definitive crux? 

Well, it's kind of both actually. The first 10 moves are a very powerful yet technical 8B+ (V14). Linking the bottom boulder is definitely the most difficult part of the bloc, but after you complete this you have to put yourself back together and execute the final 15 move 8A/+ (V11/12) endurance section.

R&I: How did the send feel? In the photo it looks as if you're just chilling! 

Haha! Well I was hanging out in the rest that separates the two boulders so yeah, you definitely gotta chill. The send felt hard, man. It's a battle from beginning to end and there are multiple points on the climb that you can fail. The difficulty of lines like this are just being able to clear your thoughts and execute. A lot of times the hardest part of climbing at your limit is allowing your mind to roam free and just let your body do the work. 

R&I: Is this your hardest first ascent? How does The Wheel compare with your other hard ascents?

I think this is definitely my hardest FA, as I believe it to be the first true 8C (V15) that I have ever climbed. Although it's really hard to say if this is the hardest problem, for me, that I have done. Climbing is so strange, so style specific, and so personal that it's really hard to explain that it is, in fact, the hardest thing I have climbed. I honestly have done some 8A+'s (V11's) that are outside my style that felt harder than some 8b+ (V14) that suited me perfectly. Comparing the Wheel to some of my other ascents, however, I do see it as a step up. This problem is really tough and I feel lucky to have been able to to piece it together. 

R&I: Finally, you just moved from the South to Colorado. Why?

Well first of all I'm a southern boy at heart and that will never change. Chattanooga will always be my true home and I'm positive one day we will return. For now my girlfriend Kasia and I were just looking for a change of pace. We wanted to move here so that we could expand our climbing and experience what CO. has to offer. Which really is a TON of climbing. There are so many things to climb here and so many cool people to climb them with. It's a great place for us now and we're stoked for what the future holds.

Munich World Cup

I came about going to this competition by pure convenience

My friend Meagan informed me about it and it made me start to think what if I competed in it?

It would only bring me more experience, and since I had taken a little break from competing I felt more compelled to do it. 

Since I had planned a trip to Poland to visit my grandma around the same time, I thought what the hell, let's get a flight to Munich for the weekend, it's not far (only an hour and half flight) 

So I did, and i'm really happy with my decision! 

It was a great event and I ran into a bunch of people that I have met over the years climbing at different outdoor areas! It's crazy to think how big the world is, but yet the climbing community is so small!

I've complied a small video of myself climbing on all the qualifying boulders.  I feel as if they were all in my reach and there were a few I should of completed.  But that is the competition setting and it makes everything just a little bit harder.  

Munich World Cup from Kasia Pietras on Vimeo.

It was very impressive to watch all the other competitors, male and female, throughout the weekend and try to learn from them.  After this weekend, I have decided that competition climbing comes down more to your mental head game than it does to power.  And I think I was able to overcome that factor at this event.  I was able to treat each boulder as it's own individual problem.  I was able to forget about the previous climbs and calm myself down in the 5 minutes in between each boulder.  I would concentrate on my breathing and my heart rate which helped me overcome the pump and stress of the whole event.  

Even though I think it is more mental than physical does not mean I do not need to get in shape! Haha

There are many things I need to work on to be able and do better in the future! But for now, I'm on vacation.  So i'm going to enjoy Paris and the rest of my stay in Poland.  

When I get back to the states I will have my hands full for a week with setting for The Heist competition with fellow friend, Sydney McNair, and others.  Hopefully we can get more female competitors to make the trip out to Boston and make this thing better than ever!