The USA Climbing Collegiate Climbing Series has officially begun! This is UW's second year with an organized climbing team, and from what I've observed so far, we're going to have a super exciting season culminating in UW hosting the regional competition in April! We've started having practices twice a week, and then all of a sudden it was time for the first competition.
After a five hour drive (with a stop at the infamous Big City Burrito), our team of 8 climbers arrived at the Sport Climbing Center of Colorado Springs. Their gym was sweet. A large room with sport climbing on one side and bouldering on the other, with a center section that was connected to one side by an archway, which was all climbable. You could even top out on most of the bouldering! And all supported by nice cushy, new padding... There were 3 difficulty categories, and about 30 problems set throughout the bouldering sections of the gym. After settling in and inspecting all the nooks and crannies, announcements were made, door prizes were thrown from the top out area, and we got to work.
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| Spencer, Matt, Nick, Ian, and Nicole crushing routes |
With around 100 competitors and spectators, the gym was a little crowded but not too stuffed. Having to wait to do your next problem provided much needed recovery and a chance to chat with others. I got to meet people from the Air Force Academy, CSU- Pueblo, and Adams State University. Everyone was really friendly and of varying strength. It was awesome to see people crush problems that I couldn't imagine doing after at least a couple more years of intense training.
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| Climbing Buddies fo' life |
Our whole team qualified in the intermediate category! Nicole placed 2nd in Women's Intermediate and Brian got 5th in Men's Intermediate. Now that we understand the scoring, I hope that I can train harder and not be sick next time so I can place a little higher :) We had a long drive back that night, but everyone did a really awesome job and had an awesome time.
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| UW Climbing Team has good prospects for this season! |
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