Circuit Training

I've always climbed regularly at the gym in the winter, but never with any structure. This winter I wanted to change it up and commit to a training regimen. Having never tried it before, I was curious how it would go and what the results would be.

For the most part I still focused on climbing with an emphasis on movement over raw power. This lead me to question what the difference is between climbing and training but I decided the answer is that training is climbing with structure.

I had some specific sport climbing goals in mind and certain muscle groups I needed to strengthen. I've always climbed primarily for fun and wanted to keep my training routine that way which helps me stay psyched and prevent burnout. Circuit training seemed like a good choice for me.

 What's needed is a filled wall at an angle you want to train on.

My circuits consisted of roughly 50 moves. I picked that number for my current purposes and I think it could be adjusted to particular goals. Harder/less moves or easier/more moves etc. With the number of moves in mind, I set circuits that I could just barely not complete, falling off near the end to simulate redpoint attempts on hard power endurance routes. Eventually with repetition, the circuits would feel easier and I would send and it was time to move on to a new circuit.

I focused on harder moves going up, trying to simulate crux sections of particular projects, and easier moves on the down climbing sections. I didn't think it was important to have hard downclimbing moves but interestingly downclimbing skills actually came in handy at the Hurricave. Setting the circuit took a bit of work and tweaking as I wanted to have moves hard enough that I felt I could fall throughout the whole circuit, but I never actually fell until the very end.

Climbing at the Hurricave in Utah. Photo Victor Acevedo.

Circuit training was great for the endurance and power endurance but I felt it was necessary to work on power as well so I incorporated max effort boulder problems prior to doing circuits. It was great to have my wife and main climbing partner, Sheena, who knows my climbing very well to make up problems for me so I could work on my sequencing at the same time.

In between sets I would rest as long as I needed and I also worked in a variety of leg exercises to strengthen my knees and hamstrings. This was for a heel hooking injury I sustained in Australia last spring and also to prepare for grueling Bow Valley approaches.

I ended up training roughly 1 day on 1 day off for 2 one month cycles in between trips as well as taking a month completely off from climbing which I do every year.

Life of Villains gets it's difficulty from a section of about 26 moves of power endurance.

Photo by Tom Moulin.

I'm lucky enough to be able to travel frequently and I still went on 2 trips this winter, both to the Hurricave in southern Utah, a great way to get some early results on my circuit training. The first trip which was after one cycle seemed no different than any other trip but the second trip after a second cycle of training produced incredible results. I felt significantly stronger and had my best trip ever in terms of sending. Perhaps it was just a good trip, or perhaps it was the training. We will see because it's time for outdoor season in the Bow Valley and I'm psyched to get back on my summer projects!

Stoneworks project is another power endurance route. Photo by Niall Hamill.

Story of a Route: Cobalt Gecko

For many years, Cobalt Gecko sat untouched and consisted of nothing more than an anchor and 3 random bolts. Listed as an abandoned project in the guidebook, I knew about the route but had dismissed it as I thought it looked too featureless and unclimbable from the ground. When I finally went up to take a closer look, I was super excited to discover such an amazing line!

Cobalt Gecko at Planet X. Photo by Tim Banfield.

Since 2014, I have "sent the crag" a number of times but every time I start to think I have nothing else to do at Planet X, another route seems to pop up out of nowhere.

Hot Fudge Cream Puff at Planet X. Photo by Brian Garrison.

After completing a number of the existing projects in 2014, I had thought Iron Butterfly would be the last one but it had thwarted my initial attempts. Alex Megos freed Iron Butterfly in 2016 and I was stoked to give it another round of effort this year. Armed with inspiration and good beta from Zak McGurk and Josh Muller, I managed to send it pretty quick.

Zak getting ready for the crux of Iron Butterfly.

While working on Iron Butterfly, I ran into Simon Meis who has done a lot of development work at Planet X and other areas in the Bow Valley. We got into talking about how he had rapped down Cobalt Gecko, placed an anchor, and put in some bolts anywhere he saw a good hold. These are the 3 existing bolts on the route before I finished the bolting. At the time, he decided to walk away from the climb. Knowing that the hardware was at least not completely random, it was enough to peak my interest into looking into the route more.

Initial attempts on Cobalt Gecko. Photo by Sheena Stares.

After finishing up Iron Butterfly, I chose to go ground up on Cobalt Gecko. The bolts Simon had put in made the process incredibly efficient as I was able to stick clip my way up the wall to finish the bolting. I enjoy bolting routes ground up because it gives the same perspective as climbing and the bolts are more likely to be placed in good locations as opposed to rappel bolting which involves more guesswork. Surely enough, as I went up, it seemed there would be enough holds to climb on and I ended up moving the anchor a bit higher as well.

Getting ready to stick clip/lead bolt my way up Cobalt Gecko. Photo by Sheena Stares.

With the bolting complete, I started trying the route. I was incredibly impressed with how Cobalt Gecko turned out. It took me awhile to figure out the beta as it is very technical and I had to use features that didn't seem like they could be holds at first. I'm generally not a fan of slightly off vertical technical climbing but I grew to love this route. Cobalt Gecko is an incredible route and I'm stoked for people to enjoy the climb in the future!

Going for the send on Cobalt Gecko. Photo by Tim Banfield.

The name Cobalt Gecko is themed with Iron Butterfly just beside it. Cobalt is the element to the right of Iron on the periodic table (I am a chemistry tutor). Gecko seemed suitable based on how many times I was pasting my feet on super slick random spots on the wall. With Cobalt Gecko complete, I started taking a closer look at the large expanse of wall between the main area and the Iron Butterfly area and now I think the whole wall could be filled with routes in the future. Last week I finished bolting the next line to the right of Cobalt Gecko. It looks hard but I think it goes!

Bolting the spectacular blue streak to the right of Cobalt Gecko. Photo by Sheena Stares.

La Sportiva Skwama Review

Seleccio Natural, 5.14d Santa Linya, Spain Photo: Ruben Firnenburg

I spent a month climbing in Santa Linya, Spain over the Christmas holidays putting the new La Sportiva Skwama to the test. The Skwama is an aggressive downturned slipper meant for steep climbing and was right at home on the severely overhanging walls of Santa Linya. I was very impressed - so much so that I think this will be my new go to shoe!

La Sportiva Skwama

The Skwama replaces the Python in La Sportiva's climbing shoe lineup. I never wore the python myself to compare the two shoes, however it is also comparable to the Solution which has been my shoe for years. I think the Skwama offers a few upgrades over the solution, namely:

• New S-Heel technology allows for very secure and confident heel hooking. The heel cup fits smaller and is less bulbous than the Solution heel, which is one deficiency of the Solution.
• Strong Velcro strap. Ever cinched a pair of Solutions so tight the Velcro strap snapped off? Not a problem with the Skwamas.
• Going at $145 USD the Skwama is an elite performance shoe that will not break the bank, a rare find these days.

New S-Heel technology, Vibram XS Grip 2 Rubber, Performance Power Platform (P3)

The S-Heel is a stiff strip of rubber along the side of the heel that prevents the heel cup from deforming and slipping when doing aggressive heel hooks. 

Heel hooking definitely comes in handy when climbing European tufas. I'm not the greatest at heel hooking and will often avoid them if I can. Over the course of the month I found myself heel hooking more often than normal and the Skwamas definitely helped my confidence while attempting precarious heel hooks!

Although generally an advantage, the stiff heel does has some drawbacks. On very small heel hooks, I find it better to have soft rubber that deforms to the shape of the hold and gives better sensitivity.

The heel hook crux of Full Nelson, 5.14d at Acephale which has thwarted me for years.

Another feature of the Skwama is a hole in the front sole rubber allowing the shoe to deform when smearing and allows this aggressive shoe to perform well in this regard. The Skwama uses Vibram XS Grip 2 rubber, which is softer than the XS Edge featured on other La Sportiva shoes such as the TC Pro. 

The Skwama has rubber on the toe cap which is a must for me - I tend to find crazy toe hooks and bicycles on most projects I try. Like all other La Sportiva downturned shoes, the Performance Power Platform (P3) allows the shoe to keep its shape over time as well.

I particularly liked how the Skwama performed on tiny smears, edges, and other downright terrible feet while climbing the steep walls of Santa Linya. After a solid month of brutal projecting, my Skwamas show little signs of wear and I expect them to last for quite a long time.

Executing the crux move of Seleccio Natural. While the hand holds are actually quite good, the feet are absolutely horrid making this move quite difficult. Photo Ruben Firnenburg.

I found the sizing slightly off from the Solution. I usually wear size 38.5 in La Sportiva shoes but I ended up going a half size down in the Skwama. They were a bit uncomfortable straight out of the box, but so are most shoes. After a few days out, they were broken in, slip on and off no problem, and were quite comfortable to wear on long projecting sessions.

Overall, I had a great trip to Santa Linya and ended up climbing far better than I anticipated. Did the new shoes have something to do with it? Maybe, but I certainly enjoyed climbing in Skwamas and will definitely use them in the future!

Shop Skwamas

Santa Linya!

Over the Christmas holidays, Sheena and I had the opportunity to climb in the massive and spectacular Cova Gran of Santa Linya.

Heading back to Santa Linya first day of the trip.

We had visited Santa Linya in 2013, but only for one day and I was psyched to spend an entire month there this time.  I hadn’t done much climbing preparation for the trip and I didn’t expect conditions to be great so I didn’t really know what to expect out of the trip.

When we arrived I was pleasantly surprised to see the entire cave was dry.  Not only was there dry rock, we enjoyed great weather with only a single day of rain out of 30.  We had our mix of cold foggy days, windy days, and scorching hot days, providing a good mix of vacation temps and sending temps.

So psyched for dry rock!!  Photo Sheena Stares.

I was also pleasantly surprised to climb really well right away.  Usually I have an adjustment period to get used to a new area, especially after flying overseas and coming straight out of the gym.  I was able to dispatch Rock Funk, 5.14a in the first week of the trip while checking out some of the harder lines.

The style of Santa Linya is steep steep STEEP!  A huge variety of holds are featured, from jugs to monos, slopers, crimps, and tufas which definitely keeps things interesting.  Overall, routes are more endurance oriented compared to Bow Valley routes which tend to have stopper cruxes.  

The steepness! I'm not even halfway to the top of the cave at this point.  Photo Sheena Stares.

I didn’t really have any particular goals entering this trip.  I spent most of 2015 climbing in the low 5.14s, many of which were new routes.  I really wanted to get back into the mode of projecting hard routes at the upper end of my limit.  Santa Linya certainly has no shortage of these, with the highest concentration of 9a and up routes in Catalunya.  Over the course of a month, I had the chance to try most of the routes in the Santa Linya cave; the line that ended up drawing my attention the most was Seleccio Natural, 5.14d.

Working the upper moves of Seleccio Natural, 9a. This is one of the best routes I have ever tried.

Alas, one month was not enough to put it down.  Photo Sheena Stares.

We ended up climbing for 30 days straight which was one day off my longest streak.  When climbing this many days in a row, I usually break it up with some easier days.  However, at Santa Linya, with the grades checking in at 12d (warm-up) and up, this wasn’t really an option.  I pretty much spent every day climbing 5.14 and was definitely exhausted by the end.

We stayed in Villanova de la Sal, a tiny village about 15 minutes drive from Santa Linya.  This combined with a 3 minute flat approach, we were able to get from our apartment to first burn warming up in under 25 minutes, definitely a pleasant change from climbing in the Bow Valley!  

We rented a 2 person apartment at Cal Ribero ( http://www.calribero.es ).  We had to deal with a few complications with the booking but that was cleared up, the hosts were great, and it was a great place to stay for the apartment itself, the village, and the proximity to Santa Linya.  We would definitely stay there again and would recommend it as a Santa Linya home base.

Our evening view from Villanova de la Sal.

We were also just over an hour away from Oliana where we spent 2 days climbing, 20 minutes from the nearest town and groceries in Balaguer, and half an hour from Terradets.  Climbing everyday doesn't leave a lot of time to see the sights, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Overall, it was an amazing trip and I can not wait to go back!

Checking out La Lechion Ocho, 8c+ at Terradets on an "off" day.  Photo Joe Kinder.

Acephale Over the Years

No place feels more like going home to me than hiking up to Acephale.  I spent 7 seasons climbing almost exclusively there.  I learned and grew so much as a climber by projecting routes at Acephale.  It's where I sent my first 12c, 12d, 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d.  Yes, that's every single grade from 12c to 14d.  The first route I ever bolted is also at Acephale.

People ask me all the time about my training regime.  In short, it involves projecting at Acephale through days that are too wet, too hot, too cold, too sore, too little skin, too tired, too whatever.  I definitely attribute most of my success to climbing there.  To show for it, of the 86 currently established routes, I've done 82 of them.

Right now, the Bow Valley is experiencing the driest rock climbing season I've ever seen.  I can't believe June Monsoon has come and gone with barely a couple days of rain.  Combined with the lack of snow melt this year, the crags have managed to avoid any seepage at all.  I haven't lived in Alberta super long but I imagine this has to be a season like no other.  Even the epically wet Kinder Surprise Project doesn't have a single wet hold right now.

After spending very little time at Acephale last year, I find myself drawn back to it's humbling walls yet again and I've realized how much I miss climbing there.  Acephale will always hold a special place in my heart and probably will always be my favorite place to climb.  This is a collection of photos taken over the years.

Pulling the upper crux of Existence Mundane. Photo Tim Mooney.

 This is what the walls typically look like at this time of year.  Not the case this year.

 Josh Muller and I plowing the approach trail in 2013.  No need to those shenanigans this year!

Sheena Stares cruising up a very wet Jingus Americanus, 5.12d in typical June Acephale conditions.

The 2013 floods put a damper on things, turning a once beautiful trail into this mess.  

A proud effort from a few motivated individuals turned this into the trail that is enjoyed today.

 Establishing the new parking lot and approach trail following the 2013 floods.

 

Working the crux of Leviathan, my very first 5.14.  Photo Nick Straub.

Video of one of my (failed) redpoint attempts of Bunda de Fora.

Leaving off with a photo addressing buckets as Acephale increases in popularity.

Sorry to throw you under the bus buddy.