GIRL BETA

The Kind is definitely a classic of Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s located in the Emerald Lake bouldering area. In this video, Alexis Mascarenas shows us the best version of girl beta for this problem. It is a tough V5, where each move is powerful, and you will need good heel hooking shoes. I recommend the Vapor V by SCARPA.

• Start both hands in the jug, left foot directly under jug, right foot out to partial drop knee.
• Big move to good square ledge, switch right foot with left, left hand goes to jug up and left of the right hand.
• Right heel hook around the start jug, right hand goes to (what looks like) the farthest square ledge.
• Right foot heel hook out to the right and move left heel hook in (yes, double heel hooks people), come into the left hand hold just under the right hand.
• Keep heel hooks and big move to jug with right hand. Left foot may cut.
• Bring left foot up to knee level foot hold, right foot flags, left hand flips to side pull.
• Move left heel hook by left hand, and match right hand jug.
• Left hand moves to sideways sloping ledge, and match (keep feet the same).
• Left hand moves up to next jug (keep feet the same).
• RIght foot steps high, right hand moves to right hand jug, then bump to the next jug just below the lip.
• Left foot back step and move to the lip (its good! You just have to go a touch to the right).
• Heel hook and mantle to the top!

Thomasina Pidgeon does the first female ascent of Beautiful Gecko, in Bishop.

By Jeline Guiles
For those of us who don’t make a living by climbing at the most beautiful locations in the world, it’s a difficult life to live when you’re absolutely obsessed with climbing. I’m talking about the nine to fivers in the rat race, trying to make their way up the corporate ladder, who climb for recreation but can’t think of anything else when they’re at work. And by they, I mean me.
Read more here:
Climb On, Sister!: OBSESSED: Living a Double Life.

I think I have found my new heroine! Yoon-Sun Shin shows us some training tips and probably the most graceful ascent of Phobos V11.

Training Tips: Alpine Bouldering from KLT on Vimeo.

This August, Vertical Girl had the opportunity to showcase their clothing at the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City. Vertical Girl is a very young company, and they take pride in their athletes and products. As an athlete for Vertical Girl and the creator of Girl Beta, my main role at the OR was to get to know more people in the industry and promote our products. As an added perk, I got some free products from other vendors. I’m here to tell you about some of them. Read the rest of this entry »

by Alli Rainey

“Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” (early 20th century baseball star Satchel Paige, who started playing pro ball at age 42 and retired at 59)

What I Do: I don’t use age (or reach/height/gender/weight, for that matter) as an excuse or self-imposed barrier/limitation on my climbing potential.

The Science Behind It: Today, let’s talk about age – I’ll discuss those other issues, and probably think up some more, in future blogs. I’m in my mid-30s, and I currently climb harder, train harder and recover better than I did when I was 10 years younger than I am now. I’ve gained a significant amount of power and strength in the past couple years, a process that has accelerated during 2011 in particular. Read more of her article here: What I Do and The Science Behind It (2) | Alli Rainey Climbing.

This summer, instead of hiking the high ranges in Colorado and bouldering the new areas in Rocky Mountain National Park, I traveled to Australia to spend time with my family. I was fortunate enough to compete in the Queensland Bouldering Championships as well as bouldering in my local area in Townsville. One thing I have to say is that the climbing scene in North East Queensland seems to be a bit exclusive and access is tough. The only way I was able to get to the area was by going with the University of Queensland climbing club. This crew is based out of Brisbane, which is about an 18 hour drive to Townsville. So I want to thank Dan, Johnny, Tina, Jeff and others of the crew for showing me the local problems. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Jeline Guiles

With so many years passing quickly, too quickly for my taste, I’m slowly having to come to terms with the fact that I’m getting older. Come August 2011, I’ll no longer be in my Mid-20′s (which I was completely fine with), but will be joining the Late-20′s club as I turn 27. (27?! Ugh…and I used to think that 24 was geriatric when I was a little kid!) Read the rest of this entry »

The women’s comp problems looked awesome! Great video from Jon Glassberg.

Bouldering World Cup Womens Finals • Vail, Colorado • 2011 • LT11 from Louder Than 11 on Vimeo.

Climbers Who Cheat

Is dropping weight in order to succeed on a hard ascent “cheating”?

There’s no doubt at all that losing pounds is the surefire quickest way to help you climb harder. Training to improve finger strength, getting better at lock-offs, and even back-stepping (the single most useful technique in all of climbing!) Read the rest of this entry »