GIRL BETA

Powder Keg (v6 ) and Steep Grades, Sharp Curves (v5)

Lincoln Lake is a new and very popular area at the moment. Not just because of the limitless FA’s, but because it is one of the few areas in Colorado that are climable right now. Since there will be a ton of pads in the area, I encourage women to go there and establish some FA’s of their own, not just FFA’s. Below are two climbs featuring Kristen Kirkland. Thanks for the videos and the beta!

Powder Keg

• both hands matched on the start hold, left foot on the jib, right foot flagged

• move left hand to the next good hold, heel hook to bring right hand to match

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Thank you to Katinka Muelschlegel for the footage!

3 From Joe’s

Just before the Spring season ended in Joe’s Valley this year, some of the Girl Beta crew were able to get some last minute sends. Thanks to Erica Block for the great footage and editing!

Mono E Mono – definite soft V5

• Start right foot high, left foot low with middle finger left hand in mono and right hand on crimper/rail.
• Move left up to an intermediate crimp, bring left foot up and move left hand again to another crimper.

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Want to take revenge on your project? Come train with us! Athletik Spesifik offers a range of classes to improve your climbing. Located in Denver and Boulder.

This video was shot on a very hot day, at about noon, when the rattlesnakes are just coming out of their dug holes. It was about 75 degrees, and I decided not to have any spotters for this climb. I was sweaty and each move seemed committing. Don’t listen to those who say that “the climb is over once you have the two finger pocket” because that is not true in the slightest. The crimps are good, but you have to feel confident on your feet. This climb is strictly vertical, so balance is the key. This boulder is also quite high, higher than last season.

• Start matched on small sharp crimps
• left foot high, move dynamically for left two finger pocket. Once you got it, adjust finger to the right side of the pocket, it helps for the next move.
• Match feet and then stem left foot out. There is a micro crimp for the right hand about a foot or so above the pocket. Crimp it to bring right foot up on start holds.
• Big reach for the right hand to a solid crimp and then move left hand to the left hand crimp on the level.
• Bring right foot up to the pocket and go right hand to solid, but not in-cut, crimp.
• Move feet up and then left hand to a sloping crimp.
• This last move was committing for me, mainly because of the sweatiness. Move dynamically to left hand horn, it’s pretty much a jug. Then you are done.

Jamie Emerson talks with with Stephanie Marvez and Mercedes Pollmeier about what it takes to set for the women’s ABS Nationals, World Cup, female competition, and the need for female setters, and Jackie Hueftle shares her expertise in setting and how to get started as a female routesetter. Also check out the Women’s Edition of DeadPoint Magazine

It Goes Like This

Routesetting is one of the most important jobs in the gym, because a gym’s setters are what make its product, that is, the setters train the climbers by teaching them new movements and challenging them with powerful or technical sequences. Read the rest of this entry »

Katie Levy of Adventure Insipired writes about Girl Beta!

GirlBeta.com: Fueling Psyche in the Women’s Climbing Community

Logo courtesy of Mercedes and http://www.girlbeta.com

After spending time with Alison Vuocolo discussing her efforts to get more women out bouldering, it seemed no less than necessary to profile Mercedes Pollmier. Mercedes launched Girl Beta back in January, a website dedicated to igniting passion and inspiring the women’s bouldering community by sharing knowledge through written posts and videos. It’s definitely a site you’ll want to keep your eye on!

Mercedes on Authentic Battle Damage Stand, Boulder Canyon.

Mercedes hasn’t always been a climber, but has a significant amount of experience as an elite athlete. After amassing a number of accolades as a tennis player, including an NCAA Division I scholarship, she started strength training with Dave Wahl out of the Paradise Rock Gym in Denver and became a member of the National Mauritian Tennis Team. Despite her love of tennis, she couldn’t resist bouldering on plastic while spending so much time in a climbing gym and learned to love the sport. Mercedes says she climbs because it’s “a personal challenge, a problem to solve, [and] requires a lot of body awareness. The climbing community is a great thing to be a part of.” Now, Mercedes is a strong, talented climber with ascents of problems like Dark Continent (V7-V8) and Authentic Battle Damage Stand (V8).

Mercedes was inspired to start Girl Beta during a road trip to Red Rocks. She’d searched for videos of women climbing the boulder problems she wanted to do, but couldn’t find any. “Generally, there are not enough women climbing together and I would love to see more of that,” she says. “I think [it] would take away some of the shyness, hesitation and fear of failure…sometimes, having the boys around can be intimidating and may be a limitation for some women.”

Mercedes recognized a clear lack of resources specifically for women to help them achieve their climbing goals. With that in mind, her aim was to create a blog that would help female climbers and generate buzz about women in climbing. Mercedes wants to help women unlock beta and sequences for specific problems they might not otherwise be able to work through.

Mercedes climbing hard in Joe’s Valley.

Pretty soon, Seattle-based women’s-specific rock climbing clothing company Vertical Girl took notice, and is now the website’s sponsor. According to Mercedes, the partnership makes complete sense. “Vertical Girl and Girl Beta share the same philosophy and goals in growing the female climbing scene.” she says. The two organizations are now working together to develop Girl Beta and hope to reach more of the climbing population. So far, Girl Beta provides information on problems in five states ranging from V4 up to V10.

But Girl Beta doesn’t just exists as a medium for sharing videos of hard climbing. In keeping with the site’s tagline, “Inspiration. Information. Improvement,” Mercedes and the Vertical Girl team work together to share training tips and other knowledge with the women’s climbing community. Recent additions in that section of the website include discussions about women’s physiology and using video analysis to improve climbing technique with Flannery Shay-Nemirow.

The women behind Girl Beta and Vertical Girl are working to inspire women who love to climb, and to help us all achieve our goals. You can help by contributing information, training tips and beta, by suggesting a problem to them, even by climbing with them! For more on how you can get involved, visit GirlBeta.com or send a note to info@girlbeta.com.

In this post, Keith Lohse talks about female physiology in sports and climbing. To see a more detailed written comparison of male and female physiology click here. More information on how to train deficiencies to come…

I start this boulder problem in a unique way. I have asked several people if this is valid, and unanimously it was agreed that as long as you have all four points of contact on the rock before doing the first move, it is legit. If you disagree, I’d love to hear other opinions. Honestly, I couldn’t start it any other way.

• Start on underclings with left foot on small sloper on roof and right heel hook foot scum
• Right hand to flat edge.
• Left heel hook under roof and bump left hand to next undercling.
• Keep left heel hook, readjust right heel to more of a toe hug and throw left hand to edged pinch. (good downward edge for the ring finger)
• Readjust right heel higher, and left toe near the starting hold. Bump right hand to good part of the sloper.
• Readjust right heel again to the flat edge hand hold.
• This is where my beta is also very unique. I keep the left pinch and go up again with the right hand to a crimp then move my left hand to the sidepull pinch. Others go right hand to the sloper horn (reachy), left hand to sidepull pinch, then either right hand crimp or slap hug the top. Move left foot to good ledge and slap hug the top right feature.
• Left toe moves to a heel up higher in the dish feature and mantle press with the left hand as far as you can.
• If you are far enough, your whole left leg should be pressed all the way against the rock and your left hand should reach a good undercling crimp (further than you expect) on the small roof feature.
• Press out and stand up!

 
Thanks to Jeff Silcox for the great beta!

• Start left hand crimp and right hand jug crimp on the face. Right foot high on face and left foot hard flag with compression.
• Right hand moves to good triangle ledge.
• Heel hook left and flag right foot to move left hand to undercling pinch.
• Move to right high foot on start hold and left foot hard flag with compression to move right hand to side facing incut crimp.
• Knee bar left leg (foot on start hold) and right foot hard flag with compression to move left hand to triangle ledge.
• Move right foot to start hold (I kept the left knee bar for this, or you can flag) and big dynamic move to right hand pinch. This hold has a lot of texture)
• Right foot toe hook by left foot to move to left heel hook.
• Flag right foot and reach to blind crimp on the ledge. (This hold faces sideways and is sharp, but good)
• Cut feet and move left foot to triangle ledge.
• Pull up and go for right hand small crimp (I kept hitting the sloper crimp that is a bit further away. Try to readjust the hand closer to you if this happens to you. The crimp is sharp and not very incut).
• Throw a high right heel hook and press up with right hand to the big edge. The further in you go the better it is.
• Mantle hard. There are holds up there. Just balance on the right foot, and keep moving the weight over the right foot to finish the top out.