Thursday, February 26

in transit

My winter in Vegas this year seemed especially short. Partially no doubt because it was short - about half the length of my typically residence - but also because I spent the vast majority of my days chugging laps on the campus board or strapping weights to my body and dangling. I would have preferred to be romping about the hills and exploring, but I knew that I would need to prepare if I had any chance at my goals for the next step.


Well.. that next step is creeping right up. Now I'm back in Colorado, buried in snow. I leave for a 90 day journey to Europe in one week. I'm stoked, I'm nervous, I'm curious... all that. It has been another long road of training, gathering stoke, trying new things and beating the shit out of myself. The training definitely works. Which is encouraging, but it's also super hard on my body. Like Adam Ondra mentioned in a recent interview with TrainingBeta.com, pushing yourself just to the brink of injury - but not beyond - is one of the hardest parts about elite level training. I went a little too hard and strained my shoulder a little over a week ago. 

one of few new FAs I did in Vegas in-between training days, 'Generations' at the Sand Box in Red Rock. 


Last weekend I went down to LA, in what was a perfectly timed mission to help Jared Vagy with a huge shotlist of photo content for the second edition of his incredible resource 'The Ultimate Climber: Prevent Injury and Peak Your Performance'. I arrived quite worried about the condition of my shoulder and left with an optimistic diagnosis and furthermore a laundry list of ways to compliment my training with injury prevention. I have a feeling that Jared will become a strong ally for me in the realm of therapy and health as Mike and Mark Anderson have become in the realm of training. I feel lucky to have such rad and knowledgeable people in my corner. 

The other obvious upside to visiting Jared was that I finally had the chance, albeit a quick one, to see and explore LA. Part of me certainly arrived prepared to hate LA. Traffic, pollution, pretentious crowds, cliquey... we've all heard the rumors. The reality... Los Angeles feels like vacation. Beautiful views, ocean air, flowers, fast cars, diverse crowd. I liked it there. It's fringy and classic and American and really everything and anything you would want it to be. The traffic is horrid though, and I'm not sure that I could ever settle in a place with so many other people, but I very much look forward to another visit. 

not bad.
Some other rad stuff:
I reviewed the brand spanking new Sportiva Genius. Click through for some photos and my thoughts. 





I interviewed a good friend and bad ass Canadian crusher Mike Doyle on his recent send of Necessary Evil, his thoughts on grade inflation and coaching Sean McColl, and more. 





Also, EpicTV released a fun, rad little piece from homeboy Cameron Maier on our adventures in the Swiss Alps last summer. Have a watch here below..