World Cup Follow Up

Last weekend, the Vail World Cup went off with a bang. The Americans did quite well which I was pleased to see, knowing that the top US climbers are just as strong as many of the international contenders, but rarely get the chance to show it.  A good crew of Canadians showed up as well and most finished just out of reach of Semis but showed they were clearly strong and put on a great show.

In the finals, Women’s Final # 2 featured one of the Talons at the top, spitting off some girls – only allowing those with the best squeeze strength to finish – check out a cool clip on the youtubes… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl6K4y6IoDM&feature=channel_page. The Men’s Final #2 also had a great new Teknik shape featured – one of the Svelt Pinches. Watch Daniel Woods and company manhandle the pinch and readjust on the swing…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4ahm4rqU2M&feature=channel_page.

The comp was an outstanding success overall and it was great to have some of the new Teknik shapes on the wall.  It gets ridiculous as routesetters how important finding the “perfect” hold becomes in competition and how we remember the details.  The ideal roof toe, a Teknik Spike, on Women’s Final #2… The No Shadow Foot and Hand on the slabby Men’s Final #3… The Fat Slopers and Svelt Pinches on Women’s Semi #3… and on and on.  We spent a fun ten days building the wall and routesetting the event, and it’s always incredibly rewarding to see the competitive field split fairly, to watch the climbers have fun, and hear the crowd enjoy it.

Psyched for next year and hope to see more of the Canadian team in Vail again!