ABS 14 Open Nationals – Quali Results

Spot Coach Tiffany Hensley about to finish Women’s Quali 1

We are SO PROUD of setter and coach Ian Dory, who ended up in 8th after qualis, and coach Tiffany Hensley, who is in 11th. Both will be competing in Semifinals this morning, starting at 11am (watch on live feed here!)

Setter and Coach Ian Dory on his first go on Quali 4. He did it next try.

While you are waiting you can watch replays of the qualifiers (most women, last 1/2 of men) here – ABS14  Nationals 2013 Qualifier Replays

We would also like to give a shout out to SBS 8 competitors Megan Mascarenas (1st), Nina Wiliams (5th), Tyler Youngwerth (20th), Kati Peters (21st), and Jesse Youngwerth (22nd); and for the men Daniel Woods (tied for 2nd), Michael O’Rourke (4th), Rob D’Anastasio (5th), Matt Wilder (9th), Jon Cardwell (11th), Ben Hoberg (13th) Matty Hong (14th), and Garrett Gregor (15th) who have all made it into Semifinals.

Matty Hong on Men’s 1

ALSO props to our previous head setter Carlo Traversi, who qualified in 10th, and to Matt Lubar, who started out at The Spot and was on our youth team for quite a while. Lubar now climbs for Team ABC and he qualified in 21st, just out of finals. He is a regular fixture in SBS comps and did well in SBS Open Finals this year as well.

Nice job everyone!

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ABS 14 Nationals Men’s Semi’s Running Order

‎ABS 14 Nationals Women’s Semi’s Running Order

‎ABS 14 Nationals Men’s Quali Results

‎ABS 14 Nationals Women’s Quali Results

More Info: ABS Nationals Homepage

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Semi’s Live Feed (starting at 11am) – TV | Louder Than 11

SBS 8 Gladiator Finals! – Women’s Open Final Results!

Megan doing a Megan-move to gain the T-Rex  |  Katrin Bell

The Problem

Jay Jay and I set the Gladiator Finals Women’s Open Final. Our theme was powerful moves on big holds. I’m pretty sure it was Jay Jay’s first final ever and it was the first one I set this season. We set it, we warmed up for forerunning, and with some effort I flashed it. I set it (so automatically easier for me) and I had just gotten back from a long trip to Hueco, but still, if I’m flashing the final it’s probably too easy.

Our start sequence was one of the issues, so incorporating some of the group’s ideas we took the large start hold/foot ledge off, put on some slopey-topped underclings instead, added a small crimp undercling to help the climbers get out right from the start underclings, and removed a right-handed pinch that had been useful to help the climbers bump left hand up to the first green So Ill feature (as a pinch/undercling). Now the start was harder. Next I replaced one of the big ledge-like jibs on the T-rex with a smaller slopey ball jib. Dialed up the first mini-rex so it was steeper. Tried to replace the low pink pinch for crossing to the first mini-rex, but nothing else was good enough to make the move work, so we left it. We wanted to make sure all the competitors would get up a little ways, but also that they’d have to try and that even the strongest would begin to tire themselves out climbing through it. Bottom, set.

The top took some dialing in as well, as I watched Jon Cardwell and Ian both hold the difficult body-opening swing at the top and we struggled to decide whether or not the women would be able to do the move–especially with their right hand on a pinch. I moved some holds around, ran the boys again, and finally committed to using a crimp instead for the right hand. By committed I mean I kept the crimp on the wall, kept the pinch handy in the setting closet, and panicked about whether or not I should change it until the moment finals started. Honestly, as is usual in this sort of situation, I sort of kept panicking, but after watching the results I’m glad we left the crimp on. I think with the pinch the move would have been a bit too stopper. As it was, it allowed a few through and stopped a couple more. Appropriate.

I’d also like to thank Sarah Fullerton for helping us forerun finals all season. Her help has been invaluable.

Sarah on Bierstadt at Evans

Thanks Sarah!!!

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The Finalists

Nina Williams looking all kinds of strong on the very challenging O6 | Page Kuepper

The redpoint round left us with a separated field of women, most of whom had climbed A10-O4. All the competitors (youth and adult) who wished to have a chance to compete in finals were asked to climb in the adult session to negate the possibility that extra rest between sessions would give them an edge in finals. Their qualifier scores are still split into Youth and Adult however, so if you want to see the full qualifier round scores, you’ll have to visit YOUTH and ADULT. (Note – Megan’s quali scores are improperly in the Adult category, should be fixed next week.)

Top two qualifiers Megan Mascarenas (21,560) and Nina Williams (21,500) climbed O6, O4, O3, O2, and O1. They were separated by 6 falls (Megan had 4, Nina had 10).

The next 6 qualifiers climbed O4-A10 and were also separated by falls. We usually only take 6 to finals, but because of the men’s field we needed 7, and we had a tie for 7th so we took 8 in both fields. More fun for you to watch, and more stress for the setters to separate! Here are the other qualifiers and their qualifying scores:

3. Tiffany Hensley 21,000 – 0 falls – Spot Coach

4. Margo Hayes 20,990 – 1 fall – ABC

5. Isabelle Goodacre 20,980 – 2 falls – ABC

6. Mirthe Van Liere 20,960 – 4 falls – Darkhorse

7. Tika Anderson – 20,940 – 6 falls (tie) – Spot Team Captain

7. Laurel Todd – 20,940 – 6 falls (tie) – ABC Team Captain

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Finals

Laurel Todd | Ryan Nadlonek

ABC Team Captain Laurel Todd came out first. She has been consistently squeaking into finals this season and always puts in a great effort on the final problem. She gracefully accepts the role of guinea pig as she has to figure out the problem with everyone watching her and no hint (from hearing other competitor’s attempts) of how far people are even getting on it. Laurel fought her way through the bottom, giving a faith-throw and hitting the jib on the t-rex, then matching and reaching out to the right undercling before falling. Next go she hit the t-rex wrong and fell, next go she fell moving to the t-rex. Score: 9th hold/1st go

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Tika pinching the bejesus out of the bottom moves. Dave Graham sticking the swing in the background. | Jackie Hueftle

Spot Climbing Team Captain Tika Anderson came next. She has won ABS Regionals and Divisionals so far this season and made some SBS finals as well. She and Laurel are usually neck-and-neck, and they were this comp when they tied in qualifiers. First go Tika had a bit of a rough start with the T-Rex, not hitting it quite right and falling when she tried to match. She rested, and to the roars of the crowd she rallied and hiked through the bottom of the problem, looking unstoppable as she crushed through the moves she’d previously fallen on, matched the undercling, and grabbed the high right crimp. At that point she looked good but was a little stuck and as soon as her body came out her foot slipped and she was off. Score: 11/2

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Mirthe in the low-middle of the problem | Ryan Nadlonek

Mirthe Van Liere. Mirthe is a total darkhorse to Spot Series comps, as we’ve never had her in finals before (at least as far as I can recall). She climbed well in qualifiers and considering this was her first Spot final I thought she did very well, though first go she mistakenly grabbed an off-route hold. Ian called her off and it ruined her momentum as she had to start over, but she gathered herself and gave some good goes, managing to match the T-Rex before falling, then get through the T-Rex the go after that and fall matching the undercling. Her last go she was tired and fell early. Good efforts Mirthe!  Score: 9/3

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Isabelle | Katrin Bell

Isabelle Goodacre. There isn’t much to say besides Isabelle hiked the problem in good style. It didn’t even really look hard for her. The crowd was yelling and I was sweating–I know Isabelle is a strong climber, but she made the problem look SO EASY that I was sure everyone else would flash it, especially because they heard the crowd and knew Isabelle had flashed. This can give competitors pressure but it can also give confidence–if someone lower in the rankings than you flashed something, you might think you can flash it too, right? I managed to contain myself and remember that anything can happen in competition, especially when it comes to finals. The crowd roared for Isabelle and Margo was up next. Score: Flash

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Margo trying so hard to hang on. | Ryan Nadlonek

Margo Hayes started showing up in Spot finals a couple of years ago. She is a strong competitor who can be fueled by frustration, as we saw at Psychedelia when she made a mistake and fell early on the final, then got back on and crushed it. This time she came out strong and confident and did the early moves with ease. Unfortunately for Margo, when she did the big move to the T-Rex she missed both of the jibs and hit a bad slopey spot between them. She tried to stay on, but to no avail. Her body swung out and she was off. The start of the problem, as I said, is sapping, and so the first time it doesn’t feel so bad but with each subsequent try it makes you more and more tired. Despite this, Margo fought her way back through the volume, through the undercling, to the crimp Tika fell from, then jumped for the next pinch. She caught it, her body swung open, and she tried and tried to kick her feet back on but she couldn’t quite stick them to anything and she was off. Next go she went back to the crimp and fell trying to stick the pinch. Score: 12/2

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Tiffany Hensley styling the bottom | Katrin Bell

Tiffany Hensley is a regular finals competitor and sometimes winner at SBS comps. She came into this final looking very strong and handily flashed her way to the pinch move Margo had fallen on. Like Margo, Tiff hit the pinch, stuck it, but as her body swung out she was unable to get a foot back on and eventually she fell.

Not a great picture but I’m sharing it so you can see how hard Tiff was trying to get her feet back on. Margo was much the same. The crimp and pinch just opened your body from the wall in a way that made it hard to recover if your feet came off.

Her next go was the same as Margo’s 3rd–she hit the crimp and jumped to the pinch but didn’t stick. Score: 12/1

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Nina Williams | Ryan Nadlonek

Nina Williams has been on a roll this year. She’s really stepped up her competitive game, showing up on the podium at major pro events and winning all 3 previous SBS events this year–The Gun Show, Psychedelia, and Highlines/Highballs. She came out strong and though she looked to be trying hard on on the crimp/pinch cross, she managed to get her foot back on and finish the problem with a flash. Nice job Nina! Score: Flash

Nina Williams sticking the hardest move | Katrin Bell

Nina Williams after the flash | Katrin Bell

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Megan Mascarenas holding the hard swing | Katrin Bell

Megan Mascarenas swept SBS 7 and for SBS 8 she has been just behind Nina. Our technical starts this season have been causing many competitors, Megan included, to make mistakes and fall early. This problem was a little more straightforward power, and with Megan’s lead from qualifiers if she flashed the final she’d win. If not, Nina would win. That’s a lot of pressure, but Megan handled it well, styling the bottom, holding the difficult swing on the crimp and the pinch (but it looked like she barely held it as her left hand slipped on the pinch) and finishing the problem for the flash and her first SBS 8 win.

Great job to all the competitors, especially Megan and Nina for their hard-fought battles for first place these past two seasons!

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Results

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8. Mirthe Van Liere

Mirthe moving out to the undercling | Katrin Bell

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7. Laurel Todd

Laurel working out the bottom | Ryan Nadlonek

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6. Tika Anderson

Tika Anderson | Katrin Bell

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5. Margo Hayes

Margo trying for a bicycle to cross to the pinch. | Katrin Bell

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4.Tiffany Hensley

Tiffany struggling to hold the pinch. | Katrin Bell

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3. Isabelle Goodacre

Isabelle Goodacre handily flashing the final | Ryan Nadlonek

Flashed the final but was last of the 3 flashers in qualifiers so 3rd overall.

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2. Nina Williams

Always a good attitude from Nina!  |  Ryan Nadlonek

Flashed the final but 6 falls behind Megan in qualis means Nina ended up in 2nd.

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1. Megan Mascarenas

Holding the difficult swing at the top! | Ryan Nadlonek

Megan flashed and because she was 1st in qualifiers as well she won!

Megan!  |  Ryan Nadlonek

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Thanks to all who came out to compete in or watch SBS 8 comps.

See you next season!

Quick Reset Update + More Gladiator Comp Photos

Sorry it’s taken so long to write up the women’s finals and the rest of the comp, we’ve been really busy resetting. Women’s finals will be up soon–later today or tomorrow night.

Reset Update

If you’ve been in the gym, you’ll see we’ve got new problems up on the Font, River, Dojo, and Back Hueco boulders. More on the Hueco and maybe the Beach tomorrow. Also, Danny will be gone for about a month–he’s headed to France to climb in the World’s Greatest Bouldering Area. Have fun Danny! Today was his last set til he gets back, and he and Connor apparently called each other before work this morning, so Annie took this photo:

Nice shirt, guys.

More Comp Photos

Several talented photographers were on hand and took some great photos of all rounds at The Gladiator Finals. You can see most of the ones we’ve seen on The Spot Facebook page. You can also link to albums from the photographers. Here are a few shots with links at the bottom in case you haven’t seen ’em yet.

Michael O’Rourke on the Men’s Final | Page Kuepper

Daniel on the Men’s Final | Katrin Bell

Matty Hong on the Men’s Final | Katrin Bell

This kid is the future, and you heard it here first. Colin Duffy. | Page Kuepper

Men’s Final | Page Kuepper

O6, Shawn Raboutou | Page Kuepper

Michael Bartley | Page Kuepper

Dave Graham | Page Kuepper

The Spot Facebook

Gladiator Finals album by Ryan Nadlonek

Katrin Bell Photography

Page Kuepper Photography

Stay tuned, more coming soon!!!

SBS 8 Gladiator Finals – Men’s Open Final Results!

Dave Graham on Open 4 during the redpoint round.

There is much to say about the SBS 8 Gladiator Finals! The preliminary round was a nice 3 hour session on boulder problems from 1 Spot to 5++ Spot. This time we had the youth who planned to try and make Open finals compete during the adult session to eliminate the possibility that resting longer after the redpoint session would improve their final results. Here is a rundown of the Men’s Finals Competitors and their prelim performance in order of qualification for finals.

1. Daniel Woods

Daniel came in early and flashed O5 – O10 (only top 5 climbs, so O6, O7, O8, O9, and O10, count for total score), then with a perfect high score of 24,000 he rested up for finals.

2. Matty Hong

Matty went climbing outside all day in Rocky Mountain National Park, then showed up at The Spot just in time to get his 5 climbs and make finals. Matty was the only competitor besides Daniel to log Open 8 in the prelim round. His other climbs were O6, O5, O4, and O3 with 4 total falls for a score of 22,560.

3. Matt Wilder

Matt climbed extremely well, using his mad old-guy skillz to climb O3 – O7 with only 1 fall. Great performance Wilder! We’re always happy to have you. Total prelim score: 22,490.

4. Michael O’Rourke

Young Gun Michael O’Rourke came in next, only 10 pts (1 fall) behind Matt Wilder with the same 5 Open problems and a score of 22,480.

4. Greig Seitz

Tied with O’Rourke was Miramont head setter Greig Seitz with the same problems and falls for the same overall score.

6. Ben Hoberg

One fall behind O’Rourke and Seitz, Ben Hoberg climbed O7-O3 with 3 falls for 22,470.

7. Dave Graham

Legendary climber Dave Graham came in next with the same O7-O3 and 7 falls for 22,430. Dave isn’t much of an indoor climber and rarely competes, so it was a treat to have him show up and have a good time at our event. Thanks for coming Dave!

8. Matt Lubar

Young crusher and multi-time SBS 8 Finalist Matt Lubar was next, just 1 fall behind Dave with 22,420, but he tweaked his back muscle a little in the prelim round and didn’t want to tweak it more before Youth Nationals so he opted out of finals.

Lubar out for the count.

9. Remi Arata

This meant our last men’s finalist was 9th ranked Remi Arata. Remi is another up-and-coming young crusher. He was a long-time Team BRC climber who recently switched to ABC. Remi did O6-O2 in the prelim round with 1 fall for 21,990 points.

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The Final Problem

Michael O’Rourke keeping his balance.

The Men’s final problem started on a huge sloper in the middle of the Beach. From there it was power/technique through a few underclings to a standing position on a volume with an overhead press off an e-grips Main Dish and a Teknik Sloper. The idea from this point was to turn and face out, then jump to a very positive undercling in the roof, then a move up to a left pinch, a heel-hook or jump to a right pinch, a powerful cross under to a Teknik fat lip, then a big move out right to another fat lip, then a 1-2 jump to a fat lip near the top of the wall left hand and a juggy fat lip just to the right for the right hand.

Here’s what actually happened:

Remi Arata came out first. First go he fell trying to move his body onto the volume, so 3+ points for holding the Main Dish. Next 2 goes he fell jumping for the undercling, so 5 pts, new highpoint. Next go he stuck the undercling, then did the big move up right to hold 8, then fell. Next go he fell after the undercling.

Score: Hold 8/4th attempt

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Dave Graham came out next. He’s self-professed to be bad at competitions, but in this case he put on an amazing performance, sprinting through the start of the problem, sticking the jump to the undercling, doing a mega-huge cross to hold 9 (the first fat lip, and the move he did was huge! Nobody saw it coming, and the crowd went crazy!), sticking hold 10 (the right fat lip), doing the big move to hold 11 (the high fat lip just before the final hold) and then falling trying to stick it. He struggled with the jump to the undercling on his next goes, but his spectacular performance was a real highlight for the crowd and for the setters.

Score: 10+/1

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Ben Hoberg has been a strong competitor this season, though he currently has a huge cut on his thumb and hasn’t been climbing a ton. Nevertheless, he put on a good show, falling from the jump 4 times before sticking it the 5th time and continuing to the high right pinch (hold 8) before falling.

Score: 8/5

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Greig Seitz has also been doing well at SBS comps this year, and this final was no exception. After 1 fall on the jump he stuck it 2nd go, went up left to the left pinch (hold 7), then fell trying to stick hold 8. Next go he went straight to hold 8 but fell trying to lower out and establish well enough to move towards hold 9.

Score: 8/3

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Mike O’Rourke was next and he, too, took a few goes to get through the bottom of the problem, falling from the jump twice before sticking it and getting to hold 8. He also fell trying to come out onto the hold and continue.

Score: 8/3

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Matt Wilder had a lot of trouble with the jump, standing in the corner for a while and trying all sorts of different methods to get to the undercling without having to dyno for it. He got into some pretty strange positions but unfortunately none of them worked.

Score: 5+/3

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Matty Hong, left hand on hold 7. Going for hold 8.

Matty Hong also took 2 goes to get through the jump, and on his 2nd go when he stuck it he moved up to hold 7 (in sequence) but fell going to hold 8. Next go he fell from the jump again. Next go he got to hold 7 again but fell trying to stick hold 8.

Score: 7+/2

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Finally Daniel Woods came out.

Sometimes technical sequences cause downfalls, and first go Daniel fell getting into the position on the volume and main dish. Not to be deterred, he approached the problem with a new method.

Daniel manhandling the Main Dish

Daniel is probably the most powerful climber on the planet, and he proved it again by avoiding the jump entirely, instead pressing his way with smear feet up into an undercling position on the main dish. The move he did was seriously, seriously difficult. From there he reached easily to the undercling, demonstrated some more raw power and perfect tension as he moved out right through the fat lips, and prepared for the jump to the top holds. He tried heel-hooking, toeing in, and all sorts of body positions, but he couldn’t seem to find one he was comfortable trying. Finally he went for the heel-hook, but it popped mid move and he was off. Next go he looked seriously pumped but he moved through the undercling press much more easily, then fell from the same top move.

So close!

Score: 10/2

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Many of the competitors got back on the top of the problem after the final was over to try the last moves. Daniel ended up doing the jump we intended, a 1-2 left hand-right hand to the top fat lip and the finish jug. Michael O’Rourke went right hand to the top fat lip, then crossed under to the end jug. Spectators stuck around to watch and it was really cool to see the climbers figure out the top.

Daniel sticking the last moves after the comp was over.

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Final Results

1. Dave Graham

Dave got highpoint on his first try, and it was matched by Daniel but on Daniel’s 2nd try. Dave won! He said this is the first comp he thinks he’s won since the 90’s!

The winner! And an Ian Powell mall photo bomb.

2. Daniel Woods

Mike O’Rourke on the Men’s Final

3. Michael O’Rourke (tie)

Greig Seitz on the Men’s Final

3. Greig Seitz (tie)

On the final Greig went 5+, 7+, 8; Mike went 5, 5, 8, 3. We score highpoint and attempts to highpoint for finals, then for countbacks we drop back to the previous round, which in this case was also a tie, so they tied for 3rd overall.

Remi sticking the undercling. Everything was moving but his hand.

5. Remi Arata

Ben trying to cop a rest on the undercling.

6. Ben Hoberg

Matty pressing up on the volume.

7. Matty Hong

From the way the problem was set, you could go to hold 7 or hold 8 from hold 6. Going directly to hold 8 was supposed to be a dead end, though Daniel Woods went that way and made it work. Dave skipped directly from hold 6 to hold 9 in a display that astounded the setters and the crowd.

Dave Graham wide open after doing his huge cross to the Fat Lip.

Matt Wilder getting creative.

8. Matt Wilder

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Dave had some big-time fans from Venezuela:

Ladies Love Dave

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And finally, here’s what happens when you spend the night at a father-daughter dance, then race to the gym to get scoring done:

Nice suit, Dan. Very professional.

Stay tuned for the women’s final and more comp photos coming soon!!!

Highballs & Highlines More Pictures!

Prelim results here: ‎Youth Results  ‎Adult Results

Matty Hong sticking the swing to flash the final.

Rob D about to hold the swing that would win him the comp.

Matty pressing into the corner before the jump to the volume.  Photo by Ryan Nadlonek.

Megan Mascarenas almost sticking the long move in the middle of the Women’s Final. Photo by Ryan Nadlonek

Rob D mid-flash by Ryan Nadlonek

Matty holding the swing from another angle. By Ryan Nadlonek.

 

Isabelle Goodacre staring down the long move on the Women’s final.

Matt Lubar in his second SBS Final!

 

Matty Hong climbing O10

 

Michael O’Rourke on O7

O1

More photos on The Spot Facebook! (click the link in the right sidebar).

 

Highlines & Highballs Open Final Result – UPDATED

Rob D flashing the Open Final by Keith North

The top 7 Men and 7 Women from the Adult and Junior sessions of the comp were invited to compete in the Open Finals. The problems were on the Beach, Women’s on the left, Men’s on the right.

Men’s

The Men’s Final was a short powerful climb on the right side of the Beach. The start was a balance move off a sloper, followed by a stand-up/jump to a pinch made of two slopers on a small triangle volume. From there climbers moved out right to their choice of a dream pocket and two huge slopers. There was a foot bicycle to help them wrangle the holds until their left hand was in the dream pocket (Final competitor Rob D’Anastasio actually ended up doing a fantastic rose move into the dream pocket!) Next a big move to a wide sloper pinch, a high foot and flag, and another fatty pinch and flat gaston. From there it was a foot switch and high right foot  and then a press into a sloper in the slight roof. Just around the corner above the lip was another volume with a sloper and a slopey ball on it. Competitors could either jump out of the press or reach around slowly and then jump to establish on the volume. Either way they took a massive nearly-horizonal swing, then had one more relatively easy move to a finish bucket.

The bottom moves gave many of the competitors trouble. Michael O’Rourke flashed through them, but after falling high up he fell several times before sticking the volume pinch again. On his last go he stuck it, then climbed through the problem and nearly finished it, falling on the final volume after swinging way out and coming off. It was a fantastic effort and earned him 3rd place. Matty Hong came out, 2nd place qualifier, and flashed the problem, sticking the horizontal swing as the crowd went absolutely crazy. This put a ton of pressure on 1st place qualifier Rob D’Anastasio, who knew he’d have to flash the problem to win. Rob handled the pressure well though, giving a great effort that involved the rose move at the bottom and sticking the top swing when everyone was sure he was off. I think his body literally went above his hand and somehow he managed not to let go. The crowd went crazy again and Rob maintained his first place.

1. Rob D

2. Matty Hong

3. Michael O’Rourke

4. Ben Hoberg (won our last 2 comps, was just under Michael O’Rourke’s highpoint here)

5. Matt Lubar (got to the press but didn’t get to the volume)

6. Remi Arata (got to hold 7 on his 1st try, then struggled)

7. Greig Seitz (struggled with the bottom, got to hold 7 on his 7th try)

Women’s

The Women’s Final was a long technical climb with some powerful moves in the middle and end. All the competitors struggled with the techy bottom section, then made their way through some thin crimps to a sloping pinch, then fell trying to stick a long move to an e-grips comfy crimp ear. Several competitors nearly stuck the move, but all-in-all it was stopper, and final rankings came down to attempts-to-highpoint. Here are the Women’s final results:

1. Nina Williams  9-  1st go  (2nd place qualifier. Nina got back on the stopper move just after finals and got through it by using a heelhook, then climbed to the top.)

2. Isabelle Goodacre  9- 2nd try (4th place qualifier)

3. Megan Mascarenas  9-   3rd try  (Megan was the closest to sticking the move, but as she did not control the hold she got the same score as the others who also grabbed but did not control it. After the raffle she got back on at the start and easily climbed the problem. Megan was the 1st place qualifier, and climbed O7 and down in the regular comp.)

4. Margo Hayes  9-  4th try (5th place qualifier)

5. Tiffany Hensley  9-  5th try (3rd place qualifier)

6. Laurel Todd  9-  6th try (6th place qualifier. Laurel fell on the opening moves 5 times and it looked like she wouldn’t get through them, but then she magically managed and climbed quite a ways further.)

7. Tika Anderson 3- (7th place qualifier. Tika got pretty stuck on the tricky opening moves, where everyone fell at least once and many several times. She nearly stuck the crimp but her foot kept slipping at the last second.)

Full preliminary results will be up soon at http://www.thespotgym.com. No pictures yet, will post some when we get ’em. Thanks for coming out, and nice job everyone!

Quick Update – Highballs & Highlines Comp This Weekend! + Reset Schedule + Hold Sale Ending Tonight!

2011 – He didn’t land it, but it was a good effort!

If you’ve been in the gym at all you’ll know that we’ve already started setting for the SBS 8 Highballs & Highlines comp. This comp will be Saturday, and so far we’re really excited about the problems. Also, the highline slacklining is really sweet to watch, and as usual we have food, drinks, beer, a DJ, a gigantic sweet raffle, Pro Finals, etc… Hope to see you there!

Pre-register and breeze through on comp day! – SBS 8 Registration

This means that The Spot will be closed tomorrow for setting. Spot members can climb for free at the BRC tomorrow and Saturday (during the comp).

Sunday The Spot is open as usual.

Monday we will begin the reset, but we are resetting differently than usual. We will be running a mini onsight- style comp for our Youth Team and some of Team ABC. This onsight-style comp will help our kids get ready for Regionals the following weekend. We will be setting the mock comp on the Dojo and Back Hueco, meaning there will be new problems there Monday night, but they will be closed off to public climbing until probably 7 or 8pm (after the mini comp is over).

Tuesday and Wednesday we will set as well, and we should have fill on most of the walls by Wednesday 4pm-ish. We will probably do River/Font on Tues and Front Hueco and/or Beach on Wednesday.

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Also, last chance on our used holds sale. We are selling them through 11pm tonight at $1 off current listed price. If they cost $1 they will now cost .50 cents. If you want ’em, come get them before they’re gone!

More Psychedelia Photos! + Videocast

Yay! Here are a few of our favorites, link to full album at the bottom of the page.

Hoop dancers!

Hoop dancers!

Fire dancers!

Fire dancers!

Isabelle Goodacre of Team ABC Boulder on the Pro Final

Team ABC’s Matt Lubar sending the Men’s Pro Final

To see more: Psychedelia 2012 Photos

See video of the whole event, as the videographers become progressively more drunk, here – Psychedelia 2012 Boulder VideoCast

Psychedelia 2012 – First Photo Dump

Psychedelia 2012 by Melinda Rider

Melinda Rider of tape supplier Identi-tape sent us some photos. Check out a few here, then click the link for the rest in our Facebook gallery. Thanks Melinda!

More photos on Facebook

Psychedelia 2012 Pro Final Results

Setter Jon Glassberg and Matt Wilder as Seigfried and Roy, Paige Claassen and Sandy Wilder as the tigers at the 2012 Psychedelia Costume Contest

Full results coming soon, but here are a few photos and the results of the open final. Finalists were the top 6 men and women from the youth and adult session combined scores, they got preview, then 4 minutes each for attempts on the final, if you got on the wall at 4 minutes you got to finish your attempt, onsight format so competitors couldn’t watch until they’d climbed.

Men’s Final

Men’s final was on the mega volumes on the Font boulder and was set mostly by Jonny and Jon, with some help from Danny. The finalists order was a little off as we misplaced a scorecard and there was some confusion about Greg Seitz. Greg ended up running first in finals (meaning he qualified last) though he really qualified 2nd or 3rd overall. Greg gave an amazing attempt, nearly flashing the boulder, but he fell off touching hold 13 and wasn’t able to get back up there.

Second out was Owen Graham. Owen is Team Texas alumni and has spent the last couple of years attending college in Fort Collins. He is a strong young lad and did well on the final, working his way up the volumes to a score of hold 10 on his 3rd go.

Third out was Matt Lubar. Lubar was a long-time Spot Team Member who for the last couple of years has been with Team ABC. He’s an awesome guy and we were really psyched to see him in finals. He gave an astounding performance, sending the problem on his 2nd go to the screams of the crowd. Nice job Lubar!!!

Fourth out was Matt Wilder. Wilder is a famous rock climber, guidebook author, and underground genius with many hard first ascents of boulder problems and scary trad climbs to his name. He’s also a regular fixture at Spot Series events and has been in pro finals many, many times. Above you’ll see a photo of him winning the costume contest. In finals he gave a good show, using his trad skills to static through a dynamic move near the top. Unfortunately his feet slipped and the next go was the same, giving him a score of hold 10, 2nd go.

Fifth out was Sergei Kiefel, also a long-time Spot Team Member who moved teams a bit in his teens before setting out on his own. He’s a great climber who is just getting stronger and stronger, and he came into the final looking very fit before he spun a hold, taking a technical as it immediately dropped him to the ground. The next two goes weren’t great but last go he worked his way up to hold 10.

Finally Gun Show 2012 Winner and top qualifier Ben Hoberg came out. He slipped his first go, but 2nd go he crushed the problem and topped out the boulder. The crowd went wild. Nice job Ben!

Men’s Final Scores

1. Ben Hoberg (top 2nd go, 1st place qualifier)

2. Matt Lubar (top 2nd go, qualified lower)

3. Greg Seitz (hold 13-)

4. Matt Wilder (hold 10, 2nd go)

5. Sergei Kiefel (hold 10, 3rd go)

6. Owen Graham (hold 10, 3rd go, qualified lower)

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Team ABC member during the Youth Session of Psychedelia

Women’s Final

Women’s final involved two hanging dog bones and a rotating pipe on the Hueco Boulder. There were a few rules (don’t get stuck in the ropes, don’t crawl over the top of the pipe, don’t hit your head on the bones, and don’t forget to pat the bat!).

ABC climber Isabelle Goodacre came out first. Isabelle has done pro finals at the Spot before but not yet this season. She did well, managing the bones and the transition to the pipe before falling off grabbing hold 10. She did the same thing twice more, nearly holding the usable portion of hold 10 for a score of 10-.

ABC climber Laurel Todd was next and gave a dominating performance on the bones and the rotating pipe, falling as Isabelle did trying to stick the swing on hold 10. Score: 10-.

Hailey Bridgewater was next. I’d never met Hailey before but she is a strong young woman from Iowa who is now going to school in Fort Collins. Hailey climbed well, but she said she’d never encountered features like the bones and rotating pipe before and she had a little trouble working them out. She figured it out 2nd go, then fell moving toward hold 10 but not sticking it. Score: 9+.

ABC climber and Gun Show 3rd place winner Margo Hayes was up next. Margo came out, got set on the start holds, then promptly misjudged the move to the swinging bones and fell. She looked a little surprised to have fallen, and with renewed determination jumped back on the problem, got through the bones and across the pipe, stuck hold 10, hung the difficult swing, then hiked her way to the top. The crowd went crazy. Nice job Margo!

Spot Coach Tiffany Hensley was next and she gave a great performance, moving left hand to hold 10 instead of her right. She then matched, then hit hold 11 and nearly hold 12 but she was in a weird body position and fell. Next go she looked similarly strong but again got a bit backwards, moving solidly to hold 12 with her right hand, but she was unable to unfold herself. Score: 12.

Finally Gun Show winner Nina Williams came out. Nina has been looking stronger and stronger in competition for the last  two years and she’s been doing quite well. Here she looked ready to flash, but fell as everyone else but Margo did on the move to hold 10. Next go Nina stuck it and finished the problem to secure first place as she qualified higher than Margo and they climbed the final in the same number of tries.

Women’s Pro Final Results

1. Nina Williams (top 2nd go)

2. Margo Hayes (top 2nd go, qualified lower)

3. Tiffany Hensley (hold 12)

4. Laurel Todd (hold 10-. 1st go)

5. Isabelle Goodacre (hold 10-, 1st go, qualified lower)

6. Hailey Bridgewater (hold 9+)

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Some little aliens crawling out a busted ship. Part of the elaborate tape art that makes up Psychedelia!

Stay tuned for full comp results and more photos soon!

Thanks for coming out and we hope you had a great time at Psychedelia!!!