Ascendance Project’s Summer 2014 Showcase This Weekend

If you can’t make it up to Vail for the Bouldering World Cup, don’t miss what is sure to be a fantastic show from our friends at the Ascendance Project!

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Used Hold Sale!

We are having a used hold sale right now at The Spot. Come in quick for the pick of the bunch–we’ve got some real gems out on the table for good prices. All holds are sold as-is and tax will be assessed at checkout. Enjoy!

Ian Dory is Awesome! + Setting Update – New Beach + New Floor Article

Quick Setting Update 

I’m back! So is Jay Jay! On Tuesday Connor, Jake, Ian, Lily, and Jay Jay set, today I joined them, and  now there are some 44 new problems on The Beach. Enjoy!

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New Floor Article

The Colorado Daily thought it was pretty cool that we invested 180k in the new floor. Read their article here: Boulder’s The Spot climbing gym adds $180K of new flooring – Colorado Daily

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Ian Dory Time!

We’re so psyched for Ian!  This is his first magazine cover, and it’s Rock and Ice’s Photo Annual! Very cool. He’s also been promoted to The Spot’s Head Coach and he’s already got some new work outs for the kids, and he’s been traveling with PCI and teaching clinics like this one he did at BKB Somersville‘s opening (click the name to check out their website, their new gym is amazing!):

He taught the lucky participants how to deal with little tricks like toe hooking and bicycling.

Yep, like that.

To see more photos of the event check out PCI (Pro Climbers International) on Facebook. Very cool Ian!

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So that’s all for now. Hope you enjoy the new problems!

Setting Update + Auto Belays!

New Hueco!

Last week Jake, Danny, Connor, Ian, Joel, Lily and I reset the whole Hueco boulder! You can see the new floor takes a little height from the boulder but it’s still intimidatingly huge! Come in and try out our new problems.

New back Hueco

New Back Hueco Scoop

Another angle

One more shot, below, of the small scoop…

I am especially proud of this problem–the red 5 spot that starts just right of the scoop, climbs through the scoop on that cool yellow Urban Plastix font feature, then goes up the face on some Kilter incuts. Don’t forget your feet!!!

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We also got some new Auto Belays on the Yosemite wall for those of you who like to run laps on routes. Ian Dory came in and set some more routes across the Yosemite, especially under the auto-belays, so you’ll have options up to 5.12 to train on.

Yosemite with more routes and auto belays.

So come on in, check out our new problems, our new routes, our new auto-belays, and our NEW FLOOR! Also, the Avery beer taps are now pouring after 5pm to all who are of age and no longer climbing for the day, and you can buy Evol burritos as well.

See you at the Spot!

New Flooring Party!

Texture Close-Up + Summer Jam & Beach Reset!

A close-up of the new Motivation texture on our new purple volumes.

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Beach Reset

We reset the Beach yesterday and today. New Motivation Volumes, World Cup trainers, problems of all grades and many different styles…and all above our brand new Futurist floor!  Here are some pictures, but come in and check it out.

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Summer Jam

The Spot Summer Jam Member Appreciation party was today, and it was good to see so many folks show up for bacon cheeseburgers, veggie burgers, Avery beer, new problems, and a sweet raffle. Thanks to The Spot community for coming out and celebrating with us!

Here’s Dan the man with his adorable youngest daughter:

And here’s a picture of Coach Andy bbq’ing in our old hold washing rain pants:

See you at The Spot!

 

Quick Setting Update + New Volumes + Summer Jam + World Cups and Sean McColl’s First Bouldering World Cup Win!

Quick Setting Update + New Volumes!

We stripped the Beach today, first strip over the new floor and so far so good. Danny, Ian, Jonny, Connor, Lily, and I set some of the problems with the upcoming North American World Cups in mind–we want to help train Team USA climbers who live here so they’ll be in shape for Canada and Vail, and we also want to give visiting International World Cup circuit climbers some great problems to climb on when they come visit us in the week leading up to Vail.

Team Austria preparing for Vail at The Spot a couple of years ago

We always enjoy having the WC competitors acclimating at The Spot, and we’re excited to see everyone again this year.

In other exciting news (and to help with comp style setting) we just got a shipment of Motivation Volumes in, some with the new World Cup texture. You’ll notice the stickier purple volumes–those are the World Cup texture. The lighter pink volumes have another Motivation texture on them.

Check out the new volumes and the new problems on The Beach today (more coming tomorrow) and get a feel for some of the types of holds you’ll see on the wall at the Vail World Cup!

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Summer Jam

The Spot’s annual Welcome to Summer Member Appreciation event–Summer Jam–is happening tomorrow!

Members get in free ($10 or a climbing daypass for all others) and we’ll be serving up BBQ and Avery beer and giving away a bunch of stuff in a sweet raffle, including a Black Diamond crashpad donated by our friends at MooseJaw.

We’re also going to be selling our $150/3 months paid in full Summer Membership. The Summer Membership is a limited time offer, so don’t miss it! It’s a great deal and a good back-up plan for warming up before going to your projects outside, climbing while holding down a “real job”, or keeping in shape over summer with Colorado’s increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. We’ve got a roof to keep out sun and rain, and we’ve got AC and we’re not afraid to use it. So come on down, bring your family, friends, and roommates to Summer Jam!

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Sean’s Big Win

With the exception of the Vail event there are usually only a couple of competitors in the World Cups from North America. One of the regulars is Canadian Sean McColl. If you’ve watched any IFSC Lead or Bouldering events in the past few years you’ve probably seen Sean compete. He is a regular on the world podium and runs a well written blog with updates on training and competing. Anyways, Sean is one of the few holding it down from this half of the world, and we are super psyched for him on his first Bouldering World Cup win last weekend in Slovenia.

Sean after flashing the last boulder. When he flashed it he knew he’d won.

He climbed extremely well in finals. Amazing job Sean!

Read his impressions of the event here: My First Bouldering World Cup Victory | Sean McColl

Spot Blog coverage here: IFSC Bouldering World Cup 2013 #4 – Log Dragomer – Finals

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More updates and fresh problems tomorrow. Don’t miss Summer Jam!

Summer Jam!

 

Come on down next week for another great Spot event! Free to members, free with daypass entry, or $10 for food, Avery Beer, a great raffle, and more! Bring your friends! Check it out on Facebook – Summer Jam. Hope to see you there!

The Spot – Early May Setting Update + Spring in Review

It’s been a long period of short updates (besides comp coverage) and so here is a little review of what we’ve been up to lately:

fig 1. Connor’s ‘stache.

1) Connor rocked a mustache for a few weeks (fig 1). You might call it a bit of a  social experiment, as he learned some things. Most women liked it. Most men either thought it was awesome or thought it was creepy. Awesome = comfortable with their manhood, creepy = they were threatened by it. Connor looked pretty amazing, obviously, and when he felt like it could deadpan creep out stare like nobody’s business.

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2&3) We got a new setting closet. We moved from behind the River (fig 2) to the room that makes up the front half of the hold washing room. There are some things we will miss about the old room though (fig 3).

fig 2. The Old Closet

fig 3. awwww

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fig 4. Ian cleanin’

4) Ian Dory and I built some shelves in the new closet.

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fig 5. Progress?

5) Jay Jay started collecting tape for “the world’s biggest tape ball”. She’s convinced she’ll easily beat the current world record. We told her she can but she has to keep the tape ball somewhere else, and it can’t interfere with work.

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fig. 6

6) Danny put up the lunch rope and got carried away.

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fig 7.

7) The best block ever? Yeah, I did this.

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fig 8. New Floor under the Beach

8. We got our new flooring in under The Beach! More new floor, in the whole gym, coming mid-July!

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fig 9.

9. Jonny went all yacht club for the day in his Adidas Routesetter shirt, his fancy Verve pants, and his USAC Setter Sweatshirt.

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fig 10.

10. The septuplet tape job on the new Dojo.

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fig 11.

11) And finally, last week we reset the LEFT DOJO! Tons of new problems on the left bulge and the right side of the mid-Dojo overhanging arete. We’ve set more 2s and 3s than ever before on the left Dojo, so if you’ve never climbed on the Dojo might be a good time to try it. We’ve also got a bunch of everything else, so everyone should find something to send and project.

Enjoy!

SCS Nationals 2013 Quali Results + Finals Schedule + Bye Old Beach Floor!

Vasya in qualifiers | Vince Schaefer

SCS Nationals 2013 Qualifiers ran yesterday and results are posted here:

MEN’s Qualification Results 2013 SCS Nationals

WOMEN’s Qualification Results 2013 SCS Nationals

Top 8 go to finals. For the men, 8th ranked Elan Jonas Mcrae is a foreign national, meaning 9 go to finals (so there are 8 American men in finals). For the women, French Champion Charlotte Durif is in first, and two Continental Champions (Delaney Miller and Sasha DiGiulian) are in 4th and 5th, so all 3 “don’t count” and the top 11 women will go to finals.

Nina Williams in Qualifiers  |  Vince Schaefer

In exciting Spot news, Spot Coach Tiffany Hensley is going in 10th place. Good luck tonight Tiff!!!

Check out the schedule for finals on the SCS Nationals Website here – USA Climbing Sport Climbing Series Nationals

If you’re not in Boulder, you can watch the live feed of finals via LT11 here – TV | Louder Than 11

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Also last night this was going on…

New floor in progress! The Spot is open today (Beach and Yosemite closed) and Spot members can also climb for free at the BRC.