Sacramento State University: Regional Championships

The Northern California CCS Regional Championships took place for the second consecutive year at Sacramento State University's student recreation center, aka "The Well". The facilities are impressive, and boast taller climbing walls than any other school gym in the California State University system. In addition to the tall roped climbs is an impressive set of bouldering surfaces, including a free-standing boulder in the middle of the gym. The wall is highly textured with natural features, which makes for lots of hidden holds and hidden beta. With hidden beta came some hidden resentment from some of the climbers who thought that the competition was not run as well as it could have been.

What the climbers who thought the comp was a lacking did not know, was that this was the first event that the new rock wall coordinator at the Well was responsible for hosting. Having never been to a CCS competition before, there were understandably some differences in the way things were run compared to last year's competition. However, what was important was that the organizers of this event hosted a fair comp, and worked their asses off to make sure things were organized and according to plan.

As far as the climbing goes, the teams had quite a fun time climbing together. Special shout out goes to Cal Berkeley for bringing the biggest and most spirited team to this event, and for climbing very well all around. Humboldt State University was present to win 1st as a team for the series overall, while Alex Borst and Arielle Rensink took 1st place overall in the series for Men's and Women's, respectively. Thank you to everyone who competed in, attended, organized, or otherwise helped support this 2012 CCS season!

Sanctuary Rock Gym Community Comp

Sanctuary Rock Gym could probably tell a million-and-one secrets. It's old-school, home town feel attracts  climbers of all generations to enjoy its quality climbing terrain. The facilities are small in volume, but the space is very well used, with bouldering islands and 40' overhung sport lines to bout. Being that the gym is also situated in the beautiful coastal city of Monterey, it served as the perfect venue for the fourth stop and first ever sport climbing competition in the Northern California Collegiate Climbing Series.

The route setting crew for the comp was small, but they produced quality work that ranged in difficulty from about 5.7 to about 5.13. There were enough routes so that no matter what difficulty you were climbing, by the end of the day you were pumped. The relaxed attitude of the local community shined during awards, when the prizes were raffled off rather than given to the winners. It was Humboldt State University that won the collegiate competition, perhaps partially due to the fact that they were the only team to attend... That makes the second comp in a row that HSU has swept podium in Men's and Women's. During the awards ceremony, pizza and good micro-brews helped keep everyone's spirits high, and they stayed high well into the evening when the after party took place at a local alehouse. 

All in all, it was a positive experience to switch disciplines from the usual bouldering competitions, and clip some draws. The price tag for admission to the comp was higher than most, and was probably responsible for the lack of collegiate attendance. However, the experience was worth it in the author's opinion. For any climber looking for a good gym experience, be sure to get in a session at Sanctuary Rock next time you pass through Monterey!

Far North Climbing: Leprechauns Are People Too...

Far North Climbing Gym (FNC) is a fairly new player on the California list of climbing gyms, at an age of just 4-years. However, being the only public climbing gym on the Northern California coast (above the bay area), it is a haven for students and community members alike. With a home-built atmosphere and it's own unique style, Far North is always a place to go to have a good time whether you're climbing, drinking a few freshly-tapped beers, or riding the mechanical bull. As such, it was quite appropriate that the 2012 CCS comp at FNC was scheduled for St. Patrick's Day.

The festivities went off without a hitch. Quality boulder problems and a newly-painted orange boulder (slightly resembling the Great Pumpkin) kept the place brightly colored and the competitors wide-eyed. Difficulty ranged from V0-Vfreak, with several of the problems remaining standing gym projects at the end of the day. Intriguing and surprisingly difficult bonus problems helped maintain a light atmosphere; it was hard for the competitors not to laugh at each other during the funky mantles and situps required to score a few extra points.

Since this comp was also scheduled at the beginning of many California schools' spring break, the intercollegiate turnout was minimal. A few hardcore climbers came out from Sierra Nevada College and Sonoma State, respectively. Big respect to them for braving the storm and windy roads on the drive up here! Perhaps due to the limited field, the HSU climbing team was able to sweep all of the Men's and Women's podium spots. This is perhaps the first time this result has occurred at a CCS comp in California. Way to represent the home gym, Humboldt!

The day ended in green glory, as all competitors and community members alike were invited back to the gym later that night for post-comp festivities. A few local bands kept the dancing music going, while local craft beers tantalized the taste buds. The festivities lasted until the wee hours of the morning. For many, it may be one of the best nights they can't remember. For those who may recall, it was the best after party yet!

Way to make the 3rd stop in the CCS NorCal circuit a stylish one, Far North!

SLO-OP: March Madness

San Luis Obispo is a fun young town that is home to many scenic beaches, beautiful coastal weather, and a high concentration of strong climbers. The SLO climbing community has experienced rapid growth over the last few years since the advent of a local climbing gym cooperative: The SLO-OP. Touting mostly overhung walls and slab top-out boulders with 24-hour member access, this gym is a haven for people who want to train for some serious pull strength. And not only does the SLO-OP serve as an intimate venue for hosting climbing competitions, such as the CCS on March 3rd, the staff know how to throw a party!

It would not be daring to say that SLO-OP just set the standard for CCS 2012! The event ran without a hitch thanks to plenty of staff who flawlessly facilitated contestant registration, rules meetings, competition judging, safety and security. The addition of a live DJ, cheap burritos, and free beer kept the morale high and the smiles big on everyones faces. The energy never dropped once from start to finish.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of "March Madness" was the addition of a finals round, in which the top 5 men and top 5 women were chosen to climb three additional problems after the regular redpoint comp. Each finalist was given 5 minutes on each of the three problems, and scored points based on their progress on each problem. At the end, the scores were tallied for all three problems to determine the winners. The benefits of having finals at a competition are that it resolves any potential conflict in determining the winner(s) of redpoint format, and it adds an entertainment aspect to the event. In the case of the SLO-OP, there were at least 50 raucous college students and other spectators crowded around the show from the floor to the rafters. With that many people cheering on each competitor at once, things get pretty intense! This intensity provided welcomed motivation for the finalists, who, after already having climbed for three hours prior, displayed impressive strength on the powerful and dynamic climbs that were set.

Props go to the setters of this event who made those walls look very clean! This was perhaps the best-set CCS event in Northern California to date. The boulder problems showcased a variety of movements across a wide range of styles, which resulted in challenging climbing for everyone at the comp. Notably, all of the problems were set for the field so that nothing remained unclimbed when the competition was over. The holds and that were used were also very finger-friendly, which minimized the risk of injury to climbers.

Thanks again for a great event, SLO-OP!

Here's a link to the results of the event:
http://usaclimbing.net/rockcomps/comps/event_details.cfm?id=2649

Sonoma State University: The Showdown

Since the inception of CCS in California, Sonoma State University has been an integral part of the Northern California Region's competition circuit. This was the fourth year CCS has come to the wine country, and the fourth time the SSU crew did a bang-up job at hosting their comp.

For those of you who have never made it to the SSU rec. center for climbing competitions, the layout of the climbing gym is not particularly well suited for hosting large groups of people. With that being said, the SSU wall staff did a great job at accommodating the masses safely by having good spotters posted at each section of the wall. Verbal signals were given to keep climbers aware of their surroundings when trying routes that intersected, or had dynamic movements in crowded areas. All in all, despite the crowded area everyone had plenty of time to fill out their scorecards at a reasonable pace.

The gym was speckled with quality problems set by strong locals and staff from the nearby community climbing gym, Vertex. Given the angles of the walls and types of holds the setters had to work with, they did a great job at showcasing what the gym had to offer. Routes in each category were evenly distributed throughout the area so that there was no feeling of segregation between the Beginner, Intermediate, and Open categories. Boulder problems ranged in difficulty from V0 to perhaps V10. The difficult problems were typified by thin handholds and glossy feet on slab traverses, or punchy movements through slopers and pinches to delicate mantle topouts. Easier boulder problems displayed a similar flexible yet powerful style on better holds, and were enjoyed by everyone for their simple quality.

Thanks to the Sonoma State University crew for putting on a great event and starting the 2012 CCS season with a bang! And thank you to all the competitors from across the state who came and crushed.

Here's a link to the results from the comp:
http://usaclimbing.net/rockcomps/comps/event_details.cfm?&id=2652