24 hours.....is not ENOUGH!!!

I have had to hit the ground running every since coming back from Switzerland last December. Sitting down to edit the videos Yam and i took was impossible. In short, 2 competitions have passed, i have restarted coaching at my schools, trained up new staffs at Kinetics, had my most SIONG route setting session ever on The Barrel section, conduct classes, built a climbing wall and gone through countless meetings. To top it off, my laptop gave up on me in earlier this month and i had to spend time backing up and transferring my documents onto my new Samsung Series 5 Ultra. Not forgetting i am still trying to nurse a bad injury i sustained during my time in Ticino, Switzerland.

my new work horse - one hellava sexy beast!

Yam partially tore his gluteus ligaments (basically his left arse hurts big time) and strained his ring finger from the mono on the 8a which i mentioned about during my last post. I strained my elbow so badly that i had to take ibuprofen to reduce inflammation and be able to crank hard after 1 week there. This gradually developed into a full blown tennis elbow (i think, no time to see doctor!) which is still bugging me. In short, our injuries came about primarily as a result of pushing ourselves way to hard during our first 4 climbing days there. Our bodies just broke down as a result of trying too many hard climbs on consecutive days with minimal rests.

last day in Claro - our little dining/ movie/ work table

That said, the first 4 climbing days were also the most productive for me as i completed nothing harder than Dr Pinch, 7c+ after my 1st week in Switzerland. I would most definitely plan another trip back to Switzerland to boulder. There are too many quality problems here from 5s - 8s. We spent our last few days exploring new sectors in Chironico and Cresciano. Le Pillar, 8a is one beautiful climb which i will most definitely hopped onto the next time i come back! The only drawback for me was the rain and in particular for Yam, the cold. It started snowing during our last week there and daily temperatures ranged between -3 in the night time to 2 degrees in the day. Heading back to Brione to check out some classics was out of the question as it is higher in altitude and as such the temps will be in the negative region during the day.

I have not been climbing much and was out of shape, out of motivation, probably out of luck as well and injured in the lead up towards Gravical 2013 during the 2nd weekend of Jan. I concluded that my nagging elbow was not bad enough to stop me from climbing completely but i should be careful not to worsen it. To be honest, i wasn't pinning too much hope on doing well. As long as i can get into the finals, anything else would be a bonus. 

Finals Route 1

 Talking to the usual podium finishers during isolation for the finals, i realised that i wasn't the only one in the same boat. Ponti has been busy studying = less time for climbing and Khairul Hafiz is down with some elbow injury as well. And to top it off, the routes in the finals were way too hard (at least for local standards!). Pierre and i concluded that all the climbs were at least 7b+ and above. Some of the holds were not possible (at least for me) under the baking sun and sweltering heat and humidity!

the male finalists - with me looking really relaxed

I believe it was a disappointment for the audience as they did not get a chance to witness any top-out by any male finalists. When the dust settled, victory was decided based on the attempts to bonus and i emerged champion with the least attempts(3 attempts to 3 bonuses).

representing The North Face Singapore @ Gravical 2013

2nd - Ponti, 1st - Me, 3rd - Pierre

The other competition that just ended took place at Onsight climbing gym last Saturday. It has been a long time since a Lead Climbing competition catered to the Opens Category was held in Singapore. The last lead comp i participated in was the 2011 SEA Games in Palembang. I was even more hesitant to join this event as i have not been climbing on a rope for at least a good 2.5 months. But since i have to be down to observe some of my youths climbing in the U19 cat, i figured it will be a good time to gauge what is my level of fitness using this competition. The only rope climbs i did was to put up and take down runners for my students at TPJC 1 week prior to the competition. 

The qualifying consisted of 2 routes, flashed format. Both were not hard, at about 7a+/7b max but i was pumped, having to climb 1 route after another with less than 20 minutes of rest due to a delay. It came about due to a tie in the U19 girls category with too many participants finishing the qualifying climb resulting in a semi-finals. Both climbs climbed well and were reasonably well set though I had to climb faster than i normally would as i did not have the endurance to last.

Yan, Pierre and i took the opportunity to catch a nap behind whilst waiting for the final routes to be put up. I felt a lot better during my climb in the Finals and completed the route comfortably. It felt just a tad harder than the qualifying climbs, characterised by a slightly crimpier section which spit many people off at the 3/4 mark. Hilman, Pierre and i completed the route but it was a count back again and i emerged 1st as i climbed faster than Hilman for the final route. Pierre unfortunately did not complete one of his qualifying climb and was relegated to 3rd place. I thought it might have been a better idea to set the final route for the mens on the womens section due to the inclination of the wall. Anyhow, this was only my 2nd time climbing at this facility. The lighting facility at night still needs some work and hopefully the ventilation improves if NSSCC is to be held here in April this year.

 Champion!!!

Next up, i will be heading up to Japan for THE NORTH FACE CUP 2013 during the Chinese New Year weekend in February with Judith Sim, last year's winner for The North Face Boulderactive in Singapore! Both of us have been invited as winners to this event, organised by Yuji Hirayama. 

TNF Boulderactive Champions 2012 with Yuji Hirayama

A big Thank You to Singapore Climber's Association for footing our air fare. Big Ups to The North Face Singapore for sponsoring all my other expenses on this trip!

the site is in japanese!

 

A semi-final qualification will be an excellent result for me considering the countless top boulderers Japan has produced in the last few years. Also, i am looking forward to get some time on outdoor rock after the competition itself as conditions will be good. 7 degrees!

Meanwhile, i hope to find some time in Japan and finish up the Swiss video and at the same time, come out with the syllabus for educating our climbers with regards to bouldering and/ or lead competitions in Singapore. These clinics might be held in March/ April. Too many things to do, too little time in a day, 24 hours is not enough!!!!!!!!!!!