Sore Neck?

Ever get a sore neck belaying your partner? We all know that crippling kink. In a way it is a good thing, as its a built in excuse when its our turn to send.

Kink no more however. Power n' play has solved this problem with the CU Belay glasses.

CU Belay glasses by Power n' Play.

I had heard of these for quite some time ago, but had an opportunity to try them this week. I was very suprised that they actually work and do not require much getting used to. I was able to belay effectivly the first time and never really look up more then horizontal. I was really suprised at that the small lens could cover all the focal area required.

Simon the model.

In fact the small lens footprint meant I could see the climber and the rope and belay device outside the lens field of view. Quite smart really.

Bottom line they do work. That said, I only used them once because I really do not get a kinked neck often. But for those who do this is a solution.

Delire

The last two days I have had the opportunity to climb at Delire in Quebec City. I have said it before, but this is by far the best rope gym in Eastern Canada, if not the country. The blue monster alone is enough wall to get seriously strong on.

The Blue Monster, its steeper then it looks.

Possibly my favorite wall though is the gently overhanging green wall. It is a great warm up wall, but it steep enough to have hard routes and be lead with no fear of hitting anything if you fall.

The Green Wall.

I think the guys at Delire got a few things right with this gym, which make climbing at their all around pleasant.

- the lighting is great, this makes a huge positive difference in atmosphere
- they have an excellent ventilation system, you can actually eat in the gym and leave things out and they won't be full of chaulk
- the colors are tasteful and bright
- the walls are built with quality in mind
- there is lots of space to hang out
- the flooring is ample in most places
- the location in a mall is ideal for food selection
- the washrooms are clean
- the staff is awesome

Really the gym is all around great. I wish more gyms were like Delire.

Its to bad that in Canada gyms have to at least in part be geared towards parties and groups because that is where the money is. This usually means there is far more flat wall and top ropes then steep lead walls. We really cater more to the one timer, then the aspiring. I think this is in part the reason we are behind many countries in the level of our elite athletes. We don't have the support (financial, training, medical etc) or facilities other countries have.

There are certainly good gyms here, but I wish there were more climbers and more elite climbers to justify more varied terrain and setting possibilities. I think this would trickle down and bring every ones level up, think the Canadian hockey system vs performance. I wish there were more people in each region pushing themselves beyond their current level.

I love seeing motivated people, the more falling the harder you are trying.

Quebec for christmas

I am in Quebec for Christmas. I climbed at Roc Gym this morning. I always like that gym because i have fun there. There are lots of better gyms out there, but I always See to have fun there.

I was by myself as usual, but there were 50 new comp problems to try. I had a blast. I sent all of the hardest but one, in my 2hours there. They were all good quality. The setting at Roc gym has been consistently good this year. It's a shame they are not hosting a tour de bloc this year?

I am hoping to get to Allez Up in Montreal this trip as tell a couple Times. For nos eat try to sleep and pend some Time with family.

Merry Christmas

Split tips

I am narrowly avoiding winter split tips. Its always the same spot every winter, middle finger, last joint. It opens up as deep as the grand canyon and stays all winter to varying degrees.

You all know them, those nasty gashes that ruin your day.

I know I make it worse with my super secret skin toughening regime, but go away split tips, you suck.

I guess for Christmas its another file for John.

Madrock Conflict 2.0

A new future for Madrock - the new heel!

Madrock has redesigned the heel cup in the 2011 Conflict Series. I had a chance to try the Conflict 2.0 this week and am seriously impressed. I went head to head with my old Madrocks and past comp shoe, the LaSportiva Venom, in a heel hooking fest. The winner.....Conflict 2.0.

Madrock has done an awesome job with the new heel. Try it out!

Madrock Conflict 2.0

Achive 2010: Nationals 2010

A photo I did not realize I had.

Problem #5 -Joe Rockheads Nationals 2010

Tour de Bloc Delire

Delire 2010 Photo: Nicholas Charron

The season has began for me. I am in Quebec City for the Delire Tour de Bloc. I feel heavy and injured, but mentally strong. This comp was a necesity for me, as there are hardly any comps in the Atlantic region this year and I already missed a couple in the east due to work.

I did not expect ,as a couple weeks ago I crushed my hand and I think I broke a bone on the backside of my palm. It swelled up double its size when it happend, but has gone down a bit over the past few weeks. To climb is painful, but once warmed up everything seems ok. It is more opening my hand, then closing that hurts. Anyway, I think having an excuse can help performance in some ways, as it removes expectation of results and allows you to just do your best with cirumstances at hand. No expectation, no anticipation, just being in the moment.

I was suprised at the number of climbers there, most of the strong guys showed up, Terry and Simon even came from the west coast, turnout was definity good in the open catagory, 60 I heard.

The comp was well run and well set. The guys at Delire are an excellent crew of people and it is obvious they care about the sport and certainly are doing their part in supporting it. There effort shows in their comps and they get better each year.

I qualified 2nd, but ended 4th. I took a really bad fall on my neck and shoulder on finals #1, which really shook me for the rest of the time. I hurt my shoulder quite bad and am paying for it today. It was the first time I have ever fallen indoors that badly. At the time I really thought I might have broken my shoulder or worse. I am not a worrier about injury, but this actually scared me quite bad. I missed the main matt completly and landed on my neck and shoulder before any other part. It makes me question the safety of comps sometimes. I understand the need to set problems with big falls for the spectators, but this was uneccessarily dangerous, many people fell badly, I was just the one that missed the matts. It was completly avoidable. I think setters really need to look twice at the set up before a comp for safety, its easy to overlook problem areas and this sort of thing happens very easily. Hindsight is 20-20 I guess.

I was quite happy overall. I definity need to work on power endurance, I never fell once because of difficulty only pump.

I guess this was a good gauge of my fitness, now I have to decide to actaully train my weakness not just climb for fun, if I want to improve this season.