OH MY MAKER (trying to be P.C. here)
The moves we witnessed this weekend would not be believed unless seen.
Check out this slide show for a peak at the day...
and/or check out the gallery for images.
The comp was a huge success. Our hats off to Gavin, Chris and the whole crew at the Boston Rock Gym in Woburn, MA.
The gym was full of vendors and a car from Woburn Scion no less. Life Under Sun, JRA Cycles, REI, Northface, Mantis Collective, Totally Sweet (Vegan cookies ROCK! I can say from personal experience), WFNX, and of course yours truly, were all on hand. Hiking gear, camping gear, climbing gear, etc...and Money! Money! Money! was won and raffled off at the event. The day ended with the final rounds where 3 male and 3 female climbers had top two routes, having 8 minutes on each. A new twist that the BRG put on this comp was taping money along each route.
One of the female climbers lifted the money up ever so gently with her toes, reached with one hand down to her feet and plucked the cash off the wall--all while hanging by one hand! Another just did a double toe pluck!On the final men's route, a pole was hung out over the top of the structure with a hundred dollar bill attached (nice tape job Chris).
The final male climber topped this route with the crowd cheering him on. The crowd EXPLODED as he pulled off some absolutely INSANE moves and swung to the top to claim the Heart of Steel 2009 title.
I present to you the comp winners! Make no mistake about it, these climbers are nothing short of Olympic atheletes. What they can do is simply amazing!
For the first time Gail and I modified our wedding display to be a bit more on the hip side as we knew prospective brides were not likely to be looking for us there.In preparation for this event, I spent more than a few dust hours last week balancing precariously atop the climbing walls (where no one goes normally) vacuuming chalk dust to make my day of crawling around up there and shooting a bit cleaner (and it was). Totally worth my time by the way. The last time I tested out these angles I was a human chalk ball in minutes.
My goal for the day was to try and catch it. When I say "it", I mean that moment...that moment when you think you are about to reach beyond your personal ability...stretching, reaching...RISKING.
That moment where failure and falling is a real possibility, but, if you don't reach for it you can never advance. I think I caught a few of those moments and more. I've been a member of the gym for a over a year now and I think that definitely helped me connect visually with the climbers... though I could not keep up with half of them = ). 
ASA's Tales of the Traveling Tattoo got some new photo entries for the Facebook account as we had a few climbers sporting them during the day...
How psyched were Gail and I to see one of the female finalists walk up to the wall with and ASA Photographic tattoo right across her chest!
We also got some cool images that were just screaming for an artsy twist. This has to be one of my favorites. I think I will print it out and see if I can hang it in the gym. Sweet wall art!
The great thing about climbing though is that you don't have to be an insane boulderer/climber to feel that risk and payoff. Pushing the bounds of your own skill level is what it is all about. You push, you risk, you fall, and you keep on working the problem until you get it. I have said it before and I will say it again: climbing is one of the best forms of personal training...mentally and physically. Gail and I have been taking the boys and letting them go at their own pace.
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