Boulderpalooza 2010

Kenneth and I drove down to central Florida this weekend to escape the frigid temps in Atlanta, visit his parents, and to compete in the Boulderpalooza (annual bouldering competition) at the Gainesville Rock Gym. After a 7+ hour drive that included hour long conversations over seinfield-esque topics like how long the stripes between lanes are on the highway (10ft!) and the logistics of pecan farming, we arrived in Gainesville only to find the temperatures were not much better than in Atlanta. The fruit is in trouble.

Saturday, I made my way to the Gainesville Rock Gym to compete, double-fisting coffee. I was met by a lot of familiar faces and excited youth for a really fun day of pulling down on some plastic. Chattanooga showed up in force with Jimmy Webb and Kasia Peietras, plenty of strong Floridians, and myself representing the peach state. More competitors turned up for the competition this year due to the $5000 cash purse put up by the GRG and an impressive list of sponsors. This event is always a blast- and I would recommend it to everyone: the positivity and enthusiasm is a welcome change in a comp scene that is too often dominated by entitled athletes and psychotic parents. The Gaineville Rock Gym is a small gym with a whole lot of spirit: at a glance, you wouldn’t understand how it has churned out so many strong climbers, but after having attended an event there, it becomes evident. While this small gym in central Florida may not have the biggest facility, newest walls, etc, they have heart and have inspired a community of climbers in an area where the closest rock to climb is at least six hours away. Pretty cool.

I climbed with Kasia for the majority of the day and it felt much more like a session than a competition. In between prelims and finals, there was about an hour and a half that we had to sit in isolation: possibly the highlight of my day because I spent the entire time holding Jimmy & Kasia’s 11 wk-old husky puppy while he napped. Awake, he is a rambunctious, sharp, little beast when awake, asleep he is the cuddliest, floppy-pawed thing ever. I think that if comp-organizers would like to make their events more attractive, they should offer puppy holding in every iso: I will be there.

At the end of the day, I went home happy having placed first (by not a very big margin), having had a great workout, and having caught up with old friends- oh, and made some $$$$!!!!