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Jonathan Siegrist on Hard Sport Climbs

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    American Alpine ClubA
    Every year, ice climbers flock to the Ouray Ice Festival to test their skills on the human made ice flows in the park. A select few test their skills on the ice climbing competition wall. Routes are created that include ice, rock, and plywood in the Scottish Gullies section of the ice park.  The American Alpine Club sat down with USA ice climbing competitor Keenan Griscom. Griscom was rocking a North Face leopard-print 1996 retro Nuptse puffer and Y2K gray wrap-around sunglasses, as chill as the ice around us. We chatted about growing up competing in ice climbing competitions, his new link up Tommy's X (5.14b) in Clear Creek Canyon's Nomad’s Cave, and his experimental competition headspace. The experiment succeeded clearly, since Griscom took home the gold in the Ouray men's lead finals the next day. AAC: You were the youngest American to win the Ouray Elite Mixed Climbing Competition at age 16. When did you start climbing? How did you get into competitive ice climbing? Keenan Griscom: My dad actually started me ice climbing when I was four or five here in Ouray. So I've had tools for a long time. And then through Marcus Garcia, [I] found the competition scene and got hooked. I was doing rock comps, and the community in the ice climbing comps was just, so, so good and supportive and friendly, so, as someone who's already into competing, starting the ice comps is just like, oh, this is it. This is a cool spot to be in. AAC: What was it like competing at such a young age? KG: I don't know, I've been competing since I was nine. It was somewhat second nature. I've always wanted to give it [my] all in the comps. And Ouray was really special because when I started, there weren't any age categories. It was just the open format, and anyone could sign up. So if you were in, you're competing with everyone. My first two seasons, I didn't place particularly well. But it was so cool to be competing with people like Will Gadd and Ryan Vachon and all these epic mixed-climbers and alpinists who I looked up to. AAC: What drew you to continue doing competition ice climbing while you fell away from competition bouldering and rock climbing? KG: I stopped competing in rock comps mainly because the scene isn't as welcoming. There's a lot more toxic competitive nature there, and a lot of people get really worked up and will take other people down to get a better result. There's not really any of that in the ice climbing crew. Ice climbing comps are really fun. I'm going to stick with that. But I've been rock climbing outside nonstop. AAC: On that note, I noticed you put up an alternative finish to Tommy's Hard Route (5.13d)—Tommy's X (5.14b). What is the relationship between route development and ice climbing? How do those two things relate, if at all for you? KG: They don't relate a ton since I haven't really done much development for ice or mixed. I've gotten a lot of help from mentors like Marcus, who I met through ice climbing, to teach me development ethics. That route, specifically, it's in a cave near my house, and there's a lot of link ups. I didn't put in any new bolts [for Tommy's X] it was just a new line that hadn't been done yet. AAC: And what inspired you to do that? KG: Tommy's Hard Route (5.13d) is an old school natural line in a cave that's almost all manufactured. There is this really, really big dead point crux that I always thought was super, super interesting. Then it's over. You do this really gnarly dead point, and it's jugs to the chains. Which is nice, but more sustained climbing is more my style. There's this other route called Predator X (5.13a/b) that comes in from the left and finishes basically directly above that dead point. And one day, I was wondering if I could link those up, and then it'd be like a perfectly straight line of bolts through the wall. Yeah, it ended up being a really interesting crux sequence after the initial crux. AAC: That's awesome. You also boulder, can you tell me a little bit more about that? KG: Yeah, I grew up almost exclusively sport climbing, and then started to do ... https://americanalpineclub.org/news/2025/1/30/fvxv7num1r05699fupr3gyohwfk4f5
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    climber-magazineC
    Italian climber, Elias Iagnemma, has made the first ascent of Italy’s first Font 9A, The Big Slamm. https://www.climber.co.uk/news/elias-iagnemma-makes-first-ascent-of-the-big-slamm-font-9a/
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    badgardener@mountains.socialB
    #FootpathFriday It's under there, I promise. CMD Arete, with Ben Nevis summit on the right.My son and brother-in-law descending part of the ridge - we'd done an overnight camp just before this point, and were just getting going again after a fairly muzzy awakening. There are times it's a bit of a struggle getting out of a warm sleeping bag, but we still had the summit to ourselves before anyone else turned up.We tobogganed down the other side to about 500m off Glen Nevis valley floor - possibly the easiest descent I've ever had off The Ben.#Mountains #Climbing #SomeRiskInvolved
  • The Arc’teryx Beta SL Jacket: A Review

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    GrippedG
    Waterproof, windproof, breathable, and durable – you couldn't ask for anything more in a shell The post The Arc’teryx Beta SL Jacket: A Review appeared first on Gripped Magazine. https://gripped.com/gear/the-arcteryx-beta-sl-jacket-a-review/
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    American Alpine ClubA
    By Marian (May) Perez A place I look forward to getting to, another place I call home. I sometimes drive through local roads outside of New Paltz, most of the time I drive up the thruway from New Jersey to go upstate. Jamming to my favorite tunes on repeat with joy or crying my heartache away from emotional pains. Once I see the stretch of windy road on Rt 299, passing by the farms and artwork, the interesting sculpture at the four way stop that not only indicates I’m getting closer, but also prompts the first appearance of the massive being known as the Shawangunks. I pass through the AAC campground to reminisce and surprise my close friends, a safe place for me to exist. A place where I’ve lived in my car and woke up next to the being called the West Trapps. A place where you look into the distance and see tiny dots of color climbing up the wall like ants making their way with their daily discoveries. A place where if you listen deep enough, you can hear the echoes of folks letting their partners know “Off belay!” At the sight of apple trees and the random billboard, my body wakes up. I know what I’m about to see and I know where I’m about to go. This must be the place, exit 18 to New Paltz, NY, home of the Shawangunk Mountains and home to me, where I want to be. I drive through town with my windows down, taking in all the quirky things that make this place special. Making stops at my favorite gear shop, Rock and Snow, and grabbing the best coffee and tea in town at The Ridge Tea and Spice. I say hi to all my friends, grounding myself after a long drive and filling my heart cup knowing people care about me. I look up to spot the Dangler Roof. Close my eyes and daydream about sitting on the GT Ledge on Three Pines or Something Interesting, looking out in the valley trying to find the campground and all the land surrounding it, thinking about how small we humans actually are. We might not have the biggest mountains, but the feeling is the same I’ve had looking out into Yosemite Valley. The beauty of being surrounded by so much, and still so much to see. Or the privilege to be on a 9,000 ft long cliff in the middle of the day. I open my eyes to find myself on the GT Ledge, realizing I’ve been present the whole time. It’s sunset and there’s still so much light on the cliff, except the darkness that hides in the trees below me. It might seem like we’ve been benighted, but the quartz conglomerate glows for us a bit longer to finish up Crystal Cascading Kaleidoscope (CCK) 5.7+, one of the wildest traverses of the grade. I follow my leader after they send and get ready to tip toe my way over to the big flake, trusting the polished feet and jamming my way up the #1 hand crack, up further to the crimpy ledge, back over to my partner, stoked to see me pull the last moves over the top of the cliff. We enjoy the last bit of light and share gratitude to the day and how we overcame what was presented to us, wild adventure no more than 400 ft below us.  This must be the place, the place I like to call home, where I want to be. https://americanalpineclub.org/news/2024/10/10/this-must-be-the-place-a-story-from-the-gunks
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    UK ClimbingU
    This week's Friday Night Video is a TEDx Talk from Paul Pritchard, in which he advocates for the dignity of risk and showcases how taking risks can lead to personal growth and extraordinary achievements. https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?n=774311
  • James Pearson Climbs Bold Trad Echo Wall

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    GrippedG
    He is the first to repeat the spicy gear climb since the first ascent by Dave MacLeod The post James Pearson Climbs Bold Trad Echo Wall appeared first on Gripped Magazine. https://gripped.com/news/james-pearson-climbs-bold-trad-echo-wall/
  • The World’s Smallest Boulder Problem

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    GrippedG
    One of the most sought-after V4 mantles and V6 pinches in Squamish The post The World’s Smallest Boulder Problem appeared first on Gripped Magazine. https://gripped.com/video/the-worlds-smallest-boulder-problem/