Adventures in Routesetting

We had our final bouldering competition for the Four Zero Five Bouldering Series on Saturday, April 10th. This was the fourth event in a period of about 6 weeks. Overall it was a good series; participation was good, people had fun, I received positive feedback on all the routes. At the same time it was a challenge like none other. I'm sure I'll think twice before arranging so many back-to-back competitions in a row next time. Not to mention the fact that our sport climbing competition is in two weeks! I've been in a routesetting frenzy and it's really tested both my creativity and setting endurance. It can be tough to come up with unique and challenging problems one after the other. Not only that, but my goal was to always set a little better with each competition. I like to surprise people, keep them on their toes - and make them wonder - at some point, if they can even conceive of doing the problem. The finals problems, particularly the most difficult ones, were in su

We've got two competitions coming up: our Four.Zero.Five Bouldering Finals on Saturday April 10 and our Sport Climbing Competition on April 24th. I am in the midst of organizing and setting for both competitions as well as finishing up a new climbing wall project we are calling the "Salmon Wall." I've been setting at the gym - usually about 12 hour days - since Tuesday. And that's not including the setting that we did last week. Each day I get about two new routes up (each about 70-90 feet in height) and about two boulder problems. This is in addition to tending to others needs - employees, customers, other business interests that arise - and of course, my family. Which unfortunately has been getting the worst of the deal. At this pace the work is starting to take it's toll on me. I'm drained from jugging, stripping routes, sorting holds, matching bolt sizes to drop-in depths...the list goes on. My finger tips are raw, my arms hurt. I've scraped the sa

As if I needed another blog. But this one is about my experiences with routesetting. I spend a lot of time hanging from ropes and turning wrenches. Just a quick background on my routesetting history. I guess it all started in 1992 when I discovered climbing - both outdoor and indoor. In Oklahoma the opportunities to climb outside are somewhat limited (it's about an hour and a half to the nearest rock). So we pride ourselves in coming up with unique ways to experience climbing. I began putting holds on plywood pretty much as soon as I began climbing. I made wood holds. I made rock holds. I glued holds to the underside of bridges. I discovered climbing in urban areas (i.e. buildering). Anything and everything could be a "route." The first home gym I climbed in was at Terry Andrew's house just a couple of miles from home. His gym had the appearance of a wood-shop experiment gone array - but in my mind it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. Nearly all of his hol