Saturday, June 22, 2013
I have recently partnered up with Three Peak Films to make this short film. My good friend George Bruce Wilson is the genius behind the camera, all I had to do was climb I think this turned out pretty good! Apparently EpicTV.com thought so too and they have sent us a contract for a 5-12 episode series featuring my goal, which means, y'all will be getting to see some sick videos of the process of getting this done. Enjoy the teaser that got the ball rolling on this.
I love goals. I set alot of them for myself. Some are long term, some short term, and some momentary. All of them help me grow and develop. The purpose of this blog is to write about one specific goal that I have set for myself for the summer and fall of 2013.
As anyone who has ever spent 5 minutes in the same room as me can probably tell you, I have a passion for rock climbing. It is my favorite thing to make time for. Before leaving to serve a 2 year LDS Mission among the latin people living in Houston Texas, I was climbing at the greatest level of difficulty that I have yet acheived in my life. 2 years of southern food, limited exercise and absolutely zero climbing left me 30+ lbs heavier than I was before I left, and significantly weaker.
Upon returning home I was humbled to find that what was once a warm up for me, had become truly challenging again. One route in particular really opened my eyes to how much of my climbing ability I had truly lost. The route is called Reaching for Razors, and is graded 5.11d. Prior to leaving on my mission I would climb this route 3-5 times in a row as part of my warm up circuit. The video here shows my first attempt at it after coming home. I had to take, (rest on the rope), 5x's before reaching the top. I could tell that it was going to be a long time before I was climbing as hard of routes as I was before my mission.
I began training with every spare second that I had. I spent hundreds of hours running, climbing, lifting weights, and doing yoga trying to regain my fitness. After a month and a half I had lost about 20 of the 30lbs that I had gained. I had just started to feel strong again when minor tradgedy struck. I pushed just a little do hard training, and injured the center joint on my index finger of my left hand. I started running more, and climbing less until my finger could support my weight. I babied it like crazy and slowly started climbing hard again. This went well for about a week and a half. I managed to flash a few V7's and V8's in the Gym. I was trying to Flash a V9 when I felt a shock of pain run through my right hand. The same finger, same joint, on the opposite hand was now injured, and my climbing was once again handicapped. This meant more running... BLAH! I am not a fan of running.
During this time, my good friend George Bruce Wilson was just finishing his first film "Project American Fork." The film is not your typical climbing movie. It really show's the history of American Fork Canyon, and it's influence on the climbing world today, especially steep sport climbing in America. I was inspired by the film as I listned to some of my climbing heros talk about all the work that they put into developing the climbing that I enjoy right here in my back yard everyday. While I was still injured I decided to set a goal that would be physically challenging for me, that would most likely push me to my limits without injuring me, that would help me re-establish a foundation in my fingers for climbing hard, and above all, that would help me to really better understand and appreciate all the hard work that went into making American Fork Canyon the climbing destinantion that it is today.
I decided to climb every 5.12a-d in Amercian Fork Canyon in one season.
I have been working tirelessly to acheive this goal ever since I set it. I have been getting up everyday Monday - Friday at 4:45am to go up the Canyon and try to tick a couple of routes off the list before work. After work I try to get in an hour or two of climbing before the sun goes down and other responsibilities that require my time and attention. I have decided to lead a vegetarian diet, and abstain from eating candy, deserts, and sugar in general. I am only drinking water, (sometimes with lemon, raw maple syrup, and Chia seed). I am doing everything I can do get 8 hours of sleep each night. I bike to work as often as I can to save gas money for climbing, whereas I am saving money for school, camera. etc.
Since setting this goal, I have felt a passion for climbing coming alive in me unlike I have ever experienced before. I have recieved so much support from amazing friends and family members, and I really feel very blessed to be in the position I am in. I love climbing and I love goals, and I will be posting about these goals as frequently as I can. Stay tuned for updates.
As anyone who has ever spent 5 minutes in the same room as me can probably tell you, I have a passion for rock climbing. It is my favorite thing to make time for. Before leaving to serve a 2 year LDS Mission among the latin people living in Houston Texas, I was climbing at the greatest level of difficulty that I have yet acheived in my life. 2 years of southern food, limited exercise and absolutely zero climbing left me 30+ lbs heavier than I was before I left, and significantly weaker.
Upon returning home I was humbled to find that what was once a warm up for me, had become truly challenging again. One route in particular really opened my eyes to how much of my climbing ability I had truly lost. The route is called Reaching for Razors, and is graded 5.11d. Prior to leaving on my mission I would climb this route 3-5 times in a row as part of my warm up circuit. The video here shows my first attempt at it after coming home. I had to take, (rest on the rope), 5x's before reaching the top. I could tell that it was going to be a long time before I was climbing as hard of routes as I was before my mission.
I began training with every spare second that I had. I spent hundreds of hours running, climbing, lifting weights, and doing yoga trying to regain my fitness. After a month and a half I had lost about 20 of the 30lbs that I had gained. I had just started to feel strong again when minor tradgedy struck. I pushed just a little do hard training, and injured the center joint on my index finger of my left hand. I started running more, and climbing less until my finger could support my weight. I babied it like crazy and slowly started climbing hard again. This went well for about a week and a half. I managed to flash a few V7's and V8's in the Gym. I was trying to Flash a V9 when I felt a shock of pain run through my right hand. The same finger, same joint, on the opposite hand was now injured, and my climbing was once again handicapped. This meant more running... BLAH! I am not a fan of running.
During this time, my good friend George Bruce Wilson was just finishing his first film "Project American Fork." The film is not your typical climbing movie. It really show's the history of American Fork Canyon, and it's influence on the climbing world today, especially steep sport climbing in America. I was inspired by the film as I listned to some of my climbing heros talk about all the work that they put into developing the climbing that I enjoy right here in my back yard everyday. While I was still injured I decided to set a goal that would be physically challenging for me, that would most likely push me to my limits without injuring me, that would help me re-establish a foundation in my fingers for climbing hard, and above all, that would help me to really better understand and appreciate all the hard work that went into making American Fork Canyon the climbing destinantion that it is today.
I decided to climb every 5.12a-d in Amercian Fork Canyon in one season.
I have been working tirelessly to acheive this goal ever since I set it. I have been getting up everyday Monday - Friday at 4:45am to go up the Canyon and try to tick a couple of routes off the list before work. After work I try to get in an hour or two of climbing before the sun goes down and other responsibilities that require my time and attention. I have decided to lead a vegetarian diet, and abstain from eating candy, deserts, and sugar in general. I am only drinking water, (sometimes with lemon, raw maple syrup, and Chia seed). I am doing everything I can do get 8 hours of sleep each night. I bike to work as often as I can to save gas money for climbing, whereas I am saving money for school, camera. etc.
Since setting this goal, I have felt a passion for climbing coming alive in me unlike I have ever experienced before. I have recieved so much support from amazing friends and family members, and I really feel very blessed to be in the position I am in. I love climbing and I love goals, and I will be posting about these goals as frequently as I can. Stay tuned for updates.
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