After a busy summer, I am finally back home for a little while to get myself established in my last year of high school. My summer was filled mostly with climbing. After Chicago at the beginning of July, I started training for the two competitions that I had my sights set on for September.
My goal going into the summer was to train harder than ever before and reach a new level of climbing. I thought it would be a great idea to have a day of two training sessions. So, dragging Eric into it as well, we began training Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and twice Sunday. I think the first week was the worst. To be honest, it got really fun after that (at least for me). I began to see myself getting stronger in the exercises we were doing and my motivation increased. Unfortunately, with grade 12 fast approaching, the idea of me missing the first full week of school for the World Championships in Paris became less realistic. So, I decided not to go to Paris but rather focus my efforts on the World Cup in Atlanta instead, which takes place at the end of September.
We trained for four weeks like that and then I went on a family climbing trip to Rumney, New Hampshire. Unfortunately it was mostly rainy and we often found ourselves at the arcade or hiding out in our apartment. Luckily we had been once already and knew the best areas to visit, which made the time we actually got to climb much more efficient. I got on a couple classic routes which were really fun and left with some projects to go back for.
We had hardly arrived back in Toronto when Eric and I left for Lion's Head for the long weekend. Lion's Head was a brief but fantastic trip. I've always been a little bit intimidated by big, white, exposed rock faces. I'm not really sure why... maybe because I don't have a lot of outdoor experience or maybe because I don't like feeling vulnerable. Either way, I think I conquered that fear when I got on The Victim. It's a beautiful line that starts with a very technical traverse along a white rock face and then goes vertically into two very big moves and some more shoulder-y sequences to the top. The moves were so fun that I didn't even notice all the things that intimidated me before. By the time I was at the top, my perception of bigger walls had completely changed. I didn't send the route although I got all the moves down on my first try. I fell at the second throw twice which was frustrating. Either way, I was happy to even get to try such an amazing route. I will definitely have to get back up there to give it another burn and hopefully send it. Also- my insane boyfriend had his first 13c flash, which was so exciting to watch!!!
After Lion's Head my family, Eric and I went down to Georgia for a reconnaissance mission at Stone Summit :P. The gym is so big and SO cool. We trained there for three days and had a really great time. We were very tired afterwards, so our week long vacation on Tybee Island was much appreciated. It was our third time going down to that area for vacation at the end of the summer so it felt cozy and familiar. We went swimming and dolphin watching and ate some huge crab. It was really nice to relax after such an intense summer.
Now I'm back in Toronto and about to start my first full week of grade 12 at Harbord C.I. It's nice to sleep in my own bed and be back training in my home gym. I'll be training with the Boulderz team this year, which I am very excited about since I trained mostly on my own last year. Though decisions about university are fast approaching, I'm trying to stay relaxed, focus on my school work and training and take everything in stride.
Next up is the Atlanta Lead World Cup on September 29th and 30th. Stay tuned for results!
Until next time :)
Iyma
Me on The Predator in Rumney, taken by Mike Makischuk.
Me and Eric in Lion's Head
Training at Stone Summit in Atlanta
Our beach pyramid, photo credit to mum
