Change

Hi friends :)

Recently I've made some big decisions! As you may have seen from my last post, I am nearing the end of life as I know it. I am happy to say that after the summer, I will be moving to Montreal to go to McGill University :). Montreal is a little further away from home than I expected to go, but I am so excited to be going there to continue my climbing and education. This new chapter of my life also means climbing at new gyms. Currently I train at Boulderz Climbing Centre, a bouldering gym that my dad opened just over four years ago. I've seen the gym through all of its short lifetime and I think it will be really hard to say goodbye. Nonetheless, Boulderz holds a very special place in my heart and it will always be a fundamental part of who I am as a climber. I have a lot of amazing options for climbing in Montreal, with the added bonus of Rumney being closer than it is from here. I think for the first little while I'll be doing my own thing with climbing but hopefully in the future I'll have a team to call my own again.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the rest of the youth season and trying to soak up as much time with Team Boulderz as I can. A couple weekends ago I went to Eastern Youth Regionals held at Altitude in Hull, Quebec. The comp went really well and I got to take away a couple of things from my experience. I think first and foremost I am continuing to understand how my motivation reacts depending on how challenging and fun I anticipate a climb to be. This can be hard for me sometimes when I don't feel really psyched on a qualifier or a semi-final route and it's necessary to move on to the next stage. Letting go of some of that emotion I believe would help me to see past what I don't like about it and see it just as something I need to do. I was also reminded of how important it is for me to take my time and be patient on the wall... Which happens a lot. I ended up coming away from the comp with the gold medal and the Regional Cup :). Big thanks to everyone who worked their butts off for that comp to run as smoothly and efficiently as it did. It was really cool. Congrats to Team Boulderz, coming away with six medalists and five regional champions!!!

I only have five more weeks of grade twelve before exams and two weeks before Canadian Youth Nationals. I have applied to be on the Canadian Youth National Team this year and hope to be representing Canada at World Youth Championships in August in Saanich, BC.

Up, up, up!

Iyma

Update from the RRG!

Hello friends!

It's been a while. January and February have come and gone and I have a feeling I'm in for a very fast paced year. I am currently in the Red River Gorge with my family and some members of our junior team. Sunday was our first day climbing and we went to climb at the Boneyard and Midnight's Surf. After warming up at the Boneyard I went over to Midnight's Surf and decided to get on A Farewell to Arms (13a) which is a really steep line on the outside of a big cave. I onsighted the route which I was really excited about. Then I got on its neighbouring climb Crucible (12c) and I actually enjoyed the movement of this climb a little more. I found that after a short boulder problem on the roof of A Falling of Arms, the movement was not as varied. On the Crucible, the moves were all different from each other and I found every move more challenging for me. Monday we went to Drive By and Bob Marley crag. Drive By was really busy because it was a rainy day but I got on a few routes that I would like to go back for. Tuesday we went all over Muir Valley but my favourite route was probably Prometheus Unbound  (13a). I onsighted the steep section and then fell a couple times on the more vertical section. I'd love to come back for that one too! I also loved Super Best Friends (12b), even though I was so cold my fingers felt like they had fallen off. Huge congrats to Lucas who onsighted his first 12  at Midnight Surf (Iniquity, 12b) and to Will who also onsighted his first 12 (Bullfighter, 12b) and to Andrew who flashed his first 10 (Waterfall Ballet, 10a). Today the plan is to go to the Madness Cave once the snow melts...!

In other news, I got in to my top 3 university choices - McGill, Guelph and Laurier. At the moment I think my preference is to go to McGill. Going to Montreal offers a great school AND a great climbing scene, plus a really fun city to live in. The down side is that it's a lot further from home. I've never particularly wanted to be away from my family. It's really strange to think that no matter where I go next school year, I won't be living in Toronto anymore.

The youth comp scene is also in full swing. Youth Bouldering Provincials took place in late February and it was hosted by my home gym Boulderz. The competition was really fun and it was super cool to see so many strong kids come out. I loved our problems and I can't wait for lead provincials in April.

I'll be back from the RRG on Friday and then I'm back to regular team training and school work and preparing for university. This trip has really made me realize how much I value climbing outside and enjoying this environment with my friends and the people I love. At the end of the day, hunger for the rock trumps all and conquers even the worst screaming barfies.

Good day and happy dream chasing.

Iyma