Psicobloc

We were able to get great pool side tickets to this year's Psicocomp! Psicobloc Masters is a deep water soloing competition that was created by world famous climber, Chris Sharma (among others, but it was ultimately his dream). This wall hangs over the aerial pool at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City at 50 feet tall - trust me, it's bigger than you'd think!

What's so cool about this competition, and the climbing community in general, is that some of the competitors were invited to compete, and others came to an open qualifier, qualified, and got to compete, so there's a mix of world class, well known climbers, and up-and-coming athletes as well.

deep water soloing is a form of climbing, usually over a large body of water (deep water soloing = over water, free soloing = any open rock face and also you're crazy), without any gear (other than shoes and a chalk bag), the climbers don't wear harnesses or use rope, and the water below them is the only form of real safety. it's a really raw and pure form of climbing, which is why climbers, like Alex Honnold who I'm sure you've seen hanging out on the HalfDome at Yosemite without gear, are so drawn to it. This psicocomp was a combination of racing to the top, and also getting higher on the wall than your opponent. If you fall, you fall into the water, and you're eliminated. It was amazing to see all these climbers go head to head in such an exciting race! The girls went first and were so technical and thought out, and the guys just dyno-ed every move and most of them climbed the wall in less than a minute! It was so intense! It was so cool to see climbers I admire and respect right there, competing against each other! Chris Sharma, Emily Harrington, Ashima Shiraishi, Daniel Woods and Sasha DiGiulian all competed, as well as my friend, JC Hunter! I've looked up to these climbers for years! It was unreal to see them all here, climbing together!

Even though this was a competition, the athletes cheered each other on the whole time, hung out after their turns together and were clearly having just as much fun as the crowd. That's the one thing about the climbing community that no other sport has, true, across the board, camaraderie.

 

the wall

 

this is an awful photo, but it's got some of my favorite mo-ladies in it! these ladies and their significant others have become some of our dearest friends over the last few years and i'm so lucky to have them! they're the only other girls that understand what it's like to be dating / married to a momentum manager, ha!

 

girls are off! ashima shiraishi and alex johnson ashima is only 13!!!

 

andrea szekely and sasha digiulian 

 

claire buhrfeind made it to the top! only one way down...!!!

 

this is ashima and alex puccio about to symo-jump! alex made it to the top first, but ashima made it up before the buzzer.. the only way down is to jump! i don't blame these girls for being scared, the wall is HUGE, so they down climbed a little bit and let go at the same time!

 

you see ashima about to hit the water?! ha!

 

chris sharma in the lead against benjamin parkin. chris won... nobody was surprised. after all, he is the greatest climber in the world! 

VIP pass for the comp gave us amazing seats right in front of the wall! during the break between the girls comp and the guys comp while they switched out some of the holds, some aerial skiers gave us a show! it was awesome! i didn't take any photos of it, only video, but if you ever have the chance to see a show like that, you should go! it was so entertaining!