Day 2 Vail

So for the past few days I've been taking pictures of a lot of things. i up loaded a few to share with you all.

So our condo is pretty sweet... its just filled with mirrors... everywhere... i suppose its to make it look bigger?

The view from the climbing wall. Today was a beautiful day.

When you leave the climbing wall and walk into Vail village there is a nice stream that runs right through the center. I thought it was a nice touch to the prefabricated city.
Whoa Whoa Whoa!!!! where the heck did these things come from. Its like Christmas in May!

I-70 to Vail. These ain't no North Carolina Mountains.

The citizen comp is going to be really good. We finished setting today and started forerunning. I am very very happy with how my harder problem turned out. While running my problem i got the opportunity to know what its like to slam my face on the pads. hahaha its going to be a good time for sure.

tomorrow we are going to finish forerunning and then strip our problems down in preparation for the world cup crew.

I think on Monday im going to rent a mountain bike and ride around Vail. i realize this is not a good idea as i haven't ridden a bike in quite some time but i think it might be fun. Mainly i want to rent a bike for the soul purpose of going up the hill so that i can come back down... again i realize this might be a bad idea.

Also if you are reading this from my home gym TRC, I miss you all. I can't wait to come home and share my experiences with you all.

vail

So after getting up at 4am on Thursday morning. Traveling to CO with 2 stops and sitting next to either kids that like to talk a lot or old people that like to talk a lot, followed by sitting in the Denver airport for 5 hours before anyone else got there... I AM FINALLY IN VAIL.

Vail

So first off i haven't ever been to Vail. the furthest into CO i had ever been until this point was boulder i suppose. So Vail.... One of the route setters told me that this place seemed fake. Not like the people, but the place it self. I wasn't actually sure what i expected but Vail in fact seems like an amusement park. Ya know what i mean like the park of an amusement park where all the food and shops are. thats what this place reminds me of. like a prefabricated in Europe kind of place. I have to say though getting up in the morning and looking outside and breathing in that mountain air really makes this place just awesome.

The climbing wall is AWESOME. I took lots of pictures but i'm pretty sure i'm not supposed to post them. Ill post them after the WC comp. i'm sure at that point though you will have seen video or what not. There are some amazing features that motivation volumes out of TX made. I am so psyched about this wall! We got to start setting the citizens comp today and we are moving right along. i think we might even be finished setting tomorrow, followed by forerunning. im pretty dang psyched about the problems that we have set so far. The crew im working with is amazing. i think we all seem to click pretty well.

the crew is:

chief setter: John Muse TX

Assistants: Mark Mercer FL

myself

Apprentice: Ryan Sewell CO/TX

I'm learning a lot watching these guys set and working with them. they have a lot of really cool ideas. like i said before im really excited to climb these climbs.

10 days till i go home and then to Richmond.

I hope we get to climb outside 1 or 2 days here.

ok im going to sleep cause im not making much sense and this point.

realization

1st blog.

my boss says that i should write things down when i think of things. I figured that when i write things down maybe i should share them with others. I've always got a lot going on in my mind and it feels good to get things out.

i am a semi professional route setter and an avid rock climber. i am the manager/head route setter/ head coach at Triangle Rock Club in Morrisville, NC. Currently i am traveling a lot for route setting. I'm involved with setting for the USAC (USA climbing). The USAC is the governing body for competition rock climbing in the US. In the past 5 months i have set

• The 10th anniversary celebration competition at the Gainesville, FL
• The Adult Sport Climbing National Championship in Salt Lake City, UT
• The Youth Bouldering National Championship in Alexandria, VA
• The Mid Atlantic Regional Championship in Charlotte, NC

On Thursday of this week i will be traveling to Vail, CO to set for the Citizens Competition associated with the american leg of the World cup of bouldering. Its all apart of the Teva Mountain Games. I will be there from May 27th-June 8th. On June 8th i come home get in my car and head to Richmond, VA to help my friend Brent Q set for his Divisional Championship thats going to be held on June 12th-13th. When thats all said and done i will travel home to the TRC to set for the WRANGLE IN THE TRIANGLE on June 19th. When the Wrangle is done Iget 2 weeks of just being here at home and working at the gym(thank god). on July 3rd I will head to Atlanta, GA to set the SCS Youth National Championship. That will be held from July 9th-11th. This competition is going to be crazy. Its being held at the nations Largest gym, Stone Summit.

The past few weeks I have been climbing outside a lot more than usual. I have been training a lot in the gym for sport climbing and its paying off for me. Recently I have sent all my projects and that feels good. On the flip side of that I have realized a few things about myself recently. I learned that I have totally lost sight of why I started rock climbing to begin with. I have consumed myself with grades and when I send I cant help but to run and tell someone. I am now the person I have never wanted to be and the person that I have always despised. I'm glad that someone pointed this out to me cause it really made me think. Its got me re-prioritizing climbing. I realize that people climb for different reasons. I always wanted it to be just fun. Just going out and enjoying myself with my friends and meeting new people at the crag. Now it seems I'm always going out to climbing areas with a mission. My mind on that one 5.13 that would make me look good. I'm going to do my best to just have a good time and climb everything.

I would also like to thank my sponsors.

Evolv

Sterling Rope

Triangle Rock Club

Metolius Climbing

check back this week for a post from Vail!

Shane