Friday, August 31, 2012

Asian Beach Games (Part 3) . . . Finally !!!

Moi, on the semi-finals route.  Clipping on a crimp, one foot on . . . heavy ! Got sapped on this one !
One consolation in joining super caliber climbers battle it out on foreign land - super caliber photos !  The climbing isn't bad.  At most you climb 3 to 4 routes and 13 to 15 boulder problems.  That is if you get to the finals.  You get to the semis it's 2 to 3 routes and 9 to 10 problems.  Just show up for the qualifiers you get to go on 1 to 2 routes and 5 boulder problems.  All these in the span of 3 to 4 days.  It's probably low volume compared to one to two full days of climbing outdoors.  But hey, it's pitting yourself up with strong climbers worldwide and the learning process that counts.  I've been on the process for years and most probably a lot more to come.

Left:  Team Indonesia and Mean of Team Thailand with Team Philippines
Right:  Ninjas !





Not too difficult . . .



So, the process involves this…this…and this.  Maybe that. . . that. . . and that.  There is plenty to take in and to continue taking in everything you have to empty yourself sometimes.  It's always being able to see the other side of the coin and continue flipping thru all the pages.






The beast !

This is how you do it !

This is the second of many more official competition trips.  With the help of PSC and POC I'm sure The Philippine Climbing Team of the future will undoubtedly strengthen.  

Women's Difficulty Champs 

The Difficulty Champ - Hyun Bin 





A shortage of beer . . .

On the menu . . . worm larvae and crispy starfish


For dessert . . . crispy crawlers 



Made in China !

Finally getting out of the Athlete Village for a final celebration.

Liaison Officer for Team Philippines

Two Thumbs up - Korea, good job ! O.K. 
Routesetters with Team Philippines for a proper ending to the games

Parting Shot - Korea's FINEST with Team Philippines !

Finally it's done!  Competitions have a way of drowning you.  We've made very good effort in keeping  up with the scene but now it's time for some outdoor action !

Monday, August 27, 2012

Nothing Ordinary

It's another start…Finally got the video bug workin'…Here's a short clip on something that could be true for most.  We're not all given the same kind of circumstances that surrounds our daily lives.  While we spend days on end sometimes dreaming of the next climbing trip, we sometimes do not get the time to go out right there and then for whatever reasons. That shouldn't mean we can't give the day something extraordinary or do something about the day feeling surreally slow and uneventful, even for a short while.  Realizing a big dream or a big goal starts with doing small things.  This video is small contribution to that idea.  It's not a training video, but something like a go in between expression and a "how to".  I hope you enjoy !  Ciao !





Wednesday, August 22, 2012

One fine day !


The rains continue intermittently throughout the whole month of August.  Days go by sometimes with pocket windows of sun and cool breezes.  Those days are still rare but the latter weeks of these last three months is proving to be promising.  It may not be long until the weather changes truly for the better.  It's time to brave things anew once again.  Last Tuesday we set out for short bouldering trip to Wawa, Montalban.  Whilst the day started with heavy clouds, the day progressed from dreary to happy sunny in slow but quite inspiring way.  Cool temps 'till mid-morning made bouldering easy and when the sun finally showed, warm-up's over and we finally got going on some relatively more challenging problems.  

Two pads, four girls, two boys . . . sounds like a good combo.  At least I got the 60D fired up.  Slow starting because of the drizzly morning but when we got to the "Redemption Area", the better angles available got me all inspired.  


Yuna, climber  from Korea enjoying some "Chaos"

Kat on the "Chaos" problem under the "Redemption Area"








Added a new start to the "Chaos" problem,  it can start underneath the boulder for added difficulty,  maybe a couple of more new extensions when the boulder's belly dries up.


Parting Shot - Yuna on the top of Biker's Hill Cafe after a short bouldering trip to Wawa, Montalban !
 Field report…

Most boulders are still under water.  The scene looks cleaner than usual but, "mucho barro!"  When the rains grind to a complete halt it might be good to go back and check out new developments in landscape.  The "Ultimo" and The "Messenger" projects look more inspiring than ever.  Crossing to the other side of the river may be challenging at this point.  It's now PhP 50.00 tax/park fee per person to go climbing in the area, bouldering or  lead.  There is a receipt for these and it's on Aling Norma's log book.

The fried chicken at Aling Norma's is still the best !

The next time we go back I have to bring Fuerte Mucho! The "Ultimo" and The "Messenger" beckons !   

And yes… I've a new terabytes of disk space !!! Videos ? Maybe ? Pictures ?  Yezzz . . .  stoked of new possibilities…and yezzz I'll take care of the lost installment of the 3rd ABG, meantime checkout the previous ones here - 3rd Asian Beach Games (Part 2),  3rd Asian Beach Games Part 1 and yes.. I encourage you to vote for this one cool photo, because you like it and because it's cool !