[comPiler]

Training and Motivation
19 August 2012, 8:49 pm

I have been trying to write my next blog for over a week now but my mood and feelings are changing daily so every time I come to write the tone and emotion of my writing changes, which means I have to start afresh each time and I never seem to make any progress.

In a short amount of time I have had to accept that I wont be able to compete in 5 international competitions and I had to cancel my 7 week trip to the states. I have also been dealing with the annoyance of being on crutches, needing help to do the simplest of things like getting a glass of water.

I began to train very soon after returning home from Switzerland to try and take my mind off things and give myself a focus. To being with training was fun and gave me something to do. Although it wasn’t long before I realised how gutted I was about how my plans for the rest of the year had been destroyed. When I first broke my leg everyone had an unusual amount of optimism about my recovery. I was told I would be walking within 2 weeks of breaking it, fully healed in 4 weeks and back climbing. I wasn’t so sure but the doctors seemed so positive. My weekly trips to The University College Hospital London have revealed a different recovery timescale and a much more realistic one. Bones take 4 to 6 weeks to heal. I am now in my 4th week of recovery and my last x-ray showed my bone was still broken and I am still crutch bound with no weight allowed on the leg. 

I was not so optimistic about the speedy recovery. But I must have had a little hope because not being able to walk this week ended any possibility of being back in time for The World Championships in Paris next month and this realisation was pretty devastating. 

After this my psyche levels were not so high and motivation was lacking! Dealing with injury isn’t easy but I am really lucky that I can still train. Training over the past weeks has been interesting but motivation has not always been easy to find. I went from being psyched, having something to do and thinking that I had accepted the changes to my plans, to thinking what’s the point? When I came back from Switzerland I knew motivation and positivity could only get me so far and I wanted to make the most of the situation. I needed a coach to help me maintain, make gains and fix up my shoulder whilst I was out. I can’t thank Mark enough for taking me on and putting up with my grumpy days, demotivated moments and my moaning and whining! 



I never fully realised before but I need goals, aims, ambitions, something to focus on that makes training worth it.  With all my goals for the year seemingly impossible I didn’t really feel like training.  Luckily, with my mood constantly changing this feeling didn’t last too long. I have managed to write new goals and figure out a new plan for the rest of the year to give me a reason to train, a reason to get psyched. 

On Friday I will be heading to Munich where the last round of the World Cup Series will take place. I am currently in second place overall. I am excited about my new plans for the rest of the year and I cant wait to be climbing again and focusing on my new goals but I think watching this competition is going to be hard. I had really been looking forward to competing here and although I have had a few weeks to get over the fact that I can’t, I still don’t think it will be easy.

Back to training though, I am now really psyched again. I know what I want to do and I am really looking forward to getting my climbing shoes back on. I even have a hole in my hand from training for the first time in years! It’s good to have a structure and someone to push me. I am determined to come back to climbing stronger and fitter. I didn’t choose to have this time off but I can make the most of it! I can still not put any weight on my leg and it still hurts a bit but I am hoping that I can start to put weight on it soon.



Thanks to Dan Knight for the pictures   I have to say a big thank you to the GB Team physio Rick Webber who organised my x-rays and appointments in London. I also need to thank Rebecca Dent the GB Team nutritionist who has helped me understand what I need to be eating and when to ensure I am getting enough food to heal and recover from training too.



Thanks to BEASTMAKER again!

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Munich – A New Perspective
28 August 2012, 11:21 am

Another airport, another flight and I was in Munich once again for the last round of the World Bouldering Cup series. After a taxi journey to the Olympic stadium and then a hilly walk to the venue I arrived crutched out and totally lost in emotion. The guys were up first so I got to have a nice leisurely breakfast with the girls before heading to the comp. It was there the surreal and lost feeling to the weekend began. Breakfast didn’t matter as much as usual and my head was in a place it had never been. All of the girls on the team are amazing and they were so helpful but I felt so distant from them. 

At competitions you have to be very self absorbed because you need to do all that you can to perform at you best. I don’t mean in a negative way towards others but you have to think about your own needs. I cannot say how other people are before, during and after comps because I guess everyone has their own way of doing and dealing with things but I know how I usually feel so I wanted to stay out of the way as much as possible.This trip made me think about how big the whole head game is. Its not just about the morning before or even the night before a competition. I think the mental game starts from the moment you decided your doing the competition and the moment you decided what result you will be happy with (and the real result not the one you tell people). There are infinite things that have an effect throughout the build up to an event and I guess the day of the event is when the true mental test begins. The majority of the competitors easily have the ability to do the qualification boulders. But its the ones who have their head in the right place that will be at the top of the results list. Sometimes mistakes happen but it is how you deal with them. Even the people at the top can have a bad performance and I guess this is usually due to the mental aspect as these people have demonstrated their ability so many times. This competition had examples of this in both the male and female qualifiers. It was strange being there and not having to make any conscious efforts to maintain my psyche and composure as it didn’t matter for me. I was viewing the competition from a completely different perspective for the first time so I was able to see what it feels like from both sides, as a spectator and a competitor.  Although, I had my own head game of dealing with not being in the event and controlling my emotions, mainly frustration.

 

Watching the mens qualifiers was not so bad. The GB guys did awesome Stew, Ned and Adam were all though to the semi finals so spirits were high as the women headed into isolation. And after an epic and unsuccessful walk (crutch) to try and find lunch it was time to watch the female qualification…

In qualifiers the top ranked climbers go first so I would have been out second. Anna, Akiyo and Mina Markovic were the first three out. Mina Markovic and Akiyo were the only people who could beat me overall so I was interested to see how they performed. Mina Markovic looked really strong and qualified in joint 5th place for semis which I was surprised by but not as much as Anna and Akiyo. Akiyo ended up in 9th and Anna 11th. It was when I saw their placements I started to wonder how I would have done. Would I have seen the sequences and topped the boulders. Basically I am never going to know so there was no point at all thinking about it yet I couldn’t resist. Most of the time when I pull on to a boulder, especially in qualifiers, I am a bit nervous and I never normally know how I got to the top. It just seems to work out, so looking at these boulders was totally pointless as a spectator and climbing mindset is incomparable.  What definitely did ease my frustration, was watching Mina Leslie-Wujastyk absolutely crush! Topping all five boulders and qualifying in joint 5th with Mina Markovic! And then Katy Whitt also climbed amazing qualifying for semi finals in 15th.

There were times in the day where I wished I was at home not thinking about the comp at all, which was a very unlikely situation, if I was at home I would be watching the live feed anyway. There were also points where frustration almost got the better of me with the unanswered question circling in my mind… why did I have to break my stupid leg?! Back on a positive note I got to be more aware and put more energy into supporting the GB athletes and learn from this new outlook on competition. By the end of the day my broken leg story was beyond well rehearsed and I had enough sympathetic looks to last me a lifetime and I made it through the day with out tears or anger. I have been told a few times to log the experience under character building, I thought this was stupid at first but it kinda makes sense now. 

 I was not really looking forward to watching semi finals if I am honest. I wanted to be there competing and defending my overall position not watching to see where I would end up based other peoples performances.   After watching the first few climbers I knew it was going to be a hard to qualify for the finals. Topping all 4 boulders put you in for sure but to get in with 3 they had to be done fast. The boulders looked like so much fun. It was hard to watch when I wanted to be up there climbing so much but with the intensity of the overall results and the excitement of so many Brits in Semi Finals I was very lost in emotions. As the end of the Semi Finals neared Mina M was in 5th place and Akiyo in first. If both made it to finals I had to watch my changes of not making the overall podium play out. Mina was bumped out of Finals and finished in 8th place. It was so unfortunate for her as she really did look so strong but I guess thats the way it goes and her not making finals also meant I was guaranteed 3rd place overall.  



Akiyo climbed amazingly well and looked super strong so I accepted my overall position here. It was time for no more nerves for me and to enjoy watching the finals. I had never realised how exciting and intense finals are. I thought I wouldn’t get nervous but got more nervous watching than I have ever been competing. Akiyo put on a flawless performance topping every boulder on her first attempt. The boulders looked like really cool, maybe a little too easy for the girls with 5 out of the 6 finalists topping everything but it was still a good show to watch. I was definitely sat on the wrong side of the barriers and although I really did enjoy watching I never want to find myself sat there again. I guess it was quite a motivating experience. The mens finals was also incredible to watch with Stewart Watson of Team GB finishing in 5th. The guys boulders were very gymnastic and really entertaining. 

 

I am very glad the weekend is over. I knew it would be hard but I wasn’t too sure how I would feel after it all. 3rd place overall is more than I could ever have imagined at the beginning of the year. I am not disappointed in the slightest. Anna and Akiyo are amazing athletes and both a massive inspiration to me. I am really looking forward to joining them again next year. 

 

I have sore hands and really tight shoulders from all the crutching this weekend. Surely it has to be good training. I have to thank Mina for carrying my bag to the airport and then pushing me around on a trolley. All of the team were so helpful! Thank you!  On Monday the 3rd September I have my next x-ray. Fingers crossed that its healing up and I can finally begin to walk!

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

5 jours à Paris
18 September 2012, 5:29 pm

Paris is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. Unfortunately, with the competition being on and only being off my crutches for a few days I was not able to see many of the majestic sites it has to offer. My consultant had suggested I remain on crutches for a couple of weeks to help my leg build up slowly and not cause any damage. However, I had started seeing a physio and under his guidance and with my determination to be crutch free I decided to go without. It is so strange having one really weak leg but also blissful to be off the crutches despite getting tired very quickly and my foot and hip aching lots, steps without bannisters were really quite challenging too. 

Watching the mens qualifiers was really cool. The World Championships sees the best boulderers, lead climbers, speed climbers and para-climbers get together in the same place to embrace the aspects and the diversities of our unique sport. In the mens qualifiers there were 5 British men competing amongst the 114 men from more than 60 countries ready to fight their way into the semi finals. The boulder problems looked really fun – there were a lot off different angles making them really diverse and providing a good test to find the best all round climbers not just the strongest. Ned Feehally was the only Brit to make it to semi finals as the womens qualifiers were just as difficult. I knew after Munich it was going to be hard to watch again in Paris but I am glad that I went. It was so good to see my friends and watch them climb. There were 4 British women climbing with Katy Whittaker and Diane Merrick getting painfully close to making the semi finals. 

After qualifers the week seemed to go really quickly. There was so much going on with the competition and it was really good to watch and have a few days rest from training . It was nice to chill out with good people and explore a few sites in Paris, taking in only a glimpse of the beauty and culture to be explored. I made sure to eat lots of crêpes and pain au chocolat and I maybe drank a little too much red wine, but its safe to say I fully enjoyed and made the most of the rest! I even got to take a few photos… 

I managed to control my frustration and just enjoy being at the event as a spectator. Watching the mens bouldering final and the lead finals was really fun but when the Womens Bouldering Final came around my true feelings and emotions hit me. The competition was in a massive venue and it was all very exciting. The enthusiastic crowd created an intense atmosphere and the feeling inside the venue was electric. I wanted nothing more than to be stood lined up next to the other finalists looking out and absorbing all of this. This year was not to be for me and I have to take everything I can from the experiences my injury has brought. A massive congratulations to Mélanie Sandoz and Dmitry Sharafutdinov for their amazing performances. The lead climbing also brought lots of excitement to the event and displayed impressively high levels of determination and persistence, Congratulations Jacob Schubert and Angela Eiter.  



I would also like to congratulate Fran Brown the Para Climbing World Champion. This lady is incredibly impressive and a massive inspiration. I think it is  truly disappointing how few people are aware of para climbing and more needs to be done to recognise and appreciate our para climbing athletes.  

Paris was a great end to an exciting year of competition for me even if it wasn’t the ending I had expected or hoped for. I came to realise at this event how lucky I have been this year, I have met some of the most amazing people ever and it’s quite sad to think how long it is before next season comes around. It seems like a while away but the next few months will be busy and I am sure my World Cup adventures will being again before I know it. 

So I am now back home and my life for the next month is going to consist of doing lots and lots of rehab for my little leg whilst training for a few things I am hoping to do in the coming months  This weekend though, Dave Barrans (the current British Bouldering and Lead Champion) and myself will be setting for Boulder Breaks, a competition taking place at my local wall, The Climbing Hangar in Liverpool. Unfortunately, I can not test my boulders as I wont be climbing without a rope until next year so Dave gets that luxury. If you are at all interesting in climbing on some of the best boulders EVER, having fun, winning some money or amazing raffle prizes or dancing til 4am make sure you are there on Saturday 22nd September! Find out more information HERE!

In other news.. on my return from Paris I had a package waiting for me. A few months back I had a photo shoot for a fashion Magazine, The Gentlewoman. It was so much fun to go down to London and be incredibly girly for the day. I had my nails, hair and make up done and I look like a different person in the picture. Definitely a new experience for me and I come across extremely girly in the interview but its quite entertaining. In this months issue I appear in their ‘Introducing’ section. 



Here are a few more photographs that I took whilst wondering around Paris, turns out its quite hard to hobble and take pictures but I tried…



Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Back On The Wall :)
26 September 2012, 10:43 am

I am so psyched to be back on the wall. After almost 10 weeks out I am now back climbing and it’s amazing. When I first got injured I was determine to come back stronger and fitter than I was before. I had a great fear of coming back to climbing feeling totally lost and weak and getting annoyed.

It has been quite surreal being back on the wall. I still have a long way to go before I can do what I love (that being working a really hard boulder and pushing myself) but moving on the wall again is bliss. I have noticed significant improvements in the few sessions I have done already which is making it really exciting! My very first session back was full of mixed emotions – I was really happy to be climbing but it felt so unusual to be on a rope and I became very protective of my right leg. My right leg is still significantly smaller than the other one and it does get noticeably tired. The physiotherapy is going to require some persistence to get it fully fixed up but I really want my leg back to normal as soon as possible! It’s so good to be back and I am looking forward to playing on a rope for the next few months as jumping off a bouldering wall is not an option for a while.

Coming back has been quite scary; I haven’t climbed on a rope since last year so it felt strange to be in a harness but there were so many things that felt unusual. My fingers felt super strong but my arms didn’t hold out long. It took me a while to realise but when I  was tired and came to a move that required the use of legs it all became clear. I had basically been pulling myself up the wall. I had a massive fear of falling too, I guess from the worry of hurting my leg. I was so happy to climb again. However, I wanted to feel perfect on the wall but I guess my expectations were too high for my first session back. The second time I got on a rope everything felt so natural and I could move so freely. I felt like a different person. I managed to breeze some routes I had previously fought my way up and backed out on. I no longer felt like I was heaving myself up the wall. I am really pleased with the progress I have made in such a small amount of time and with a little bit of conscious effort I can now manoeuvre myself up a steep wall without practically campusing. I get so psyched by the small progressions!

I still find it hard to believe I actually broke my leg. This could be partly due to the fact I still have no idea how it happened and even now I find myself sat wondering why it snapped. The past weeks have all seemed like a bit of blur and when I think of how much has happened I find it hard to comprehend. Before I broke my leg I felt like I was living in a dream in some ways. I realised at young age that it was possible to compete internationally and climb for a living and since that point thats all I have ever wanted to do. It had all come about so quickly and to be honest I guess I was living my dream without really realising it. Everything went so much better than I could ever have expected and I am bewildered with what I have achieved. I kept expecting to get a reality check… well I guess I got one. This year took me to Texas & Colorado USA, Sweden, China, Slovenia, Austria, Italy, back to Austria, back to Colorado USA, a brief trip to Switzerland and then to Germany and France. Although there is never a good time to break your leg it definitely could have come at a worse time. If it had happened at the beginning of the year I think I would have been in a very different situation now. And right now I wouldn’t change my life at all. It was hard and unbelievably frustrating to miss two of the biggest events of the year and I can not begin to explain how it felt to sit and watch in Munich and Paris despite me trying many times. However, the experiences has taught me a lot. I have gained a new perspective that I feel has given me a broader understanding of the competition climbing world I already felt so comfortable in. Sometimes it’s good to be able to stand back and observe. There are so many things I had failed to notice when wrapped up in my own bundle of focus, psyche and concentration. Not competing and realising how much I wanted to be has also made me incredibly psyched for next season. People keep telling me ‘all things happen for a reason’, usually because they feel the need to say something and don’t really know what, but I have decided to embrace this cliche and take all the positives available.

It’s definitely not been all positives and I do not intend to pretend that it was. The time that I have had to take out has been very channelling in many ways. Being injured is never fun and I am lucky that I wasn’t out for long and that I was able to train. Training whilst injured is much harder than I thought it would be though. I like to think I am quite a positive smiley person but at times demotivation crept in and it was hard to maintain psyche.

My life finally feels like its getting back to normal and shortly my travels will being again. This weekend just past, myself, Dave Barrans, Ned Feehally and Rob Napier set for The Climbing Hangars ‘Boulder Breaks’ event. It was my first time setting for a finals and it gave a new respect for all of the world cup route setters out there! Doing this made me more nervous but also more excited about setting for this years ‘La Sportiva Rock Legends’!  My plans for the next few months keep changing but I will be sure to update you all along the way

A massive thank you for the support from all the people who sent me messages, emails, cards etc whilst I have been out and the people around me who have kept me sane and motivated! To all of you who shared your stories of broken bones and injuries I wish you a speedy recovery!

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

British Lead Climbing Championships
8 October 2012, 8:16 pm

This weekend I found myself taking the very long but familiar journey up to Edinburgh’s International Climbing Arena or Ratho as it’s known. For those of you who have never been to Ratho, it is one of the most impressive (and coldest) climbing centres I have ever seen. Back before I began competing internationally I travelled up to Ratho with my Dad to watch a World Cup there. I remember walking in to the spectacular arena and my passion and drive for competition exploding within me. It’s a very memorable moment in my life; silly but its probably one of the small things that has lead me to where I am today. Anyway… I am still yet to walk into the venue without being totally intimidated.

 

I had been hoping to be able to do the British Lead Climbing Championships for a while. I had been back climbing for less than two weeks and I had to wait until my physio and coach both agreed I was ready. I ended up signing up less than a week before the event. I was so excited about being able to climb again. I had begun feeling so comfortable on the wall again.  After being a mere spectator at the last few competitions my drive to compete was back and strong. It was quite nice as I didn’t have much time to build the competition up in my head, so not much time to get nervous or worried. 

It was an early start on Saturday morning to make it up in time for Junior finals. Myself, 2 sisters, 1 brother in law and a nephew arrived wrapped up and prepared for the bitter cold always present within the quarried walls of the EICA. I can not thank my family enough for the support they give me, sitting in a freezing cold climbing centre for 2 days is not my idea of a fun weekend but if you have ever been to a competition when they have been in attendance you are sure to have heard them cheering away! They are truly amazing! We all watched as the junior finals commenced. It was so good to see the raw talent that we have coming through. Congratulations to all of the junior British Champions!

 Next morning it was an early start again. I was up 5th on my first route. The route was on the steep wall which I was quite happy about, it might not be my strongest angle but its where I am happiest. The climb looked really fun up to the roof where there was a toe hook for the right foot. My right leg is much stronger than it was a few weeks ago but toe hooking is still a long way off for my tiny leg. Alex Puccio had climbed first and had the high point but hadn’t made it to the top. I made a conscious effort to climb quite quickly as my endurance is not the best. I felt really good until the toe hook came; quickly realising that wasn’t going to happen, I tried to use my other foot more but fell. This effort put me in joint second with Michaela Tracy and we had one more qualifier to go.

 

 Photo Credit: BMC – Alex Messenger

I was quite worried about the second climb because it was a techy, balancy, awkward looking route up an angular vertical and slabby wall. Not to mention the right leg rock over at the top. I climbed almost last on this route and was surprised that only Michaela had managed to top it. I didn’t really know what to expect but before I knew it I was rocking over, grabbing the last hold and making the last clip. Everything seemed to fall into place on this route and I felt amazing whilst climbing it; it was one of those moments where everything just works.

 

Photo Credit: Robert Donnelly



Photo Credit: Robert Donnelly

After a quick nap it was finals time… Isolation was in a nice warm bouldering room but this contrast only made the arena feel so much colder. There was just one route left to go and it looked really fun but also very long and through the steepest section of wall. I did a little bit of warming up (not that I could do much as I was so scared to fall off)  and sat listening to music finding some psyche. I sat waiting to climb; it felt quite surreal to be tied into a rope and not going out to boulder. I was quite nervous but I got distracted by getting my headphone wire stuck in my knot… blonde eh! 

Normally when I come to a route climb I have an idea of where I think I will get to, where I want to get to and where I could get to. This time I didn’t really have a clue. I just decided to go for it, try hard and see what happened. Once again I was speeding my way up the less steep section of the wall, climbing quickly but cautiously to prevent mistakes. After all one slip, you fall, its over! I think thats one thing that always terrified me about route climbing competitions, mistakes are usually detrimental. The climb was fairly steady up to the roof, where suddenly it fully kicked in, a hard clip and some burly moves to a huge pinch which had me stumped. I knew what the route setter had intended but it wasn’t possible for me to move, I had felt quite fresh but after 30 moves a burly match on a big fat pinch was not possible for me. Attempting this was the end of my competition. 



 Photo Credit: BMC – Eddie Cooper



Photo Credit: BMC – Alex Messenger

After an intense half an hour where I was unsure of my overall position due to an appeal I found out that I had placed first… I was so happy to retain my title! Ed Hamer won the mens after an impressive effort up the incredibly hard looking mens final route! It was also really good to have some of the juniors who had competed the day before make the senior finals! 

 

Next weekend I will be attending Alpkit’s BIG SHAKE OUT event. And after that hopefully some rock climbing  

Link to the BMC report of the event HERE!

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Fire, Blood and Excitment
31 October 2012, 4:37 pm

It’s been a while since my last post and lots of things have been going on. I spent a weekend at Alpkit’s Big Shakeout coaching some little psyched children. It is amazing to see the talent we have coming through and the motivation these children have is inspiring. Alpkit put on an awesome event filled with adventure and entertainment and I event got to brush up on my fire poi skills.





Photo Credits to Daniel Wildey So for the past few months myself, Stephanie Meysner and Ged Mac of the The Climbing Hangar have been arranging the 2012 Womens Climbing Symposium. An event that aims to connect, inspire and develop women’s climbing through collective climbing experiences, the latest research and the best coaching. Last year the event was an incredible success but it was our first one and we learned a lot and took a lot away from the event. I could not be more excited about this year! There is so much going on expert coaching, talks from some of the most inspiring people of British climbing and Exclusive clips from Hot Aches new film ‘Odyessy’ and Jen Randalls recently released film ‘Push It’. For more information check out our Facebook page HERE!  



The event was feeling very well organised and after putting in so much work towards it I decided I could justify leaving the country and getting some sun. 

Margalef, Spain, rolling valleys of deep green trees with strips of beautiful orange and grey limestone endlessly flowing through. The amount of rock in Margalef is totally overwhelming and at first I found it extremely intimidating but came to find it unbelievably exciting. 

Leaving for Spain was really quite unusual. I have taken most of my adventures this year alone and met people along the way but this time I was sat on the plane with some good friends psyched and ready to crush some pockety rock. It had been a very long time since I last went sport climbing outside. My climbing has improved so much and I had no idea of my limits or what I wanted to try. I was however, definitely ready to spend some time out of the country, no comps, no plastic holds, just time to chill out and enjoy climbing.

The small town of Margalef is perched on a hillside deep in one of the valleys. At first glance it looks like a tiny desolate place but unfolds upwards to a cute little church buried amongst the overlapping buildings.





On arrival the weather was less than desirable so the amount climbing and sun bathing was lacking. The weather was a little up and down for the duration of the trip but we had enough days of beautiful sunshine to make it hard to leave. I knew I wasn’t fully fit and I was quite certain I was going to scare myself on the end of a rope. I had never tried anything harder than 8a outside on a rope before, considering so much of my climbing life was spent focused around sport climbing my lack of days spent sport climbing is quite pathetic. In Margalef I got on a route called Darwin Dixit. Good holds and huge moves on very steep ground up to a mono and then a pockety head wall. It was first graded 8c and now 8b+. Having never pulled on anything this hard my psychological fear of the climb proved to be challenging to overcome. Before even getting on the climb I was convinced the moves would be insanely hard and the fact that the holds were wet just allowed for me to create more barriers. I was surprised to do all of the moves on my first try and they didn’t feel too hard. I lowered off pleased with my effort but the thought of linking it all together was very hard to comprehend. 



After a rest day we were up early to try and get in some climbing before the dark angry sky inevitably brought the rain back again. Even though we only got a little bit done before the rain came hammering down it was our best day climbing! I got back on Darwin and after getting scared at the start on the huge moves, had a really productive and progressive session on it. I managed to climb it in two sections and figure out some more efficient beta on the lower moves as it was steep enough to remain dry in the down pour. The day continued into a full day of trying hard, avoiding the rain and climbing on any dry rock we could find. This included one of the best routes I have ever climbed! A beautiful 7a up big fat tufa’s. So much fun!  Another long night of heavy down pour left  motivation lacking and the prospects of finding some dry rock were looking bleak. However, Rachel Hoyland, psyche enthusiast was at the ready to drag us out in search of something to climb on. Another productive day where I gained another project,  a really cool steep 8a. It was so much fun to climb on and scared me quite a lot too which just made me want to do it more. I got really psyched about doing it and had a few red point attempts. The thunder God however had decided not to allow me to do the climb that day. The crux was a mono in the roof, every time I went for the mono there was a loud terrifying clap of thunder which scared me far too much to consider carrying on with the climb.

It went down the next morning first try though  after a few squats and a good Beastmaker travel finger board warm up. Then it was back to Darwin. I felt tired and the holds were still a little wet, it didn’t feel possible so I spent a little time improving my beta and decided to save energy for a few goes the next morning before flying home.





 

Sunday morning, our flight left at five and we were up early to make the most of the perfect conditions, cold, sunny, dry… well pretty much everything was dry except for the third hold which I had to do a huge move off. Ned’s drying skills allowed for red point attempts to go ahead. On my first effort I found myself at the mono crux, my hands were freezing and through fear of injury I went no further. I decided that was my warm up go and composed myself to try again. In just a few days I had gone from not being able to comprehend even attempting a route this hard and being terrified on the end of a rope to being ready to climb it. I was insanely psyched and I even felt confident. Mark had kindly dried the hold, my hands were warm, I was ready to go.

I pulled on and before I knew it I could see the sky… I was upside-down with my head just off the ground. As the confusion settled this allowed the throbbing pain from my finger tip to sneak in…





I had pulled the hold off. GUTTED is a massive understatement. I still can’t believe I pulled a hold off such a classic route of the area, sorry! Guess all the training has made me too strong! 

Emotions were mixed but frustration was most evident. Margalef is amazing, I would recommend it to any one. Loosing my finger tip made leaving much easier but I really hope to return some day. I had an awesome week with Rachel, Mark and Ned. Being with good people in such beautiful places makes me realise what a unique and incredible sport climbing is. 

 







It’s now only 2 days until the symposium and I am getting very excited and nervous. There are 130 women traveling from across Europe to be at the event this year! I am just writing my talk for the day now and reflecting on my world cup year is making me so psyched for 2013! I will let you all know how the day goes!

 

 

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Womens Climbing Symposium 2012
5 November 2012, 11:05 pm

The level of female climbing is being taken to new extremes across the globe. Within the past few weeks there has been significant break throughs in the sport. Tomoko Ogawa became the first ever woman to climb V14, unbelievably inspirational! Another inspirational female and one of my own personal hero’s is Ashima Shiraishi who recently climbed two 8c+’s the first on her 6th day on, the second on her 7th day on. (I get tired after two days climbing). This young lady is only 11 years old and she has also climbed V13 a desire I am yet to accomplish myself.

 It’s great to see females pushing the boundaries of our sport but the womens climbing symposium was about all female climbers… I started climbing at a really young age and grew up in the climbing world. A couple of years back I started coaching a ladies night at The Climbing Hangar, doing this highlighted my ignorance to so many issues that many females face in the climbing community. Both psychological and physical barriers that had never been apparent in my own climbing. The womens climbing symposium was a day designed to celebrate our sport bringing a sense of community and togetherness. 

 

Your 2012 WCS organisers! CREDIT: NICK BROWN of OUTCROP FILMS Our mission statement was to connect, inspire and develop womens climbing through collective climbing experiences, the latest research and the best coaching… I believe we achieved this! 

 For the past six months or so myself and Stephanie Meysner have dedicated our time to organising this unique event. I would like to state, simply for those who think we did this for commercial reasons, that neither of us made a penny from the day. 

Friday the 2nd of November, Steph and I were up early and out for a run. It was a beautiful sunny morning with a light mist glistening in the cold wintery air. It had been a late night as we were up planning our opening speech, thinking of jobs and generally getting nervous. The run allowed for some time to clear our heads and start the day feeling satisfied that we had already been productive. After a delicious Bold St Coffee breakfast the mental preparation day began. Lots of errands to run, things to be picked up, get delivered and set up. At midnight we were sat in the office at The Climbing Hangar with two good friends yet again going over our opening speech nervous but very excited too.

Saturday 3rd of November, the morning of the second Womens Climbing Symposium at The Climbing Hangar, Liverpool. Floods of enthusiastic, psyched women were coming through the door and it wasn’t even 9 o’clock. The energy in the building was high and my own apprehension was growing. 10AM came: Steph and I stood in front of 130 women, some of whom had travelled from as far as Spain and Switzerland, all of these women were there because we had told them the day was going to be amazing. The pressure was on but we were confident that the 2012 Womens Climbing Symposium was going to be incredible. 

The day began with coaching workshops taking place and a talk from Jos Vanrenterghem – Head of Biomechanics at LJMU titled ‘Explaining Shauna’. I didn’t get to hear much of this talk but as far as I am aware the conclusion was basically that I am nothing special, I have just spent a very large amount of my life climbing and that put with my crazily high level of motivation and determination has lead to my current position on the world stage. The coaching workshops all seemed to go really well. This year we had participants sign up to two workshops from a choice of four. I really wanted people to come away from the event with something useful and instrumental to their own climbing. The workshops were an hour long and repeated 4 hours throughout the day, the coaches worked extremely hard and were brilliant. 

 

Coaches for 2012 WCS CREDIT: NICK BROWN of OUTCROP FILMS I have to give a massive thank you to every one of the the coaches who gave their time away from work and family for little more than travel expenses. Leah Crane, Ellie Howard, Lucinda Whittaker, Diane Merrick, Suzan Dudink, Emma Twyford, Kitty Wallace and Audrey Seguy THANK YOU! 



Coaches for 2012 WCS CREDIT: NICK BROWN of OUTCROP FILMS During lunch  we played an inspiring and exclusive clip of Hot Aches Productions new film ‘Odyssey’ and also a clip from Jen Randall’s new film ‘Push It’. Both of these movies are released soon and both got me super psyched! I would recommend you check them out! Fran Brown was next to talk. A few months back I saw a video of Fran climbing at The Arch and I could not believe I hadn’t heard of her before. At the world Championships in Paris I saw Fran’s awesome performance that claimed her the World Para-Climbing title. She is one of the most inspirational women I had ever seen and I wanted to do what I could to help her to share her story and with that raise awareness for para-climbing. 

 Fran’s talk was heartfelt, motivational and truly inspiring. The reaction from the crowd was amazing! You can follow Fran on her blog HERE! 

Lucy Creamer, one of the UK’s most accomplished climbers, was up next to give a talk on Injury and Identity. It was evident from the reactions of the crowd that a lot of people could relate to Lucy’s words. Injury is something that many of us have faced and it can almost be comforting to to know that other people find it difficult and challenging. 

 The next coaching session took place parallel to GB Team nutritionist Rebecca Dent’s talk – Food for fitness and health – keeping you firing on all cylinders. Teaching people how they can get more from their climbing sessions. Lot’s of questions and notes taken during this talk so hopefully the ladies took so useful information away. Time to drink lots of chocolate milk!

After this there were only two talks left to take place. David Simmonite’s talk on women in the climbing media and my own talk. David’s talk was chaired by Audrey Seguy and went really well. David (editor of Climber Magazine) has to be credited as we asked many media representatives to attend the event and it was only David Simmonite who accepted our invitation. His talk provoked some interesting comments and it was clear that there were very mixed opinions from people in the crowd. David Simmonite on the back of his presentation made a great offer to the women at the event: he has put aside a space in Climber, one of the most read climbing magazines in the UK, for a submission (written, photo or both) from a woman that attended the event. If it’s worthy, not only will he publish it, he will pay standard journalistic rates! This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute towards the construction of our climbing media and possibly start a career as a professional journalclimberist. 

I have to admit that I could not fully engage in David’s talk as I was beginning to get quite nervous about my talk. It had been a long day, I was quite tired and my voice was sore. I remember when I started my blog at the beginning of this year I wondered if any one would be interested, who would read it and why? I was starting to think similar thoughts now, did people want to hear about my year, would it be interesting enough? The number of people who read my blog has grown beyond a figure I could ever have imagined and I had planned my talk to try and allow other people to relate to what I was saying. 

It was a little bit of a shaky start but before long I was in the flow of describing the ups and downs of being on the world cup stage and the roller coaster ride that has been my life for this past year. The doors opened including sponsorship, coach, meeting amazing people and traveling the world. And then the barriers faced, the realisation that being on the world cup scene means giving everything to climbing which has resulted in some relationships in my life ending and traveling alone can be hard. I talked a lot about trying hard, it took me 15 years of climbing to discover that trying hard can transform a climbing experience and it’s not just at a high level that it can make a difference. Everyone can try hard, push their own personal boundaries and get more from their experiences.

 I hope my talk ended the day on a high. After awarding a few prizes, thanking everyone for coming, the participants the coaches, talkers and our helpers on the day (especially my sisters) it was time to say goodbye. The Womens Climbing Symposium was over for another year.

I personally think that Steph and I did a pretty good job! We worked hard and it was all totally worth it! 

 

CREDIT: NICK BROWN of OUTCROP FILMS Thank you to the sponsors of the Womens Climbing Symposium 2012… The BMC, UKC, Crimp Oil, Five Ten, Gear for Girls and Cotswold

Nick Brown from Outcrop Productions is currently working on putting together a video of the day so in the next couple of weeks we will be releasing that! Exciting! Mike South who was also filming on the day is working on producing videos of the individual talks that took place on the day. So keep checking on here and our Facebook page for those! Also our forum is now up and running. There is a bit of a delay in getting things rolling on there but HERE is the link. 

It’s quite an unusual feeling having nothing but climbing to think about now. In the back of my mind for the past few months I have had symposium thoughts floating about constantly. Now it’s time to get focused on training and climbing on ROCK! 

SO PSYCHED!

 

 

more WCS photos to come very soon! 

 

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Fear and Loathing
18 November 2012, 9:48 pm

I thought I was back, I thought the whole leg thing was over and it was time to get on with climbing…

Coming back to climbing after breaking my leg was so exciting. I was anxious yes but I was always on the end of a rope and before long I was confident enough to go for dynamic moves and push myself to my limit. I have been back climbing now for about two months.

Last week I got the okay from my physio and coach to start bouldering again. It had been almost 5 months since I had bouldered. My emotions were so mixed, fear and excitement were battling away in my head. It wasn’t long before fear took over and this lead to frustration. I then got really upset due to my lack of control over my head. I had been feeling so good climbing on a rope, pushing myself and enjoying climbing but I am a boulderer. It’s where my passion lies, it’s what I do. Everything used to click when I bouldered previously. The once familiar composed state of control was no longer accessible. 

When I pulled on boulder problems easily within my capability a fear would come over me, the words ‘I’m scared’ would instantly come out of my mouth and I was grabbing the nearest jug; as the realisation of my unconscious actions sunk in so did the frustration. This wasn’t me. I felt like someone else on the wall. I hated climbing. I couldn’t move freely. I couldn’t think. 

If it wasn’t for my coach this session would have ended very abruptly and on an extremely negative note. An emotional roller coaster is the easiest way I can explain my climbing experiences recently. I was reluctant to continue climbing. Since I very first started, climbing has always been about fun and enjoyment. I wasn’t having fun and I wasn’t enjoying it. Reluctantly I continued to climb and progress was made even to a point where I was falling off. It was in a very controlled manor but it felt good to try hard again, to pull on really bad holds and do moves at my limit. After getting to a point of frustration that brought me close to tears I was now feeling psyched and motivated to work on the barriers that were such evident psychological flaws in my climbing. I had gone through every emotion possible in about 2 minutes multiple times throughout the session. I was mentally exhausted at the end. 

It was a week before I climbed again and my second session back was much better. I was definitely still on the emotional roller coaster but the highs and lows were less extreme. I completed a few problems I had backed out on the week before and the progression was obvious but I felt so far from where I had been before my injury. This new mental state I found myself in when climbing was totally foreign to me, I was terrified of never finding the blissful natural flow again.

One of the most irritating things was whenever I pushed hard off my right leg I got a pain, similar but less extreme to the feeling when I broke it. This pain would cause me to hold on as tight as I could and instantly stop any motion, causing me to get tired fast and created lots of knots in my back. I was booked in to see my physio the next day to see if the pain was something to worry about or just part of the healing process. I also thought it might have been slightly psychological. In fact the pain was VERY real. It was scar tissue, soft tissue and nerve damage (healing pains). Nothing too extreme and it wasn’t to prohibit running or climbing. It did however require some rather unpleasant and tearful deep tissue massage… all part of this lovely road to recovery eh.

At this point I spent a lot of time reflecting on my two bouldering and the experiences both physical and mental. The feeling of trying something really hard and pushing myself was something I had missed. A campus board just doesn’t quite give the same satisfaction. Towards the end of the second session I was going for moves I expected to fail on, pushing past where I thought my limits were and beginning to explore the new strengths I had gained from the past months of training. 

I know I am not at my fittest right now, but I am much stronger than I was before I broke my leg. Having an increased ability combined with a decreased mental ability was insanely confusing. As an athlete you become very aware about your body’s and mind’s strengths and weaknesses. Everything for me had changed, I no longer know where my limits are.

I had bouldered twice on plastic, begun to fall on hard dynamic moves and begun to try hard again. The weather was good and it was time to face up to bouldering on rock again. I guess it seems a bit crazy considering I was still so scared but I was also so psyched and so motivated. I wanted to beat this fear, sort out my head and get back on it! We went to a small venue, Pantymwyn. A steep strip of limestone next to a cute little river amongst lots of trees. It was a really fun day out in the beautiful crisp, autumnal setting. But… I got scared and the venue is far from high. I had a spotter right behind me constantly and always a good pad set up. However, as soon as my foot was anywhere but below me fear would prevent me from moving. If I could lock off and reach with my feet below me then a problem was possible. Otherwise the this mental barrier was too much. I got angry at myself for being so pathetic. Frustrated at my ridiculous mentality and generally disappointed in my climbing.



CREDIT: RACHEL HOYLAND

 CREDIT: RACHEL HOYLAND



That night I was asked by coach to spend some time reflecting on my fear. I sat with a brew trying to make sense of it all. At first I got very frustrated. Why was I getting so scared on stupid things? Why couldn’t I control it? Would I ever be able to get over this? It sounds silly to think that so early coming back to climbing but this is my life, my passion and my job. The fear of not overcoming this barrier was almost as terrifying and the barrier itself. 

The very next day we were off out to the gritstone. I was aching all over. I had pulled SO unnecessarily hard the day before that my fingers and core were aching. From steep polished limestone it was over to the slabby sticky grit. It was another crisp afternoon, in another beautiful location. Time to embrace those things on the end of my legs and give the arms a break from pulling. Trusting my feet was not something I wanted to do but paying around of a few easy boulders was so much fun it didn’t seem too scary. I had a mini break through and managed to gain some momentum in my climbing that had been missing. There was one boulder that I watched a friend climb, he climbs flawlessly on gritstone, it’s incredible and inspiring to watch, he climbed this boulder and it had a really cool release, stand up and catch move in. I watched him climb it and thought wow I wanna do it, despite it looking scary. I jumped on and got to the stand up release, I was scared, my leg was shaking and my head was fighting hard the urge to jump off. I went for it!  I missed the hold due to me not actually looking where it was before I got on but I went for it, I tired, I fell. I tired not knowing if I would make the move or not. I committed to uncertainty. I was so shocked, relieved and psyched all at the same time. The move was so cool and I really wanted to do it and next go I did. I went for it again, a move totally out of control and I actually went for it.



 

CREDIT: RACHEL HOYLAND

 CREDIT: RACHEL HOYLAND I am far from where I want to be. I feel strong physically but I am not yet sure how strong I am. I am still dealing with frustration and anger but I have now decided to embrace the recovery process once again, learn from it and continue to make conscious efforts to ensure this journey to recovery that I am on continues to be positive.  

 

I had not expected this transition back to bouldering to be so difficult. With out the people around me I think it would be a very different story. I have been surrounded by support and patience. The progress I have made in such a short amount of time is all down to some amazing people… THANK YOU!

I have also begun to help a good friend with a project of his ‘Climbers Against Cancer’. Reads his story HERE! You will be hearing much more about Climbers Against Cancer – CAC in the near future, it’s going to be big. Be ready! 

 xx

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Legends ONLY!
2 December 2012, 10:40 pm

LA SPORTIVA LEGENDS ONLY 

 

The past few weeks have been really busy so I didn’t have that much time to get nervous or excited about going to Sweden. Before I knew it I was back in the familiar surroundings of Manchester Airport, I almost felt liked I had missed the place. I was sat in the airport waiting to fly out to Stockholm to set some boulder problems for some of the worlds best boulderer’s, suddenly it all sunk in.  

I had to set for one of the most watched events in the history of the sport. The 2011 La Sportiva Legends Only video has been watched over 100,000 times on youtube. I had to set boulder problems at and far beyond my own physical limit. It was super exciting but I was extremely nervous too! 

I love route setting. I think its really satisfying to put some holds on a wall in a specific way that people will have pleasure climbing up or trying to climb up. I like that people will enjoy boulder problems for different reasons. Maybe they find it challenging, fun, easy, flowing maybe even awkward. I think its cool that people can find different aspects enjoyable. Like the people who enjoy scary slab climbing, they are crazy! 

I always try to set boulder problems that people will enjoy. I like to try and make moves that people might not have done before. After all a boulder problem is suppose to a be ‘problem’ that you have to figure out right?

So in the week before Legends Only I set a few hard boulder problems at The Climbing Hangar. It was a really fun day setting, making up crazy moves and setting boulders from funky awkwardness to basic pulling on tiny crimps and big pinches. I was a little worried that my boulder problems might not climb very well as I had been off the wall for so long and hadn’t set in a while. Luckily this was not the case at all and I was really really pleased with the boulder problems I had created. Between myself and a friend we set 20 boulder problems and tested them. I completed a few but the rest were to be mini projects. These problems were all possible for me though and I could do most of the moves. I had to take things to a whole new level for Legends Only though. It was time to set the hardest problems I could imagine. I know a lot of people in England say you can’t get harder than V8+/7b+ indoors… It was time to put that theory to the test. 

I arrived in Sweden to lots of snow and freezing cold temperatures. I am not the biggest fan of the cold but it was so nice to see the snow brightening the dark city and giving it a very Christmasy feel.  

 



Setting began around 10am Friday morning after lots of coffee of course, having a trained barrista on your setting team is definitely a MUST! We were a team of five myself, Robert Rundin, Jocke Berglund, Stefan Eklund and Chris Ellis. So with good coffee being the source of most motivation and success in my life it was time to begin setting. A huge blank wall lay in front of us and there were lots of ideas floating about which was definitely a good thing! Between us we had ideas for each section of wall so it was just down to whacking some holds on the walls and seeing what we came up with.

People often ask me if I have a plan when I come to set a boulder problems, if I draw something up or have a detailed idea ready. The truth is I never really have a plan. I might want to set a specific move or use a certain hold but my method is to simply get the holds on the wall and see how they feel. Setting boulder problems at and way beyond my own physical limit was new but this did not change my method, just the size and angle of the holds and the distance between them. It was hard to comprehend where the competitors physical barriers were. Did they even have any? If I put a crimp on the wall, even the smallest crimp, almost invisible, I am pretty sure they could hold it. The boulders had to be possible but hard. So the question was how do we make some of them but not all of them fall off?

A competition is a show, it has to be entertaining for the audience or else whats the point? The boulders had to be perfect, too many tops and having people tie would be rubbish and not so fun to see at all. Too few tops and the comp is lame too! The boulders we came up with after eight hours were all very different. Each one tested the athletes in a different way from basic pulling power to balancy awkward compression. The boulder problems were tweaked and tweaked and tweaked until it was time for the  compeitiors Adam Ondra, Sean McColl, Jakob Schubert, Dmitry Sharafutdinov and Guillaume Glairon-Mondet to have 2 hours working on the boulder problems. 

 

The boulders looked much easier with all of the test jugs on! Yep, the competitors got a chance to practice the competition boulder problems. So these guys can climb v14 and harder on rock. They can flash HARD boulder problems! So these problems that they were competing on had to be REALLY HARD! They had two hours to work out the perfect beta, practice the hard moves and perfect the insecure movements. I was pretty nervous about seeing these guys on the problems. I was scared that they would all be too easy and it would it be highly embarrassing and would result in me giving female route setters a bad name. 

 

Sean and Adam during the test period! Turns out those guys are all pretty weak and we had to make three of the boulders easier… punters eh! It was quite satisfying to see them falling off (I mean that in the nicest way possible). It’s easy to watch them climb and think that they aren’t human, that they are invincible. It kinda looks like they are sometimes but they were definitely tested and pushed. Not one boulder was flashed in practice. PHEW! We moved a couple of holds about and by the end  of the practice period no moves were left undone. Only one boulder had been completed start to finish and I think every climber had one move that they had not yet completed. Exciting! 

In the next 24 hours I began to think that they might be too easy! I got more nervous about this comp than I do about competing myself. There were 700 spectators coming to the event and thousands of people watching on the live feed. My name up there as chief route setter meant that if the boulders were rubbish and didn’t put on a good show it was all on me! 

The competitors arrived in very classy style: limo, smoke, lights and a very excited crowd. 5 of the best climbers in the world about to compete in what is fast becoming acknowledged as one of the best competitions in the world! It was go time…

The first boulder was so cool! It required a tough fight though some volumes with the competitor facing the crowd, followed by very exciting wild flick that got the crowd hyped up. We had expected this boulder to see every climber top and we’d expected most to get it first try. The climbers did not live up to such expectations, the group was split already. They far exceeded expectations on boulder 2. In practice the huge dyno looked crazy hard! With some epic falls the climbers were slamming into the ground all over the place. This was not the case on comp day. Each of them climbed it in flawless style and made it look simple. 

Two boulders down. It was going good. Number 3: tiny little holds, every one but the final jug was a screw on. It had a really cool, stupidly hard rose move in the middle. It was crazy to see how insanely strong some of the guys looked on this move and how much others struggled. The climbers strengths and weaknesses were definitely highlighted in this competition. Sean, Jakob and Dmitri all crushed the third boulder! Jakob hadn’t even competed the move in practice yet with the crowd and his fellow competitors stood cheering him on he climbed it beautifully. The fourth boulder was up the steepest section right in the centre of the wall on big green blobs and some impossible looking black triangles. In practice this had looked to be the hardest problem. Imagine a tiny little crimp in a super steep roof and then an even smaller crimp and then off these two holds a dyno into a compression and you have the crux. The first four climbers got close, Jakob looked like he had it but the swing was just too much. I had been so happy with this boulder problem. It climbed so well and looked really cool but as they first four climbers proved it was also insanely hard! Dmitry was last to climb. I really wanted everyone to see how this boulder problem climbed. I think Dmitry could possibly have the strongest fingers in the world? He caught the dyno first try and with the ecstatic electrifying crown battled his way to the final move. He got so close, painfully close, but greased off right at the last moment. A very valiant effort and totally inspiring to watch.





 

A comp shouldn’t be over until it’s over… The last boulder would be the decision between Sean and Dmitri for first place. I was so happy with the way it had turned out and the last boulder was still super exciting. Dmitri flashed the boulder almost effortlessly but Sean just had to top to win. As a route setter this is quite a good ending, a very close competition and the crowd loving it! Sean knew what he had to do as did the crowd… He had a bit of a nightmare on the crux move of this boulder in practice and on his first attempt this was visible. After fumbling the foot placement that amusingly he’d never actually practised before as during the test period he’d always pulled onto the move using the practice jug which made the foot placement easy. One go was enough to learn how to do it efficiently and his next try was perfect. Perfect enough to claim him first place.

All in all route setting is pretty stressful and I can imagine it is not so fun when it goes wrong. When it goes right, its awesome! I am totally satisfied with the competition and I just hope that everyone who watched enjoyed it as much as I did? My first chief route setter job at one of the biggest comps ever and I think I did quite a good job (for a girl ) haha! I also think I might have managed to set something harder than V8+? What do you think?

Congratulations to the organisers for putting on an amazing show! I have never been to such a smoothly run climbing competition! The Legends also need a huge appreciation, they are the ones who make the show after all. RESULTS LIST!

 

Also, I would like to thank all of the competitors for supporting Climbers Against Cancer! I will publish a piece about CAC next week so stay tuned for that…

PlanetMountain Report: HERE! Check out the behind the scenes video made by Sandstones Media… 

from Sandstones Media on Vimeo.

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

WCS 2012
5 December 2012, 6:00 pm

On Saturday November 3rd the second Womens Climbing Symposium took place. It was incredibly successful. 130 women turned up to take part in coaching, inspirational and informative talks and to celebrate our sport.

Check out the video made by Outcrop Productions!

 

from Outcrop Films on Vimeo.



Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Merry Christmas Everyone!
24 December 2012, 8:49 pm



2012 has been an incredible year for me. So much has happened! I almost find it hard to think back to the beginning of the year. I have travelled across the world, seen to some awesome places and met some amazing people. I have tried my best  to fill you in along the way and I really hope you have enjoyed reading my ramblings. I started my blog at the beginning of 2012 and the number of people reading has continued to grow. I would like to thank you all so much for the support  The messages and emails I received whilst I was out with my broken leg showed me how caring and thoughtful you can be and provided the motivation and inspiration I needed to come back from my injury stronger and fitter. I couldn’t be more excited about 2013! I will be sure to continue informing you of my adventures, so stay tuned  

I would like to wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

I was thinking of going over some of my favourite moments this year but I think its easier to do it in pictures so here goes…

 JANUARY FEBRUARY

 MARCH  



 APRIL



MAY





JUNE



JULY





AUGUST



SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER





NOVEMBER



DECEMBER



A huge thank you to my sponsors FIVE TEN & CRAGGY ISLAND.

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Chattanooga – Tennessee
7 January 2013, 6:10 pm

Two days before leaving for the states I was having a chilled climbing session, setting and trying some hard boulder problems. I felt good and not too weak after all the food over Christmas. I felt strong and psyched. Then right at the end of my session I heard a little noise and my finger began to throb instantly. Devastated! It was the holidays and there was no chance of seeing a physio and before I knew it I was on the plane with very mixed feelings about leaving home.

I thought I had had my share of injuries for 2012 but I guess this is to be my first of 2013 and hopefully I will get injuries out of the way nice and early.



I hadn’t thought much about my trip to America at all. I knew where I was flying to and that I was going to be living in a spaceship but that was about it. I had no clue where we would be climbing or what the style was. The trip came around so quickly with Christmas being so busy but I found myself in the familiar surroundings of Manchester Airport once again leaving the rainy UK behind. The plane journey was not the best. I love children but being stuck next to a baby who cries for hours on end did not add to the comforts of the plane. After a delay in Philadelphia I arrived in Atlanta where a very kind friend of mine, Kevin, was waiting to pick me up with pink lemonade and whole foods cookies to hand… Legend!



We are actually living in this house!!! I hadn’t seen dry rock for weeks in England and I was itching to get out and see what the Chattanooga area (where I was actually staying) had to offer. Blue skies, dense forrest and endless blocks of perfect sandstone… safe to say it’s bliss out here! I  would describe the rock as a cross between font and the grit but DRY! It is super sticky and full of incredible lines. With my finger taped up I was off to test out my fear of climbing above pads. I was limited to what I could climb as anything crimpy was way too painful but there’s so much to go at that it didn’t matter at all. On day one I was very cautious of my finger but I just wanted to climb everything and holding back was hard! I did a few boulders including a really fun V10 called Biggie Shortie, a scary V9 called Bed Wetter and a few classics including The Wave V5 and Deception V7. Both beautiful lines and totally different styles of climbing. There was one boulder I wanted to try more than anything else. The Shield, it is an amazing line of creases up a smooth face. It was pretty much the only boulder I knew of in the area before coming out and it was hard.









I am not the type of person who refuses to climb anything easy and only wants to get on hard climbs but I really enjoy pushing myself and trying hard moves. I was also really psyched about testing my new strengths gained from training. I had seen videos of people climbing The Shield and walked past admiring it so many times. I felt so ready to get on it myself. So I have done some damage to a pulley in my ring finger on my left hand. It had been hurting but not too much but The Shield was not going to give me any sympathy. In fact I think I offended the boulder by trying it as it fought back and won making my finger worse.



I have been climbing for 15years and I still don’t know how to listen to my body. Knowing when to stop and rest is not as easy as it sounds as I am sure many of you will have experienced this. I guess the temptations of dry rock and perfect lines was too much for me and now I am stuck icing my finger and reading my book and watching friends pursue their projects. It is new for me to observe outside. I haven’t spent much time climbing on rock at all and when I have I have usually been really psyched and oblivious to other peoples approaches. It can be refreshing to be in a familiar surrounding but taking a new perspective. If you read my blog about Munich World Cup 2012 it is a very similar situation once again.



I  took a few days off. Total rest! Filled with pancakes, baking and pizza to lift some spirits. Injuries, bad skin and coming painfully close to projects has left us all in need of some baked goods

 I usually go to areas to try and climb hard because that’s what I love but now I get to enjoy climbing  the classics. It is easy to let frustration and anger get the better of you. At first all I wanted to do was feel sorry for myself. But it is time to embrace the slopers and open handed holds (work on some weaknesses) and enjoy being in a world class bouldering area and not being in the rain. Little Rock City, Rock Town and Horsepens 40 are amazing places to hold back and take things easy. And maybe my finger will heal up and I can try and climb something harder towards the end of the trip. But no more pushing it for me!



CAC – CLIMBERS AGAINST CANCER – Follow FACEBOOK! WEBSITE!

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Back Home And Training
23 January 2013, 10:06 am

Last week I made the decision to leave the USA early and come home. After trying to make the best of my finger situation I made the hard decision to cut my losses and come back to the UK for treatment and recuperation. I was sad to be leaving, the climbing in Tennessee and Georgia was absolutely world class. I had a great time and met some awesome people but equally it’s really frustrating being away on a climbing trip unable to climb.

I landed in the UK and went straight to my physio. He broke the news that I have torn a pulley in each of my ring fingers and that the only way they’re going to heal is to rest. Though annoying, at first I embraced the resting, did lots of baking and went out and played in the UK’s latest flurry of snow.

As you may expect the novelty of all this sitting around and playing soon wore off and I started to need to do some exercise. Even while away on my trip I had really begun to miss the feeling of training, the effort, the aching, the burn. I hadn’t woken up with aching arms or sore core for weeks. After training so intensely for a few months I almost felt lost without it. I think training is pretty addictive and I was feeling kind of guilty for being so lazy. It was time to get back on it.



I had my first session back on Monday. It was hard to get motivated to train at the climbing centre when all I wanted to do was go climbing but with my coach there to keep me focused it wasn’t long before I was falling on my face unable to do one more press up and fighting hard through my core workout. It feels so good to be pushing myself again. I might not be able to climb but this time out will allow me to focus on some weaknesses I would have otherwise not been able to focus on. I’m really optimistic that this time is going to be really productive and we can use it to our advantage coming into this years World Cup season. I’ve got my fingers crossed for speedy recovery and its so satisfying to get that achy burn back again.







PHOTO CREDITS: RACHEL HOYLAND I also have some exciting news to announce. I am now an official ambassador for Crimp Oil. Crimp Oil is is the first 100% NATURAL blend specially made for climbers for recovering from fingers injuries. It helps to kill pain in tendons, joints and muscles. Crimp Oil is composed of 6 essential oils and 1 plant extract for the well-being of your fingers. Also it smells REALLY good! I am using it up to 4 times per day to help my fingers fix up! Get yours HERE!

 

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Climbers Against Cancer
5 February 2013, 6:04 pm

So most of you will already have seen the CAC tee-shirts that are filling climbing walls with colour across the globe and taking over all social media sites. But how many of you know the story behind the whole thing. It is so easy to get on board with CAC and it is amazing how much of an impact it has already made but we should also try to not forget the harsh reality behind it all!



John and his daughter Charlotte   CAC Climbers Against Cancer is all down to one incredible individual John Ellison and although others have been involved with helping to get it up and running John has been the catalyst for it all. Last year John Ellison was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I have known John since a very young age and I have never seen him without a smile upon his face and some sort of witty comment at the ready. This has definitely not changed. If you have heard anything at all about CAC or about John himself I am sure you have heard nothing but good. Because the man is nothing but good. 

Cancer. A word that so many people are terrified of. When someone mentions cancer do you think of death? I will admit that until recently I was guilty of this. Cancer will affect every single person in the world, directly or indirectly. Cancer used to be thought of as the end of a life but now we have found ways to treat it. This shows that we can find the cure.

To be honest I do not see John as a man with cancer. His positivity and generally bubbly personality means that most of the time I totally forget. I worked with John to help get his new project up and running. CLIMBERS AGAINST CANCER. Just a few months ago John, myself and Graeme Alderson sat and discussed the idea over lunch. I remember saying ‘John, This is going to be huge!’. But none of us could have expected the support and interest that it has already had. Since the very beginning John has taken his situation with such positive light and he is doing so much good with his situation. This man has an incredible way with people and he doesn’t half know how to talk. This has lead to a very extensive web of connections throughout the climbing community. A community that John has passionately embraced over the past years.  

 Climbing is unique. It is my life, job and passion. Inevitably the majority of my life is spent in the climbing world. I meet people who climb for so many different reasons and enjoy different aspects of the sport. Everyone participates in their own way. I have always been so fascinated by the way climbing can be so many different things to so many different people. Yet everywhere you go be it at the climbing centre on a sunday afternoon, trad climbing on Stanage Edge, hanging out in the famous campsites of Yosemite, at the opening ceremony of a world cup, a late night cave session, your first trip to font, everywhere you go there are people who share this passion for climbing. Think about the people you have met? The family this sport/hobby/recreation/lifestyle has created for you. 

We are powerful as a group of people. We share the same passion. Okay, so maybe we differ in disciplines, views and opinions but one thing we share is the love for this sport. John saw the kindness, togetherness, the sense of community and the love in our sport and he decided to harness the good it can bring.

It’s time to raise awareness. Take the fear out of the word cancer. Raise money and FIND THE CURE!    John’s project Climbers Against Cancer is big and its growing but it could be bigger and better. It’s up to you now! All we are asking you to do is buy a CAC tee shirt. This is a totally non profit organisation. The money raised will be spread across cancer research charities over the 5 continents. It’s said that one in three people get cancer. Personally I find that terrifying! It’s a disease that no one is immune to. Any one of you reading this could be affected. Play your part in finding the cure. Buying a teeshirt is simple. Click HERE!

Once you have your t-shirt get a picture uploaded to the website. Get involved and become part of the extensive and growing CAC family. Join myself, Alex Puccio, Jakob Schubert, Sean McColl, Jorg Verhoeven, Ramón Julian Puigblanque, Sachi Amma, Sasha DiGiulian, Angie Payne, Dave Macleod and hundreds of others.





Photo Credits: Lukasz Warzecha John is involved in every part of the t-shirt production. From picking the shirts up at the printers to packing them and posting them out. He is promoting CAC in every way possible at competitions, online interviews and even on the radio. Behind all of this John still has cancer. He is in pain every day. But he is not letting any of this stop him and despite my nagging he hardly even stops to rest. John might be dying but he is living more than anyone else I know! 

John isn’t the only one fighting cancer. We all should be! 

“You can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about it’s width and depth”



John and myself at the launch of the CAC WEBSITE!





 



 





 

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Rehab…
28 February 2013, 1:10 pm



Photo: Alex Messenger Coming back to climbing once more… I have never spent so long off my arms. Since I started climbing at the age of four the worst injuries I have had have been knees or legs, so I have always been able to use my arms. I have had a few niggles in my fingers but never enough to keep me off the wall totally. I had two weeks off when I went on a family holiday once and I think that’s the longest rest my arms have ever had.

So after 15 years of climbing I had my first serious finger injuries. I got a pair. Always best to do things properly and not just half hearted eh! I have had a lot of questions, messages and emails about my injury, the rehab and coming back to climbing. So hopefully I can help some of you out a little in this blog.

I hurt my finger two days before leaving for the USA. Going on a climbing trip with a fresh finger injury truly sucks! To make things worse I stupidly gave in to my desire to climb on the beautiful sandstone whilst away, it was so teasing, with a delusion that my finger wasn’t that bad. It inevitably got worse. So my first piece of advice would be to listen to your body! When something hurts do not just ignore it!

My second piece of advice would be to get professional help as soon as you can. When I landed back in the UK I went straight to see GB team physiotherapist Rick Webber. He was massively helpful and gave me a diagnosis and a full rehab program. I  think it can be really hard to find a good understanding physiotherapist. Climbing is still a small sport, in comparison to many others, so a physiotherapist with good knowledge of climbing injures is not so easy to come across. I would definitely recommend Rick Webber. I also got sport massage treatment from Rich Hollingsworth. He is really understanding and works on most of Sheffield’s climbing community. It’s people like these who keep me working so I can keep training and pushing myself. Thanks you! 

After a few weeks of rehab, standing under a fingerboard slowly increasing the amount of weight I could bear through my fingers, I was able to begin doing pull ups. Incredibly slow and totally in control which actually made them feel really hard. Something I found really hard during my rehab was deciding what pain was pain and what was just discomfort. I was lucky enough to have Mark my coach with me throughout my rehab, he really helped guide me as to what I should be doing, but I still really struggled with deciding how things felt, as only you know how much pain you are in. I think it is also really important to remember that not every step you take will be forward. Some days I felt tired or I had a cold coming on and I would feel like my injuries were getting worse. Exercises that felt easy would be painful again and my motivation would dip. It’s easy to forget the progress you have made when all you want to do is get back to being totally fit and at your best. My third piece of advise would be to keep things around you that help you stay motivated, be that a coach/friends or pictures of your latest project.

 

Over the last year I’ve pushed myself harder than I’ve ever pushed myself before and I’ve really begun to realise there is a very fine line between training and injury. Pushing your body hard can be painful and the important thing is knowing the difference between training pain and injury pain. Once you’ve been injured a few times its easy to become scared that you might do the same again when climbing and training. The voices in your head questioning every time you feel a little niggle or something starts aching. The important thing during this period, and my fourth point, is to do the rehab you’ve been given and keep doing it. Don’t second guess yourself, trust in what you and others know works. For me to do this I make regular visits to Rick and Rich to keep me reassured and help me to learn more about how my body works. I also do as many sessions as I can with Mark so he can tell me to press on when need be and equally to back off when I’ve done enough. 



My final point is to stay positive. Just like breaking my leg, tearing a tendon did not mean I had to stop training. Running, press ups and core could all be done with a finger injury and even slab climbing too! So over the past few months I have been able to focus on different aspects of my climbing that I otherwise might not have had the time to do. Climbing is a fascinating sport with so many parts to explore. Injuries like these whilst frustrating, always seem to open up so many things that I can work on in my climbing which I think is super exciting!



This past week has been really busy. I have visited my sponsor Craggy Island down in Guildford and coached some awesome people. Coaching definitely makes me realise how much fun climbing can be and how many different ways there are to enjoy our sport. I also attended a press event for The BMC. Chatting to journalists and doing some filming for channel 4 which was lots of fun.



Fran Brown, Molly Thompson-Smith and myself at BMC press event. Photo: Alex Messenger This weekend is CWIF and three weeks after that is the first round of the IFSC Bouldering World Cup series. My last serious bouldering competition was over eight months ago. People keep asking me if I am nervous, worried, scared… But honestly I am just really excited and can’t wait for the season to start again. I have been making massive progress with my climbing and my injuries are feeling good, bring on 2013!

As a recap this is my list of things to remember when injured…

1) Listen to your body.

2) Get help.

3) Stay Motivated.

4) Do what the doctor/physio says and keep doing it.

5) Stay Positive.

…



PSYCHED to be back climbing and feeling like myself on the wall again! Photo: Alex Messenger

Photo: Alex Messenger  Photo: Alex Messenger    

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

CWIF 2013
5 March 2013, 5:18 pm

First comp of 2013. Emotional roller coaster would be a massive understatement. I was really excited about competing again. I have watched so many comps over the past 8 months and started to get way too familiar with spectating. I felt very ready to get back on the wall and feel the buzz of competition climbing again. However this was not a smooth process and the CWIF qualifiers were far from great fun. 

I have been back climbing now for about 3 weeks so at first it was touch and go whether I would be able to compete. Physically I was ready and fit. My finger had been feeling better and I was starting to feel good and move well on the wall again. After so long off not feeling like myself when climbing this was a massive step for me.

CWIF qualifiers took me by surprise, I hadn’t prepared for the qualifiers at all. I wasn’t ready to be climbing with so many people, hanging around waiting for problems and for that kind of pressure. I fell off lots, got frustrated and didn’t know how to make sense of what was going on in my head! I was aware that if I didn’t do something I wasn’t going to qualify so decided the best thing to do was just go climbing, take the pressure off and use the experience as training mentally more than physically. A big thanks to Dave Barrans who got me psyched to pull on some of the problems I would have otherwise totally ignored, gave me no sympathy but lots of motivation. I shook my way up a few moves and slowly started to feel more comfortable on the wall.

 

 Credit: Mark Stringfellow

Credit: Mark Stringfellow I qualified for semi finals in 4th place which I was happy considering my performance and I was really looking forward to the world cup format in semi finals. No more waiting around in a crowd of people just 5 minutes to climb, 5 minutes rest. This is the format I am familiar with and it feels like I have a lot of experience doing this style of competition. It allows me to focus on me and my climbing and nothing else. Which I guess seems kinda weird considering the crowd of people watching. 

It felt quite unusual to be in isolation again the whole environment was very familiar yet I felt like a bit of an intruder. For a period of time I went from one competition to the next and everything became so routine. I didn’t have to think about what to eat or when to warm up. I didn’t take much notice of what others were doing because I was so confident in my own preparation. But this time things felt different. 8 months is a long time and I felt like i’d forgotten everything. I hadn’t thought about any of this being an issue. Luckily my instinct took over and everything went well but it did make me feel much more nervous and unprepared than usual.  

Semi finals were exciting. Apart from being a bit hesitant when crimping with my injured finger, which was to be expected, everything went well. The problems were fun I had found my competition psyche and I completed all four boulder problems. Qualifying for finals in 3rd place. 

After a 3 hour rest it was time for Finals. Warming up felt more natural in isolation and I was getting excited to see the boulder problems. I didn’t know what to expect coming into CWIF. 6 weeks off climbing totally, less than 3 weeks back into climbing and my first serious comp in 8 months. My finger was feeling really good and I was ready to go out and climb. Take each boulder problem one at a time and see what happened.

The final problems were lots of fun, well set and I was very happy with how I climbed. I flashed 3 problems as did Leah Crane which meant I won on count back. It was quite surreal. The whole competition had been such a test for me. Its hard to explain the psychological pressure, stress and exhaustion that come with competing. Climbing is definitely not all about the physical elements. 

 



Credit: Alex Messenger CWIF 2012 was a significant moment in my climbing and CWIF 2013 is no different. Thank you to the Climbing Works for putting on yet another amazing event. 

In two weeks time I will be in China getting ready for the first round of the 2013  Bouldering World Cup circuit. It seems like so long since I last did a world cup yet its hard to believe how fast it has come around. 

 

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Chonging – China – Bouldering World Cup
1 April 2013, 3:21 pm

For those of you who didn’t see the little write up I posted about China on Facebook here it is with more picutres this time…

China was one of those trips that felt like it went by in a blink but when we were there it felt like we’d been there for ages! Chongqing is the worlds largest city with almost 30 million people, everything feels very busy and life appears quite rushed. Knowing where a few things were from last year (most importantly Costa) it made getting around a lot easier and I felt like I had time to look around and see more of the life behind the business of the city. I often forget how lucky I am to have the opportunity to travel with climbing and see incredible places!

After a season of surprises and success last year it was hard to know what to expect in the first World Cup of 2013. I do not feel that I put on my best performance in Chongqing, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated with my climbing. However, I have to say when I reflect on the past 9 months since I last did a World Cup and all that has happened making finals and finishing in 5th place is definitely an achievement. I still have progress to make both with my climbing and injuries so I am looking forward to the next world cups!

A massive thank you to all of you who got up to watch and support Team GB! There will be a big team of us heading out to Millau for round two in JUST 3 DAYS!!! Make sure you are watching



Heathrow – Before the epic journey to Chongqing!



Full row of four each on the way out.  Happy Traveling!



What do you tink to our food supplies? After China 2012 I arrived much more prepared!



Day 1 – Jet Lag = Lots of Coffee YAY COATA!



Day 1 – The view from our hotel. Hot and humid!









Day 2 – We went exploring.



Day 2 – In our CAC shirts!!







Day 2 – We did lots of exploring.





Day 3 – Lonsdale photoshoot which was interesting…



Day 3 – The city from above.



Day 3 – Dianes Birthday!



Day 4 – Comp Day – Psyched and ready!



Day 4 – Presentation





Day 4 – Warming up! It was HOT HOT HOT!



 





Day 4 – Qualifiers Photos Thomas Clayron & Heiko Wilhelm



Day 5 – After a hot Semi Finals







Day 5 – Finals Photos Udo Neumann



Day 5 – Finals.Photo Heiko Wilhelm. I think this photo sums up my feelings about the 2013 Chongqing Bouldering World Cup!

 

 

 

 

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Millau – France – Bouldering World Cup
8 April 2013, 10:52 am



MILLAU There was just one weekend between the first two World cups. It was Easter weekend filled with some quality family time, training, a little interview on Radio Four and maybe a few Easter treats too.  

Millau seemed to creep up on me. The world cup season last year was like one constant epic journey, everything went by so fast it seemed hard to keep a grasp on reality. It’s easy to get lost in a world of flights, trains, changing time zones, different languages and new surroundings. I have a feeling this year will be no different. 

The journey to Millau was not so fun. We were up at 5.30 to get the train from Sheffield to London, then we flew to Montpellier and then drove to Millau. However, it was quite nice to arrive tired and ready for bed as girls were climbing first and isolation closed at 8AM! I still haven’t got used to climbing third in qualifiers. It’s quite scary. Qualifiers went okay. I had a little issue with a big scary move on problem 4 and stupidly backed out and I also made a few silly mistakes but I was happy with my climbing and even happier with my attitude which had been an issue for me in China. Luckily my mistakes didn’t cost me too much and I came 6th.





 Photos David Barrans Nerves. I don’t understand them. This semi final was possibly the most nervous I have ever been in a world cup. The sickly butterflies feeling that I have never understood now makes so much sense. I have never really had issues with nerves so I don’t really know what to do with them but I guess I was about to go out and compete regardless so all I needed to do was what I know, go climbing. 

 As I have said before and many others will too, climbing is not all physical. Having the ability to do 1-5-9 won’t get you to the top of a world cup boulder nor will being the most confident person out there. There is a complex mix of components that can effect a performance. Every time I compete I find new strengths and weaknesses and learn more and more about the complexities of these components. 

In China my head let me down. I didn’t try hard. I have come to realise it isn’t always easy to try hard. It takes practice. But it is possible to practice and it feels so good when it all comes together. Which is exactly what happened in Millau on problem 3 in semi finals. After falling once on a hard press move I pulled on again knowing what I needed to do but unsure if I could make the move. I had to fight pretty hard. I found what had been missing from my climbing for so long. I put everything into the boulder that I could and found myself at the top. 

 



 Photos David Barrans I qualified for finals in second place. I was very happy with my climbing and really excited by how hard I had pushed myself. Unfortunately when you push yourself something usually gives and my back was quite sore from all the twisting and jumping. But I was happy and psyched for finals.

Observation of the final boulder problems left me feeling a little worried. The first boulder was a run and jump. My WORST nightmare. It’s not that I am bad at them but I really dislike them! It’s easy to think that something you don’t like is a weakness when that isn’t necessarily true. I had to over come this in front of a crowd of people and thousands watching online. It was frustrating, funny, terrifying, awkward, embarrassing, rewarding and actually kinda fun. I failed at the run and jump 7 times. I wasn’t even close to holding the holds. On my eighth attempt I decided to actually look where my hands were going, not just concentrate on my feet. It worked somehow. Finally! 

The finals got better and better. I topped the second problem second try after a silly mistake and flashed the third. The last boulder looked fun but hard. When it came to my turn to climb it seemed only Anna had topped it. Which meant if I did to I could place second. After missing the awkward dyno a few times I got to to the top. I was happy with the performance I gave and excited to see the results. After getting my things together I wandered round to the front of the boulders only at this point did I look at the score board. I had 4 tops in 14 and Anna had 4 tops in 13. I had NO idea it was so close. This brought a great smile to my face. To come second to Anna is never a disappointment. She is simply incredible and a massive inspiration to me. To be that close behind was awesome! After a comp of battles and overcoming barriers I could not be more pleased with my result. 

 



 Photos Jen Randall Millau was a really fun trip. We had a team of nine competitors 5 girls and 4 guys. Victoria, John Partridge’s girlfriend also travelled with us. A big thanks to her for taking the role of Mum and always knowing where we should be and when! It really did feel like we were a team! Congratulations to Leah and Mina who both made semi finals! Leah put in an awesome performance and just missed out on finals! I think it’s going to be a fun season!







We had fun! Bring on the next one!



Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Kitzbühel – Austria – Bouldering World Cup
29 April 2013, 11:53 am



K I T Z B U H E L – TEAM GB Another world cup is over. I have left the warm sun and beautiful snow topped mountains of Austria behind and I am now back home recovering from the aches and pains. 

Kitzbühel was an interesting competition. Once again I came away with new things to work on and develop. I wonder if I will ever walk away from a competition totally satisfied with my climbing performance. 

The competitors were split into two groups for qualification. So you had to finish in the top 10 of your group to qualify for semi finals. Which somehow seems a lot harder than top 20 overall. A huge awkward dyno was mine and Leah’s hard introduction to the competition followed by a tough slab and some burl. We both managed to make our way to the semi finals along with Mina who flashed all of her qualifying boulders qualifying for semi finals in joint first with Alex Puccio. 



Photo: Andreas Aufschnaiter

Photo: Eddie Fowke

Photo: Dave Barrans Semi finals is the most nerve racking round for me. I was super nervous again and I even started to get scared it might effect my performance. Our first boulder problem was on the slab. The only boulder I was unable to complete in qualifiers was the slab and here I was stood below that part of the wall again. I rarely feel prepared pulling onto a slab. So I just jumped on and found myself stood up on two good foot holds with one move left. I didn’t quite know how I had got there. I really did not want to fall and try again. It took me 3 minutes to get to the top but luckily I managed to hold the tiny finishing crimp. Semi finals was one of my best climbing performances ever. I fell only once when I greased off and other than that I climbed well and in control and I felt really comfortable.



Photo: Dave Barrans I qualified for finals in first place. I was terrified. Very satisfied with my performance but climbing last in the finals was not something anyone has ever spoken highly of. 

There was a little break in which Leah, Mina and myself entertained ourselves by comparing biceps.  Leah won the gun show, top left. My tiny arm is top right and Mina’s bottom left. Did you guess  right? 

 

After a while back in isolation we had the presentation and then viewing. The boulders looked quite weird with a few different ways to climb some of them. There was one in particular that I wasn’t looking forward to.  



Photo: Andreas Aufschnaiter Photo: Andreas Aufschnaiter Climbing last is so not fun in a flash fest final. I totally admire any competitor who has qualified in first and maintained their position! I knew the boulders were getting quick ascents and on the first boulder problem I made a silly mistake and topped it second try. There was NO room for any mistakes in this final. The second boulder problem just wasn’t happening. I went back into isolation after this boulder fighting back the frustration and pain. I knew at this point that I couldn’t come back. It wasn’t easy to come out and climb knowing this but I managed to keep my cool and top both the third and fourth boulder problems first attempt. (apologies for the scrappy footwork on the last move of number four) 

Although I am not happy with my performance there are always positives to take away. I qualified in first place to finals, my best result of any individual round. After the second boulder in finals I controlled my emotions and climbed well after wanting to do nothing but spit my dummy out and go home. And this time I didn’t get scared at all. I was committed to not only making the moves but holding the holds when I got there even at the top. Check out the picture!   



Photo: Dave Barrans A massive congratulations to BOTH Anna and Akiyo who flashed all four of our final boulder problems. It is so impressive to not only have the physical ability to do that but the mental ability to maintain composure and perform. Seems route setters may be slightly underestimating the level of the female climbers – 5 people topping all of the boulders in semis, and 2 people flashing all of the boulders in finals. The mens final sounds like it was crazy hard. A huge congratulations to Jakob. A lesson learned – if there are 3 pieces of tape on the wall you MUST have two hands and one foot touch the marked holds (not two feet and one hand). 

Kitzbühel was another really good trip. It is amazing to have a big, psyched team at the world cups. We had 2 people one hold away from semi finals and Mina just one hold away from finals. Although knowing how close you were can be incredibly frustrating it’s also exciting to know how close it was and the future success we can look forward to. 



 

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[Fiend]

 

Very good 

[comPiler]

Log – Dragomer, Sloveina, Bouldering World Cup
14 May 2013, 12:02 pm

I feel like I am walking away from the world cup in Slovenia having given as much as I could in the final. It was a massive breakthrough for me to try as hard as I could and I am please to have achieved one goal. Despite making route reading errors I can not be unhappy with my performance. Another final, another podium. 

This entire competition was full of extremely funky, enjoyable and interesting problems! The climbing was fun and actually about the right level! There was only one boulder in qualifiers that I didn’t like so much and it was the only one I didn’t do. The second one. It was awkward and pretty scary at the top!  I really enjoyed climbing the other boulder problems and I finished second in my group. I felt pretty relaxed in qualifiers which was nice for a change. Mina was in the same group and qualified in 5th. Leah qualified in the other group and Dave upped his game to join us three in semi finals this time! 



Photo: Eddie Fowke

Photo: Heiko Wilhelm

Photo: Eddie Fowke So we had 4 brits in Semi Finals. The semi final problems were really hard! I was so nervous. I walked out to the first problem to find a wall of pink volumes and no obvious way to get between them. It was jump on and see what happens kinda problem. Luckily a few times when I went for a move I accidentally but thankfully got caught in a knee bar. The next boulder forced me to put up a bit of a fight! But I managed to hold the sweaty volumes for just long enough to get the top on my second attempt. And then it was the nightmare slab. I didn’t have much fun on it. I made very little progress and got frustrated. This however fuelled my determination for the last problem. I knew it was going to be a close call to make it to finals. I had flashed the last boulder! So I decided falling off was not an option. I just could not let go! It worked. I wish I could do that all the time.

I qualified for finals in 4th place. After some lunch and a little nap it was time to head back to isolation. I felt more relaxed than usual for this final. I was really excited to see the problems and for once I felt reasonably fresh and without any real aches or pains. The presentation and observation took place and the butterflies were beginning to make themselves known in my belly. The first problem was a huge dyno with powerful finish. I felt good on this problem, I did not climb it as I had planned but some quick thinking at the top secured me the flash and saved me some energy. I had no idea how to climb the second boulder problem. There were so many holds! AS you can see from the picture.



Photo: Heiko Wilhelm Too many holds and I didn’t know what any of them were. It was another jump on and hope for the best problem. I tried SO HARD. I flailed at the bonus with very little belief that I could hold it but somehow I remained on the wall. Surprised, pumped and panicked. I had not expected the top of the problem to be so hard and my arms were too tired to make another move. I knew I couldn’t possibly do that move again, but then that’s what I thought the first time. But this time I was right I wasn’t getting back up there. On problems like that it is hard to know if you should push on with a proven sequence or try something new. Such decisions are not easy when you are down the wall never mind when you have 30 seconds to get back on, a huge crowd watching and you know it could make all the difference in what position you end up. 



 Photo: Thomas Caleyron The third boulder was my least favourite. Sweaty, slick, slopey volumes in a groove is not my idea of fun. During observation I wondered if I would be able to get off the ground so getting the bonus was good. I had a good battle but it left me with a little less finger nail, sweaty paws and not another top. I was amazed yet not surprised when Akiyo and Anna came back so fast after having completed a boulder that had felt so impossible. 

 

  Photo: Thomas Caleyron The last boulder was yet another battle. This time I won. I tried to go the way we had planned in observation on my first attempt. It did not work and it would not work. Luckily I came up with some new beta and although far from easy it got me to the top. Pumped, tired and a little sore but satisfied. 

In all I am happy with my performance. And now I have my first bronze medal. Just one more colour to complete the set

 

 Photo: Thomas Caleyron  A massive congratulations to Dave Barrans who finished 8th! I am sure it won’t be long before you will be seeing multiple GB faces in the line up for finals. It was great to have a big team out again! 



On another note… I managed to get out on some real rock a few times over the past month. A while back I climbed an awesome boulder problem in North Wales called ‘Roof of Baby Buddah’. Check out the video below! I also got out on some peak limestone. I did a fun little V11 that tested me in more ways than one. Tsunami, at Rubicon. I had totally forgotten how small holds can be and also how much you have to TRY on rock (even on the warm ups).

from Shauna Coxsey on Vimeo.



Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

It doesn’t always go to plan…
20 May 2013, 10:50 am

So I have just had my worst result since it all started going so well almost two years ago. I guess it was always going to happen and I am not going to lie, I have been so nervous about not making a final for so, so long. In a strange and unusual way there was a sense of relief buried amongst the ranging emotions of frustration, disappointment and fatigue.

I had been so excited about this competition. Last year Innsbruck was my favourite World Cup of the season. I came so close to standing on the top of the podium and throughly enjoyed competing. This year I did not enjoy my time in the city so much, yet I am walking away having gained as much from my experience this year as last year. Just in a very different way.

I have no excuses to give. I climbed well in qualifiers completing all of the boulders after a battle on the second. All of the boulder problems in semi finals were topped both before and after I climbed. It just wasn’t my day. I guess everyone has a bad day in the office at some point right? (well, maybe not Anna)





Since I made my first final in a World cup, I have made every final in all the World cups that I have entered, until this weekend. The only time I have ever sat and watched a final was when my leg was broken and it was the most frustrating and infuriating experience ever. I wanted to be up there with the others so much and I found it so hard to sit back and watch. This time was different. I had competed. I had attempted to earn my place in finals and failed. It was only through fault of my own that I was stood in the crowd. This time I watched with no feelings of jealously, just admiration.

Luckily it was an amazing final to watch. An impressively large and enthusiastic crowd made for an intense and exciting atmosphere and the climbers put on an incredible show. I got the opportunity to watch finals from the other side of the fence. No pressure, no stress, no nerves, no butterflies. However the sweaty palms and curiosity remained the same but this time I got to see everyone climb so the curiosity was kept at ease.

Although I can take away many things for this competition and I really did enjoy watching the finals, it is not my plan to be observing again.

I have to say a huge congratulations to both Jan Hojer and Jule Wurm for their first World Cup victories. Jule was awesome to watch. She did not hold back and won the competition in impressive style. From someone who has been there and know’s all to well, it is NOT easy to keep your cool and flash the last boulder when you know it counts. Jan also put on an amazing performance for the crowd. After qualifying for semi finals and finals in last place he owned the finals and totally deserved to be stood on top of the podium!

Next up I have a couple of days at home. There is time to squeeze in a few training sessions and some meetings before we leave for Canada next week. And then its two more World cups in a row before the big break in the season. It’s amazing what one result can do to your motivation  Time to get back on it!



Also… Since my last blog I have also had my first magazine cover! Thanks Climb Magazine  I hope you purchased a copy of their 100th edition!



Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Toronto, World Cup 6
4 June 2013, 8:50 pm

The World cup season is long. I think it’s almost impossible to maintain a high physical state or a mental state throughout the six months that the competitions span. A full World cup circuit takes you to several different countries to do the same thing. Try as hard as you can to get to the top of a few boulders. You push yourself to your limit in every way you can. Holding on as hard as you can, getting yourself into the strangest positions and fighting with everything you have to not fall off.

This year has taken me to China, France, Austria (twice), Slovenia, Canada and now I am in Colorado, USA for the next round. To try again to better my performance and climb as perfectly as I can. Thousands of miles and hundreds of moves and yet I still want to try again.

This past competition was hard for me. I had a few issues with a knee injury from a few weeks back and I found a new barrier in competition climbing. Knowing how hard to push it when something hurts. Things often hurt. Aches and pains are part of the sport. When something only hurts on certain moves and even then it’s more of a discomfort it’s hard to notice until you push it.

The aim for every competitor is to get to the next round but what’s it worth? How hard can people really push themselves. I hit the point where my body decided I had done enough and when climbing in finals I was distracted and found it hard to focus. It makes me wonder how much the other competitors will push themselves.

In qualification and semi finals I had managed to climb well despite my injury. The boulders were fun to climb, although it was a shame that problems were not harder for the women in semi finals, I think that they were great for the crowd to watch. I can not remember so much about the final boulder problems but I do remember the very impressive LOUD crowd that got behind every single one of us! The Canadians sure do know how to support!

Yet another World Cup has past. And yet another injury to overcome. But I’m still climbing and still smiling so it’s all good

I can not forget to mention the totally incredible effort by Anna Stöhr. She is unstoppable. Also Killian taking his 20th title. WOW.

 

Photos: Udo Neumann

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Vail, USA, Bouldering World Cup
12 June 2013, 5:44 am

Firstly I am sorry it has taken me so long to write about the last World Cup. I got fully sucked into the Colorado experience and I have been out climbing and hanging out with friends so blog writing just hasn’t quite found it’s way into my life until now. All the boys have gone out and I had a super long lie in and now I have some peace and quite in the sunshine

So Vail. The last round for a little while and the 7th world cup of the year. We had 4 days between Toronto and Vail which is not very long to recover at all let alone when you have an injury. It was a bit of a journey from Toronto but myself, Leah and Mina managed to find ourselves at a familiar house in Boulder having made no wrong turns.



My knee had started giving way when I was carrying heavy bags and I still had no idea what I had done to it. As hard as it was to accept the signs were becoming clearer that maybe I shouldn’t compete in Vail.

 The Spot climbing gym were putting on a pancake party for all of the world cup climbers. There we so many nations having fun and climbing. This is something we never get to do, not on such a scale anyway. I went along but there was no way I could pull on. The frustration of being sat at the side and watching was back AGAIN!

The Austrian team Physio Klaus Issle is pretty much the only reason I was able to climb in Vail. He managed to figure out what was going on with my knee. He eased everything off and enabled me to use it. Thank you so much to the Austrian team for being kind enough to share the support you have and A MASSIVE THANK YOU to Klaus! One day maybe the GB team will have this network of support behind them at the comps?

Our drive to Vail from Boulder was not so successful but we made it (a couple of hours late). We had a few days in vail to adjust to the altitude and hang out in the beautiful surroundings. We even drove to the top of Mt Evens one day. Now that is HIGH!



Our arrival in Vail.



The top of Mt Evens

I made the decision to have one attempt at every qualifier. My knee felt a lot better but I had to be very careful and heel hooking and toeing down was still not good. In qualifiers you have 5 problems and of those 5 problems 4 had right heel hooks. I managed to battle through 2 of them. Find alternative beta on another and I made it to the last hold on another but a combination of fatigue, the altitude and pain threw me off. The last boulder was a slab with no heels it felt like a gift to climb on.

 

I was really happy to be going into the semi finals along with Leah, Mina and Dave Barrans. However, my experience in semi finals is potentially the worst comp experience I have ever had. I got 2 bonuses. No tops just 2 bonuses. I thought I had messed it up, they just felt so so hard. I headed toward the crowd with a grumpy face to find it returned by lots of smiles. Grumpy turned to confused to happy and thankful. I had scraped into finals in 6th place.

 

I hadn’t really known what to expect in this competition. I was happy to be climbing and heading into finals in 6th was a gift. It was the first time I had felt no pressure, no nerves and just excitement. It was my first experience climbing first in a final. I have no idea how hard the problem would be or how anyone else had done. It was up to me to find out. I got to go first and see if I could set the pace for the other climbers. I went out to every boulder to have fun. And it worked. I enjoyed this final more than any other. I do wish I had had a little more left to give on the final problem as I feel I gave one of my best performances ever but never mind I am sure I will get another opportunity.

 





Finals

I want to thank everyone for the support this year so far. I literally feel like I have blinked and the past 4 months have gone by but so many people have been watching the comps and cheering m on along the way. It’s incredible to know that so many of you are behind me. THANK YOU!

There is a big break in the competition season now. Until the last round Munich which is mid August. So now for me its time to enjoy the summer. I will be in CO for the rest of the month getting out on some rock and embracing the sunshine.

The day after Vail we headed to a magical climbing area called Independence Pass. The boulder problems are in Ice caves and have the most amazing features. It was my first experience climbing above Ice and it was so surreal. The perfect place if you want cold conditions and sunbathing when you top out. A big thanks to Jackie and Chris for giving us the tour and bringing all the bouldering mats! I managed to flash a beautiful line called The Vampire V8 and I battled up Choke hold a horizontal roof full of big pinches V9/10.



Photo: Dave Barrans

A good start considering I was supposed to be resting.

Have a good summer everyone!

Source: Shauna Coxsey

[comPiler]

Sunshine, Ice Cream and BBQ’s with friends
4 July 2013, 12:53 pm

Home sweet home! Although the past months have been lots of fun and very full it feels nice to be in one place for a while. And being back in my own bed is amazing.  

The world cups took me all over the world and it was all go go go for a while. So I was really happy that we were able to pause for a while in Boulder, Colorado. I definitely felt ready for a break from traveling and competitions and psyched to get back out climbing on the rock in the mountains and see some good friends. 

Being up in the mountains surrounded by a breathtaking landscape is definitely one of my favourite places to be. The big walks at high altitude make for a long and tiring day out and the climbing added on top of that means you rarely get home feeling anything but exhausted. Although as hard as it is I feel a great sense of satisfaction after a long day out, climbing a boulder problem is a bonus really.

 

Unfortunately the first week of my trip was was not so fun. I somehow managed to get a cold despite the temperature never dropping below 30°C in Boulder. I think my body decided it deserved a rest after the intense competition season. After a few days in bed I was able to hike but that was the extent of my exertion. Climbing did not happen so much and I had to have a rest day every other day. Over a week into the trip I finally felt like I was on the road to recovery and the downwards spiral had ceased. I had sat and watched the boys crush and now I was psyched to have a go at trying hard myself. I warmed up with the group and had a play on a few things. But there was just one problem I wanted to try. There was one problem that had been on my mind since my visit to Colorado last year. I had been told it might not be climbable due to the high snow but I wanted to check just in case . It was all good to go, Well after Martin did a bit of digging. It would be rude not to try it right? I was so surprised to do all of the moves really quickly. I tried the problem last year and I remember it feeling crazy hard and there was one move I couldn’t quite do. This year I felt stronger and after giving in to my stubbornness and trying the beta Ned suggested I had all the moves dialled. Darkness was closing in so I only had a few attempts from the start. They just got better and better. I fell going to the jug right at the end. 

I was amazed, happy, psyched, cold and tired. I ended the day with that high point knowing that I could do the boulder. 

After a rest day tubing down the river through Boulder it was time to get back up to Lower chaos and try again, I was so excited about trying the boulder again. I knew for sure I could do it and couldn’t wait to get back on it. I had to hold just one more hold than last time and that was it. What could go wrong…. Unfortunately conditions were not on my side and the excitement was quickly replaced with frustration. Also, I do not think that tubing qualifies as a rest day, we all felt super tired and none of us got to the top of our projects. I had made no progress and the boulder felt really really hard! I guess V13 is supposed to feel hard but it was annoying to have felt like I had taken a step backwards.



We spent the next day at a shooting range. Turns out I am not very good at shooting a gun and It was time to get back out again. This time we went EARLY. I did not want to let conditions get in the way again and to save the pressure of only having a short amount of time on the problem we went super early. I have to thank Ned and Jackie for their big big support, waking up at 5am isn’t easy.



You get to see sights like this at that time in the morining though.  Turns out that getting up at 5am to go climbing is a really bad idea for me. I need sleep and don’t do very well without it. 

Projecting is so hard. It was such a mental battle and it was totally new to me. I had gone even further backwards. I could barely do any moves. We had just over a week left. The added pressure of time did not make things any easier. We went home and had a lazy day via Ice cream.

 



Myself and Jackie is Estes I had got to the last move on a day when I had not felt at my best. How could I possibly not do the problem. Especially when in isolation the last move was not so bad. 

After  day climbing at Mt Evens clearing my head and trying different boulder problems I was ready to have a rest day and get back out on the project. I climbed an awesome problem called Clear Blue Skies, V11. It was good to turn my focus to something else and do some different moves. 

Turns out my cold decided it wasn’t done with me yet and one rest day turned into two. After two rest days motivation was not so easy to find. It was 37°C in Boulder and laying on the sofa seemed much more appealing than going out climbing. 

The realisation came to me whilst I lay on the sofa that I was afraid of trying it again. It had left me both emotionally and physically fatigued and progress in previous sessions had been reversed. I was afraid because I knew I could do it. I had got to the last move. Touched the last hold. 

After some pep talking from the boys (or you could call it abuse and name calling) I peeled my butt off the sofa. After a stop off for the cookies and muffin supplies we were on our way. The walk up to Lower Chaos is beautiful but also hard, long and tiring. I like taking my time and not arriving at the boulders totally wasted. You can see miles of dense forest covering the vast landscape so the walk is really pretty. 

I had not expected to climb the boulder on that day all. I was afraid of being shut down (again). I had convinced myself it was too hot. Luckily some of my good friends were out climbing too so I was excited to see some of my favourite faces and have a fun evening. 

I had already started thinking when I could come back. If I could come back. Would there be time. Would I be getting in the way of everyone else’s plans. 

After a warm up I was sat back at the bottom of Nothin’ But Sunshine again. Looking up wondering what today’s session might have in store. I met Alex Puccio under the problem and for the first time I got to discuss the beta with someone else who was trying it. There were subtle differences in our methods but on something that hard subtle can make all the difference. I have to thank Alex for giving me the more efficient beta on the last move. 

It was fun to climb with Alex and Angie. I think it was important for me to have fun on this climb. I had to relax. I had tried a few times from the start and something had gone wrong each time. Either I caught a hold wrong, put my foot on wrong, greased off etc. It all came together on one go. I hit the holds right, tried hard and did not let go! I still don’t think the realisation has sunk in. 

 

Photo: Angie Payne

Thanks to Ned and Martin for coming out on their rest day’s to carry pads and motivation up the big hill.

I had never really understood how people can become so transfixed by one piece of rock and spend session after session trying the same moves. But now I get it and there is no explanation for it. 

It was crazy to come back to something a whole year later. The difference in my strength and ability was crazy. The moves felt insanely hard last year and it is almost hard to believe I have climbed the whole boulder problem. There is one person who I have to thank, my coach, Mark Glennie. He has pushed me to my limit, let no injury get in the way of training and made me believe in myself.



Thanks to Bearcam Media

 









I got to hang out with some amazing people!







See some amazing things!

And I also came home to lots of boxes from Adidas! Psyched to get training now!



 

Source: Shauna Coxsey