MONTREAL – Canmore’s Alexa Vanier is on the up-and-up.
The local climbing star added a new national medal to her trophy case after snatching bronze in 12-13 girls at the 2019 Youth Bouldering Nationals from Feb. 16-18 in Montreal.
It’s the second consecutive year that Vanier, 12, reached the podium at the bouldering nationals. Last year, the wall-climber won gold.
“The competition was a lot harder this year,” Vanier said. “It was really fun though and I really liked it.”
Vanier said she had to put more trust into her climbing to reach the podium, especially during bouldering.
There are no harnesses or ropes in bouldering, so climbers rely on their Spider-Man-esque abilities to manoeuvre around volumes while clinging onto plastic holds.
The only other member of Canmore Indoor Climbing Society (CICS) beside Vanier to make to the semifinals at nationals was teammate Oceane Gelinas.
CICS head coach Chris Neve thought it was a reasonable goal for all five members to have gotten to semis, but the others fell shy of the mark.
In girls 12-13, Gelinas finished 12th and Lane Baty was 29th.
In 16-17 boys, Will O’Brien and Jakob Learned-Lavoie finished in 27th and 28th.
“Jakob was ranked second in Alberta going into nationals and there was high hopes, but it was a disappointment for him,” Neve said. “The level was high and he really worked hard in his bouldering and did so well in Alberta this year.”
For Vanier, because she’s been so dominant in Alberta, the task is keeping her motivated to reach new plateaus, said Neve.
“The thing with Alexa is there are not a lot of girls that push her in Alberta,” Neve said. “The biggest thing we need to work on is to make sure that’s she’s challenged … For next year, she’s eligible to quality for the national team. I have no doubt that she has what it takes to make that.”
Up next for local climbers is rope climbing, which a local competition will be held at Elevation Place on March 16-17.
