Scaling limestone cliffs above warm, turquoise oceans was paradise found for Canmore’s Alison Vest.
The promising young climber travelled the world in search of escape for a third of the year, but the trip appears to have wetted her appetite to reach even greater heights.
Travelling southeast Asia on a three-month climbing expedition didn’t diminish her competitive spirit, as she successfully defended her hometown title at the second annual Tour de Bloc competition at Elevation Place on Saturday (Jan. 10)
In front of 200 screaming fans drowning out bass-heavy beats at Elevation Place, Vest brought her best to four world cup-style bouldering problems in the final, and showed she still has the skills to mix it up with the best in the west.
“Being at home in front of such a huge crowd full of people I know, train with and coach, it’s really cool to be able to climb in front of them,” Vest said.
This was her second climbing competition since her overseas expedition.
“I competed after I got back and was feeling out of it. My power was lacking. It’s good to know if you train for a while, it will all come back pretty quickly,” Vest said.
The sold out competition invited 175 climbers, who were given three hours to top 55 bouldering routes. Their top six routes were scored and used to award the top age group winners. The top eight overall men and women moved on to the finals, which challenged climbers against each other and the clock to solve some extremely tough problems.
Canmore climbing titan Stacey Weldon qualified first, Becca Frangos continued her meteoric rise by qualifying third and Vest sat in fourth.
She made short work of the first two problems, and was the only woman to scale the third problem, which included a difficult jump. The move divided the field and after Weldon injured her finger, it was down to Vest and Alyssa Weber. Vest made short work of the fourth problem, clinching the victory.
Vest modestly said luck played a big part in her win, as the problems fit her explosive style of climbing.
“The field was really close today. I don’t want to say it’s luck, but it really is. If the route setting fits your style, you’ll do well … and today I think it really did,” Vest said.
The strength of the women’s field, including three Canmore women in the top eight, was a bright spot for the local team.
“It’s great to climb with so many inspiring women,” Vest said. “There are a lot of women from all over Alberta. They’re so strong. It’s a huge honour to compete with women like that.”
Vest quit climbing when she was 14 due to burnout, but is now glad she rediscovered her sport. She’s now encouraging more women to give the sport a shot.
“For the start, just have fun with it and stay psyched. When I was 13 or 14, I did take a hiatus from climbing, but now I’m always making sure it’s still fun,” Vest said.
Weber finished second, while Eva Thompson was third.
Becca Frangos finished first in the junior girls division and qualified third in the open women’s category, but was frustrated with her performance in the final. Frangos has excelled all year against stiff competition, and she narrowly missed the podium on Saturday.
“I’m a little bit disappointed, just because I thought I could have climbed a little bit better. There’s always room to improve. I tried my best and that’s all you can do.”
After crushing the first problem in under a minute and cruising through the second, she ran into problems on the third.
“The third one gave the girls a lot of trouble. It stopped the separation. The next two were interesting and fun world cup-style problems,” Frangos said. “Those are hard to describe, but they’re usually awkward, with no handholds and a lot more balance.”
She knows she’ll improve in time for the youth bouldering nationals in two weeks time, and her main goal is to make the open women’s national bouldering team. She’ll need a strong performance at bouldering open provincials in Vancouver and climbing nationals in Burlington, Ont., and has no lack of drive and desire to pull it off. After the season, she also plans to travel through Europe to compete on the world cup.
Canmore’s Patrick Gibeau was the top local male climber. It was his first appearance in a open men’s final, and a great learning experience for the 17-year old.
The Canmore Indoor Youth Climbing team was dominant in their home meet, taking 13 medals. Winners included India Whitfield, Alexa Vanier, Dane Menzies, Bryton Kapitza, Becca and Sara Frangos, Simon Yamamoto, Roche Lynx, Alina Arvisais, Hunter McLaughlin, Manon Mackasey, Albert Reed and Sam Birch.
Head coach Sonnie Trotter said the team kept a positive attitude throughout the competition and noted more are capable of reaching open finals in the competitions to come.
“It was so close with Alina Arvisais just barely missing the finals by one spot (she finished ninth in the open women’s competition) and Simon Yamamoto (a finalist at EP last year) getting edged out by just a few points as well. It was really a terrific surprise to sea Patrick Gibeau on his game,” Trotter said.
“The competition is so tight these days, and bouldering is such a dynamic form of climbing that really anyone could qualify on any given day. It’s really a combination of so many things, such as strategy, preparation, desire, state of mind and luck, just to name a few.”
