A venomous rivalry could easily form between Canmore’s two top female climbers, Alison Vest and Becca Frangos.
Battling head to head in the open women’s division for much of 2015, the competitive women have taken turns besting each other, and found themselves tied after five rounds of vertical challenge at the Provincial Roped Climbing competition on Sunday (April 19) at Elevation Place in Canmore.
But instead of trash talk and death glares, the two bright and talented climbers showed nothing but the utmost respect for one another, and were happily snacking and chatting away even after Vest was handed the provincial crown after climbing speed was used as a tiebreaker.
“It’s exciting to pull it out. It had to go to tie which is a little disappointing, because that’s not what the point of competition is, but if I had to tie with someone, I’m glad it’s Becca,” Vest said.
“I’m just honoured to climb with everyone who’s super strong,” Frangos said.
Frangos and Vest were among 10 local medallists, as the home team thrived on their local wall.
For Frangos and Vest, who will both compete in bouldering world cups in May and June, the weekend was an excellent mid-point test, to see if their training is on track. They’re both in the middle of a large training block, and took a different approach to the provincial roped championships.
“Any competition is good training. For me, this is more about staying in the right mindset and that aspect in preparing me for bouldering world cups. They’re a different discipline, but the mind game is similar,” Vest said. “My body held up better than I thought. It was a good assessment of my endurance, and I was pleasantly surprised.”
For Frangos, the competition allowed her to further hone her mental preparation, which has been the biggest advancement in her climbing.
“I take every competition seriously. It’s where you build skills for bigger events,” Frangos said. “My mental state has improved a lot. Last year was good, but I found myself not doing great at some competitions because I would have a mental block. This year has been really good because I’ve been taking it route by route and having fun,” Frangos said.
All but one of Canmore’s 16 climbers reached the finals, and 10 ended up on the podium.
Becca Frangos was first in the junior girls division, while twin sister Sara was third. Simon Yamamoto finished first in the youth A boys division, just ahead of teammate Alex Fricker, who was second.
Alina Arvisais was third in the youth A girls competition, Hunter McLaughlin won the youth B boys division, Manon Mackasey was second in youth B girls, Bryton Kapitza finished first in the youth D boys, where Dane Menzies was second. Ruby Baty was third in youth D girls to round out the team’s results.
Coaches Stacey Weldon and Nani Woolings were pleased with the team’s performance and said they’re well on track for rope nationals next month.
“We had all but one make finals and everyone made semis. The routes were really fun and the kids were pretty happy with their performance,” Woolings said. “(The routes) were really funky and cool and the kids were excited to get on them. They’re excited to get back on them at training.”
“(The team) worked so hard, and for the most part they were happy with how they climbed. They’re on track for nationals and that will help choose the team to compete in Italy at the end of August,” Weldon said.
The coaches believe they have a smart and strong group of young climbers, who will keep improving as they progress through the sport, continuing the Bow Valley’s powerhouse role on the national scene.
Weldon said what’s most encouraging for her is how the team gets along, like Vest and Frangos, pushing one another, but laughing the entire way.
“We’ve got a lot of younger kids joining the team this year. I’m excited with the level they’re at now and just to see how they develop in the next few years, it’s going to be amazing,” Woolings said.
