Demon 2011

I'm currently in Singapore visiting family and friends for the hols. Crazy to think that it has been 3 years since I left. Spore is still a bustling little garden city and having seen Seoul, KL, and cities around the US, I've got to say Spore is really quite the clean and lush city it has been touted to be. Respect! More on our trip later cos I would like to present to you the new Demon for 2011.



The 2011 model retains its aggressive down-turned profile but apart from that, everything's NEW!!! The recent Mad lineup of shoes were designed in collaboration with Dai Koyamada. The end product sees a new heel, dual density sole and most radical of all....the Power Flex uppers. Basically, the Mad homies are not using fabric for the uppers. They have invented this flexible, sticky, moldable rubber that can be sewn directly to the rest of the shoe. So basically this eliminates the searing pain most of us feel when we downsize our shoes. The Power Flex uppers amazingly flexes and molds over the knuckles providing comfort and sick toe hooking ability. Honestly, I don't think I'm doing a great job describing it, so don't just take my word for it...try it & I guarantee you wouldn't be disappointed.

I'm expecting my first pair of 2011 Demon to arrive in the mail soon. I'll give more scoops and updates once I get some mileage on them. Stay tuned and thanks for reading. Have a great 2011!!!

The Front Climbing Team Getting Psyched For Regionals!

As reported in the Front SLC Blog, The Front Climbing Team is shaping up and looked super strong at the ABS comp at Momentum last month. Axel Dillman had his best comp ever and took first in Youth C, far ahead of the competition. Austin Hansel and Theresa Nielson also placed well at their first ABS comp. Keep up the good work team! Proud of y'all!!!

Here's wishing everyone a crushing good time at tomorrow's Crux'mas comp and the Regionals!!!

BAH HUM BUG!!!

The weather hasn't been on our side lately. To say the least, the outlook has been grim. We got a snow closure notice from the U the other day for a blizzard warning. On the one hand, the storm turned out to be rather lame cos it's bark was worse than it's bite. On the other hand, I thought the U did a great job getting everyone off school/work so that we can return home safely. Nevertheless, temps are way below ideal for any climbing....bbbrrrrrr!


Here's a vid from Joe Kinder that speaks volumes about the situation right now. The snow really is a sight to behold, especially here in Utah (best snow on earth!). At the same time, climbing's out of the question.

The Dreadful First Snow of The Season from Joey Kinder on Vimeo.

So we pretty much have been getting into the gym alot, working on the last few assignments/exams for the end of the semester and looking forward to our trip back to Spore. And as much as we envy those who are still enjoying their climbing in the warmer regions, I've decided not to dwell on things I haven't done, but reflect on things that I have done this past season.

The season has been eventful to say the least. Looking back, I realized we've actually spent all our time on the rope. I guess the bouldering season didn't really happen. Ever since I snagged the 2nd ascent of Lateralus, I've decided to consolidate my climbing at the 14a level rather than hit up a higher grade. Moreover, with all the stuff that's on my plate right now, I find it hard to keep my climbing at a desirable level having to deal with pursuing a doctoral degree. The challenge is in the balance. Anyway, even as I reflect on some of the more notable climbs I've done this season, they are a greater reflection of my personal struggle to stay on top of my game than number chasing.

American Prayer, 5.14a (Rifle, CO)
Cryptic bouldery lower section that required me to devise a sequence that felt V9/10. Combined with having to compete at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, I really had to dig deep to pull this one off. I also had to focus on getting the top section dialed in, lest I punted off post crux. Rifle's a beautiful place to climb. Plans are underway for next year.

Deal Souls, 5.14a (American Fork, UT)
Super steep, bouldery, power endurance climb. Clips alone are hard, pulling seemed impossible when I first got on it. Initial progress was good when I had to take a break for a trip to So Cal to visit my Mom. At the same time, we also decided to stop by Yosemite to sample some summer bouldering (check: 80+F, gozillion tourists and bugs). First day, 7:30 am attempt on Midnight Lightning gifted me with a fracture calcaneous (heel). EPIC FAIL!!! Result: Visit Mom ahead of schedule, Mom was pissed and gave me an earful for showing up with an extremely swollen and purple foot. Upon returning to SLC, I could only climb with one foot. But over the course of the rest of the summer, I managed to squeeze my foot into a slightly oversized slipper and sent Dead Souls. Moral of the story...as long as you got them arms, you can make it work with less on ya legs.

Millennium, 5.14a (Maple Canyon, UT)
What can I say about Millennium, except that it's totally my anti-style. I'm better suited to climbs that are short & bouldery, given that I spent so much time in the gym. Considering that the crux is in the low V-grade (perhaps V4?), I got my arse handed to me big time when I first got on it. The pump was sick and I didn't enjoy it. Then again, Tanleng was having a blast at Maple cos that's where her A game's at. I didn't wanna sulk, so suffering on Millennium's better than sitting around like a turd. I totally surprised myself for sending it the first time I blasted through the crux. I've never felt like I had to fight so hard since my send of Asia Shadow Play, Krabi.

I guess it's been a pretty good season thus far except for Big G. Progress came too little too late with winter closing in. I was throwing myself at it 3 days in a row with 5 burns each time, cumulating to me punting off post Cop Killer crux. My fingers were basically frozen. Next season hopefully. And speaking of next season...I'm hoping for bigger things to come...so here's the tentative list:

Big G, 5.14a
Cannibals Direct, 5.14a
Super Tweak, 5.14b.

And in the near future....being able to climb in Spore's infamous weather, 90+F in over 90% humidity...come to think of it, I probably should look forward to the food instead and hanging out with the family...missing my Mom, Dad and bros big time!

Epiphany!!!

I guess everyone have their moments of epiphany. Individually, me and Tanleng had ours on our projects today. Difference is, I still didn't quite manage to send but she DID!!! El Diablo 12d/13a was pretty much her nemesis since day one of coming to AF. Just when she could do all the moves and cumulated all her efforts to one hang, she was still stumped by the huge (cos she's 5 ft) deadpoint to the pocket at the 3rd clip.

Anyway, I was punting on Big G when I randomly spotted a tiny chip for my left foot that worked wonders for sticking the undercling move on the Cop Killer crux, STATIC!!! EPIPHANY!! Problem was, it was my 2nd burn and I was also feeling the effects of Wed's gym sesh. Went on to making the move successfully on my next go but faded out higher.

I guess this really motivated Tanleng to seriously refine her beta and with the discovery of a foothold way out left, her moment of epiphany enable her to make the move to the pocket static! Unfortunately, she was also starting to fatigue cos it was late in the day, probably around 6 pm and light was fading. I managed to convince to her give it one more go with the rationale that she's got nothing to lose anyway. I mean, we've both fallen so many gozillion times at the cruxes of our projects, how's one more fall gonna matter? This turned out to be the send of the day so BIG PROPS to my little pocket rocket!



Looks like I've gotta start bringing my A game the next time. Wish I had this in my arsenal though...the new 2011 Demon, availabe Dec 2010.

About a Beer

Yes, that's right...in climbing, it all comes down to beer. At least for me it is. I mean alot of us cannot deny downing a cold one epitomizes sweet vibes of hanging out at the end of a climbing day. For me, it was. At least that was when I wasn't broke. Now that I am, beer has become something I've put at the end of a stick in replacement for a carrot. Sounds kinda shallow but for those of you who savor the aroma of good hop, you'll know what I'm talking about. So here I have a common can of Pabst Blue Ribbon given to me at LCC's parking lot a couple of months ago....thanks Shingo!



I had it in my fridge for all this while cos I told myself I'll only get to savor it if I get Dead Souls done. And since I was getting pretty close, I figured it'll be pretty soon before I pop the lid and chug that golden ale down....WRONG!!!
Why? Cos it was all put to a stop due to THIS....that's right...Midnight Lightning!!!



Nope. Not only did I not do it, I shattered my left heel on the granite slab beneath it falling off the lightning bolt hold. First day, first try, and I completely missed the pads. So that pretty much ended my Yosemite trip right off the bat. Good thing is, I get to see my Mom alot earlier than intended so we ended up heading down to So Cal for the visit. Guess I don't have to narrate the aftermath of showing up at Mom's with a shattered heel that's now all purple and porky. Since I did mention that I was broke, that meant I didn't get the chance to get my injury checked out. So after 2 weeks of ice and elevation, we returned back to SLC with the climbing season in full swing...except for the fact that now I only had the use of one foot and how excruciating it was to put on just a regular shoe (let alone a climbing shoe). Tanleng was psyched and I was gonna let my injury get in her way of heading out to AF so I figured I can still perform my duty as her faithful belayer. So we headed out to AF with a walking stick in hand...well technically it's just a tree branch I picked up from the brush. So here we have a glorious climbing season going on, with me dragging a bad foot when I was reminded of the beer that's still in the fridge. I guess that was all it took for me to suck up the pain, slip on me climbing shoes and give Dead Souls a go.



Though I didn't send it right away, I felt pretty good on it. So I made the decision to rest a couple days, which I needed to do anyway with the OR Tradeshow in town and having to set at the Front for the comp in conjunction with the OR. Guess it came down to the rest cos it did go down on the first go coming back. That feeling was sweet cos I was so in control pulling every single move and basically cruised it with the sweet knowledge that I was gonna finally savor that little can of watered down beer. So did I drink it...NOPE...I kinda stared at it for a while and figured that I can save it for the next send...one that would feel hard...one that will take relentless effort. And it turned out I didn't have to wait too long for that to come. Cos we were headed to Maple and I was gonna get on something my anti-style....Millennium 14a.



Maple's pretty much Tanleng's playground. She's awesome with power endurance climbs and she pretty much walked Rucksack Wanderer 12d/13a and Deliverance 12c/d in one weekend. Me, I was getting my ass handed to me. See, I'm pretty accustomed to NOT getting too pumped at AF. I can deal with super bouldery moves but MAN...when it comes to long endurancy stuff...I'm a wuzz! So Millennium's basically a jug haul to a V4 crux and a dyno end. And it was starting to get pretty depressing having to put in so much legwork with the thought of never being able to send this rig this season.



But then again, when it's up against beer...I figured I better suck it up and put in 110%. I guess that mentality worked cos I unexpectedly pulled the crux, fought my way to the last rest and gave the dyno all I had. DONE FREAKING DEAL!!! And did I drink my little can of Pabst when I got home....YES!!!!

But does it mean that I'm just gonna kick back now that the beer's gone? I guess not...not when I'm up against BIG G!!!! YYEEEAAYYUHHH!!!

Here's a vid of Joey Kinder walking Big G. Dude's strong and made it look easy. Enjoy!!!

Joe sending Big G from Joey Kinder on Vimeo.

Test Vid - Self Intro

So I was cracking my brains over how I can incorporate a voice over for my Prezi slideshow (previous post). Prezi was suggesting that I record an audio file and convert it into FLV format before inserting it into the slide to be run concurrently with the slides. I had alot of trouble converting my audio file into FLV format but chanced upon Jing. This software's pretty similar to a screen capture but allows the user to perform a vid capture with voice over. Pretty neat!

Here's the final vid using a combination of Jing and Prezi.

Prezi

Preparing to teach my Biomech class this Fall led to a foray into a fancy new freeware online called Prezi. Here's a draft version of my self-intro to the class. Voice over coming soon.

To view the presentation, just click on the play button followed by Auto Play when you mouse over the bottom right corner of the screen.

Chee Hoi (Self- Intro) on Prezi