When and where was the first international climbing competition held in the USA? Who won the men's division and who won the women's division?

Sorry about the delay in posting a new challenge. The winner of the last challenge was Kat Holbrook and Sarah Wong as well as coach Ty and Angie Miske, mother of Base Camp member Dallin. Thanks for being diligent about answering the questions!

As I said in the email I sent out earlier, this week's challenge is mandatory for anyone planning to go on the Indian Creek climbing trip. Oh no! Mandatory! Parents, please feel free to help with this assignment.

1. Explain the "Indian Creek Recreation Plan"
2. Why is it important?
3. What can we as climbers do to help preserve access to areas like Indian Creek for future generations?

Write at least 3 paragraphs and bring them to practice with you before March 27.

So far, Sarah W. is the closest to earning her reward with 2 Weekly Challenges completed. Kat, Katie S., and Ellise S. have all completed 1 challenge on their way to 5. Keep up the good work guys!

Congratulations Sarah W.!

Sarah was the only one last week whose answer to the Weekly Challenge I received. The answer to last week's question is:

Skyler Weekes holds the world-dyno-record at 8.69 feet.
In October 2008, he almost tied his record with an 8.5-foot dyno in Clear Creek Canyon, Colorado.
It took Skyler 76 days to finally send this project.

That's a lot of dyno!

This week's challenge:

Spend enough time in climbing and you may hear the phrase "before sticky rubber". What is "sticky rubber", and how did it change rock climbing? When did it first arrive in the US and through which shoe company was it distributed? Who was the high-profile American rock climber that helped make the first "sticky rubber" shoes famous?

What is the current world-dyno-record and who is it held by? In October 2008, he almost tied his record. How long did it take for him to send this problem and how long was the dyno?

The winner of last week's challenge was Sarah L.!

Here's her answer:

~Randy Leavitt bolted the route 16 years ago.
(Hmmm, where have we heard that name before?)

~The route is being called Jumbo Love, which follows the naming convention of other routes at Clark Mt.’s 3rd Tier/Monastery area. The other routes are Randy Leavitt’s Jumbo Pumping Hate (5.13d/14a) and Ethan Pringle’s Jumbo Glass (5.14c).

Answer to Bonus Question:

Boone Speed took the picture of Chris Sharma

Now on to this week's challenge!

"Intensive Care" is a climbing route somewhere in Utah.

• Where is it? (which canyon is it in)

• How many pitches long is it?

• Which pitch is the crux?

• How did the route get it's name?

• Which of the route's first ascensionists has done work for both the Quarry and Momentum?

Chris Sharma recently redpointed a route he called "Jumbo Love". Who originally bolted this line and where did Chris get the idea to use the word "Jumbo" in his route name?

Bonus question: Who shot the following picture of Chris on this route?

John Bachar, Peter Croft, Michael Reardon, and Derek Hersey are all known for being expert at a very dangerous style of climbing. What style of climbing is it and which of them are still alive? Which climber is famous for free-soloing Astroman in Yosemite?

This week's challenge is a multi-part question so make sure you read it carefully and answer all the questions. There are six pieces of information that are required:

• Who was the first woman to climb 14a? When was this-and where-and what was the name of the route? This same climber is, perhaps, even more well known for a climbing feat she accomplished in 1994. Describe that feat and what makes it so difficult.

Good luck!

The winner of last week's challenge was Sarah L. Well, she was the closest to the correct answer anyway. There were a few of you who answered one part of the question, but it was a three part question. The method of crack climbing is called Leavittation, created by Randy Leavitt, and the information I saw said it involves hand stacking. Jeff pointed out that that was incomplete. It involves the feet being above the hands, as well as hand stacking, in an overhanging crack. Hmmm, doesn't sound like something I am real eager to try, but if you had asked me three years ago if I would start rock climbing, my answer probably would have been, "why would anybody do that?".

This week's challenge is going to involve some research as well. You can find the information on the internet as well as in climbing guide books. Which books you may ask? I don't know, I just ask the questions. However, for the right price, you may be able to persuade a certain coach to spill that information :)

Here's the challenge:

Sport climbing has been developed in areas all over the western United States. Rank the following areas from oldest (developed first) to most recent (developed last):

• Rifle, Colorado
• Maple Canyon, Utah
• American Fork Canyon, Utah
• Smith Rock, Oregon (have you heard of that place before?)
• Red Rocks, Nevada
• Virgin River Gorge, Arizona

Post a comment to leave your answer but instead of just guessing, do some research first. The smoothie is worth it, I promise!

The winner of last week's challenge was.....it's hard to say. Coaches Ty and Steven both scored 80% on their first time taking the quiz but since this is supposed to be for the kids, I will just say "Congratulations! Nice job!" Cole and Weston teamed up and got 80% as well but it wasn't really supposed to be a team effort and once again, they pretty much get whatever they want in the cafe so I will bring more cupcakes for them. Palmer managed to get 70% his first time through the quiz which is the only score I'm counting so I am declaring him the winner of the free smoothie. Nice job Palmero!

Now, on to this week's challenge!

This challenge will require going to www.momentumclimbingschool.com to find the answer.

Here's the question:

Under "Crack Climbing", there is a climbing technique listed which is named after one of Coach Jeff's friends. The technique starts with the letter "L". What is the name of the technique, what does it involve, and who is the climber that invented it?

Good luck! Submit your answer by posting a comment.

Weekly Challenge Quiz

Okay my friends, here's the thing; the only score that is going to count is from the first time you take the quiz. It isn't fair if you see the answers and then take the quiz again. After you take the quiz, your scores will be emailed to me so I have a record of what your scores are but feel free to post them in the comments. If you want a better score, take the time to do the research first instead of just guessing.

All right, I concede. Weston is the Monkey Master of Shame with 27! Go Weston!

This week I want to know which team member drives the farthest to get to the gym.

Weekly Challenge - November 9, 2008

Autumn is right Nathaniel, the rules clearly state that you can make only one guess per day, sorry.

This week's challenge is going to be a little different and there are going to be some rules. The challenge is like a puzzle. The image I post today is of a member of the climbing team but it is covered up except for one piece so you can't tell who it is. Tomorrow, I will post the image again but with another piece of it uncovered. Each day I will add back another piece until someone guesses who it is.

Here are the rules:

1) each team member can only make one guess each day

and

2) you have to guess by posting a comment on the blog.

Any guesses made at practice will be completely ignored. If you don't know how to post a comment on the blog, follow these instructions:

When you get to the end of this blog post, you will see a line. Directly below that line you will see two things, the date the post was made and next to that, the number of comments that have been made on the post. If you click on "comments -", it will take you to a new screen where you can post a comment.

Capisca? Bueno! Here's the first post of the image:



Good luck!

Weekly Challenge-November 2, 2008

I am happy to announce that after my server being down for the last couple of days, it came back up in time for me to post a Weekly Challenge so here it is:

I need to know the names (first names only) of the brother and sister who tried out the team last Wednesday.

I was excited to see them at the gym on Saturday as well :)

Good luck everyone!

Remember, the winner gets a free smoothie in the cafe.

New Weekly Challenge

Okay, apparently this week's challenge was unfair because Reed was not going to be at climbing and he hasn't been for several weeks. Still, he did come a few times and he competed in the comp at the Quarry. So, happy birthday Jackson and Reed.

Now, on to a new Weekly Challenge:

Which team member's middle name is Arnold and which team member is a member of the Student Council at Sprucewood Elementary?

The first team member to successfully answer both these questions by posting a comment to this blog post will get a free smoothie in the cafe. Good luck!

Weekly Challenge

This is the first of what will hopefully be a long list of Weekly Challenges. The Weekly Challenge will be a trivia question, more often than not, about one or more of the Team Momentum climbers to encourage them to get to know one another better. Of course, being kids, that may not be enough of an incentive to find the answer to the question so the winner will receive a free smoothie in the Momentum Cafe.

So, here is how it will work: I will post the question and the first team member who correctly answers it by posting a comment to the blog post, will win. :)

With that said, here is this week's challenge:

Which team member celebrates their birthday today, October 26, and which team member celebrates their birthday tomorrow, October 27?


Photo © Rich Legg, All Rights Reserved

I'll give you a hint: it isn't any of the faces in this picture. Also, please post first names only in your answer since we are on the internet here.