Dark Horse Comp Feb. 27 2010: Pics and Highlights

Head Setters:

• Dave Wetmore
• Pete Kamitses

Highlights:

The third and last citizens’ qualifier in the Dark Horse Series began at MetroRock climbing gym in Everett, MA, on a cold, rainy Saturday morning.  The competition was the last chance for competitors to secure their place in the championships

Nearly 100 competitors registered for the comp, ranging in age from 5 to… old.  Included in the mens’ comp were the 2nd place men’s finishers from the first and second Dark Horse pro qualifier rounds, Andy Lamb and Vasya Vorotnikov.  After coming so close in the past, both were undoubtedly focused on securing their bye into the championships, as well the cash prizes.

As for the women, most of the same faces were present from the previous two rounds, most notably, Francesca Metcalf.  Francesca took first place at both of the last two comps, grabbing all the cash and securing the bye… twice.  To the chagrin of the other women, she did it a third time, becoming the sole female to skip the championship qualifiers.  On top of all that, she netted $450 in Boston Rock Gym’s Heart of Steel Competition (or, my photos)just four weeks prior.  At the rate she’s currently reeling in the cash, Francesca’s winnings amount to $5000/year.  When I was her age, I bussed tables, and took home half that much over a summer.  All she has to do is pull on some plastic once a month.

So, if your parents try to tell you that you should get a job, just remind them you can make more by climbing.

Vasya cranking on a problem in qualifiersVasya Vorotnikov set the tone for the day as he walked in to register early.  Smiling, he confidently asked the staff, “Ok, where are the hardest problems?”  As other notables began filtering in, the top men started discussing beta and sizing up the competition.  A strong showing of Boston-area locals added to the camaraderie – everyone shared beta and cheered each others’ attempts.

Dave Wetmore speaks with one of
the judges before finals.
The setting soon proved to be stiff at the top end, and justifiably so.  Pete Kamitses said Dave Wetmore was especially worried that the hardest qualifier problems would get flashed, so they compensated accordingly.  In fact, at least one problem at the top didn’t see a send.  Among the moderate problems, there was less stratification – first and second in mens’ advanced category was decided by falls, and the rest of the scores were very close.

Speaking subjectively about the setting, there were no complaints to speak of, and everyone I spoke with seemed to talk about a favorite problem, only after stating something like “There are so many fun ones, but that one [insert color of tape] problem is really awesome…” etc etc.  I was too busy to get on a single climb, which was unfortunate, because they looked as good as everyone said they were.

Francesca Metcalf looked strong in qualifiers – her final score would’ve placed her in the mens’ pro division, and she was 500 points ahead of the closest womens’ finisher.

After qualifiers, there was the obligatory dyno comp to fill the time.  I don’t know who won, but here’s a picture I took while eating some food.

Once again, Bryan Rafferty hosted the competition.  Let’s take a look at him throughout the day.

Lastly, Max Zolotukhin made finals, despite climbing in a fucking boot all day.

Finals:

I’ve decided that trying to capture the energy and excitement of a climbing competition with writing is dumb.  You can’t do it without making tons of cliché statements that are essentially trying to convince someone that “it was totally awesome, I swear.”  You can see the standings in the photo of the results sheet.

This is what you would’ve seen in the finals: Vasya quickly crushing all but the last problem, which he sent after the finals (I think he makes it a point to always do that).  The thing about watching Vasya climb is that it’s like he has trained as a perfectionist for so long that watching him is almost anticlimactic.  The only reason it’s not boring is because everyone wants to see him climb the problem no one else could finish.  Every move is executed immediately after the last, with good tempo, balance, and power.

Foley also finished strong, being one of two guys to complete mens problem #3, but it didn’t look like he had the same power that Vasya did.  This made sense, considering Foley’s sport climbing prowess, and the requisite power-endurance of Mens #3.

As far as the women go, Francesca Metcalf was all-around solid.  Her score speaks for itself.

Beer:

The beer was cold, delicious, and free.  2 kegs, local brew.

Pizza:

Free pizza.

Women:

Nina Williams rehydrates before Women’s #3
Time for my “not enough women are climbers” rant:

Dude.  Half as many women as men competed, and they were all five to ten years younger than I was.  Just because the winters are cold up here doesn’t mean that every chick in the Northeast has to put on 40 lbs of insulating blubber, thereby making it impossible to be an athletic person (let alone a hard climber).  No one wants to see chicks play ice hockey, but watching women climb is actually pretty cool, and not just for the eye candy.  It’s one of the few sports in which guys and girls can socialize and participate.

It’s okay though, because the free pizza and beer more than made up for it.

Free Shwag:


Of course, free shwag was tossed randomly over the heads of the crowd following awards, attracting a small mob.

In any case, good times were had at the after-parties, where the drinks continued.

I’m looking forward to March 27.

More Photos:

I took a metric shitton of photos, and then I deleted half of them to yield a half shitton of photos.  You can view them HERE.
I might even add captions and stuff with Picasa, if time allows.  I do not have the time to photoshop every photo, but if there’s one or two that you especially want from me, I’ll clean them up so you can show your girlfriend/boyfriend how awesome you can look.

Also, Pat Bagley is a pretty sick photographer, plus my camera sucks from the little camera-teets of his amazing, kickass camera.  Check out his blog: HEAVY BAGS