What makes a good comp? Is it the climbing? Is it the crowd? The prizes? The after-party? In other words, what attracted 400+ competitors on November 4th, 2006 to the second round of the Triple Crown Bouldering Series at Horsepens 40, Alabama, a legal and climber-friendly boulderfield?
Photo by Brian Burnham
HorsePens has little in common with Hound Ears, both accessibly and stylistically. First, it is available 360+ days a year, thanks to the friendly Schultz family (www.hp40.com), who bought these forty acres 5 years ago and have been accommodating climbers since. Secondly, virtually every Hound Ears crimp is replaced here with a slope—this is the place where the term “sloper-jug” was born. The boulders have been sculpted into wild shapes reminiscent of mushroom caps and brain coral; yet these pillowy features belie the complexity of the climbing. Suitors must learn to coordinate their movements—hands, toes, knees, and elbows—to traipse efficiently up or across the fantastic cauliflower undulations. HorsePens is a place with as much push as pull, where the typical thuggery usually falls far short of adequate. This is a place that demands subtlety and self-awareness, and it punishes disobedience in flesh. Furthermore, it’s easy to fall victim to the “one more try” syndrome here; the movement is so subtle that one always feels on the cusp of success.
On this day all weather-related excuses fell flat; it was perfect sloper-weather: crisp, cool, and slightly windy. Competitors spread out through the tight boulderfield, taking their quiet time to pick off the 10 best problems for them from the 400+ available.
This time, the women’s race was the virtual blowout; Kate Reese outclimbed Sasha DeGuilian by almost 2000 points. She absolutely hiked several of the area’s testpieces, including the venerable Slider (V9).
During the course of the comp, God Module (V11) saw 5 repeats by various competitors. In the end, Paul Robinson narrowly bested visiting French superstar Tony Lamiche and Florida strongman Max Zolotukhin for win Number 2 in his Triple Crown campaign.
The award ceremony, lubricated with bountiful libations, rose to a near fever pitch, prompted MC Kurt Smith’s liturgy of “Triple Crown! Drink Up! Lemme see some cash in this box!” The calls for donations, the thumping music, and boiling crowd nearly morphed revelry into revival, with competitors rushing the stage to empty their pockets for the SCC (www.seclimbers.org) and go diving back into the waiting arms of the faithful. After it was all over, the raffle and the Donation Box had yielded another 2000 dollars for the SCC, and the beer had ruined many Sunday climbing aspirations.
The Triple Crown finale will be held at The Stone Fort (formerly Little Rock City) outside Chattanooga, TN on December 2nd. Attendance is strongly recommended.
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