John Irvine the MC of the festival delivered the podium standings: Tai third place, Andrew Kourner second place and Keith topping the podium in first. They were all rewarded with oversized checks and the admiration of many climbers/outdoor enthusiasts applause. The pressures of the trip were behind us, we would be able to enjoy all of the athletes that had come to present slideshows and speak.

We attended Dave Macleod’s inspiring show of head pointing. If I didn’t have the opportunity to kick it with the Scottish fellow (After Dave’s show he was coerced over to my friends house to have his portrait shot, where he was placed in gore-tex and showered with the garden house) I would have thought he was just absolutely out of his mind, but I found him to be very sound of mind and genuinely interesting. My heart raced as I watched him in his video soloing 14b, filming some nuts stuff for the BBC, raging in the alpine, and mixing it all together in one test piece that would demand all aspects that Dave had mastered. If you get a chance to attend his show in the future you won’t be disappointed. Expect sweaty palms…

Reuniting with good friend Steve Townsend always manages to be memorable. Steve is one of the most motivated guys I know. Luckily his job was rather flexible and he was able to climb most of the time I was visiting. We spent a day at Checkimus canyon and I immediately found that the climbing resonated the same style I preferred, steep with a specific crux and quality climbing in-between. I found Division Bell a 5.13+ right up my alley. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to get through the iron cross move, but I was determined to try. It went better than expected, I was thrilled by the climbing and I was looking forward to projecting this route. Unfortunately or fortunate Steve talked me into doing a dyno competition. Both Steve and I won, but not without it beating the shit out of me. Not having been possessed to dyno since the last dyno competition (probably the PBB in 2005), my muscles weren’t ready for the strain.

It is fairly common for me to be a little tired after a competition, but this one with its erratic-movements had given me knots and all kinds of pain throughout my neck and back. Recovery from these abnormal pains had been slow and my inspiration to climb dwindled. Once I started feeling better we went back to Chek. I had to head back to division bell, even if it would be a pathetic attempt. Sometimes it ends up that I spend time climbing something I love and never succeed, sometimes this is just the name of the game. I generally call these my training days. Luckily we had plenty to do and see when we weren’t able to climb. We were fortunate enough to visit with my ceramist friend Candace, where we were able to check out her and Vincent Massey’s freshest pieces from the kiln.