Vertical-Life
Dan Mirsky gets another 9a done
"And on the next climbing day after sending Flex Luthor... I guess I can't say I am in a dry spell anymore, So psyched!!!! This one definitely put up a fight. To start, it's definitely not my strongest style. D.Mouth is all about a super aggressive roof boulder straight out the back of the skull cave. The feet are bad, the moves are wide and the tension needed is serious. I got close last year but also got beat up from trying. Then winter hit early, heavy and often. The route got wet and stayed wet till October of this year!! I am proud of myself for continuing to show up and try through the wetness, the hold breaking, all the splits and cuts and flappers. I probably fell on the same move more than 20 times from the ground. I knew I was close and capable but felt like I was losing ground in my belief in myself to just show up and execute. It never ceases to amaze me how much a little momentum and confidence can change everything. It felt like a completely different route today. I still had to try like hell and scream it out on the jump to the lip!!"
"Not exactly sure how to explain the recent success. Honestly, I have felt like I have been making really good and steady progress as I have learned how to train better and smarter which has been key as I have been getting older. Unfortunately, those gains haven't translated to hard sends for a little while for a variety of reasons, some within my control, like choosing to climb on routes that don't suit my best style, climbing too much and getting tired or damaging skin; and some outside of my control, like weather, conditions, wet holds, breaking holds. Regardless, the result was a loss of confidence and some significant self doubt. When I sent Flex it felt like a huge weight lifted mentally and I immediately felt more confident and more like myself while climbing. That was huge in my send of D. Mouth which had been really testing me mentally and is quite physically demanding as well."
Can you elaborate on ”better and smarter” training?
I think I have just been doing better about being intentional with my training and keeping in mind that I can't necessarily do the volume I once could but also recognizing that I don't need to. Instead of trying to do all the things all the time, I have been doing a really good dedicated block of training in the summer when it's hot and climbing isn't great. In the season, I mostly focus on showing up fresh and psyched to my project and doing a minimum amount of maintenance work in the weight gym to keep things feeling "topped off" and to stay feeling healthy and balanced to avoid injury. In a normal week this looks like 3 to 4 days of outside climbing and one to two focussed gym sessions. Now that it's starting to be winter more consistently here in Colorado I will switch to doing another block of training before re-focussing on my next outside goals.
Jernej Kruder sends Martin Krpan (9a) sans knee pads
Jernej Kruder, who won the Boulder World Cup in 2018, has done Martin Krpan (9a) in Mišja Peč. “I would like to expose something here: I spent many tries on t…
Welcome to Vertical-Life Web
Six years after partnering with 8a.nu, we’re excited to announce the unification of the 8a.nu website and the Vertical-Life app into a single platform: Vertical…
Will Bosi repeats Return of the Sleepwalker (9A)
William Bosi has made the second ascent of Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) in Black Velvet Canyon, after projecting it for 12 sessions. This was th…
Dan Mirsky ticks Flex Luthor (9a/+) at age 41!
Dan Mirsky has done Flex Luthor (9a+) at The Fortress of Solitude, logging it as a 9a. A couple of guys have actually suggested an upgrade to 9b of the route. T…
Flex Luthor 9a+ (b) by Jonathan Siegrist
Jonathan Siegrist has repeated Tommy Caldwell’s testpiece from 2003, Flex Luthor (9a+) in The Fortress of Solitude. Last year, it got its first two repeats and …
Nicholas Milburn does Flex Luthor (9a+)
Nicholas Milburn, who previously has sent four 9a’s, has repeated Tommy Caldwell’s Flex Luthor (9a+) in The Fortress of Solitude. Last year he projected it fo…
Dan Mirsky ticks Flex Luthor (9a/+) at age 41!
Dan Mirsky has done Flex Luthor (9a+) at The Fortress of Solitude, logging it as a 9a. A couple of guys have actually suggested an upgrade to 9b of the route. T…
Flex Luthor 9a+ (b) by Jonathan Siegrist
Jonathan Siegrist has repeated Tommy Caldwell’s testpiece from 2003, Flex Luthor (9a+) in The Fortress of Solitude. Last year, it got its first two repeats and …
Nicholas Milburn does Flex Luthor (9a+)
Nicholas Milburn, who previously has sent four 9a’s, has repeated Tommy Caldwell’s Flex Luthor (9a+) in The Fortress of Solitude. Last year he projected it fo…
Katie Lamb makes history
Katie Lamb has become the first woman to climb 8C+ by completing Box Therapy (8C) in RMNP. Daniel Woods made the FA back in 2018, and only Drew Ruana and Sean B…
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Will Bosi repeats Return of the Sleepwalker (9A)
William Bosi has made the second ascent of Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) in Black Velvet Canyon, after projecting it for 12 sessions. This was th…