At the end of last March, I showed a bunch of young crushers from SoCal and Colorado around Red Rock Canyon, NV, where I started climbing almost 16 years ago.
I had kind of forgotten that my dslr was floating around during that trip and had neglected to look at the photos until today!
Here are a few of the kids on the incredible desert sandstone of Red Rocks.
Mike McGee onsighting "Yaak Crack," (5.11c) at The Gallery.
Joe Goodacre being lowered off of "The Glitch," (5.12c) at The Gallery.
Mike McGee, Natalie Josefsberg, and Isabelle Goodacre hanging at The Pier.
Joe Goodacre sending "Geometric Progression," (5.12b) at The Pier.
Isabelle Goodacre warming up on "Under the Boardwalk," (5.11a) at The Pier.
Finn Stack mid-send on "Geometric Progression," (5.12b) The Pier.
Mike McGee, "Geometric Progression" (.12b)
Mike McGee, "Geometric Progression" (.12b)
Joe Goodacre practicing his "Sharma calls" on "Geometric Progression," (5.12b) The Pier.
Joe on "Nightmare on Crude Street," (5.10d) at the Black Corridor.
Natalie Josefsberg working "Ambushed," (5.13a) at The Secret 13.
Isabelle Goodacre working "Ambushed" (5.13a).
Joe Goodacre working "Ambushed," (5.13a) at the Secret 13 crag.
Now that the American Bouldering Series (ABS) competition season has begun and the fall bouldering season is finally setting in, I will be updating the Anonymous Climbing Team blog more frequently with photos, videos, and even some peaks at the kind of serious training that these young crushers endure to reach their climbing goals.
I apologize for the lack of updates this summer about all of Anonymous Climbing Team's exciting happenings. Suffice it to say that it was a great summer, and the team is looking forward to this coming ABS season!
Here are some photos of what the team has been up to over the last few months.
Max Matles working "Sprout" (5.13a) in Maple Canyon, UT.
Natalie Josefsberg working "Sprout" (5.13a), Maple Canyon, UT.
Max Matles sending "Velvet Revolver Sit" (V8) at Black Mt., CA.
Natalie Josefsberg in semi-finals at SCS Nationals this July.
Culin Li at The Factory Bouldering Gym's new expansion opening in August.
Max Matles attempting "Blank Generation" (V10), Horse Flats, CA
Culin Li sending "Bow Sprits" (V3), Horse Flats, CA
Natalie Josefsberg working "Skinny White Boy" (5.12d) at Boney Bluff
Today, a bunch of us went out to Malibu Creek State Park for a beautiful day of sport climbing. Anonymous team captain, Charlie Andrews, decided to come out and give his (our) project "Lateralus" (5.14a) "one last effort while [he] still [had] some power" from bouldering season and surprised himself with a no-expectations, last try send!
Huge congratulations to Charlie on his first 5.14! I'm sure it's just one of many!
Charlie on a warmup lap on "Ghetto Crossing" (5.13a)
Charlie cruising through the 5.13 crux while warming up on "Ghetto Crossing"
Charlie on his send of "Lateralus"
Charlie on his send of "Lateralus"
Charlie on his send of "Lateralus" (Maddy Voloshin photo)
Charlie taking it to the chains on "Lateralus." (Maddy Voloshin photo)
If you're reading this blog, you probably know that last weekend, the 1st through 3rd of March was USA Climbing's American Bouldering Series (ABS) Youth National Championships.
As mentioned in our first team blog post, all three founding members of Anonymous Climbing Team, Natalie Josefsberg, Charlie Andrews, and Culin Li, crushed at Divisional Championships and qualified for Nationals, and they all trained like mad over the six weeks between the two events.
The Rockies from the sky
At least 35 climbers in each age/gender category from around the U.S. descended upon Colorado Springs to test their skills on some of the coolest problems I've ever seen in a youth comp, but only ten from each category would make it to finals on Sunday.
Pike's Peak from downtown Colorado Springs.
As I proudly announced on facebook each day, in Qualifiers the team all placed well enough to advance to semis, and in semis they each placed well enough to advance to finals.
Here are Team Anonymous' full results:
Qualifiers: Culin took 10th in Male B, Natalie 12th in Female A, and Charlie 11th in Male Jr.
Semis: Culin 8th in Male B, Natalie 6th in Female A, Charlie 8th in Male Jr.
Finals: Culin 2nd in Male B, Natalie 8th in Female A, Charlie 9th in Male Jr.
I think I can safely say that Anonymous is the only team in USA
Climbing to have had 100% of its members in finals at ABS Nationals. A proud coach I certainly am!
Also, how cool is it that Culin made such a move from 8th going into finals to 2nd place, standing on the podium with a spot on the U.S. Team?! Congratulations dude!
Culin Li and Shawn Rabatou on the podium.
Here are some video clips of the kids from throughout the weekend. I'll be updating with Culin's clips later this week. I apologize in advance for my over-enthusiastic cheering.
Natalie Josefsberg on qualifier number 1
Natalie on qualifier number 4.
Charlie on qualifier number 2.
Charlie on qualifier number 3.
Charlie on qualifier number 4.
Natalie on semi number 3.
Charlie sending semi number 1.
Charlie sending semi number 3. I'll admit I got a little too excited watching this one!
Natalie flashing final number 1.
Charlie taking a big fall on final number 2.
We'll be heading outside a lot more as a team now that sport climbing season is upon us, so check back regularly for more sports action updates ... including one I'm about to post about Charlie's big send today!
Greetings readers, and welcome to the Anonymous climbing team blog!
My name is Isaac, and I'm the coach of Team Anonymous, a new youth climbing team based in Los Angeles, CA and comprised of founding members Natalie Josefsberg, Charlie Andrews, and Culin Li.
Having wrapped up American Bouldering Series (ABS) Youth Divisional Championships over the weekend of January 12th and 13th at The Bloc in Tucson, AZ, (full results here) and with National Championships coming up in the first weekend of March, this seemed like as appropriate a time as any to start a team blog.
Below are some videos of the kids at Divisionals at The Bloc.
Natalie Josefsberg on final #2
Culin Li on final problem #2
Charlie Andrews on male Jr final #2
Culin Li sending final #4
Charlie Andrews on final #1 (though mislabeled as #3)
With Nationals right around the corner, the climbers are training at least three days per week, between individual training sessions, team practice, and weekend excursions to other gyms, like Hangar 18 Riverside, where we'll be heading this Saturday. (We go outside regularly, but we are focusing on plastic until after Nationals.) Although I'm sure I speak for the kids too when I say I look forward to switching gears come rope season in a few weeks.
So that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to follow this blog to keep up to date with what Anonymous climbing team is up to. We'll be updating with member bios and more photos and videos in the near future.
