The last month has been spent preparing for Climb Iowa’s top rope redpoint comp, “Flock to the Rock”.  Brad and I would be competing in the Advanced Division, both individually, and as a team, and would have 6 hours to redpoint as many routes in the gym as we could. Points were assigned based on difficulty, and you could earn points for the same route twice.

Oh, and did I mention this comp would be in the DARK!? Yes, headlamps only!

This being my first comp, and having been climbing for about 7 months, my expectations were low. Pacing yourself was definitely key. This was a 6-hour endurance fest after all. Some participants went for quantity over quality, climbing as many easier routes as humanly possible. Brad and I went for quality over quantity, climbing the hardest routes we knew we were capable of, and doing them twice, in an order we had worked out ahead of time.

Our strategy paid off!

Individually, Brad placed 2nd, and I placed 4th.  But as a team, Brad and I took 1st! Totally unexpected, but I’ll take it!