The North Face

Feb 25 | Wise Words From Daniel Woods

By The North Face

A couple of weeks ago Daniel Woods finally sent The Game (V16), a much-tried boulder problem that had been eluding him for almost two years. We caught up with Daniel to gain some insight and advice on sticking with it when a boulder problem just shuts you down.   

 

TNF: What advice can you give to climbers who have been shut down by problems, over and over, yet still return day after day to try them?

DW: Getting shut down in climbing is part of the game. You will have a lot more failure than success, but once you achieve success it is the best feeling in the world. I use my failures as motivation to improve. My advice is to expect failure, and use it as motivation to reach success. If all the moves are possible then the climb is possible. I find it is also good to work things then take a break and come back to them. If you try and try without stopping then that is when you are most likely to get discouraged. If you keep it fresh and return back, motivation will stay at an all time high.

TNF: What keeps you motivated?

DW: Finding a climb that challenges me keeps me motivated. I actually love getting shut down because it makes me want to try so much harder. Even discovering subtle differences in a move gets me psyched. I love climbing in that matter. You will always find something exotic that keeps you interested. I love doing new moves and involved rock climbs that require full body power and finger strength. Climbing always has me coming back for more. I am never satisfied with anything. Even now I want to go find a boulder that is harder than The Game.

TNF: What is the longest you have worked on a boulder problem/route?  Which one?

DW: The Game is by far the longest I have projected anything. It took me 17 days over two years. It started out being pretty futuristic in my head, to realizing now that it was possible. Before The Game, the longest I had worked a climb for was seven or eight days.

Feb 18 | Tawoche 2k10 dispatch #6- Stills Gallery

By Renan Ozturk

Although Cory and I have been back for a week from Nepal, we are still reeling in post-adventure excitement. Besides being a bad-to-the-bone alpine climber Cory is also a very established adventure photographer. Although he mostly worked with me on video to tell the story, he also killed it with his stills....here is a select of his edit!! Also, we are currently working on a behind the scenes and out-takes video to expose the junk-show behind the dispatches...stay tuned!

- Cory Richards and Renan Ozturk

Feb 17 | International Olympic Committee Endorses Sport Climbing - What's Next?

By The North Face

In a step forward in seeing rock climbing in the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee endorsed sport climbing last week. Our friends at theadventurelife.org dug a little deeper to find out what this means, how long it will be until climbers are standing on the Olympic podium and what to expect in the build-up.  Full article: http://bit.ly/aoQwHD

What are your thoughts on climbing entering the Olympics?

 

Feb 16 | Profile of Lizzy Hawker, Ultra-Distance Runner

By The North Face

She's an endurance athlete and 100km world champion. Her dream is to encourage people to realize the sanctuary of the mountains, the richness of our environment and our responsibility to protect it, and the value of challenging yourself both physically and mentally.

Learn more about Elizabeth Hawker.

 

Feb 16 | Daniel Woods Makes First Ascent of The Game (V16)

By The North Face

The North Face global climbing team athlete sends what may the hardest boulder problem in the world

 

SAN LEANDRO, California — February 16, 2010 — The North Face, the world’s premier supplier of authentic, innovative and technically advanced outdoor apparel, equipment and footwear, today announced global team athlete Daniel Woods did the first ascent of a longstanding elusive boulder problem on Wednesday, February 10, 2010, in Boulder Canyon, Colorado. Calling it The Game, and grading it a whopping V16, the first of such grades for the U.S., makes it possibly the world’s hardest boulder problem.

 

Daniel Woods on The Game (V16). ©Rob Frost

For the past two years, Woods has been working on this boulder problem on and off between travels, which has been tried for more than a decade by some of the world’s top climbers including Dave Graham, Tony Lamiche and Paul Robinson, as well as hard-bodied Colorado locals.

 

“Everybody has been trying this boulder problem and no one could send it,” said fellow The North Face global team climber Cedar Wright, and witness to the first ascent. “Then, Daniel comes along and just crushes it! Watching Daniel climb is about as close as I've come to witnessing the defiance of gravity.”

 

Woods, who feels The Game merits a V16 rating because he believes it is another level compared to other climbs he has done. Before tackling the problem, Woods returned from a trip to Hueco Tanks, Texas, where he repeated Terremer (V15), considered one of the hardest boulder problems in the world. Woods felt The Game was a step above Terremer, and slapped it with a V16.

 

“V16 is only a number. The more important thing is the progression it meant to myself in my climbing,” said Woods. “It’s cool to feel like I have established a climb that is pushing the limits for the sport of bouldering. Time will tell how hard it [The Game] actually is, but for now I feel like it is a new level boulder problem.”

 

The Game, which starts in the far back of a cave, is a nearly horizontal roof with extremely glassy, slopey holds. It features huge arm-span moves and involves eight hard movements out of an obvious roof. On the freezing cold day, with snow and ice surrounding the shaded boulder, Woods warmed-up on the middle moves, ripping a key crimp off the roof, resulting in a powerful fall. Now that the crimp had broken, Woods reformulated the sequence, involving a bigger move to a better hold, but a harder swing out. He made the first ascent that same day.

 

“The holds take the same path and the climbing is more physical, so in the end it turned out to be perfect. I feel The Game became an even better climb after the hold broke,” said Woods. “This definitely was a mental and physical war for me. Now I want to find something harder.” 

 

Three days later, Woods won the American Bouldering Series National Championships in Alexandria, Virginia.

 

For more than 40 years The North Face has teamed up with the world's finest mountaineers, alpinists, climbers, skiers, snowboarders and endurance adventurers who have defined the limits of what is humanly possible. The North Face Athlete team works closely with Research, Design & Development, creating innovative designs that push new technologies and inspire cutting-edge products.

 

For more information on The North Face climber Daniel Woods, and The North Face athlete team, check out www.thenorthface.com

 

Want to get involved and start climbing? Check PlanetExplore for events and climbing activities close to home. www.planetexplore.com

 

Interested in the grading of boulder problems? Check our Rockfax at http://www.rockfax.com/publications/bgrades.html

 

 

Feb 14 | "The Game" Daniel Woods Climbs World's Hardest Boulder Problem?!?!

By Cedar Wright

Watch Daniel Woods working what very well may be the hardest boulder problem in the country if not the world! If Daniel's estimation is correct, this is the first V16 in the country and arguably the universe!!!  I shot and edited this piece in collaboration with Big Up Productions and Sender Films  The Full Send will be featured in this years Reel Rock Tour   ...The back story....I first met Daniel Woods about 5 years ago while in Rocklands Africa. Daniel already had a reputation as a steel fingered bouldering phenomena, and watching him crush in the boulders was about as close as I've come to witnessing the defiance of gravity. When Daniel mentioned on a facebook post that he had a new super project up in Bolder Canyon, and felt he might be close to "the hardest moves I've ever tried", I figured it might be a cool moment to film and so I rang him up! For the last two weeks I have been braving the 30 degree temps and shooting Daniel's process and progress. Recently, in spite of a broken hold and a nasty fall, Daniel sucked it up, figured out new beta and SENT!!! "This is definitely harder than Terremer, and Jade, and I think warrants the grade of V16" he said. If Daniel's estimation is right, this puts "The Game" as a competitor for hardest boulder in the world!!! Daniel had this to say, "I called this problem The Game, because for me the climb was a game I had to play, I had to click into game mode, and really train myself for these moves. I had to grow mentally strong and also physically strong to be able to put it together. I call it the game, because I played the game and I ended up winning the game so game over." A little inside information... one of Daniel's favorite rappers is also named "The Game!"

Feb 12 | Live Broadcast: TNF Masters - Crystal Mountain Finals

By The North Face

Starting at 12:00 p.m. (PST)

Feb 11 |

By Kasha Rigby

wow! it has been constant go!!! one break in the weather and pow! we made a 17 hour summit hit that brought 15 out of or group of 17 to the top!! go Venezuela, El Salvador, Argentina, US, and the UK! it has now been a mad dash to Mendoza to get everyone to their already delayed flights. i have not even had time for a famous argentinian gelato! but all are well - slightly sun, windburned, and weathered after summiting on a clear day with temperatures diving to -20F. i am the last to hop a flight. details to come manana! thanks friends, family, haley, and the tnf crew! xoxoxkasha

Feb 11 | TNF Masters Weather Day Still Delivers Excitement

By The North Face

Due to weather the Day 2 competition at Crystal Mountain was canceled for today. We've produced some short videos of Day 1 for you instead. Depending on the weather, we are planning on finishing the event tomorrow and going live. Look for updates tomorrow.

Visit thenorthfacemasters.com

 

Feb 11 | PlanetExplore.com Launches in New York

By The North Face

PlanetExplore is giving residents an online resource for local outdoor activities.

The North Face and New York Restoration Project kickoff initiative with NYRP’s Winter Warm-Up – a free event offering winter activities that encourage local exploration and expose youth to nature experiences – on Saturday, February 13, 2010 in Manhattan’s Swindler Cove Park.