Rec Sports
Youth climbing season starts in Eagle County
Courtney Moore/Courtesy photo
Youth climbing season is underway in Eagle County, and local athletes are returning to the walls with high expectations. Despite the steep competition, climbers like sixth grader Fiona Ball still feel that goals are supported and shared throughout the community.
“At the beginning of every competition, the host always says, ‘Remember, it’s not you going against each other, it’s you against the wall,” Ball said. “So we’re all always working together.”
Eagle Climbing and Fitness hosted their first competitions throughout November, inviting youth climbers from the American Scholastic Climbing and USA Climbing leagues for a few nights of competitive bouldering, which started with the USAC qualification event, which challenged climbers in age groups from U11 to U20. This was the fourth competition in twenty that USA Climbing will hold, and each competition offers youth climbers a chance to qualify for the regional championships in March.
It also gives kids like fifth grader Ben Welsh a chance to compete early and set climbing goals for the future.
“I really wanted to climb as hard as I could, I also wanted to get a good score,” Welsh said. As for the upcoming season, “I’m looking forward to winning a competition and climbing as hard as I can,” he said.
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Welsh climbed in M13 and tied for second place with fellow competitor Brayson Sommerfeld, earning 10,300 points. Local junior Brynn Lyndal also brought home a high placing of fourth in the U19 division. This is her first season climbing in this age group, and Lyndal was pleased with her performance.
“This was (my) first comp, so I wanted to see where I was at in that new age group and with these extremely strong girls,” Lyndal explained. “I did better than I thought I would in my first two competitions.”
On Nov. 9, the Eagle gym transitioned to the next competition to kick off the ASCL season. CRMS took the team title with a total score of 29,089 and 3-4-6 placing from Gioia Liker, Maddie Hawkins and Hazel Lazar.
Lyndal earned the varsity girls individual title with a score of 12,500 points. She and freshman Lakelynn Wahouske were the only climbers who competed under Eagle Valley. But as a junior, Lyndal likes competing against local climbers she’s met throughout the years.
“I get to hang out with different teams and people I enjoy climbing with apart from my team,” Lyndal said.
CRMS also earned the varsity boys title with 40,892 points and a total of 28 climbers out of the 69 who competed. Senior Ethan Flynn received the individual title with 14,046 points, followed by senior teammate Fritz Simmons at third place with 13,446 points.
Kaidence Steinman led Redlands Middle School to victory, earning the individual title in the process. Redlands also received the boys team title while Eagle Valley’s Waylon Larson took first place.
As an up and coming climber, Ball earned third place with 6,800 points for Eagle County Charter Academy. The day before at the USAC competition, she placed fifth overall in the F13 age group.
“It’s really nice to get used to climbing hard climbs now that I’m bigger and stronger, and more confident as a climber with the recent podiums,” Ball said. “That really helps and I’m really looking forward to growing and evolving.”
Eagle Valley climbers have worked hard for this upcoming season, training up to three days a week with a mix of climbing, strength and core exercises. While they compete in gyms throughout the division, they will be back in their home gym on Dec. 13 with a mix of ropes and bouldering. USAC will also return to Eagle on Jan. 17 for their lead/top rope qualifying competition.