As soon as I heard about Psicocomp being held in the US for the first time ever, though, I knew this was the moment for my "climbing reunion". Psicocomp, a deep water soloing climbing competition, played to my strengths of being a quick, powerful climber and my love of heights so, it would be a fun experience for me. Plus, it was being held during the biggest gathering of everyone in the outdoor industry, the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show in July. Truthfully, I was scared about what everyone's reaction to me would be, and had lots of second thoughts. But, I went through with it and said YES to taking part in this event. Thankfully, my good friend, Angie, agreed to go with me as a sort of friend-manager. She kept me calm and organized all week and I am very indebted to her for all that she did.
-the sport has become much more commercial in the past 10 years.
-many of the faces and names have not changed even though a decade has passed.
-it's still a "scene" with people vying for "attention" in all sorts of ways (some, good...some, not so much so, lol).
In the end, the combination of being at the OR trade show and competing in Psicocomp was the "perfect climbing reunion" for me. No, I am not coming out of retirement to compete again. In fact, the whole experience made me even more sure of my decision to retire 10 years ago. I enjoy my "big girl job" and my quiet life in the wonderful mountain town of Steamboat Springs too much to give them up. Instead, I embrace my role of cheering from the sidelines as new girls take the lead in this sport that I love. From now on, I'm sticking to mentoring, coaching and climbing... just for fun.
Finally I want to give a huge SHOUT OUT to Boreal, So Ill Holds and Krieg Climbing for giving me passes to the show, shoes to climb in, chalk bags to replace the ones that got wet every time I climbed and cool shwag to wear! ...and one more shout out to Chris Sharma and everyone else associated with Psicocomp, for putting on a fun, exciting competition. This "reunion" would not have been possible without all of you!!
(Below are two videos of what a "psicocomp" looks like! The wall was 55 feet high. We did not have ropes. So, when we fell, we fell into a pool of water! It was REALLY A BLAST!)