Click here to read Part 1 (Jan. – March) and here to read Part 2 (April – June) of the 2009 Year In Review. On to Part 3:
July
- Much like June, July started on a very sad note with the passing of John Bachar (Link). Among the many tributes was this excellent video interview done with Bachar
- After months of speculation, the identity of the Team Five Ten Shoe was finally confirmed (Link).
- Urban Climber had a good update on the injuries of well known climbers Ethan Pringle, Dave Graham, Chris Webb Parsons and Angie Payne (Link).
- The 2009 Mammut Bouldering Championships were streamed online (Link) and live blogged by yours truly (Link). Daniel Woods won in impressive fashion on the Men’s side while Alex Johnson took it down for the Women (Link). Thanks to everyone that made the event such a huge success!
- An interesting, and somewhat controversial, study was published that stated the treatment of climbing injuries has increased 63% since 1990 (Link).
- The Access Fund launched a new multimillion dollar loan program to aid in the purchasing of climbing areas (Link).
- Mrs. Narc and I spent the last week of July exploring the granite domes in Tuolumne (Link).
August
- Late in July and into early August Adam Ondra made his first visit to South Africa. He impressively flashed 2 V13s at Rocklands and did the FA of a 5.14c sport route (Link).
- A new online magazine was launched about the climbing in Squamish, BC (Link).
- Nalle Hukkataival added a new V15 dubbed Livin’ Large in Rocklands, SA (Link).
- Adding to a year of tragedy, Craig Luebben was killed by an icefall in the Cascades (Link).
- Footage of Tommy Caldwell working on a new free route on El Cap was posted online (Link).
- Phil Schaal did the 5th ascent of Jade (V15) in RMNP, CO (Link).
- News of James Litz surfaced online revealing an impressive ticklist of 5.14 FAs at Ten Sleep Canyon, WY (Link).
- Justin Edl climbed a possible 5.14 trad route in Vedauwoo, WY (Link).
- Several American youth climbers competed in the World Youth Climbing Championships with Julian Bautista being the sole American to make it on a podium for difficulty (Link).
- August was the month that the footage of Alex Honnold free soloing Half Dome was “leaked” online only to be taken off permanently after a few days (Link).
- Also in August, Black Diamond released a really nice video of Hayden Kenney climbing the Bachar-Yerian in Tuolumne:
September
- In September, promotion for the 2009 Triple Crown Bouldering series ramped up with a series of excellent “Beta” videos. Here’s the one for The Stone Fort:
- I offered up a comparison between the discontinued Five Ten V10s and the soon to be released Team 5.10 shoes (Link).
- Jesse Bonin added a new V13 in Lake Tahoe (Link).
- Impressive news from a few “old” climbers left one less excuse for the rest of us (Link).
- Daniel Woods had a good Septermber of sport climbing in Gorges du Loup, France. He got back into shape by sending a few mid 5.14 routes (Link) which he then followed up with the sending of his first 5.14d (Link).
- Sean McColl did the first repeat of Chris Sharma’s Dreamcatcher (5.14d) in Squamish, BC (Link). Where’s the video???
- Urban Climber editor Justin Roth offered up a nice essay about the hot topic of American vs. European climbers (Link)
- Climbingnarc.com was mentioned in an issue of Rock & Ice (Link).
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