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Show Wed/Thurs/Fri, August 1-3, 2018 The Park Record B-3 Psicobloc Masters returns to the UOP Climbers will go head-to-head on overhanging wall VOTED PARK CITY’S BEST STEAK HOUSE 5 YEARS RUNNING! BEN RAMSEY The Park Record The Psicobloc Masters, a free-solo climbing competition, is returning to the Utah Olympic Park this Friday and Saturday. As of Tuesday, the confirmed guest list names nine featured athletes, with Matty Hong, Carlo Traversi, Jimmy Webb and Emily Harrington returning to the event. The event usually books 24 professional climbers — 12 women and 12 men. Marc Norman, the event’s organizer and newly minted CEO of USA Climbing, expects to see that many this year, though many climbers are preparing for the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and are prioritizing International Federation of Sport Climbing-sanctioned events. In addition to the pros, four competitors will join the men’s and women’s competition through the open qualifying round on Friday. PATIO DINING and LIVE MUSIC Come see our fresh new interior! BEN RAMSEY/ THE PARK RECORD The Psicobloc wall was still under construction on Monday. This year, the event will be sponsored by The North Face, which is bringing several athletes to compete. Orangeville. Joining Jeffery is Dani Andrada, a Spanish climber and influential first-ascensionist, who is expected to bring in an element of European, World Cup-style route setting. For those familiar with the yosemite climbing scale, PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO Nathaniel Coleman races up the Psicobloc wall at the Utah Olympic Park’s Freestyle Olympic Pool alongside Kyra Condie during last Iyear’s seeding round. This year, the seeding round will be held on nSaturday morning. Once the 32 athletes are seeded, they will com,pete head-to-head in a single-elimination tournament. h How does it work? t The event starts with qualiy fiers on Friday, where athletes s who were not on the invite list can join for the cost of about $100 and an additional fee. d The top four qualifying men d and women will advance to g seeding on Saturday morning, s followed by the main event. The finals are structured as a traditional 16-entrant single-elimination bracket, in which climbers will race head to head up the 50-foot tall overhanging wall, climbing as high and as fast as they can. If both climbers reach the top, the tie will go to the fastest climber, otherwise, the climber that reaches a higher hold is the victor. the women’s competition will likely be set at high 5.12 or low 5.13, while the men’s competition will likely be set at a high 5.13 or low 5.14, depending on how the seeding round goes. To put Andrada’s skills into perspective, at 40 years old he climbed the infamous Chilam Balam route in southern Spain which is rated at 5.15 a/b, or 5.15c, depending on who one asks, which is approaching the upper limits of today’s climbing standards. The duo will create an easier set for the qualifying round and a tougher one for the finals. Norman said the routes will likely force competitors into situations where they have to fully release from one set of holds to reach another, with the psychological element of a potential fall adding another layer of difficulty. Who are the competitors? Strong climbers will be in attendance, but some of them are bigger names than others. Returning spectators will recognize Jimmy Webb, who distinguished himself at the event in 2013 when he beat some of climbing’s biggest names, including Chris Sharma, one of the event’s founders, to take first place. He also defeated Carlo Traversi that year, who was the U.S. Sport Climbing National Champion in 2009 and 2011 and who will be competing this year as well. Both have climbed routes considered among the hardest in the world. Emily Harrington, a fivetime national sport climbing champion, is probably the most high-profile woman registered so far. She has climbed at Psicobloc in the past and is one of several athletes attending this year who are sponsored by The North Face, including Chilean climbers Soho and Fecundo Langbehn and Brazilian climber Felipe Carmago. Melise Edwards, a boulderer from North Carolina and an outspoken advocate for diversity in climbing, is also scheduled to compete. Norman said success at Psi- What’s at stake? Psicobloc is not an IFSC-endorsed event, so the governing body does not distribute points to its winners and therefore, it doesn’t mean much in terms of official rankings. One reason for this is because Psicobloc doesn’t fall neatly into the main competitive climbing specializations – it doesn’t use harnesses or ropes, so it’s not sport climbing or speed climbing, and because of its height, it’s not exactly bouldering. However, the event does offer cash prizes throughout the finishers, with first place climbers in the men’s and women’s divisions earning $5,000 each, and it offers a high-profile venue for competition. How difficult will the routes be? Very difficult. According to Norman, the routes will be set by Steven Jeffery, who works for Momentum Gyms and has developed notable bouldering routes in Joe’s Valley, near PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO Alex Puccio takes a moment to reach for more chalk in her chalk bag as she sizes up the remaining portion of the Psicobloc wall at the Utah Olympic Park last year. Puccio is recovering from an injury and will not compete, though organizers say she will attend to watch the competition. cobloc is as much dependent on the mental as the physical. “It just takes that kind of person with a different mentality that is comfortable making those big moves at a big height Please see Psicobloc, B-4 Enjoy 2 for 1 Entrees thru 08/31/18 2-4-1 NOT valid Fridays or Saturdays in July & August 840 Main Street, Park City 435.655.9739 • primeparkcity.com assemble Park City’s Premier Co-Working Space WORK WHERE YOU PLAY Located next to Basin Recreation and just steps away from the Swaner Preserve and miles of trails Private Offices • Business Lounge • Semi-Private Work Stations Conference Rooms • Reception Services • Daily Rates Available For details please contact Angela at 435-200-1312 info@assembleparkcity.com | www.assembleparkcity.com | located in Newpark @ Kimball Junction |